OMD wins $70m Suncorp account

OMD Australia has won the Suncorp media account following a competitive pitch that included MediaCom and Publicis Media.

Publicis Media was the incumbent on the account, setting up a bespoke Power of One model to service the brand in 2017.

OMD will now handle the media planning and buying for Suncorp's network of brands, including AAMI, GIO and APIA.

The appointment supports Suncorp’s move to a network of brands model with Suncorp as the national masterbrand.

Mim Haysom, who recently joined Suncorp as EGM of brand and marketing from M&C Saatchi, said the brand is thrilled to be working with OMD on it's journey to becoming a house of brands.

“Suncorp offers a customer experience unlike any other in Australia, providing customers with a central place to access banking, insurance and wellbeing solutions to support them in the moments that matter,” Haysom said.

"The agency’s wealth of experience and capabilities will play a critical role in accelerating our Masterbrand strategy and strengthening our customer connections.

OMD Australia CEO Aimee Buchanan said the company was proud to be partnering with Suncorp.

“This relationship represents the right cultural fit between our businesses and creates an opportunity for us to challenge each other to drive growth for Suncorp. I am incredibly proud of the OMD team for the effort and passion that has gone into this process,” Buchanan.

Haysom thanked Publicis Media for its support over the years, having also worked with Starcom for a number of years.

"We look forward to continuing our ongoing partnership with Publicis and Leo Burnett as our wonderful and talented creative partners," Haysom said.

Creative partners

Publicis will continue to work with Suncorp on the creative side with Leo Burnett holding the creative for GIO. Suncorp is currently pitching creative for its sub-brand APIA, which previously worked with DDB Melbourne.

DDB Melbourne was forced to resign the account as Suncorp shifts towards a masterbrand strategy which saw AAMI, Bingle, GIO and APIA move under the Suncorp umbrella. This caused a conflict with long-term DDB client, Westpac.

WPP’s Ogilvy Melbourne is the creative agency of record for AAMI and its Bingle brand is managed internally by Suncorp.

Sizeable win

The Suncorp Group spent $74 million on media in the last 12 months from September 2017 to August 2018, according to Nielsen, making it a significant account in Australia. AdNews understands the account worth is as much as $100 million.

The account loss will come as a blow to Publicis Media with the internal Suncorp team impacted. It's a major coup for OMD, which has increasingly become the home for big brands, now holding the media for Coles, Qantas, McDonald's, Telstra and more.