Vodafone transfers ad account from FCB to DDB
Vodafone is one of the largest spenders on advertising in New Zealand. According to Nielsen media spend figures, Vodafone NZ came 6th in a top 10 list ranking the amout companies that spend on advertising, with expenditure totalling US$45mn. Other companies to exceed this expenditure include: Progressive Enterprises Ltd ($59mn); Reckitt Benckiser NZ ($60mn); The Warehouse ($68mn); Foodstuffs NZ Ltd ($73mn); and Harvey Norman in first place with over $78mn spent on adverts.
FCB has held the account with Vodafone for 6 years, having won the pitch whilst competing against Ogilvy 99 and AffinityID. The loss of Vodafone is likely to have a large negative impact on FCB. FCB global vice chairman Bryan Crawford said: ‘I couldn't be prouder of the unwavering professionalism, commitment and resilience of the FCB team during our tenure.
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This is another loss for FCB, who have already suffered several redundancies, and the departure of CEO Dan Martin, the latter of which they hope to announce a replacement for in the coming weeks.
Crawford continues: ‘I know our team at FCB will show the same level of commitment to Vodafone until the business transitions, probably around the first quarter 2019.’
Other companies to be impacted by this shift include 2degrees, who were assigned to DDB but were released from their contract so that DDB could work with Vodafone.
Louise Kuegler, the head of brands and insight at Vodafone, is pleased with the changeover and remarked that this is the correct time for change given the transformation Vodafone is currently undertaking.
