Harman appoints Magnum & Co as Aussie agency

Following a competitive pitch process last month, Sydney-based integrated marketing agency Magnum & Co has emerged with yet another flagship consumer client to its portfolio – this time in the form of Harman’s audio electronics brand JBL and its high-end sister sound system company Harman/Kardon.

Tasked with developing “big creative ideas that could be amplified across a number of integrated platforms”, it was Magnum & Co’s unique response to the brief and the calibre of their entire team that ultimately won them the account, says Harman’s marketing and communication manager, Noeleen Lechner.

Says Lechner: “Our team was impressed not only by the agency’s creativity, content ideas and strategic insights-led approach to our brief, but their obvious capability in running a really robust press office and great brand associations. Not only that, but our decision was as much about the right chemistry as anything else – we’re a tight-knit team here at Harman, so it was important that the agency who we’ll be working so closely with, in what we feel is going to be a very big year for us, was the complementary fit.”

Magnum & Co’s managing director, Michelle Hampton is likewise enthusiastic about the new win, framing it as more proof of how the agency’s integrated methodology works when deconstructing any creative brief.

Says Hampton: “We’re ready to turn the volume up on both brands. If you look back, JBL have such an incredible legacy in music culture – it was there at Woodstock ’69, and it was there at Lollapalooza 2016. And already, having seen some of the amazing new products launching this year, we’re convinced it’s going to further cement JBL’s rep as a brand built on both innovation and killer sound – especially amongst millennials.

“The same goes for Harman/Kardon. Its high-end audio systems are already universally renowned for both excellence in design, beauty and sheer refinement of sound – they are a real audiophile’s first choice. Suffice to say, I think a lot of music aficionados are going to be blown away by what Harman/Kardon has to offer this year.”

Magnum & Co’s work with Harman will see them operate across influencer marketing, PR, content creation, experiential and social media integration. In recent months, the agency has also been appointed by Carlton & United Breweries to lead the PR and influencer marketing component for two of its leading brands.

Magnum & Co provides a full-service offering for consumer brands across PR, social, digital, experiential and content marketing channels. Other key clients include Red Bull, Oakley, Reebok, 3M and Under Armour.