Schweppes Australia pitches creative, claiming retainer model is not producing results
Schweppes Australia is reviewing its creative agency arrangements, putting incumbent GPY&R Melbourne on alert, as the beverage company looks to appoint a mix of agencies to its roster in an effort to drive better results from its creative, Mumbrella can reveal.
Troy McKinna, Schweppes Australia’s general manager of marketing, confirmed the pitch telling Mumbrella the brand is re-evaluating not only the agencies it works with but how it works with them, saying its retainer model is not producing the right results.
The account includes such major brands as Schweppes, Cottee’s, Cool Ridge, Solo and Spring Valley and is one of GPY&R Melbourne’s largest clients.
“Schweppes Australia is embarking on an exciting journey to bring bigger creative ideas into our business and to that end we are currently reviewing who we work with and how we work with them,” McKinna said.
When you are working with some of the best creative agencies in a market, who have an intimate knowledge of your business and brand owing to a long-term retainer model, I’d suggest the problem may be a bit closer to home than your chosen remuneration model.
Nothing says “we don’t have a clue as to what we are doing so let’s pitch every campaign to as many agencies as we can” like a project based structure. Especially on an FMCG giant.
Couldn’t have put it better myself, KGB.
Maybe the retainer’s too light and consequently that’s why you feel you’re not getting the service you want? Just a thought.
And after they appoint a new agency and that doesn’t work there is a change in the marketing department and they look for a new agency and then when sales keep going down they have a change in the marketing department. And someone on the board realises they have made a series of blunders. Worse still someone has run off with their market share. Oh, and lots of people have lost jobs too.
For what it’s worth, I think the Schweppes master brand work has been strong in recent years. But guess it’s no fun having to pay for it.
agree with Jet.
The greatest strength that Schweppes has is in itself, in its history, and within its name, which is a form of onomatopoeia.
The proposal as outlined, to supposedly find a new way, has been tried before with devastating results. I say “look back and step forward” Repaint and launder, but illuminate the old gold rather than attempting to refocus and rebuild.
Then again, I am old, so what else would I say? Well, that’s one way of looking at it.
Why would anyone put time and resource into pitching for a non-retainer account? Pitching is a gamble at the best of times. If project-based stuff is the ‘cherry’ at the end, it’s foolish to venture down that path.
The Schweppes brand TVC with the bursting balloons is one of my absolute favourites