The Victorian government awarded OMD its master media account valued at around US $ 100 million, Mumbrella can reveal, thereby ending MediaCom’s relationship with the significant business unit.
The government told OMD that it won the account on Friday, as Mumbrella understands, and triumphed against Group M’s MediaCom and Publicis’ Zenith. The appointment of the Omnicom Media Group agency will be effective from June 1st.
Mumbrella first announced that the significant account had been advertised in March last year, as the state government had decided not to extend its contract with MediaCom for another two years.
“We are very pleased to be working with the Victorian government,” OMD CEO Aimee Buchanan confirmed the news to Mumbrella.
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“It is an absolute privilege to be selected to work with them and to prove the team and product we have built.
“As an agency, we are committed to bringing real change and impact to our clients and working with the Victorian government is an opportunity in no time.”
The Victorian government also confirmed the decision to Mumbrella, saying the contract was for a term of three years.
“This follows a rigorous and competitive bidding process to ensure the contract is the best value for money to meet the media strategy and purchasing needs of all departments and agencies of the Victorian government,” said a spokesman.
“Major government campaigns deliver vital news to Victorians on topics such as COVID-19, road safety, occupational safety and bush fires.
“We would like to thank MediaCom for their hard work and commitment to promoting the Victorian Government over the past three years.”
The spokesman added that OMD will hire 12 young people to work directly on the account and another 15 young people across the agency.
“The partnership with OMD Australia offers not only excellent value for money, but also additional benefits in priority areas that are aligned with the social procurement framework in Victoria,” said the government spokesman.
“This includes job opportunities for the cohorts hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. OMD is committed to recruiting 12 young people to work on the Victorian Government Account and employing an additional 15 young people annually across the agency.
“Other social benefits of the contract include the obligation to employ someone with a disability to work on the government account, internship opportunities for Aboriginal people, and purchase from Victorian social and Aboriginal companies.”
MediaCom succeeded Dentsu Mitchell on December 1, 2017. The contract runs until November 20th last year. The government decided against exercising two year-long options to extend the relationship, but the pitching process became lengthy with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of that process, the government gave MediaCom an extension until this month so as not to disrupt a number of COVID-19 campaigns.
The latest ad spend report for the Victorian government shows it spent $ 105.7 million in 2017 and 2018 in the run-up to the November 2018 state elections in Victoria, won by Daniel Andrews as Prime Minister, a position that he has held since 2014.
From 2008 to 2018, the state government spent an average of $ 101.29 million per year on advertising. That number has likely increased during the pandemic.
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