Tourism Australia has officially confirmed what everyone has known for months. It has appointed UM as its media agency, parting ways with OMD.
The global pitch kicked off in November with incumbent OMD battling it out against UM and Carat. It was revealed in May that UM was poised to win the bsuiness.
UM has been appointed on a two-year contract – which means it oculd all be up for pitch again in only two short years – an increasingly common occurrence. There is an option to extend for three years.
The agency's CEO Ross Raeburn describes it as “the brief the agency has been waiting for” while IPG Mediabrands CEO Danny Bass says the brief was “the most progressive” the netowrk had worked on.
“It was an ideal opportunity for us to showcase our Dynamic by Design proposition,” he added, referencing the global positioning IPG Mediabrands rolled out early this year.
Former UM Australia CEO and now global CEO of Initiative Mat Baxter was the architect of the strategy.
UM will take on a global remit for media planning and buying as well as search marketing and optimisation across key international markets.
Tourism Australia MD John O’Sullivan, says media planning and buying are “more important than ever” in its global marketing strategy.
“The past five years have seen dramatic changes in the media landscape and in the way consumers behave and interact in the travel journey. The global tourism market is fiercely competitive and we need to be smarter than ever about how we deploy our marketing resources and budgets,” he says.
Tourism Australia CMO Lisa Ronson says: “Technology and data will help drive greater efficiency and effectiveness across all of our channels - not just paid. It will also give us greater insight to deliver a better online experience, personalised to every customer. That’s a very exciting proposition for us and also one that adds real value for our commercial partners.”
Ronson also paid credit to OMD for its five years of work with the group.
This story was updated. It incorrectly stated AdNews broke the rumour UM was to be appointed by Tourism Australia in May,
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