The UK-based audio equipment maker Bose recently consolidated its media agency business between Interpublic Group and WPP shops after a lengthy review, which began in the spring. The review, which was supported by the London-based search consultancy Ebiquity, saw the account being portioned between international, WPP owned incumbent MediaCom, and an Interpublic team made up of other incumbents Mediahub and the larger media agency Initiative. The Interpublic team will take care of media and direct response for the North American region, with MediaCom retaining its work in Europe and also adding Asia, North Africa and the Middle East to its plate.
Other agencies competing in the review included the Publicis Groupe's ZenithOptimedia and Omnicom's OMD, among other smaller shop
The move consolidates the media buying and planning business, which was previously handled by the existing incumbents and Omnicom, who handled direct response. Other agencies competing in the review included the Publicis Groupe's ZenithOptimedia and Omnicom's OMD, among other smaller shops. All agencies mentioned and Bose themselves have thus far declined to comment on the news. The most recent major Bose launch was the updated SoundTouch wireless streaming line, which debuted earlier this month.
Bose Headphones – Listen For Yourself
With a measured media spent in the US alone of $206 million last year, the account is a massive win for the shops, but that doesn't mean it'll be a cakewalk, with the environment more competitive than ever before thanks to the success of competing brands such as Beats, which was recently acquired by Apple. Experts have posited that the rise of the Beats brand has lifted the entire category, with the boldly designed, celebrity endorsed products pressuring other brands to stand out. Bose, however, wished to stand out in a different manner entirely, embodying its mantra “Better sound through research,” though a critically acclaimed sound that comes as an amalgamation of science and quality.
Bose recently extended a sponsorship deal with the NFL as its official headphone and headset brand, with the deal mandating that all NLF coaches be seen wearing Bose headphones
The brand was founded by MIT professor, Dr. Amar Bose, who died last summer at the age of 83. Dr. Bose made it his life's work to ignore the glitz and piffle of pop culture, instead focusing on audio fidelity and quality engineering. That being said, Bose recently extended a sponsorship deal with the NFL as its official headphone and headset brand, with the deal mandating that all NLF coaches be seen wearing Bose headphones. There is also a clause in the agreement that could see players fined $10,000 for wearing Beats headphones, so it's not like Bose are completely against playing the new boys at their own game.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK. He owns 2 pairs of Bose headphones, and can attest that they are so glorious they could even make Justin Bieber sound like Mozart. Probably.
