Nandos and Chris’ Foods appoint BWM Dentsu to creative accounts
BWM Dentsu has won the creative accounts for fast-food chain Nando’s and FMCG brand Chris’ Foods, Mumbrella can reveal.
Mumbrella understands Nando’s and incumbent agency Banjo Advertising mutually decided to part ways.
Nando’s kicked off its creative pitch in February
Andrew Varasdi, managing partner at Banjo, said it was always difficult to part ways with a client.
“We leave Nando’s in a strong position having developed some key campaigns that we know will continue to deliver great results. We are proud of the work we have produced and its contribution to the growth of Nando’s in Australia. It’s always disappointing to part ways with a client that you have put so much effort into and have always presented the work and thinking that we believe will drive sales and growth,” Varasdi said in a statement to Mumbrella.
Since 2011 Nando’s had worked with The Sphere Agency and Banjo Advertising.
Nandos pitched its creative account in February this year.
Helen Reece, marketing director at Nando’s Australia thanked the Banjo team for their work.
“Banjo are brilliant storytellers. Throughout our time working together they have played a significant role in helping build the Nando’s brand in Australia. We wish Andrew, Ben and the team at Banjo continued success,” Reece said.
She is, however, looking to the future with BWM Dentsu.
“As a leading Australian fast casual dining restaurant, Nando’s is a unique brand, challenged with connecting our stories and messages with our consumers. We are really excited to be working with the team at BWM Dentsu, a creative agency well known for transforming touch points into unique brand experiences.
Belinda Murry, managing director at BWM Dentsu Melbourne, added: “BWM Dentsu are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Nando’s and using our expertise to build on the already strong Nando’s brand. We intend to create a truly distinctive brand position in Australia, and a unique brand experience that everyone, from staff to customers, can get behind.
“We are really enjoying working together with Nando’s applying a bespoke offering that harnesses the full power of BWM Dentsu capabilities including, brand experience, client experience, CX and UX, social, content, experience design and PR to help Nando’s transform their brand and their business.”
In March, Nando’s had one of its ads banned for being “misleading” for giving customers the impression they could receive a free lunch in-store between 11am and 2pm, when there were hidden terms and conditions.
The BWM Dentsu appointment to Chris’ Foods will see BWM Dentsu handle all the creative for all of the brand’s products, including its desserts, dips, yoghurt, crackers and snacks.
Amanda Habben, chief marketing officer at Chris’ Foods, said the brand could only fulfil its brand objectives by partnering with the right agency.
“Chris’ Foods has been a family-run business dedicated to providing Australians with food that is fresh, wholesome and full of flavour, for over 35 years. We know that to keep our position as a leading FMCG company, we need to disrupt the dips, desserts and yoghurt categories, a clear brand objective BWM Dentsu have embraced. We can only fulfil our ambition by partnering with the brand experience experts and we were instantly impressed with their collaborative creative process and lateral thinking. We are very excited to be working with the brilliant team at BWM Dentsu and Vizeum,” she said.
Murray added: “BWM Dentsu are delighted to be working with Chris’ Foods. They have fantastic ambitions to disrupt the dips, desserts and yoghurt categories through a unique brand experience approach and, given our strong skillset in this area and success in building brands for long-term success, it feels like the perfect partnership. We look forward to seeing this come to life in the coming months.”
The new appointments come days after it was revealed that BWM Dentsu’s Melbourne’s executive planning director Catherine Heath was departing.
Abigail Dawson was Mumbrella's senior content journalist covering event content. She left Mumbrella to move into an agency role in 2020.
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