Bohemia has won the Lion account for media strategy, buying and optimisation across beers, wine and spirits - with Initiative and Mindshare losing out, AdNews understands.
An announcement from Lion with full details is expected imminently.
Bohemia, Initiative and Mindshare had been vying for the account after an initial list including MEC and Starcom was trimmed back last month.
Incumbent ZenithOptimedia was not involved in the pitch.
Lion's main media spend was some $54 million according to Nielsen estimates for calendar year 2013. However, that is across the full spectrum of products. The drinks business, though, is likely to make up the lion's share of the account.
The account is likely to be worth more as Nielsen data does not include elements such as search, social and online video.
Taking on an account of that size will likely require Bohemia to take on a significant number of staff.
Update: Lion has confirmed the win.
Lion's statement on appointing Bohemia:
Lion’s Beer, Spirits & Wine Australia business has announced that Bohemia will join its agency village roster following a competitive pitch.
At this stage, Bohemia will drive all media strategy, buying and optimisation for the majority of Lion’s leading local beer brands including XXXX, Tooheys, James Squire, Hahn and James Boag’s; international beers including Stella Artois, Corona, and Budweiser; as well as cider brands.
Matt Tapper, National Marketing Director, Lion Beer, Spirits & Wine Australia, said: “Over the past decade the scale and diversity of our portfolio of brands has grown immensely, and our focus is now firmly set on driving growth.”
“This is an exciting time for our marketing teams, and we were impressed with the strategic planning and data analytics displayed by Bohemia during the pitch process. We look forward to working with all of the team at Bohemia with a view to growing collectively.”
Brett Dawson, Founder and Managing Partner, Bohemia, said “This is a significant opportunity for Bohemia to grow together with a like-minded marketer. We are a young ambitious brand, challenging the media agency landscape on strategy, data and commercial fronts. Lion understand the potential of this new model and we are delighted to have won their trust. We look forward to a future of career defining work for the Lion, Bohemia and the agency village team.”
The appointment follows the mutual agreement by Lion Beer, Spirits & Wine Australia and Zenith Optimedia to part ways earlier this year, following a twelve year relationship which delivered some innovative and award-winning campaign work.
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