AUCKLAND, Thursday: Lion has awarded its megamillion-dollar media account to MediaCom, after a pitch between MBM, Starcom, and Zenith (all Publicis agencies), according to a Damien Venuto report in the NZ Herald Premium section (scroll down for the link).
The long-time incumbent on the media side of the business was Zenith. The pitch did not involve the creative side of the business, which remains with DDB.
Lion marketing boss Rachel Ellerm declined to comment to the reporter – as did MediaCom.
Venuto wrote: “Industry sources who spoke to the Herald during the pitch strongly suggested that MediaCom was the dark horse among the agencies involved.
“It’s been a great run with Lion and we thank them for their partnership over the last 12 years.”
“Lion spent around $20 million on advertising between August 2018 and July 2019, making it arguably the most coveted alcohol account in the country and a significant loss for any agency.”
Zenith MD Stuart Rutherford told Venuto he is really proud of what the agency achieved while working on the Lion account.
“It’s been a great run with Lion and we thank them for their partnership over the last 12 years,” he said.
Rutherford confirmed there would be changes at the agency, but would not provide details on the number of job cuts the loss of Lion would entail.
“Off the back Zenith’s recent new business wins of Kellogg’s and Disney, organic growth on existing clients and other new business across [Publicis] Groupe, team changes will be minimal,” he said.
- Full story here
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