RKCR/Y&R – Premier League
The Premier League has appointed Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R as its first advertising agency of record. The WPP agency will begin working on the advertising, digital and social media account immediately. RKCR/Y&R won the pitch after going up against Adam & Eve/DDB in the final round. M&C Saatchi took part at an earlier stage in the process, which was handled by Robin Consulting. For the first time since its inaugural 1992-93 season, the Premier League will operate without a corporate sponsor from the end of the current campaign. The football competition revealed a new corporate brand identity earlier this month, which it hopes to build into an internationally recognised brand similar to the NFL or NBA. Barclays, which has been the sponsor since 2004, did not renew its deal for the upcoming season and the Premier League failed to find a replacement after reportedly asking for £60 million a year.
Partners Andrews Aldridge – B&Q
Partners Andrews Aldridge has been appointed by B&Q to work on its customer strategy, with the agency appointed after initially working with the retailer on a strategic review of its CRM activity. There was no previous incumbent on the account. Partners will now be responsible for providing B&Q with strategic support to transform the brand’s end-to-end customer experience. It will offer crucial data insight and help develop more connected and intuitive customer journeys. A key part of this will be the enhancement of ‘B&Q Club’, the brand’s loyalty programme, which offers customers a range of rewards, benefits, and exclusive help and advice tailored to product purchases. Partners will work closely with Engine sister agency WCRS on the B&Q business. WCRS was appointed as B&Q’s advertising agency of record in January 2014.
“We’re thrilled to be working with such a vibrant and prestigious brand, providing support to tackle some new and exciting customer challenges” Mark Davison, Managing Partner of Partners Andrews Aldridge
Fold7 – Nabs
Advertising and media industry charity Nabs, has nabbed (pardon the pun) Fold7 as its integrated shop after a review undertaken with the help of AAR, as the organisation moves to expand its services and develop its strategy. The charity had chemistry meetings with four agencies and hired Fold7 without going forward for a pitch. Fold7 will work on insight, brand and PR activity for the charity, which was founded in 1913, and provides advice, coaching, financial assistance and career guidance to the ad industry.
“Fold7 were the standout due to their progressive and modern approach to communications. We are confident they will help us to strengthen and amplify our cause for the benefit of this vibrant industry” Diana Tickell, Nabs CEO
Publicis Worldwide – Fairy
P&G has consolidated the advertising for its ‘Dish’ brands with Publicis Worldwide, handing it an account that spans 32-countries and six regions. Publicis will handle the advertising for the Yes, Joy, Salvo, Ayudin, Magistral, Dreft and Jar brand, each of which fall under the dishwasher and washing-up liquid categories. The win also includes the advertising for Fairy, which was primed to move from WPP's Grey to Publicis following a procurement, rather than a creative led pitch. It comes as part of a drive by P&G to cut at least $500 million in agency fees over two years. As of July last year P&G had cut the number of agencies it works with by 40 per cent, saving the company $370m in agency related costs in 2015 and expected saving for 2016 of around $200m.
Publicis Capital India – Intex
Indian mobile handset brand Intex Technologies has appointed Publicis Capital India to build the brand identity of Gujarat Lions; its first foray into cricket’s biggest extravaganza; the Indian Premier League. Intex bid successfully for the Rajkot Franchise earlier this year and christened its new team Gujarat Lions.
“We look forward to helping Gujarat Lions create a unique identity for itself in the star studded IPL galaxy” Hemant Misra, CEO Publicis Capital India
VCCP Blue – Molson Coors
Molson Coors is consolidating its Cobra and Staropramen brands into VCCP Blue, who picked up the business without a pitch. Karmarama was the incumbent on Cobra, having won the account in 2013. The following year, Karmarama created a TV spot that featured an enigmatic spokesman called The Boss. It aimed to ditch the brand’s reputation as a beer that people only drink with a curry. Karmarama is still working on a campaign for Cobra that will be released later this year. VCCP already handles two Molson Coors brands. It has overseen the creative business for Grolsch since 2014 and for Coors Light since 2011. The consolidation is part of a restructuring at Molson Coors that follows a decline in profits at the company. Molson Coors has used ZenithOptimedia for its UK media since 2009. The Publicis Groupe shop retained the £15 million account in 2014.
Anomaly London – Top Gear
Anomaly London has won the highly coveted brief to create a global campaign ahead of the new series of Top Gear. The BBC appointed Anomaly London after a competitive pitch that took place at the end of 2015, and the agency now has the enviable task of creating a global integrated campaign to promote the show ahead of its return in the summer with new hosts Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc. Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond hosted the show until 2015 when Clarkson was sacked for attacking a producer over an alleged dinner dispute.
“Anomaly exists to tackle big business challenges. Top Gear is one of the planet's most loved shows, and it has history, so helping re-launch it is a task we're relishing” Stuart Smith, CSO & Partner at Anomaly
Lowe Lintas Delhi – Vivo Mobile India
Having won the rights to partner the Indian Premier League (IPL) for 2016 & 2017 as Title Sponsor, Vivo Mobiles, the third largest mobile handset manufacturer in China, has appointed Lowe Lintas Delhi as its creative partner. The agency is tasked with the communication mandate for the smartphone major during the IPL season this year. Vivo Mobile India would be using the opportunity to launch a host of new smartphones around the IPL.
“We are confident that we will be able to create cut-through work to firmly entrench this brand in an incredibly competitive landscape of mobile handsets” Naveen Gaur, President at Lowe Lintas Delhi
JWT Melbourne – Jetstar
Jetstar has appointed J. Walter Thompson Melbourne as its Australian creative agency partner, after a competitive pitch process that commenced last October. The win caps off a stellar 12 months for J. Walter Thompson Melbourne, during which it secured multiple high profile new clients, transformed its in-house capabilities and more than doubled in size. Jetstar Chief Commercial Officer, Catriona Larritt, said that after 11 years with Big Red, the airline commenced its first ever creative agency review last year. They met with a number of agencies, but in JWT they saw an opportunity to stretch the brand, whilst building on their foundations.
“We’re thrilled to be Jetstar’s new lead creative agency and enjoyed what was an extremely well managed pitch process” J. Walter Thompson Melbourne’s MD, Michael Godwin
Leo Burnett Malaysia – Coway
Leo Burnett Group Malaysia recently added Coway Malaysia to its growing list of clientele as the water filtration brand appoints the Group as its advertising and communications agency. In its new role, Leo Burnett Group Malaysia will take on a 360° approach, delivering advertising, social, digital and public relations solutions. The Group underwent an over 2-month long selection process to eventually win the account. The collaboration was recently kickstarted with a jubilant Chinese New Year campaign that saw Leo Burnett Group Malaysia building brand awareness via TV commercials, radio spots and event sponsorship. Digitally, campaigns were rolled out on YouTube and Facebook, with the latter surpassing its number of planned views by 1,357%.
