Shock for GPY&R as Defence Force Recruiting moves account to Havas Worldwide, Sydney
December 5 2013, 5:53 pm | | 43 Comments
After a decade of award-winning advertising, the Department of Defence has moved the creative advertising and digital account for Defence Force Recruiting from GPY&R Melbourne to Havas Worldwide, Sydney.
The three year contract was awarded to Havas following a detailed evaluation process, conducted in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and Defence procurement policy.
The contract services cover the development of advertising materials, primarily for television, cinema, magazines and newspapers, and digital advertising and other content for the Defencejobs website and for use in various social media channels.
A four month transition period will commence from today.
43 Comments
A great era comes to an end for GPY&R and DFR.
They didn’t deserve this.
Thanks for letting us know
Not only did they knock off GPYR, from what I hear they beat a killer panel; Host, Droga, Clem’s and more.. It’s a The biggest piece of Government business in the country and they do great work.
Great work Havas really well deserved!
13 years and the client couldn’t even tell patts to their face.. 150 staff finding out via the press is a sick joke. Pathetic. All because a shitty agency has it’s pricing subsidized by their international offices, procurement pitches are the single worst part of this industry
Sad news for GPYR. Great agency and people. Was a stellar innings, you have to be proud of that.
Congrats to Ant, Steve and the team. Nice work.
Patts won the pitch (fact). Havas got the business. Go figure.
Nothing to do with creative work and everything to do with cost!
It is a sad sad day for Melbourne advertising. And what a way to hear via the press.
Why is there an expectation now that ad agencies should work for absolutely nothing?
Good luck Havas, this will swallow you alive.
Massive win for HAVAS and well deserved!
Massive win for HAVAS and well deserved!
That’s incredible that Patts only found out about this via the press. So disrespectful considering the amazing track record and quality of their work. Not much consolation for Patts, but their work for DFR was absolutely world class and they should be proud.
Patts can feel justly proud of their work with and for the Defence Dept., but, as the saying goes, the only thing that is constant is change. As an old hand once said,
“If they said you can have the business for ’13 years’, but 13 years only – you’d think you’d won Tattslotto”.
@Grubby Politics: Is this your first day in advertising or do you just believe in fairytale endings? However the business is won, it’s still won. How you can be surprised? Sorry if I’ve just ruined your utopian worldview.
Well, Havas certainly have a lot to live up to.
Probably the most consistently interesting and innovative work out of any agency or client in the country.
Sorry Patts.
Great agency, great work.
Small consolation but the whole industry knows you deserved to keep that account.
Bahaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
You’re hillarious. Perhaps you should be called’ hysterically funny but naive person ever’
CONGRATS HAVAS !
Never ever take anything for granted…how many times do we see agencies that have done world class work for a client that end up losing them?
This is crap news for Patts, but it is the advertising wheel of shit that we all live and die by.
Well done Patts on a great innings and good luck recovering fast.
@Reality Bites.
Not fairytale endings. Just endings.
An agency who performs impeccably and has strong relationships with their clients does not deserve this, let alone have the news broken at the Christmas party.
@grubby politics: The amount of irony in your reply is too much for me to take. Thank you for that. I’m done.
Have a bit of class, Reality Bites et al.
They lost their biggest account.
Mobile Medic. Stringing out three years at awards shows finally comes to an end?
Not a Havas person. Just an ad person. I do feel for Patts but to be shocked that there may have been reasons for the move, other than creative, is to be ignorant of the industry we work in.
This ain’t no garden spider, regular, family orientated, friendly client. It’s the fucking military. Of course they don’t give a shit about anyone at Patt’s feelings, just like they don’t give a shit about the lives they wreck while they help America destabilise the middle east, preventing it from becoming an economic threat.
Does anyone really, really want to work on this account? Essentially you’re asking people to sign up to the military, get brainwashed (seriously brainwashed) to the point where they don’t see people as human beings, they see them as ‘civies’ or ‘towel-heads’ or ‘collateral damage’.
Basically you’re convincing people to be trained to kill other humans on command. Feelings are an inconvenience, they break people down, give them sleep deprivation and then when they crack, build them back up into soldiers. It makes sense, if you’re in a war and someone says jump, you better say ‘how high?’. But to any free-thinking individual who has a part in recruiting these people… good luck with your conscience.
I’d say it’s a blessing for Coulson and co wrapped up as an apparent loss.
Look at the kind of people who join the army – how they treat women… the hazing etc.
Now picture them in marketing.
And there’s your answer.
@ Reality bites obviously works in accounts. For more of your economic rationalist garble, piss off to the BRW site mate, we’re talking about creative stuff here.
Patts did great creative and that’s all that matters in this forum.
Dick!
reality bites, you may be correct, but you’re still a fucknuckle.
Doing great creative stuff for the army is up there with doing great creative stuff for petrochemicals or biohazardous pharmaceuticals, except you can enter it in to the charity / not for profit category at every award show.
Congrats Patts on a great innings – the work has genuinely been quality and kept that agency network afloat in this market., very disappointing to find out via the press, certainly not deserved. And yes, to previous comments, how many times have we seen clients dump agencies the year after a big haul at creative/effies awards shows… having worked at Havas along time ago, am sure they told a very interesting story to win the business….respect for winning it. They’re not big enough to bend over on cost like M&C does..
Probably should tell us all just how meaningless awards are in the grander scheme of things. Individual glory and shiny bits of metal probably didn’t weigh very heavy in the minds of the decision makers when it came to moving their business.
@check one, two. Of course they don’t, and that’s fine. It’s all about business performance. Taking DFR from 56% target achievement to over 90% in the last decade is an incredible effort given what is actually being sold here… Throw in a reducing marketing budget over that time and you begin to understand the quality of the work, regardless of any awards. Patts lost and it’s now yesterday’s news….
How would defence of known that gpyr were at Christmas party. Was there no one in the office to receive the official comms from defence. Let’s hope gpyr become professional and show havas the ropes, unlike their management. Does havas need staff, suspect they will need staff.
@mymask… Don’t be so naive… Honestly buddy.
There are these things called mobile phones nowadays. You might have heard of them. They work when you are out of the office. Shocking, I know.
Not as crazy as TAC firing Grey but certainly up there.
Clients must be crazy.
Recruitment results were amazing for Defence.
Globally Awarded work.
Innovative ideas and will be hard to match.
Havas won’t be able to compete. It takes years of hard work to achieve such results.
Havas have 3 years. Pretty funny.
The wrong move for sure.
@Wow you forgot something else – a very strong client relationship.
@mymask… Some clients have the guts to do it face to face or even over the phone. Others can’t face up to it, and do it via trade press followed by email. I think I know which category you fall into. As for the need of GPY&R to show Havas the ropes… you’re now really showing your colours. Good luck recruiting talent on their behalf in this forum.
This move is going to be one of those monumental advertising cock-ups.
And our taxes pay for this.
Here’s your first ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yst3a35IRd0
The damage done to vets and other people associated with the army does not make this a desirable account, at any financial gain.
DFR will come back to patts Melbourne after they wake up from their dreams.
@At ease :
Great, so when the bad guys start smashing planes into buildings and incinerating women and children, I’m glad we can count on stand up guys like you to defend us. These men and women risk their lives and leave their families behind so that pricks like you can sleep safe at night, no boozy lunches, no award shows, no recognition. Just plain hard work. Long days and nights, shit pay. They live and breathe by a concept that is utterly alien to you:
HONOUR.
They don’t make policy, they are the pointy end of the stick, and you are the blunt, fat, useless end.
Fuck you, Adboy.