News review August 2013

Myer’s pitch

Incumbent Ogilvy is given a nasty shock as Myer calls a creative pitch two years early, despite extending its deal with the agency at the end of last year. However, Ikon is celebrating after retaining the lucrative media account, its biggest Melbourne client.

Harold Mitchell retires

The biggest figure in Australian media buying, Harold Mitchell, bows out of the industry after a dazzling career with the merger of Dentsu and Aegis Media finally ratified. He soon after becomes chairman of Free TV, and is tipped to open a new agency offering with son Stuart.

Williams makes News

News Corp CEO Kim Williams abruptly departs the post, with Rupert Murdoch ally Julian Clarke named his successor. The move triggers a clean-out of many of the top ranking News officials, with Murdoch later criticising “damage by ignorant consultants” on Twitter.

EMMA debuts

The anticipated launch of the Newspaper Works sponsored readership metric EMMA shows massively different numbers to rival Roy Morgan. However, senior media buyers say the metric, backed by the major publishers, will struggle to get a foothold in the market unless it discounts prices heavily.

NSW switches 

UM takes the NSW Government media buying account from fierce rivals MediaCom after a lengthy pitch process, although the GroupM agency retains planning duties alongside Match Media and Optimum Media Direction, while Zenith Optimedia wins the classifieds account.

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