News Corp media review: UM wins News Limited, MediaCom takes Foxtel and ZO retains 20th Century Fox
News Corporation has revealed the winners of its $100m media review, with UM taking on the News Limited account, MediaCom winning Foxtel and Zenith Optimedia retaining the 20th Century Fox business.
The announcement from News Corp:
The chief executive of News Limited, Kim Williams, today announced that the company and its sister organisations have appointed their new media agencies.
The new agency line-up is –
- News Limited – MediaBrands / UM
- Foxtel – Group M / MediaCom
- Twentieth Century Fox – ZenithOptimedia
Mr Williams said: “Today’s announcement is another important step in the evolution of News Corp’s Australian businesses as we redefine the group.
“As we all focus on putting our customers at the centre of everything we do, it is imperative that we go to market with detailed, data-driven, insights – which respond well to expressed needs and consumption preferences.
“UM, MediaCom and ZenithOptimedia are all superb media agencies. Each brought to the table their own particular strengths, which will make them ideal partners for our companies.
“The calibre of presentation from all the agencies we saw was very high and it was a tough decision – we would like to thank all the participating agencies for the time and effort that went into their pitches. We would also like to thank ZenithOptimedia for its efforts on News Limited’s, Foxtel’s and Twentieth Century Fox’s behalf over the last seven years.”
News Limited
Mr Williams said: “During the pitch process it became clear that MediaBrands has a deep understanding of News Limited and the many opportunities for us to grow our business. UM’s commitment to innovation and their in-house analytical capabilities will be invaluable as we re-engineer News and our brands for all the platforms our consumers love – print, online, mobile, tablet and broadcast.”
The executive chairman of MediaBrands, Henry Tajer, said “We are thrilled to be working with Australia’s largest media company, which houses some of the greatest brands in the country. Kim and his team have a bold strategy for growth and to be given the account as they transform News Limited is a real honour.”
Foxtel
Foxtel chief executive Richard Freudenstein said: “We are delighted to welcome MediaCom as our new national media agency. The quality and depth of their team will greatly enhance Foxtel’s capacity to tell its story of delivering a better entertainment experience.”
Group M’s chairman and chief executive John Steedman said: “Having been given insight into Richard’s vision for Foxtel and some of the exciting brand and product developments ahead, there is no doubt that this is going to be a fantastic account for the MediaCom team to work on.”
Twentieth Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox managing director Marc Wooldridge said “ZenithOptmedia put forward a compelling pitch demonstrating strategic planning excellence and focus on consumer insights with clear commercial application. ZO have a great track record on our business, and during the pitch process demonstrated first class capabilities for adding value in an increasingly fragmented and complex media environment.”
The chief executive of ZenithOptimedia, Ian Perrin, said “”ZenithOptimedia is absolutely thrilled to be appointed as the media agency for Twentieth Century Fox. We are wholly committed to delivering ROI for our clients, and we couldn’t find a partner who shares this commitment more. We look forward to building on the group partnership started by Publicis Media, and deliver innovative and effective solutions for them.”
News is expecting to complete its review of its master media brands account in the next few weeks.
More to follow
Challenges for each
UM – stop the bleed, help reposition the print assets (strategy lead)
Mediacom – keep Foxtel from going backwards, manage acquisition targets (data focus)
Opti – continue great work with 20th century business, thorough understanding of theatrical biz (great execution/partnerships)
Also spreads NWS business across 3 holding companies – ensuring good support from all 3 for NWS sales dept.
User ID not verified.
Classic.
Spreading across 3/5 big holding companies is crucial here.
Will be interesting to see if investment in ads in News Ltd newspapers by Omnicom/Aegis agencies declines now relative to that by appointed GroupM/Interpublic/Publicis agencies.
User ID not verified.
Dear Clients, Look to the left hand side of the media plan ask about that before questioning those bighty number thingies on the right hand side…
User ID not verified.
Surely other clients of these agencies are now aware that their share of spend on news limited media platforms just went up a few points….. I certainly hope they are asking the question and tracking it through next year … Hamish certainly got what he set out to achieve
User ID not verified.