Woolies appoints M&C Saatchi to paid social creative and production as it continues marketing shake-up
M&C Saatchi has been appointed as Woolworths as its paid social creative and production agency, following a competitive review.
The news comes after a busy two months in the supermarket sector, which included Woolworths group appointing Hogarth as its production partner earlier this month.
M&C Saatchi taking up further space in Woolies’ marketing basket
Woolies said M&C Saatchi will play a key role in “defining the overall strategic direction of the Supermarkets customer experience across its social media channels”, which in turn expands on the relationship between the agency group and retailer.
The appointment came after a three-stage RFP process, concluding last month, Woolworths noted.
Cassie Wheeler, Woolworths head of marketing communications said: “Our needs in social media have evolved, particularly the last few years during the pandemic, and our ambition is to accelerate brand growth through outstanding social content to connect with our customers.
“With the right blend of proven experience in Paid Social and their role in integrated platforms and campaigns, we’re very excited to further collaborate with M&C Saatchi on future projects.”
Sian Cook, M&C Saatchi managing director locally said: “As social continues to play an ever important role in brand experiences for customers, we’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Woolworths. We look forward to integrating our social capability into our connected Woolworths team under our bespoke agency model.”
M&C Saatchi is in the midst of a takeover bid from its deputy chair, and biggest shareholder, Vin Murria. At the end of March, the deadline for the “put up or shut up” offer was extended by one month in London. The deadline was pushed to 5PM on 28 April, which will have expired overnight here in Australia.
This morning, the ‘Put up or Shut Up’ deadline was once again extended to 10 May, with M&C Saatchi telling Muria and her investment firm to make a stronger offer, or walk away from the deal.
This marked the fourth extension on the deadline, with the first approach by Murria, a tech entrepreneur occurring in January this year. Murria’s stake in the advertising business represents 12.5% overall, with AdvancedAdvT, her tech investment firm, also holding a 9.8% share. Murria’s current stakes in the business value the business in total at an estimated £250 million ($439m).
Mumbrella has approached M&C Saatchi Group regarding an update on the process.
Woolies’ bespoke model, ‘Greenhouse’ was established six years ago with M&C Saatchi as a founding partner, working with a collection of other agencies to power Woolworths’ marketing capabilities.
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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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