Western Australia's government media account, held by Carat and Initiative, has been extended for another 12 months, AdNews can reveal.
The state government did not put the account out for pitch as the office assesses an audit from WA auditor general Caroline Spencer which found examples of the state's advertising campaigns to be non-compliant.
The audit, tabled in the state's Parliament, found that the government ads crossed the line to political messages rather than public information and compliance was not consistent.
This is the largest media account in the state with an estimated $60 million in media billings.
Carat client partner and head of WA government team Michelle Testa said the agency is delighted to extend the partnership.
"The team takes great pride in strategically informing and influencing on some of the state's most critical community initiatives," Testa told AdNews.
A state government spokesperson also confirmed the news.
“There are two existing suppliers on the WA whole of Government Common Use Arrangement (CUA) for media booking, buying and planning services for advertising – Carat Australia and Initiative Media Australia," the spokesperson told AdNews. .
“The Department of Finance extended the contract by 12 months to consider the recommendations presented by the Office of the Auditor General in the Government Campaign Advertising Performance Audit report for the next iteration of the CUA."
Carat has worked on the account since 2013.
Initiative won two parts of the account in the last pitch in 2018, including 'non-campaign services' and 'campaign services'.
IPG had no comment.
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