Leo Burnett, Sydney replaces Droga5 as lead agency on giant Woolies business; Tony Phillips departs Coles for chief marketing officer role

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JamieO.jpgLeo Burnett, Sydney – the agency that coined ‘The Fresh Food People’ back in the 80s – has been appointed lead agency on the giant Woolworth’s account, replacing Droga5, who has been lead agency on the business for the last two years.

A senior source at Leo Burnett – which is set to employ up to 40 people to run the account – claims that from May 1 Leo Burnett will be the lead agency, with Droga5 retained for special projects. The move comes as Droga5 is this week busy shooting the latest series of Woolies commercials with Jamie OIiver.

one_direction_tony_phillips_coles_628.jpgWoolworths has also hired former Coles executive Tony Phillips as chief marketing officer. Phillips (pictured left with One Direction) has enjoyed a successful career in the Australian advertising industry. He was the founder and managing director of AdTown. He was also managing director of George Patterson Melbourne handling clients like Carlton United and National Australia Bank.

He joins Woolworths from Coles where he has spent the previous seven years in the roles of General Manager Marketing Communications, General Manager Sponsorships and Events and General Manager Category Marketing.

The Chief Marketing Officer role is a new operational role at Woolworths and is part of a restructure of the Marketing division.

Jess Gill has been appointed to a new strategic role of Director, Customer Experience.

Jess will be leading the development of Woolworths’ brand strategy, format development including store design & layout, online customer experience and embedding deeper customer insights throughout our business.

Says Woolworths managing director of Australian supermarkets and Petrol Tjeerd Jegen: “We’re very excited to be adding one of Australia’s premier creative agencies to our roster and I believe this addition will help us stay ahead of the pack in what is a very competitive market.

“I’d like to sincerely thank Droga5 for their work over the past two years. The successful ‘More Savings Every Day’ campaigns have shown they were the right choice and now we move into a new era. The addition of Leo Burnett will be a great fit for Woolworths.

“With a new marketing team of Tony and Jess, combined with a new creative agency in the roster in Leo Burnett, I know we will further strengthen our position as Australia’s leading supermarket.”

Says CEO of Leo Burnett Australia Todd Sampson: “Tjeerd, Jess and Tony have huge ambitions for Woolworth’s and it’s now our job to help bring them to life. I can’t wait to get started.”