Ongoing
Purplebricks has been holding media pitches this week, with two agencies expected to enter a final shootout round later this month. Wavemaker is the incumbent defending the account, while the7stars, Goodstuff Communications and Manning Gottlieb OMD are the challengers.
Ovo Energy will hold chemistry meetings for prospective media shops in the week commencing 22 March. The brand is reviewing both its creative and media accounts, held by 20something and The Specialist Works respectively. AAR is assisting.
Freesat will entertain pitches from media agencies next week as part of its ongoing creative and media review. Mr President, Roast and Electric Glue are the incumbents, but none of them is repitching. AAR is managing the process.
Reviews
Pernod Ricard has put its £10m UK and Ireland media account into review. Prospective agencies have been invited to tender, and pitch meetings are set to take place in May. Havas Media, the six-year incumbent, has been invited to defend the business. Pernod Ricard confirmed it hopes to appoint the successful agency by June, before the company's new fiscal year begins in July. The process is being managed by Abintus Consulting.
Wins
Mediahub has been appointed by New Balance as the sports footwear and apparel brand’s full-service media agency across a range of European markets, including the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Scandinavia and Benelux, following a competitive pitch.
The move is part of a drive by New Balance to consolidate its marketing suppliers, grow brand penetration and scale its D2C offering. It is the first time the brand has appointed a dedicated European media agency of record. The incumbents included MediaCom, which previously handled UK media for the brand.
Tom Henshaw, European marketing director at New Balance, said Mediahub “have shown a strong understanding of our brand, consumer and vision for European marketing, and complement our culture very well”.
Carpet and flooring company Tapi has appointed Creature to its creative account following a five-way pitch. Creature will be responsible for delivering an integrated communication strategy and big creative brand-building idea that will aim to cement Tapi’s position in the sector. Tapi has previously worked with BMB.
Johanna Constantinou, brand and communication director at Tapi, said: “We are the best-rated carpet retail store on Trustpilot and have led the way in delivering innovative solutions so our customers can shop from home, in store or online, especially during lockdown. But we remain the sector’s best-kept secret and now is the time for that to change. During the pitch process, it became clear that Creature possess the creativity, strategic intelligence and the nuanced understanding of our business to help us do just that.”
Energy company SSE Energy Services has appointed Lucky Generals as its creative partner following a competitive process. The agency picked up the business after the chemistry meetings. The brand has worked with Adam & Eve/DDB in the past.
Red Brick Road has been appointed by food company Samworth Brothers as lead strategy and creative agency for West Cornwall Pasty Co and sandwich brand Urban Eat. The appointment follows a competitive pitch process managed in-house by marketing director Katy Holder. Red Brick Road will be creating multichannel creative platforms and developing new social strategies for the brands. There is no incumbent; West Cornwall Pasty Co most recently worked with Baby Grand in 2013.
Software company ZupaTech has appointed Forever Beta as its creative agency partner following a competitive pitch. Its initial focus will be the launch of ZupaTech’s enterprise-level business operating platform ZupaBiz, which is currently in final testing ahead of trialling with current clients and suppliers in March. There was no incumbent on the account.
Video conferencing platform Whereby has appointed the7stars without a pitch to handle its UK media account. There was no incumbent.
Accsys, the producer of Accoya wood, has appointed Yonder Media as its global audience experience and media planning and buying agency, following a competitive pitch. There was no incumbent.
Just Eat Takeaway.com has retained McCann Worldgroup on its expanded global creative account following a pitch against Adam & Eve/DDB, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and TBWA\London assisted by AAR. McCann London won Just Eat's global advertising in 2018. It will now work with its counterparts in Australia, Canada and Amsterdam on the business.
Moneysupermarket.com has appointed New Commercial Arts to its advertising account. NCA beat Lucky Generals to the business, and succeeds Engine, which won the account in 2018.
Tea brand Tetley has appointed Neverland as its creative agency after a pitch against M&C Saatchi, VCCP and Wonderhood Studios. The process, assisted by AAR, followed Tetley parting ways with Spark44.
St Luke's has been appointed by luxury desserts brand Gü as its creative agency, following a remotely held pitch against Uncommon Creative Studio, Isobel and Lucky Generals. The shortlist was drawn up by The Observatory International, and the review was handled by Gü's marketing department, led by Amy Heap.
