Media Insider: Independent agency Together wins The Warehouse Group advertising account
The Warehouse has appointed Kiwi-owned Together as its new media buying and planning agency. Pictured inset are Together's Pen Brown and The Warehouse's Frankie Coulter.
A big marketing and advertising shake-up is looming for a prominent New Zealand retailer.
An independent New Zealand-owned advertising agency has won one of the biggest accounts in the land – The Warehouse Group, including The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery and Noel Leeming.
The Warehouse Group has selected Together as its new media buying and planning agency – the surest signal yet of a major advertising and marketing shake-up for the ‘Red Sheds’.
“It’s a biggie,” says Together managing director media Pen Brown. “We are proud – it’s incredible for indies, for us, and for Kiwis supporting Kiwi.”
For the past eight years, OMD – owned by global advertising giant Omnicom – has looked after The Warehouse account.
But The Warehouse Group’s relatively new chief marketing officer Frankie Coulter is a passionate supporter of New Zealand Inc, and knew Together’s work from his previous role at Goodman Fielder.
“Frankie and everyone, including Mark [TWG chief executive Mark Stirton] and us as well, just have that ambition of winning back the hearts and minds of Kiwis," Brown told Media Insider.
“I think you will see under Frankie and with the team that’s there a very different approach – it will be about getting back into the community.
“He’s starting to bring back things that Kiwis will love and remember. He wants emotional association with The Warehouse, not just ... retail.
“Definitely, I think you’ll see The Warehouse showing up very differently, in the next wee while.”
Coulter himself made headlines earlier this year with the announcement he was planning to pause advertising and marketing spend.
“The Warehouse needs a big revival and to do that we’ll need to make some big calls,” Coulter said at the time.
“As a well-known value retailer who wants to keep prices low and invest in stores, we need to figure out what will really resonate with the 1.5 million Kiwis who already shop with us each week and for the rest of New Zealand.”
Together is helping lead that marketing and advertising “blackout” project.
“That decision was made before the war kicked off in Iran,” Brown says.
“We all hope, including them, that they will get to follow through on a blackout period because it is about resetting the model and figuring out what works for them, in a marketing capacity.
“The war has shifted things slightly – it’s affecting every business.
“So the intention is to still do a blackout period. However, they will need to remain agile to what impact the war has on their business and consumer confidence and consumer purchasing.”
She says Together will lead the measurement on it.
“We want to measure effectively. We would hope to produce a case study out of it that would be of interest to other marketers who are looking at how they measure the effectiveness of certain channels.
“So yes, that project is underway. It’s not just a frivolous, ‘we’ll turn everything off’. It was with the intention of a reset and a much broader vision that Frankie’s got.”
She said the “blackout” was “not actually about reducing spend overall”.
“It’s about figuring out what works for their business and rebuilding – it’s a real reset moment for The Warehouse, which is really exciting. It’s finding the most effective channels.
“It’s about working out what works for their business and where to from here. Again, Frankie’s a marketer who believes in brand and creativity.
“The intention is we get back to spending and spending really well in market, supporting local, and hopefully having a bit more fun with ‘Red’ in particular.”
In a statement, Coulter said Together’s New Zealand ownership and strategic approach were key factors in the decision to appoint the agency.
“Together has a unique ability to blend strategic media planning with technology, creativity and content capabilities, in a fully independent model.
“We are excited to work with them ...”
TBWA remains the company’s creative advertising firm.
The move to Together is a further sign of the growing influence of independent media agencies in New Zealand, especially following the turmoil and job losses caused by mergers and cutbacks unfolding within major global advertising companies.
Together said it would lead the account from its Auckland office, deploying “a multi-disciplinary team” across media planning, buying, analytics, content, customer and technology.
The appointment is effective from today for The Warehouse and Warehouse Stationery, and from August 1 for Noel Leeming.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.