J. Walter Thompson Melbourne has been awarded the creative account for Simplot, following a competitive pitch.
The win sees J. Walter Thompson take on Simplot's brands including Birds Eye, Leggo’s, Lean Cuisine and I&J. The pitch was called in April, with incumbent on the account BWM Dentsu declining to pitch for the business. The move saw BWM pull the plug on an eight-year relationship with Simplot.
J. Walter Thompson Melbourne’s MD, Michael Godwin says this win means the agency gets to work on some of Australia’s most loved brands adding that this is an endorsement in the agency's investment in building an in-house shopper marketing capability that's beneficial to clients like Simplot.
“Despite the artificial constraints of a pitch process, our team felt a really positive chemistry with the Simplot team at every interaction - such an important foundation to any successful relationship. We can’t wait to build on this positivity now that we’re on board as their partners.”
Simplot also named a new media agency in 2015, with Initiative picking up the $12m account.
In recent months J. Walter Thompson Melbourne has also added Treasury Wine Estates, Harris Scarfe and Jetstar to its books.
J. Walter Thompson highlights that this growth has been fuelled by a transformation of the agency’s in-house offering through the building of a shopper marketing division, a bolstering of its social capabilities, the assembling of a dedicated retail team and the establishment of an end-to-end production capability.
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