Cheil UK – Absolut Vodka
Absolut, Pernod Ricard’s leading brand of premium vodka, has handed Cheil UK a global off-trade retail design brief to focus on ensuring a globally consistent in-store brand identity. The agency secured the work after a competitive pitch against agencies, Prophet and Attention Group. Cheil will lead the relationship from London, with a mandate to create a range of off-trade assets aimed at maximising brand presence in retail environments globally. Further details of the work are currently under wraps, but the first activity is due to kick off in late-Spring 2015.
Absolut Vodka has handed Cheil UK a global off-trade retail design brief
Johan Holm, global marketing manager of off-trade at Absolut, said: “Besides showcasing a clear understanding of the brand, our challenges and a very adoptable concept, we believe Cheil is the perfect fit for us in marrying retail with digital and will bring the unexpected into the spirits section in stores across the world.” Simon Hathaway, global head of retail experience at Cheil, added: “With Absolut we have chance to try something new in the spirits category. Our challenge is to harness Absolut’s brand identity and ensure its products grab the attention of shoppers at the most critical stage of the purchase; at shelf. There is great value in the Absolut brand and we plan to capitalise on this asset.”
JWT Korea – PAYCO
NHN Entertainment has appointed J. Walter Thompson Korea as Agency of Record for the company’s new mobile payment services brand, PAYCO. NHN Entertainment, one of South Korea’s largest online and mobile gaming publisher, is expanding quickly into the e-commerce and payments sector, with the company taking stakes in seven e- commerce and payment solution providers in Korea and abroad last year. PAYCO allows users to make online payments with their smart phones simply by typing in a pin code, and will launch in the second half of 2015. JWT, which won the pitch against three large, domestic agencies, will handle both creative and media duties for the account and will create a national campaign for the PAYCO mobile payments brand, spanning print, TVC and digital, to launch this summer. Junghwan Kim, managing director of JWT Korea, said: “We are very thrilled to have this company as our client. PAYCO is an exciting brand with real vision, and the financial-tech service business has so much potential. It’s a great space to be in right now.”
Mediacom – Subway
Following a comprehensive four month review, Subway has selected MediaCom to handle its media planning and buying account in Asia. The fact that MediaCom already represents the fast-food brand in the US, UK and Ireland undoubtedly played a factor in the decision. This represents a major win for the agency in the region, impacting 10 of their markets and representing $30 million of media investment. The agency pitched against IPG MediaBrands and a selection of smaller houses, with the agencies evaluated on their strategic thinking, experience, resources, tools and systems on both a market-by-market and regional level.
Subway has selected MediaCom to handle its media planning and buying account in Asia
Missy Devlin, Subway marketing director for Asia said: “MediaCom demonstrated a clear point of view on the role of communications for Subway, not only now but moving forward into the future. Throughout the entire process they were the most consistently performing agency across all markets.” Darragh Hardy, chief business development officer for MediaCom APAC, added: “We are delighted to have won the business and are excited to welcome Subway into our fold here in Asia. We hope that we will be able to take Subway’s business to new heights by helping them make meaningful connections with the next generation of consumers”
Match Media – Ardent Leisure
Match Media has been appointed to handle the Ardent Leisure Group, an international owner and operator of premium leisure and entertainment assets including theme parks (Dreamworld, SkyPoint Observation Deck, SkyPoint Climb and WhiteWater World), health and fitness centres (Goodlife Health Clubs and Hypoxi Body Contouring), and a growing portfolio of family entertainment centres in the US. John Preston, Founder & CEO of Match Media, said: “We are delighted to partner with Ardent Leisure. Each business unit is at an exciting stage of development and we are really looking forward to contributing to their future growth through our media smarts and digital and analytics capability.” Ardent Leisure CEO Deborah Thomas added: “The review was conducted to identify a media agency that was well equipped for the digital future and offer a high level of analytics to contribute to our business intelligence. Match impressed us in these areas, as well as offering Ardent an innovative and integrated customer engagement strategy and media solutions under one roof.”
303Lowe – P&N Bank
Western Australia’s P&N Bank has appointed full service agency 303Lowe to its creative and digital advertising accounts after a major competitive pitch following a major internal brand strategy review. P&N Bank is Western Australia’s largest locally owned and operated bank and was ranked ‘Bank of The Year’ in the 2014 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards. 303Lowe will be responsible for driving a new brand strategy as the bank looks to take on the bigger financial institutions and provide genuine competition within the Australian banking sector. 303Lowe will replace P&N’s incumbent agencies The Brand Agency and Meerkats. The appointment is effective from May 2015.
P&N Bank has appointed 303Lowe to its creative and digital advertising accounts
P&N senior manager marketing Anna Pearce, said: “With the new strategy in development, it was logical to put our account out to pitch, to test the market and ensure we have the right strategic partner. At the end of the strategic and creative pitching process, 303Lowe were judged to have hit the mark in terms of their strategic thinking, brand planning and creative capability in both offline and online channels. We believe that 303Lowe illustrated a strong understanding of the strategic direction that we want to pursue as a customer-owned bank.” 303Lowe group managing director Al Taylor, added: “P&N Bank is a great business that has a genuine appetite to do interesting and category-challenging work. We are really excited to begin working with the team at P&N as they embark on a bold new strategic direction. They’re a great team who, from the outset, we really wanted to work with and who, I think, saw our passion as authentic.”
Holler – Panache
Panache, the British lingerie and swimwear brand, has hired Holler to handle its global online advertising business following a pitch. Holler, part of the Leo Burnett Group, competed against several undisclosed agencies to win the business in a pitch process run directly by the client. Holler will now create the first ever brand campaign for Panache, which will run globally to drive awareness and consideration of Panache and recruit new consumers to the brand. Holler’s campaign for the brand will include a film as part of a wider content strategy, and will break globally in May this year. Jennie Bianco, head of marketing at Panache, said: “Holler demonstrated a deep understanding of our brand values and their passion and vision for this campaign was genuinely inspirational. We cannot wait to see it all come to life.” Paolo Nieddu, Holler manager partner, added: “Our core campaign idea is based on a powerful female insight that we believe has the potential to spark a genuine cultural movement whilst disrupting the well-worn clichés of the category.”
