Aegis-owned media agency Vizeum has expanded into Melbourne only months after its Sydney relaunch, taking staff and clients including BMW and Heinz from Mitchell & Partners and Emitch.
AdNews understands clients including BMW, Mini, Heinz, Golden Circle, AB Foods and property brands Quest and Henley have moved over from Mitchells and Emitch to the new Melbourne office. In addition, 30 staff have moved over to the new office.
The Melbourne operation will be headed by Mitchells group account director Travis Day. Aegis Media's national digital strategy leader and head of retail strategy at Emitch, David Campbell, has been appointed as head of strategy.
Day will report to Aegis Media managing director of media Paul Davey. Aegis Group's chief commercial officer Kristian Barnes will oversee commercial strategy and development of Vizeum for Aegis Media Pacific.
Aegis chief executive Luke Littlefield said: “Our goal of growing Vizeum to be one of the leading media agency brands in the region takes an important step with the Melbourne office launch. Vizeum’s national footprint is now some $100 million in billings, with around 35 clients and upwards of 55 staff.
“The extension of the Vizeum brand is about being able to provide Aegis Media clients with the agency brand that best complements their individual requirements. The foundation clients in Melbourne align with the values of Vizeum, with a strong focus on strategic planning and a reliance on digital as part of their business strategy.”
The Melbourne model has followed a similar situation in Sydney, which saw Vizeum relaunch into the Sydney market by taking staff and clients from MPG Sydney.
In 2009, Aegis launched Vizeum, but the brand had remained dormant. Vizeum had tried to break into the Melbourne market through a partnership with media agency Frank, creating Frank Vizeum, but the partnership fell through.
At the end of last year, Aegis Media pitched for the Westpac media account under the Vizeum banner, using resources from independent agency Razor Group, but was unsuccessful.
MPG Melbourne has been unaffected by the launch of Vizeum Melbourne.
Aegis has been pushing to grow its global brands Carat and Vizeum locally, following the group's acquisition of Mitchell Communication Group in 2010. As a result, many of the resources of agencies that were formerly under the Mitchell Communication Group banner, including Mitchells, Emitch and MPG (which is a joint venture with Havas), have been moved into global Aegis brands.
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