Goodman Fielder and Initiative respond to Slingshot’s claim that account win was driven by price
Goodman Fielder and its new media agency Initiative have responded to incumbent Slingshot’s suggestion that the account move was driven by price.
Last week, Slingshot CEO Simon Rutherford said that Goodman Fielder wanted “an agency who would do it for less and they found one” in Initiative, an agency which has been a vocal critic of unfair pitches, led by global CEO Mat Baxter’s #ditchthepitch campaign. But local CEO Melissa Fein has insisted the pitch for the $12m account met its standards.
“Initiative has made its position on the need for fair and reasonable commercials clear and we held this pitch to that standard as we have all others over the past few years,” Fein told Mumbrella.
So Slingshot are willing to air their grievances about a commercial negotiation in public? Good luck getting business in the future. Talk about sour grapes. Learn how to be a CEO Simon.
The truth of the matter will be revealed in the subsequent. Let’s hope Initiative + GF do indeed set a new benchmark for FMCG communications in the market. If not then we’ll know it was just about $$ after all.
Yes let’s see if they take the Initiative to be different