Issue No. 1776, October 9, 2008
Heinz makes move on Aussie icon
Here comes ‘Australia’, the TVC
American food giant Heinz has made a $288m bid
for Golden Circle, the 61-year-old, home-grown
fruit and veg icon. The deal is slated to be finalised
by Dec. Golden Circle chair Phillip Cave says the
proposal is in the best interests of shareholders. He
said the board had unanimously recommended the
deal as “attractive, particularly during a period of
difficult economic conditions”. Golden Circle CEO
Craig Mills said: “Heinz [was] considered an
innovator with considerable mktg know-how. The
acquisition provides the opportunity for a
complementary product range offering a wide
variety of everyday consumer food and beverages
under iconic brands.” Heinz Aust MD Peter
Widdows said: “We are acutely aware of Golden
Circle’s origins and the importance of Golden Circle
to the farming community.” Heinz’s “desire” was to
keep the contracts between growers and Golden
Circle which, he said, would “benefit from potential
increases in volume ... as the combined sales and
mktg strength ... is realised”.
Back in July, Tourism Aust (TA) engaged dir Baz
Luhrmann and his Bazmark production team to
produce an int’l campaign to promote Aust after its
earlier ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ efforts
failed to budge tourism numbers. Bazmark’s work
will screen this month until mid 2009 and will be
rolled out in 22 major mkts in Europe, Asia, and the
US across TV, cinema, print, and online. It launched
in the UK this week. The campaign, though
borrowed from Luhrmann’s upcoming movie of the
same name, is not a trailer for the film but is
designed to stand alone and deliver compelling msg
about the unique experiences to be found downunder. TA exec GM mktg Nick Baker said the all-up
$50m campaign was cinematic in style, based on a
story with a beginning, middle and end. It was
sophisticated and highly emotive, Baker said. “It is
not the traditional slide-show of pretty pictures of
places and people.” DDB Worldwide won the TA
acct from M&C Saatchi in July.
Sunbeam shines light, re-appts Brave
The world economy’s bleak outlook gives govts and
biz the opportunity to drop the ball on sustainability,
Woolworths CEO Michael Luscombe told a QUT
biz leaders’ forum this week. But Luscombe said
Woolworths would stick to its targets of reducing
carbon emissions and growing its biz, despite the
int’l financial downturn. He said climate change and
other sustainability issues had the potential to slip
down the priority list as focus shifted to matters of
money. “After all, for a publicly listed company like
Woolies, my first duty is to create and safeguard
shareholder wealth.” He said food production was
not nearly as energy-hungry as other industries, and
Woolies was already replacing its fleet with more
enviro-friendly vehicles. It would phase out
incandescent light globes a year ahead of govt
regulations. “At Woolworths, we don’t believe in
recession,” he said. “Instead of thinking how do we
stop spending, how do we stop hiring, how do we
shed people? We are actually thinking and have a
plan.” He said Woolies’ focus was on how to push
the biz “as hard as we can over the next 18 months”,
how to ramp up the number of stores undergoing
refurbishment and how to drive new store openings
that would each provide about 250 jobs. “Now is the
time to be positive.
Electrical goods giant Sunbeam has re-apptd
strategic creative shop Brave New World (Brave) as
its lead agency, as Adbrief Breaking News reported
yesterday. The incumbent, who has held the $6m
acct since Aug 2007, received the good news after
Sunbeam finalised a lengthy review process. New
Sunbeam CEO David Jackson said: “We needed to
assess all the advtg ptnrs we are working with and
we decided Brave had the right experience and skills
in brand and retail that we required to help us take
the Sunbeam brand forward in this new era.” Brave
managing ptnr Peter Malycon said: “Sunbeam is an
iconic brand with an exciting future, so we’re
ecstatic to be reappointed to the biz. David has a
great vision for Sunbeam and we’re very looking
forward to helping him and his team bring that to
life.” Brave was last month named one of Aust’s top
10 performers by The Agency Register which
pegged it as having won $50m+ in new biz in the
past year. It ranked Brave eighth on the list,
sandwiched between BMF (7th) and The Campaign
Palace (6th). Brave counts Kia, Thai Airlines, News
Ltd, CSR, Stockland, Cricket NSW and Mortgage
Choice among its clients.
Don’t drop ‘green’ ball, Woolies CEO
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Adbrief Issue No. 1776
“It’s not just the heritage of the GPYR brand in Syd,
it’s the people involved in the re-invigoration that
makes the job so appealing. Nigel (CEO Nigel
Marsh) and Julie have a great track record and the
vision for the Syd office is compelling. Add to that
the global support of someone like (Y&R Brands
global CD) Tony Granger and you can start to see
why I’ve bought in. I'm under no delusions about
the scope of the challenge but there is a very clear
mandate for creative change. One person cannot be
expected to single-handedly turn an agency’s
fortunes, but my focus is the same as the rest of the
mgmt team – doing great work. The rest usually
takes care of itself.”
People moves
* Prominent South African adman Mike Abel has
emerged as the new CEO of M&C Saatchi Aust.
Abel, the former COO of Ogilvy South Africa (the
country’s biggest agency in terms of size and
revenue) will take up the role officially in the New
Year. Until then, he will be hovering about the place
in ‘transition mode’, getting to know staff, clients
and the overall operation. It’s been more than 20
months since former CEO Simon Corah resigned
from the top job at M&C Saatchi in January 2007 to
set up on his own. AllAfrica.com ran a story about
Abel’s new adventure in Aust on July 21, quoting
him as saying he decided to move his family to Aust
“to ensure their safety following a number of direct
crime-related incidents”.
* SBS TV supervising exec producer (comedy and
drama) Sue Masters has resigned for personal
reasons. Masters will continue in her role as EP of
series two of the Aust drama, The Circuit. SBS TV
and online dir Matt Campbell said he was “very
pleased” that Masters could continue working on the
program as her “experience and knowledge of this
industry is rare and precious”. He said SBS was
looking forward to “further collaboration with Sue
in the future”. SBS will be advtg for Masters’
replacement in coming weeks.
At the time, Ogilvy South Africa CEO Nunu
Ntshingila expressed her sadness at Abel’s decision
to relocate to Syd as he had been “the fabric of our
company for a very long time”. “He has been
instrumental in cementing our strong offering in the
new media space across the grp and driving it
nationally in line with our 360-degree approach.
Although we will miss him, we wish him well in his
ventures in Aust and know he will be very
successful overseas. The value Mike will add
internationally is testament to the great depth of
talent we have been fortunate to have at Ogilvy
SA.”
* The newest addition to Cowan’s exec team is biz
dvlpmnt dir Adam Partridge. He joins after four
years at Blue Marlin and brings to the role seven
years’ experience in brand design client services and
brand strategy and innovation, working on such
brands as Cadbury Schweppes, GSK and Reckitt
Benckiser. At Cowan he will run the biz dvlpmnt
function across the Syd and Melb mkts.
Abel joined Ogilvy as acct mgr on Volkswagen in
1993. He was apptd to the holding board in 1997
and within four years he was Ogilvy Cape Town
MD. In 2006, he was apptd COO of Ogilvy South
Africa. The July article said Abel was “considering
a number of exciting and very significant
opportunities”.
* PayTV industry body ASTRA (Aust Subscription
TV and Radio Assoc) has apptd former Vic premier
Steve Bracks as its new independent chair. Bracks
replaces another former premier, Nick Greiner,
who led the NSW Govt between 1988 and 1992.
Greiner will now retire from the chairman’s role
after five years. Bracks said: “[PayTV] is 100%
digital and the major digital investor and service
innovator for consumers. It is central to a strong,
progressive broadcasting system. I have taken on
this role to work with industry, govt and the
community on the important policy changes needed
to ensure that Aust reaches its full digital economy
potential. To successfully move the rest of TV from
analogue to digital, we need holistic policy reform
that promotes investment and innovation by the
whole of the TV sector. Aust needs the best
available technology and widest possible viewer
choice. [PayTV] has a vital role in providing these
quality options to viewers.” Bracks will work
closely with ASTRA CEO Debra Richards and the
org’s exec team. ASTRA represents Foxtel, Austar,
Optus and their channels. (Continued p3)
* John Procter has left his three-year CD role at
CumminsNitro Melb to take up the ECD role at
George Patterson Y&R Syd (GPYR Syd). Procter
has also spent time at Clemenger Melb and
Leonardi Brandhouse and is the outgoing
president of the Melb Advtg & Design Club
(MADC). GPYR Syd MD Julie Porter said she’d
been considering “a number of candidates” over the
past three months from the UK, US and Asia. In
choosing Procter, Porter said “this biz is all about
teamwork and James and I immediately clicked. He
has the perfect combination of talent, attitude and
intelligence that will help deliver my vision for the
agency”. Procter has worked on a diverse list of
major int’l clients including Pepsi, Adidas, Virgin
Atlantic, Clarks, Nestlé, Libra, Just Jeans, GM
Holden, Sorbent, AXA, Kraft, Starburst, Stihl,
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Aust, and The
Traffic Accident Cmn. Procter said the GPYR Syd
role was “an opportunity just too good to pass up”.
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Adbrief Issue No. 1776
Page 3
* News Digital Media (NDM) has launched its ‘onground advtg’ sales team in WA, giving NDM a
sales presence in five major capital cities. The sales
team responsible for perthnow.com.au and The
Sunday Times will now be responsible for local ad
bookings across NDM’s 23 online brands. NDM’s
ad bookings in WA were previously sold out of its
Syd, Bris and Melb offices. Simon Ingleson will
head the WA sales team.
People moves
* Adshel has apptd Elvira Lodewick as mktg dir
Aust/NZ, based in Syd. Lodewick joins Adshel with
an extensive background in the online media and
publishing industries, most recently responsible for
Nielsen//NetRatings’ marcomms in Asia/Pacific
and Latin America. In her new role she will take full
responsibility for directing mktg activities for
Adshel’s out-of-home media portfolio across
roadside, rail and retail. She will also be responsible
for Adshel’s innovation brand, Create, and
premium internal assets fixed at Syd Int’l Airport
mktd under the brand, Navigator. In addition, she
will take a position with the MOVE Advisory Grp,
part of the Outdoor Media Assoc.’s audience
measurement initiative. Lodewick replaces
Anthony Xydis who was with Adshel for eight
years. Xydis now lives in Switzerland.
* Syd-based agency Pulse Mktg Grp has apptd
Renée Savidan as art dir. Savidan moved to Aust
from NZ five years ago to work on projects for Syd
Opera House, Powerhouse Museum and
Macquarie Bank. She then joined healthcare
agency Medicus as an art dir in 2006 where she
designed packaging for retail health brands as well
as corporate comms materials. Recently, she has
freelanced for several clients, including Air Tahiti,
Zurich Investments and NSW State Transit
Authority.
* Seven Media Grp (SMG) has apptd Jenny Hosie
as integration sales dir of brand new affiliate SMG
Red. SMG Red has been dvlpd “to take media
integration and media grp selling to a new level”.
Hosie now heads the new arm and is responsible for
all sales integration strategy and implementation
across all platforms (broadcast TV, mags and
online). She joined Yahoo!7 as national sales dir
two years ago and moves into the newly-created snr
role with direct reporting to chief sales and digital
officer James Warburton. Damon Scarr becomes
national media sales dir of Yahoo!7. He joined
SMG six years ago and moved across to Yahoo!7 in
early 2006 to help establish the sales force for the
new JV. For the past year Scarr has been Syd & Qld
sales mgr, and 2ic to Hosie. He is now responsible
for driving all media sales and client services.
Campaigns
* The Furnace Melb has launched an integrated
campaign for new soft drink variant SOLO Strong.
It’s spruiked as containing the original Solo mix,
turbo-charged with guarana for an ‘extra kick’. The
campaign targets a blokey audience and claims to
make a man into a man-and-a-half with the creative
featuring a bloke with his ‘mini me’ strapped to his
person as he goes about his day. See the campaign
here.
* Franchisor Goodyear Autocare has launched a
national TV campaign created by Melb-based
Traffic to highlight the retailer’s “superior in-store
experience” and one-stop auto service. The new
work also launches a new tag line: ‘We’ll keep you
running’. Goodyear Autocare brand mgr Amanda
Millis said the national advtg campaign would
deliver significant brand exposure by promoting the
core benefits of visiting a local Goodyear Autocare
dealer. “The Goodyear Autocare network
throughout Aust has gathered momentum. [We]
now have nearly 100 stores out of 120 fully branded
and refurbished,” Millis said. “As shown in the
TVC, refurbished stores include a bright, clean new
colour scheme and uniforms, a customer-friendly
waiting area with a TV and coffee machine, and
eye-catching signage featuring the new brand’s
mascot, ‘Jack the Goodyear Guy’.” Millis said male
and female customer feedback had been positive.
Apart from professional, experienced service, she
said: “We’re more female-friendly, offering free car
care workshops [to empower] women motorists.”
The auto care company has also ditched its old
name, Goodyear Auto Service Centre, to become
Goodyear Autocare.
* Brand response agency MercerBell has apptd
copywriter Scott Mortimer (ex-Wunderman Syd)
and snr acct dir Saskia Werz (ex-Publicis Mojo) to
its team. Mortimer has 12 years’ agency experience,
working on clients such as Microsoft, Westpac,
Telstra, Vodafone, Samsung, Rolls Royce,
Mitsubishi, Visa, Clean Up Australia, Dell, Intel,
Coca-Cola Amatil, L’Oreal, ninemsn and Uni of
Technology, Syd. Before Wunderman he worked
with Harrison Troughton Wunderman,
Clemenger Proximity Syd, Euro RSCG and The
Eclipse Grp. Werz, who also has 12 years’ agency
experience, will work on the MasterCard acct
across Aust, NZ and Asia Pacific. Ahead of joining
Publicis Mojo, Werz worked with 360 Comms
(now STW Village) and Cubo Brand Comms
(London) plus Singleton OgilvyOne and Octopus
Comms Grp. She has directed DM accts for
Citibank, Westpac, American Express,
CommBank and AMP.
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Adbrief Issue No. 1776
New business
* Digital signage shop Moving Tactics has won a
contract to supply Accor Hotels with a digital signage
and advtg service. The Accor grp (which includes
Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure,
Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, All Seasons and Formule 1
brands) plans to use the signs to convey branding
msgs and limited msgs from other advtrs.
* Starcom negotiated a 150-sec ad break on Aust’s
premier breakfast news program, Seven’s Sunrise, for
its client Subaru last weekend. During the break,
ahead of NSW’s Labour Day holiday, the car
company delivered its safety credentials to families
heading off in their cars for the long weekend.
Seven’s sales dir Kurt Burnette said Subaru was a
key ptnr of the program and the network. “The driver
safety msg, delivered in this breakthrough format,
will go a long way to help raise the importance of
driver safety awareness.” Subaru has a five-star safety
rating, awarded by the Australasian New Car
Assessment Program.
Fairfax a winner for losers
The global downturn in financial mkts has been a
boon for Fairfax Digital’s (FD) portfolio of
BusinessDay websites that now attracts 1.5m unique
browsers (UBs) – a spike of 61% over the past year.
That’s nearly twice the traffic of its nearest
competitor and eight times that of other niche biz
sites, according to Nielsen Net Ratings, Sept 2008.
FD (Media) MD Pippa Leary said Sept figures
reflected an “explosive” rise in UBs as investors
sought fast, reliable analysis about the unfolding
turmoil. The site is standalone and syndicated across
FD’s mastheads.
Nestlé Kit Kat shape appeal date set
Food giant Nestlé’s appeal against a decision not to
register the four-bar shape of its Kit Kat choc bar as a
trademark has had an Oct 21 preliminary hearing set
by the Fed Court, Adbrief colleague The Risk Report
has been told. Retailer Aldi successfully challenged
Nestlé’s original application for the trademark at an
IP Aust hearing on Aug 27. On that day, hearing
officer Terry Williams said the shape of a Kit Kat,
“being four bars attached to one another by a thin
base”, was primarily “functional” and “not inherently
designed to distinguish” a Kit Kat from other
products. Other products, including Cadbury’s Top
Deck and Hazel Nut blocks, used a similar base to
satisfy the “commercial desirability of being able to
break portions into smaller portions”, Williams said.
“The practical advantages of being able to neatly
break a piece of what would otherwise be a solid
block of potentially crumbly wafer material into
convenient chocolate-coated portions are obvious.
There are only... a limited number of ways of doing
this without resorting to complex shapes.” Nestlé’s
Kit Kat ads did “not at any stage indicate to
consumers there is anything more to the shape of its
products than convenient functionality in one, two,
four or five-bar form”, he said. Nestlé spokesperson
Fran Hernon said the Fed Court had scheduled the
hearing for the appeal.
Telstra buddies up with PDM
Telstra and outdoor digital signage grp Prime Digital
Media (PDM) have signed a three-year exclusive ‘goto-mkt’ partnership designed to help advtrs deploy
out-of-home digital displays. The duo say their
products and services dovetail nicely to present a new
package designed to “accelerate” the new media mkt.
The JV is designed to help retailers dvlp their own
digital signage strategy using Telstra’s IP networks’
“reach, reliability and power” to deploy and run
creative content at POS − coupled with PDM’s inhouse creative team’s services, media mgmt systems
and experienced marcomms to complete the offering.
PDM will create and centrally manage advtrs content
for display on Telstra TV, a multi-channel, in-store
digital signage network that delivers info, education,
promotions and Telstra brand msgs to Telstra T-shops
and T[life] concept stores Aust-wide.
WPP gets green light to buy TNS
The ACCC will not intervene in WPP Grp’s proposed
acquisition of Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) after
accepting court-enforceable undertakings from WPP.
Both entities provide a broad range of mkt research
and info services in Aust and overseas. WPP provides
TAM services in Aust via AGB Nielsen – its JV with
Nielsen. TNS also provides TAM services but does
not currently do so in Aust. Mkt participants consider
the threat of TNS supplying those services in Aust n
the future as a key competitive constraint on AGB
Nielsen. The ACCC's inquiries indicated there were
no other TAM providers able to impose a strong
competitive constraint on the merged firm in Aust in
the short to medium term. ACCC chair Graeme
Samuel says the undertaking “adequately addresses
the ACCC’s concerns by ensuring there will continue
to be a second, long-term viable competitor for TAM
contracts in Aust”. More details here.
Adbrief Editor: Kathryn Barton. Email: [email protected] Managing Editor: Helen Jones.
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