Not content with winning the hotly contested Coca-Cola main media account this time last year from Ikon, UM can now add Coca-Cola Amatil to its books.
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), which is one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the world’s top five Coca-Cola bottlers, has been appointed by IPG Mediabrands' UM agency to handle its media account. It will handle the media accounts for three of its brands: Mount Franklin, Kirks and Deep Spring.
The UM appointment does not include CCA’s SPC brands or its alcoholic beverages and Grinders brands.
A CCA spokesperson said: “Coca-Cola Amatil today confirmed that following a review is has appointed IPG Mediabrands’ UM agency to handle the media accounts for three of its brands: Mount Franklin, Kirks and Deep Spring.
"Coca-Cola South Pacific appointed UM agency last year to manage the brands in its portfolio which include Coca Cola, Powerade, Barista Bros etc."
It is thought incumbent Ikon, Slingshot Media and one other agency were in the running.
While Coca-Cola and CCA are entirely separate brands, it is likely UM may have won the account due to the success of its Colour Your Summer campaign with Coca-Cola last year.
The coloured can concept, born out of UM’s winning pitch for the media business in March 2014, saw Coca-Cola breaking all its own brand guidelines in an effort to reconnect to teens and make the brand cool again. It launched six limited edition coloured cans and rolled out one of its biggest ever marketing pushes in Australia to back it up.
The appointment also comes hot on the heels of the unveiling of UM's new agency model, which it announced last month.
UM CEO Mat Baxter said at the time, the overhaul of UM’s positioning to create a “creative connections agency” and the shift of its payment model away from commission, was based around making sure the agency has “skin in the game”.
CCA's portfolio of products includes carbonated soft drinks, spring water, sports and energy drinks, fruit juices, iced tea, flavoured milk, coffee, tea and SPC Ardmona and Goulburn Valley packaged ready-to-eat fruit and vegetable snacks and products - although these are not incuded int he account. Slingshot handles media for SPC Ardmona and Goulburn Valley.
It is thought the pitch is worth less than five million and one AdNews source said the move was expected, given UM took Coca-Cola last year.
CCA’s major shareholder – The Coca-Cola Company – owns 29% of CCA’s shares and has two directors on CCA’s nine member board of directors.
None of the agencies contacted were available for comment.
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