DDB scores Origin Energy business
July 26 2010, 10:14 am | | 16 Comments
DDB Melbourne has won the Origin Energy business in a shootout with incumbent The Campaign Palace, Melbourne after an earlier round knocked out Clemenger BBDO and Badjar Ogilvy late last month. Universal McCann has been picked as Origin’s new media agency, replacing OMD.
Says a spokesperson for Origin: “We were very impressed with the high calibre of agencies which participated and the quality of responses to our brief. Our sincere thanks have been expressed to The Campaign Palace and OMD for their commitment and contributions to our business. They have played a key role in helping us lead in a challenging and competitive mark.”
16 Comments
welcome back Mark……enjoy sorting this out for the palace
Like to see how the Spinmasters at the Palace spin this one after the job they did with Jacque’s departure.
A cruel editor would’ve penned the headline LIGHTS OUT AT PALACE MELBOURNE.
Can’t wait to see what DDB do to it. I mean, FOR it…..
It’s astonishing how much this industry likes kicking a man when he’s down.
The Palace has been around longer and done more for the industry than any of you non-contributing zeros on this blog.
Honestly people, don’t you have anything better to do?
1:03 I second you.
People’s snide comments will change very quickly when their agency loses some business and they’re made redundant.
Do you want to know why we’re like that, 1.03pm?
This is a hard, competitive industry. Every dollar that comes in the door, we’re made to fight for in 5-way pitches against other agencies. Rival agencies, who right now are thinking about ways they can turn our own clients against us, and pinch the business.
It’s like professional sport, except worse. Because in our game, only the winner gets paid. Everyone else goes home empty handed.
Then as if that isn’t enough, we compete with each other all over again at awards shows. The Gunn Report… the CB hot/cold table… Cannes rankings… Best Ads rankings… all designed to pit agency against agency.
Intense and constant head-to-head competition breeds a dog-eat-dog culture. How could it be any other way? Maybe back in the old days it was different, because back then agencies were good businesses, money was easy to come by (imagine scoring 15% of all media dollars spent by your clients just for opening your doors in the morning…) and everyone could afford to be all matey-matey. But not now. That died, along with mega lunches, fat media commissions and the local-content rule.
Yes, it’d be lovely if this was one big happy family, with a culture that recognised that ultimately we’re all in this together.
But the business of advertising works against that. Totally against that. Because the business of advertising is more like cock-fighting than business.
Partly it’s our fault, partly our clients. But it’s just the way it is.
So when an agency hits hard times, you know what the immediate gut-response is from rival management all over town? “Hmmm, best get on the phone to their remaining clients.” Not “poor buggers… best not kick them while they’re down.”
I like your world better, honestly I do.
But unfortunately, it’s not the way it is.
thats right – just ask Saatchis
Totally, just like Patts retaining Defence was good for the industry in Melbourne, the Palace keeping Origin would have helped keep a better balance to things.
I hate the snark faces that write the crap like 12.38
2:12pm that’s a pretty juvenile take probably written by someone who has never been really good at anything. The best people at anything – work, sport or art, don’t have to tell the world they are great or kick those that are down.
Channel your energy into rising above the competition not pulling others down to your level.
Righto, 2.12.
“Only the winner gets paid”. What do you have in mind? A state-funded advetising benevolent fund, where ads are created without the need for those pesky clients and are exhibited in galleries?
“We’re made to fight for”! No one’s making you fight for it. Decline to pitch if you prefer.
“Rival agencies turning us against their clients”. Usually only by doing better work or being asked to work alongside an existing agency. Bad mouthing your competitors to your clients rarely works.
“Being made to compete at awards shows”. Oh no, those nasty awards shows we’re forced to compete in, just like cocks fighting in mediaval times, and not really a massive beano with free campagne and canapes, no, not like that at all.
Dog-eat-dog culture. I can’t speak for you (fortunately), but my experience has been relationships between agencies are entirely cordial in the main. After all, this being the dog eat dog culture you describe, we’ll almost certainly be working for a new agency within 3 years anyway.
If you’d like to work in a communist utopia, perhaps North Korea would be more to your taste. I’m not saying that capitalism (which I believe is what you’re describing) is perfect, far from it, just that that’s the category we happen to be operating in.
How does the Origin account sit with the DDB also having TruEnergy I wonder?
Just put the Coles team on it and they’ll be ‘right.
One point to note.
Despite ultimately losing, the Palace did get down to a face off with DDB after McCann, CHE, Ogilvy and Clemenger were all eliminated.
Who would want to pitch against that lot?
Bad luck Palace, but you were doing something very right up to the end!
3.55, you miss the point entirely.
The industry is what it is. I don’t seek to change it, I just accept that it’s hugely competitive and ruthless. And that’s why it gets bitchy and at times nasty.
And Adam…
People can be nice to your face.
But ask yourself this: how many agency CEO’s and MD’s wouldn’t gladly try their hardest to take Target off the Palace… knowing full-well that they’d be effectively knackering that agency completely?
The answer is they’d all try their hardest. And you honestly don’t think that very conversation isn’t already being held in agencies right across Melbourne? Stop being so naive.
You’re the naive one 12:00.
Target wont be going anywhere. Why do you think Mark was reappointed?
One reason was his strong and on-going relationship with Target.
Target are rightfully delighted to have him back.