Spirits and wine group Pernod Ricard Australia has invited four media agencies to pitch for its media buying and planning business, AdNews can reveal.
It is believed incumbent Vizeum will defend the account against Blue 449, Maxus and Atomic 212.
The parent company of Jacob's Creek, Absolut Vodka, Chivas Regal, Jameson, Kahlua, Malibu and several leading booze brands has been quietly sounding out potential suitors in recent weeks in a closely-guarded media review.
Yesterday, a Pernod Ricard Australia spokesperson confirmed the review, which covers media and social. AdNews understands this includes all digital media planning and buying expect for programmatically traded display advertising.
Last October, Pernod Ricard brought its programmatic trading function in-house in partnership with ad tech firm TubeMogul.
At the time, global digital director Kate Whitney told AdNews the company's digital media approach relied on “full transparency to maintain complete control of our digital ad buy”.
“We wanted to move from non-transparent media models to a proven and tested framework – and to do this using a team we could trust,” Whitney said.
Pernod Ricard brands are not huge spenders on traditional media channels, spending only $1.4 million in the past year, according to Nielsen figures. Industry sources estimate the total is closer to $6 million when all digital media is included.
The brands invest a lot on in-store marketing, venue promotions, influencers and experiential campaigns, such as Stoneleigh's living wine house - which was also the backdrop for The AdNews Annual 2015.
Vizeum won the account in 2013, beating incumbent OMD and Omnicom stablemate PHD in the final round.
All media agencies AdNews approached declined to comment.
The Living House
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