Tigerair or Jetstar could be up for pitch in the wake of the announced merger between MEC and Maxus.
The merger is a global move from GroupM to create a new agency division. Locally, the only client conflict comes in the budget airline space. MEC currently works with Tigerair, while Maxus has Jetstar.
Maxus has held the Jetstar account since 2013, when it won the business from Carat. It’s thought that the likely outcome is that Tigerair will go to market and be looking for a new agency partner as the Jetstar account is larger.
The merger will finalise before the end of the year, creating a new agency with a new name.
See here: MEC and Maxus staff rattled by surprise merger news.
Tigerair Australia says it's too early to tell the impact the merger will have.
"It’s too early to tell at this stage. We will work with MEC and any developments will be worked through in due course. We continually review all of our partnerships to ensure best fit for the business," Tigerair says.
A spokesperson for Jetstar also says: "We'll discuss with Maxus and GroupM how the new announcement impacts us in the near future."
The combined entity locally will have a client roster than includes Nestle, PharmaCare, Mirvac, Danone Nutricia and Dairy , Boehringer, Tyrrells Crisps, Haribo, Colgate, Paramount Pictures and Beats.
Globally it will be led by MEC’s CEO Tim Castree. Locally it's understood that either MEC CEO James Hier or Maxus CEO Mark McCraith will take the top spot. It's not clear if there will be any further redundancies or reduction in headcount across the two agencies.
GroupM was unable to comment.
Read more about the merger here.
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