Universal McCann (UM) has been confirmed as the winner of the Australian Government’s Master Media Agency following a competitive tender process. It continues UM’s tenure as the government’s media agency of record since 2018, with the agency having successfully defended the account in 2021.
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Scope3 steps up as WFA discontinues GARM, to push the future of media sustainability standards
The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has discontinued the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a move that has seen sustainability measurement company Scope3 step up to continue the development and rollout of standards.
CBA profits down 2%, says it’s bolstering customer support amid economic slowdown
CBA’s annual cash net profit after tax for the 2024 financial year was $9.8 billion, down 2% on the previous year and 3% less on the first half of FY24. The fall in profits was attributed to lower lending and deposit margins, increased business competition, and inflationary pressures on operating expenses, partly offset by volume growth and lower loan impairment expenses.
ACCC accepts TPG’s undertaking in Google search services probe
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from TPG Telecom as part of its ongoing investigation into Google’s search services in Australia. This move follows similar undertakings accepted from Telstra and Optus.
Performance marketing: Cupra power trio plot 7-second burn through auto market, back distinctiveness to skew younger, hit early speed humps
It’s had to revise projected unit sales figures down from 7,000 annually because of the economic climate, Australia’s competitive, nuanced automotive market and changing EV regulations, and it’s faced early challenges with product reliability globally and a digital sales process locally. But the team behind Volkswagen-owned Cupra are sticking to their ambitions of becoming a design and performance-led brand either loved or hated by consumers – never just liked. Cupra’s global brand chief, Ignacio Prieto, EVP of sales, marketing and aftersales, Sven Schuwirth, and Australian director, Ben Wilks, share the inspiration and story behind the latest car brand on the Australian block, how they’re balancing brand distinctiveness and design with local flavour, commercial setbacks thus far and the tribal community and performance play they’re executing to win over a nuanced set of younger-than-average car buyers who still enjoy driving, not being driven.
Temple & Webster bucks soft market and reports 26% lift in revenues; flags marketing and AI investments as key to growth
Online retailer Temple & Webster says it’s getting closer to realising its $1bn sales ambitions target after bucking the 4% dip in market conditions and chalking up record FY24 revenues of $498 million, up 26% year-on-year.The ASX-listed retailer said growth was driven by an all-time high in active customers, up 31% to 1.1 million, with repeat customers now making up 57% of all orders (874,000). The higher frequency spending was countered by a decline in revenue per active customer of about 3% to $461.
7-Eleven launches new mobil fuel range with high-octane campaign
7-Eleven has rolled out a new range of Mobil fuels across its stores in Australia, promising to enhance engine performance. The launch is accompanied by a high-energy campaign created by creative agency CHEP Network, featuring a video directed by Jeff Low from Revolver Films.
ANZ debuts Cybersecurity Ranger Perry in new educational content series
ANZ has teamed up with Keep Left to launch an educational content series on cybersecurity risks, explaining what individuals can do to protect themselves and how ANZ is supporting its customers.
Sir Martin Sorrell on the $9bn valuation wipeout of his new world holdco S4Capital – and why Publicis, Omnicom, Havas are ‘premier league’ players – Dentsu, WPP, IPG ‘second division’
Part One: It’s been three years since Sir Martin Sorrell was last on the Mi3 podcast – he declared then a mea culpa of sorts: he didn’t, and couldn’t, transform WPP, the giant marketing services holding company he founded in the 1980s, fast enough because it was listed, hampering transformational efforts that would likely spook the investment community. At the time in 2021, Sorrell’s next generation digital holding company, S4Capital, was firing with a market cap of circa £5 billion (AUD$9.6bn), just three years after a street fight with WPP’s board saw him exit and build WPP 2.0. He was bleak on the future of his old British firm, along with WPP’s French and US-based global holding company rivals. But since then S4Capital’s market cap has plunged more than 90 per cent to £300 million (AUD $582m) as the tech sector, representing 45-50 per cent of S4’s £1bn in revenues, slashed their own marketing budgets globally. But there’s more to it – another mea culpa even – and more of Sorrell’s scorecard on his big holding company competitors along with Accenture Song’s dive into media, a move peculiar to Australia, he argues.
‘Intensely worried’: Australia’s squeezed middle ditches eating out, entertainment to ride out cost of living crunch – but AMP and NAB chief economists warn on job cuts
Chief economists at NAB and AMP have flagged Australia’s low unemployment rate as critical to current consumer confidence while low economic growth hovers above recessionary levels. The threat of incoming job cuts have them worried – and their data suggests those betting on tax cuts to refuel spending may be taking a big risk.