UM has retained the media communications portfolio for discount department store Kmart, said to be worth between $20-25 million, following a competitive pitch process which began at the beginning of 2019.
The agency has held Kmart's media account for 14 years and was the incumbent in the full-pitch process that narrowed to two agencies in the final decision. AdNews understands OMD and WPP-owned media agency stable GroupM were apart of the final process.
UM Australia CEO Fiona Johnston says the process was a "battle" for the agency to prove what it can do for the retailer.
"We are over the moon to have won back such a great cultural icon as Kmart. We fought very hard for this against amazing competition and we have had to show how we can be better, and that is what we have done," Johnston says.
"I am immensely proud of Gareth Nicholls and the whole Melbourne team, to be supporting such great clients and a true Aussie icon. We take this win with immense pride and commitment not to let Kmart down.”
This is the latest win for the agency, after it secured the $10 million Menulog account in a global appointment made by parent company Just Eats.
The win by UM continues the recent run of media appointments since the start of the year, with OMD last week securing the $40m Super Retail Group account and Intitiative being appointed to the $30m Carnival Cruise account, while the likes of Red Bull, the AFL, Virgin Australia and Tourism NZ have all moved their accounts in the last five months.
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