Department of Finance appoints BWM Melbourne for Medibank Private Initial Public Offering brief

The Department of Finance has appointed BWM Melbourne to develop the advertising campaign for the Medibank Private Initial Public Offering.

BWM has created a specialist Asset Sale and IPO Marketing Unit to service the significant divestment of Commonwealth and State Government assets planned for the next two years

Says Paul Williams, group CEO, BWM: “Financial transactions of the scale and complexity planned and underway require a specialist marketing and advertising approach.

“The financial stakes are simply too high for sales processes, particularly those via Initial Public Offerings, to be hampered by ineffectual or non-compliant marketing.

“Sales teams in investment banks, and in government finance agencies, are looking for advertising and communications firms who know the rules of the game, and more importantly, know how to create effective marketing campaigns within market guidelines.

“It is a unique skill set. Not many agencies have it and we want to make sure we are a turn- key solution for any asset sales team.”

The Federal Government is leading the way with the sale of Medibank Private and slated sales of Defence Housing Australia and the ASIC Registry business.

Senator Mathias Cormann, finance minister, announced this week BWM had been appointed as advertising agency for the sale of the Australian Government owned Medibank Private Limited.

Says Williams: “Treasurer Joe Hockey’s incentives to encourage State Governments to recycle their public assets seems to be having an effect, with major asset sales planned in NSW and Queensland.”

The Asset Sale and IPO Marketing Unit is jointly led by Williams and BWM Melbourne managing director Mark Watkin.

Williams is a pioneer of the role of sophisticated marketing in Government asset sales. In 1993 he led the advertising team for the $2.2 billion sale of the NSW Government’s insurance business GIO.

Watkin led the team that won the tender for the marketing of the third tranche of Telstra shares, an $8 billion IPO.

Apart from Williams and Watkin, there are another four key staff in the unit including managing director of BWM’s PR business, Cox Inall Communications, Tim Powell, who worked on the T3 scoping study and the privatisation of the wool stockpile, strategy leader Susannah Stoney, creative director Murray White and digital experience director Dan Robothan.

Says Williams: “When appointed to a major transaction, such as Medibank Private, we pull in other staff from our 140 people in Sydney and Melbourne to create the right resource mix.

“The key reason to create the Asset Sale and IPO Marketing Unit is to ensure we have a pool of key people with the right expertise to lead a pitch on short notice.

“We share insights within our Unit about how investment markets are changing the dynamics of IPO marketing, such as the rise of self-managed super funds, a low interest rate environment, and how social and digital media have changed advice and influence flows.

“We talk about how to maximise take-up of offers, to build over-subscription and price tension; how to get the balance right between the needs of institutional investors and retail investors.

“The conversations in this unit are not what you would normally hear in a creative advertising agency.”

The BWM Group Asset Sale and IPO Marketing Unit is offering limited release of a white paper on the effectiveness of IPO marketing with a focus on the NSW GIO IPO. The white paper is available for those who register at bwm.com.au.

The Government continues to progress the sale of Medibank Private with the appointment today of various selling services providers. The precise timing and structure of the Medibank Private initial public offering is yet to be determined.