Kmart returns to Dentsu Creative after two years with DDB
Dentsu Creative and retailer Kmart have reunited following a competitive pitch, after the brand ended a long-term relationship with the agency in 2020, Mumbrella can reveal.
First winning the Melbourne-based account in 2011 when the agency was then known as BWM, it moved to DDB Melbourne in June 2020.
The brand confirmed to Mumbrella the move, bringing to an end the short-lived relationship with DDB, which included two Christmas campaigns.
Kmart opted to pitch the account this year, shortly after Rennie Freer joined the brand as its new GM of marketing in November last year.
“A huge thanks to the entire team at both Kmart and Dentsu. A great balance of insights, passion, collaboration, creativity and alignment on the brief to bring this campaign to life for our community and teams,” Freer told Mumbrella following a recent campaign.
Kirsty Muddle, CEO of Dentsu Creative ANZ told Mumbrella: “We are very proud to have collaborated with Kmart on their new brand celebration campaign. We’ve combined our knowledge of the brand and our love of their purpose to create a campaign that’s filled with joy and one that Australians and New Zealanders can join in and feel good about. “
Then-Kmart GM of marketing, Laurie Lai, said DDB was selected for the strength of its response to the brief two years ago.
“DDB was selected on the strength of a standout response to our brief, including its ability to capture the essence of the Kmart brand. Additionally, we believe they will be a strong, collaborative partner and are ready to hit the ground running,” Lai said
“The overall calibre of ideas and thinking presented during the process was world-class and we’d like to thank the other agencies involved for their time and creativity.”
DDB Melbourne recently won the global remit for Movember, as well as retaining its relationship with Coles, part of the new Smith Street setup.
It has been a busy year at Dentsu, which rebranded all of its creative and PR brands to a unified Dentsu Creative in June. In the past fortnight, creative team Avish Gordhan and Mandie van der Merwe were appointed as Dentsu Creative Australia’s first chief creative officers, with the agency then launching a new brand platform for Toyota’s car maintenance brand, Toyota Genuine Service.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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