Qantas $20m media pitch sees four agencies line up

Four agencies will face off for the media account of national airline Qantas, Mumbrella can reveal.

It is understood that the agencies involved in the pitch are incumbent ZenithOptimedia who will face off against a field of three consisting of independent Bohemia, Omnicom’s OMD who went head to head with ZO in 2012 for the account, and Group M’s Maxus who currently holds the media account for sister airline Jetstar.

Mumbrella revealed the media pitch for the account, which according to Nielsen, in the 12 months to August saw the airline spent a total of $34.5m on advertising however, this figure includes $15m spent by Jetstar, leaving the value of the Qantas media account at just under $20m.

All agencies contacted declined to comment on the pitch however, the field of competitors is likely to make Qantas one of more competitive pitches of 2014 with Bohemia on a hot streak in the last 12 months, winning major accounts Vodafone and Lion, while OMD is thought to a strong contender given its final placing in the last pitch and Maxus in a prime position with Jetstar, given its streamlining of its marketing operations which have seen it shed 40 per cent of its broader marketing team.