For many, including ourselves here at B&T, it’s the first day back after the Christmas break. Fingers, idle over the past three weeks or so, have been put to work and cobwebs brushed away with lashings of coffee.
But, despite the stereotypes, adland did not entirely grind to a halt in December, with agencies winning new business and producing new work including the likes of Wavemaker, Zenith and Thinkerbell.
In November last year, The Royals and Ryvalmedia took the top spots for our new business winners. Last month, we also announced the agencies that won the most new business throughout 2023 with Atomic 212º, Wavemaker, TBWA and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire taking our top spots.
But, for now, here are the agencies that picked up the most new business in December.
Media agencies
Bronze – Awaken
On 18 December, B&T‘s first day of the break, indie agency Awaken announced that it had won the media account for Opal HealthCare. The business e manages 100 residential aged care communities across metro and regional areas in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Opal said that it was impressed with “Awaken’s fresh outlook” and its “combination of creative strategy, data and research to drive media results”.
Silver – Zenith
Internet service provider challenger brand Superloop picked Publicis-owned media shop Zenith to run its media strategy, planning, buying and research across all channels in December. It was good news for Publicis all-round, with Leo Burnett already managing its creative duties. “We’re thrilled to be working with the talented team at Zenith, leveraging their media capability, strategy, proven operational efficiency, and building on the insightful creative delivered by our friends at Leo Burnett, said Superloop’s CMO Ben Colman.
Gold – Wavemaker
B&T‘s Media Agency of the Year rounded out a brilliant 2023 winning the $20 million-rated media account for Allianz in December. The win was part of a global pitch that saw the insurer align its operations with GroupM agencies. The remit includes responsibility for full-funnel media strategy, planning, buying, and campaign execution. “The new set-up combines the strengths of globally managed strategies with tailored roll-outs in local markets. We also expect significant synergies through more standardised processes and performance measurement,” said Christian Deuringer, head of global brand management and marketing at Allianz SE.
creative Agencies
Bronze – VML
Just a week before Christmas, VML Commerce was announced as the integrated below-the-line agency of record for Brown-Forman Australia to work on its alcohol brands including Jack Daniel’s El Jimador and Woodford Reserve. The agency, formed of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, started in earnest from the first of January and it will be responsible for end-to-end creative commerce solutions for Brown-Forman’s key retail and on-premise partners, stretching from promotions, shopper marketing, channel strategy and localised brand creative work.
Silver – Five by Five
A tasty win for Five by Five as it picked up some creative work for Arubial, a specialist in premium Australian Wagyu beef. Arubial briefed the agency to develop its brand platform and launch with a website and content management system. “The execution has been professional, and building our brand from scratch with such a collaborative team has been an immensely rewarding experience,” said Arubial’s comms and marketing manager, Claire Morgan.
Gold – Thinkerbell
Thinkerbell was named as Pringles’ local content and earned agency in December and announced the new win with some new work. Entitled “Shoot From The Chip”, the creative builds on Pringles’ collaboration with the Sydney Kings basketball team. For every Sydney Kings’ home game this season fans can head to www.pringles.com/shootfromthechip to play the interactive game, and use their baller knowledge slash intuition slash guessing acumen to win big, based on real-time in-game action.
