News Corp has appointed Archibald Williams as its creative agency of record, with fellow incumbent AJF losing out.
News Corp announced it aimed to consolidate its agency roster in March, some six months after Damian Eales took the top marketing job.
Archibald Williams was always set to retain a chunk of business given that duties for The Australian were not part of the scope, neither was NewsLifeMedia. It will start handling everything from next week.
Havas Worldwide, Clemenger, Saatchi & Saatchi and Droga5 were part of the initial longlist, although not all agencies went on to pitch for the account. M&C Saatchi's Mark unit, as incumbent, was also involved.
AJF Partnership, Archibald Williams, BWM, Saatchi & Saatchi and Clemenger BBDO pitched, with the process going down to a straight shootout between AJF and Archibald Williams earlier this month.
News Corp confirmed the deal today.
The press release
News Corp Australia’s group director marketing Damian Eales today announced the appointment of Archibald/Williams (AW) as its full-service creative agency.
From 1 June, A/W will take responsibility for all News Corp Australia’s national brand, retention, acquisition, digital, retail, and trade advertising activities.
Mr Eales said: “Throughout the pitch process, A/W consistently demonstrated excellent strategic and creative ideas and a deep understanding of our business objectives and goals.
“I have been very impressed with the work A/W has produced for The Australian and am looking forward to them continuing this brilliant work with the rest of our brands at a national level.
“We have some fantastic initiatives coming up over the next 12 months including the relaunch of our metropolitan tablet apps, continued evolution of our metropolitan news sites, their digital subscription strategies and our +rewards program; as well as ongoing retail promotions. I’m excited to start working with the A/W team and bring these initiatives to life.
The appointment excludes any activity with NewsLifeMedia brands.
Mr Eales continued: “I thank the other agencies involved in the pitch process. It’s been a fantastic affirmation of the talent we have in Australia.”
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