Tourism Australia set to part ways with OMD and name UM as its media agency
Media agency OMD has lost the high profile media account for Tourism Australia, with the government body set to hand the account to UM, Mumbrella can reveal.
It is understood OMD and Mindshare have been told they are out of the process with the tourism body set to move the prestigious account to UM, after a process which saw teams present to a panel of TA executives in different countries around the world.
An official announcement is expected next week. Tourism Australia has been approached for comment while OMD, Mindshare and UM all declined to comment.
While TA has a minimal spend in this market the account is seen as highly prestigious and creates work in numerous overseas markets, in particular China, the US and UK, with the agency’s media spend over five years around $200-$250m.
The win will give some comfort to UM after its biggest client Coles moved its media account to OMD earlier this month.
The pitch was called as part of government procurement processes, with OMD having held the contract for the maximum amount of time allowed after winning it from Carat in 2011.
Mumbrella revealed earlier this year that OMD was facing off against Mindshare, UM and Carat in what is one of the biggest media pitches of 2016. It is understood that the final shortlist saw OMD up against UM and GroupM agency Mindshare.
The new contract will be for an initial period of three years, with the option of two one-year extensions.
The tender process had two phases: an initial Expression of Interest (EOI) process, and then Request for Tender (RFT) for those shortlisted after the first phase who were then required to pitch across multiple international markets. In an unusual move financial auditing firm EY ran the process for the media pitch.
At the start of the year Tourism Australia rolled out a new ad campaign focussed on ‘how it feels’ to be in Australia, voiced by actor Chris Hemsworth, as part of its current push around Australia’s aquatic attractions.
The agency was also one of the first Australian clients to dive into virtual reality, which chief marketing officer Lisa Ronson said had created 64% higher engagement.
