AKQA to service Optus account from the US
Digital ad agency AKQA is not setting up an Australian office despite winning a spot on an expanded Optus roster.
While it is understood the WPP-owned agency has been looking at opportunities in Australia for some time, it has confirmed to Mumbrella it will use its San Francisco office for work for the telco.
It is understood AKQA will be doing project work for Optus after landing a place on the roster alongside M&C Saatchi, With Collective, Emotive, The Works, RE and surprise pick Big Red.
Mumbrella revealed the agency, which is famous for its ground-breaking digital campaigns for the likes of Nike, Rolls Royce and Verizon, was pitching for the Optus business in August at the same time as managing director of its San Francisco office Simon Jefferson was in Sydney for the ADMA Global Forum.
It is unclear whether the agency will be looking at other opportunities in the market, or whether it plans to open an office locally in the future.
Rivals R/GA moved to open a Sydney office after winning a spot on the Qantas roster in 2012, and has since expanded to take work for the likes of Red Bull and Telstra.
Alex Hayes
The article didn’t mention that DT digital Sydney was removed from the roster as part of the pitch process
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Hi Michael, that’s correct. Though we continue to work with Optus’ online team outside brand marketing.
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I feel sorry for anyone working on this. Dealing with an OS digital agency is such a pain in the arse, The foriegn agency will likely have no idea about australian digital media assets. Handling specs, revisions etc is painful, turnarounds are long. All meetings have to be done first thing in the morning Tuesday – Friday only.
Good luck with that.Optus
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It will be a big loss for DT too. Optus alongside Tourism Australia was a big account for the Sydney office.
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Pretty sure DT still have Tourism Australia @Yup
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Well this is an awesome idea… Not.
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