Pitch Watch: Diageo finalises media; Chatime taps independent for global brief; Cerebral Palsy Alliance books event comms
Mumbrella casts an eye over the major media, creative and public relations pitches at play in market.
In today’s wrap up: Diageo finalises media after global review; Chatime’s new global agency; Cerebral Palsy Alliance names PR agency.
Diageo keeps media status quo locally
After a global review Diageo has decided against changing media agencies in Australia, retaining Leo Burnett to head strategy with media buying through sister Publicis agency Mediavest.
The global review, which emerged in May, has seen Dentsu Aegis take much of the alcohol giant’s global business in places like North America, Europe, Latin America and South East Asia, with Mindshare picking up India and South Africa, according to AdAge.
The local arrangements were put in place in 2014 with Diageo ending its longstanding relationship with Ikon with the company handing the media element of the account to its creative agency Leo Burnett Sydney.
Under that arrangement Leos will continue to handle the media strategy for the brand under its Connect model, while buying will be done by sister agency Mediavest.
Locally, Diageo’s brands include Smirnoff, Bundaberg Rum and Captain Morgan rum.
Bubble tea giant Chatime aims to be ‘Starbucks of the East’ after hiring new agency
Taiwanese tea chain Chatime has hired Melbourne independent Sphere Agency to reposition the brand as it attempts to broaden its appeal to a Western audience.
The agency, owned by La Kaffa International, has created its first ad for the brand with a Kim Jong Un-like dictator whose appetite for new pleasures can only be satisfied by a Chatime beverage.
The global chairman of La Kaffa, Henry Wang, said that after a period of growth for Chatime across the region, the brand has the potential to emulate the success of Starbucks.
“Chatime has enjoyed an excellent period of growth across Asia and the Pacific, and we have exciting plans to expand our reach into new markets and make Chatime a truly international drink,” he said.
“We believe that Chatime can be for the East what Starbucks has been to the West, and Sphere’s experience in building food and hospitality franchises will play a pivotal role in taking us to that next level.”
The boss of The Sphere Agency, Michael Abdel, commented: “We couldn’t be prouder to see our work hitting the world stage. Chatime is the world’s leading bubble tea brand and the task of introducing the product to a whole new audience during this exciting period is a challenge we’ll relish.”
Sphere’s debut for Chatime came out in April of this year.
History Will Be Kind wins Steptember charity challenge
Integrated communications agency History Will Be Kind has started a new relationship with Steptember, aimed at building participation and fundraising figures for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance’s annual charity challenge.
Steptember involves taking 10,000 steps (or equivalent activity) a day in September – a total of 280,000 from 1-28 September. The campaign helps Australians improve their health and well-being with friends and families while raising vital funds to support people living with cerebral palsy.
HWBK is providing integrated communications strategy support with activity spanning traditional PR and social media plus digital content production.
Emma-Jane Granleese, managing partner of HWBK, said: “The organisation has done phenomenal work to help those living with cerebral palsy, which I have witnessed first-hand. Steptember is in its sixth year in Australia and, with our support, it’s set to raise $5 million and engage more than 55,000 participants and 200 organisations.”
“Steptember has a smart and passionate in-house team and partnering with them is a great opportunity to do something special.”
Kate Van Der Peer, global manager at Steptember, said: “HWBK is hardworking and agile with an excellent reputation in the market. Steptember has seen a steady increase in participation throughout the years, but now we are poised and ready to take it to the next level.”
The latest client win comes off the back of other recent new business partnerships including Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, part of Merlin Entertainments Group.
topics
cerebral palsy alliance
Chatime
Diageo
History Will Be Kind
Leo Burnett
Media
Mediavest
pitch watch
Sphere agency
