Publicis and its agencies have had a stellar time on the new business front over the last two months. Yes, that’s right—we’re giving you a double-bill of new business winners!
December is a quieter time for new business. We recorded 10 new account moves in the final month of the year, down a fair way over the normal 20+ switches we record in the course of a normal day.
January, meanwhile, was significantly busier—with some important switches happening globally and locally alike. Unlucky not to make the podums this time out were Jnr. for its Hume Bank win, Carat SA for its Journey Beyond win and Sparro by Brainlabs (which topped the annual New Business Winner rankings for indie media agencies) after it won Aurora Expeditions.
As a reminder, we can only report on account moves we know about. Email [email protected] if you want to let us know about a big piece of new business. We also typically preference new wins over renewals, which is why Cummins & Partners didn’t make the podium despite keeping hold of the hefty Stellantis account. But now, onto the podiums.
Check out the previous instalments of B&T’s New Business Winners.
Media Agencies
Bronze – Enigma
Taking home the Bronze medal this month is indie shop Enigma. The Newcastle-born agency won the Australian Pork media account from Slingshot in December.
Rob Farmer, Australian Pork’s suitably named CMO, thanked Slingshot for its eight-year partnership and welcomed Enigma. Justin Ladmore, chief media officer and partner at Enigma said he was “thrilled” to be handling the account.
“It’s a bold, creative brand with a clear ambition to make pork famous in Australian kitchens and we can’t wait to get started,” Ladmore said.
Silver – Atomic 212°
Atomic 212° can lay claim to the silver medal in this month’s New Business Winner double-bill after it retained the Origin Energy media account following a competitive pitch. And that’s a scoop you read first in B&T.
Origin Energy began reviewing its media buying requirements last year in a protracted process that lasted more than six months. Agencies that were shortlisted included Accenture Song and PHD.
B&T understands the remit includes media planning, strategy and buying across offline and digital media—which total somewhere around $15 million. Atomic won’t be looking after Origin’s search and social media, which is handled internally.
Gold – Publicis
Top of the pile this month is the Publicis Groupe after its massive Kenvue global win.
Kenvue appointed Publicis following a review that involved WPP and incumbents IPG and Omnicom in the midst of the acquisition. Media planning and buying was carried out by Interpublic globally with Publicis overseeing Asia-Pacific.
Now, Publicis holds the media, influencer, commerce, healthcare professional support and technology portions of the account, as well as creative and production for Neutrogena.
In a statement, Kenvue said: “This powerful combination gives Kenvue the strongest blend of enduring creativity and modern precision to elevate brand building. We are very grateful for the tremendous partnership of Mediasense who supported the review and deeply appreciative of all the exceptionally talented teams who participated in the pitch.”
Creative Agencies
Bronze – ATime&Place
ATime&Place drives off with the bronze this month after it was named the lead creative agency for off-road buggy giant Polaris.
ATime&Place will lead creative services across brand strategy, advertising, social and experiential activations, with work already underway. The agency’s co-founder and CEO Adrian Mills described it as a “privilege” to work on the account.
“Our vehicles are engineered to perform where the ground is unforgiving, the weather is unrelenting, and the stakes are real. In ATime&Place, we saw a partner with the clarity and creative capability to help express that leadership and continue pushing the brand forward,” said Michael Blundo, national marketing manager at Polaris Australia and New Zealand.
Silver – Thinkerbell
One tasty win from December was Thinkerbell taking the Retail Food Group’s full-service account, which covers brands Donut King, Crust Pizza, Brumby’s Bakery and Gloria Jean’s.
The partnership will include creative and media (across all types of media from paid to shared to owned to earned) designed to deliver brand building communications across all touch points.
“We were impressed by Thinkerbell’s strategic clarity and the way they balanced rigorous evidence with bold creativity,” said Tanya Watt, chief marketing officer at Retail Food Group
Thinkerbell North GM Phillippa Netolicky added: “Retail Food Group’s brands are part of everyday Aussie life – whether it’s a sweet treat, a pizza night, coffee ritual or grabbing a loaf of bread from Brumby’s. Through Measured Magic, we’ll create culturally relevant, behaviour-changing work that drives real commercial outcomes for each brand and the broader RFG portfolio.”
Gold – WPP
But taking creative gold was WPP after its agencies nabbed the creative work globally for Kenvue following that mega-review—it will now handle creative and production for all brands except Neutrogena.
Kenvue’s creative duties were previously handled by Interpublic’s FCB and Deutsch, Omnicom’s BBDO and Stagwell’s Doner.
With Kenvue spending $1.6 billion globally on advertising, it’s no small fry account. Its brands in Australia include Listerine, Neutrogena, Band-Aid, Johnson’s, Benadryl, Codral, Nicorette, Sudafed, Regain and Imodium.
