Nestlé Oceania has appointed UM as its media agency in Australia and New Zealand for the Nestlé portfolio of brands, managing its $50 million media account.
The account will be handled by an entity known as Mediabrands Thrive-UM.
The appointment follows a competitive review process and concludes Nestlé’s three-year relationship with MEC / Wavemaker in Australia and Mediacom in New Zealand.
In March, the world’s largest food and beverage company invited several agencies to take part in the review, including Wavemaker.
"After a very thorough four-month process, we are delighted to be awarded the Nestle business within the Mediabrands Group, powered by Thrive-UM," IPG Mediabrands ANZ CEO Danny Bass says.
We have all worked tirelessly to ensure the very best for Nestle, an iconic business with ambitions that match ours, to be the best we can be and evolve into the future."
Nestlé's portfolio includes KitKat, Allen’s, Nescafé, Milo, Maggi, Uncle Tobys, Nespresso and Purina.
“The agency review follows global best practice – ensuring that we continue to re-examine how we manage our media investment, which moves beyond the old world of strategy, planning and buying – to address the challenges posed by an attention poor target audience and the dynamic, ever-changing media landscape," Nestlé' director of communications and marketing services Therese Kallie says.
This is the second major account to join the IPG Mediabrands stable in recent weeks, following The West Australian Government handing a share of its circa $60m media agency account to Initiative.
UM was also recently handed the $150m Federal Government master media contract, ending the tenure of DentsuX.
Kallie said the response from UM demonstrated a great understanding of the business, as well as the complexity of the current landscape.
The company extended its thanks to Wavemaker and Mediacom for their "excellent collaboration" over the past few years.
"We're proud of the work and media value we created for Nestlé over the past three and a half years, and I believe we are leaving the business in a stronger position as a result," Wavemaker ANZ CEO Peter Vogel says.
"It's always disappointing to say goodbye to a client but we wish Nestlé a happy and productive relationship with its new media agency."
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