The New South Wales government has consolidated its primary media account with agency Omnicom Media Group, OMD after a lengthy bidding process.
The Department of Customer Service (DCS) awarded OMD the Media Agency Services (MAS) account after a 12-month process, which was eventually whittled down to the final two, including UM. Both fell to parts of the account.
OMD now owns the master media accounts in Victoria and New South Wales, having won the former last year. The latter two are said to have flexed the ability to run a government account, with UM the federal government account holder, retaining it last year.
The current list of NSW government agencies includes UM, OMD, Havas Media and Atomic 212, with WPP salary rate negotiations, non-campaign activities and spending reports across the government. The account was previously held by UM, which won it from Mediacom in 2013, before being restructured in 2017.
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The NSW government said the rigorous two-stage tender is expected to save NSW ratepayers more than $100 million over three years.
According to Nielsen, the NSW government account was the fifth largest in 2021, behind only the federal government account, Harvey Norman, the Victorian government and Woolworths.
Assistant Secretary for Client Services, Delivery and Transformation, William Murphy, estimates the contract at $70 million a year and includes planning, strategy and media buying services for over 250 NSW Government advertising campaigns a year , including those for COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.
“Whether it’s the latest health advice, connecting people with government services or helping with the cost of living through the Savings Finder programme, the NSW Government is committed to providing customer-centric communications that deliver value to the people of NSW.”
“Savings will come from aggregate media buying power as well as central monitoring and management of NSW government campaigns and data to ensure continuous improvement in customer communications.
“The NSW Government can reinvest these savings into essential services such as roads, hospitals and schools that support individuals, families and local communities across the state.
“The New South Wales Government looks forward to continuing to work with OMD and we are confident that OMD will be able to handle the varied needs of the many departments of the New South Wales Government.
“We thank the other agencies for their hard work and dedication to serving New South Wales government departments over the past five years.”
Services from the existing panel will now be consolidated under one provider, with the new contract due to start in October this year, running until 2025.
The NSW Government further added that the tender requirements were based on a “thorough assessment of opportunities and needs with an open expression of interest followed by a closed request for proposal to shortlisted suppliers”.
“The tender was open to all types of media agencies,” apparently referring to the IMAA’s campaign to have the EOI changed.
The IMAA campaigned after the EOI demanded a single supplier, essentially excluding independent competition agencies for the coveted account.
IMAA CEO Sam Buchanan said at the time: “For the NSW Government to exclude us from this contract is not in the national interest. This will send the money overseas to support another country’s economy and not ours.
OMD Australia Co-CEO Sian Whitnall said: “Strengthening our relationships across all departments of the NSW government aligns with OMD’s evolved ambition of performing with integrity for our employees and our partners, in order to generate valuable partnerships and sustainable ways of working.”
OMD Sydney MD Kim Hamilton added: “We will proudly build on our existing relationship with the NSW Government, which is centered on transparency and mutual accountability, to provide all departments and the people of New Wales with the South,” Ms Hamilton said.
This marks a major win for OMD, having lost the Bank of Queensland account last week. He is currently awaiting the outcome of Coles’ integrated pitch, where the agency holds the media side. Winning one of the largest accounts in the country is a vote of confidence for co-CEOs Laura Nice and Sian Whitnall, who were appointed to the role in 2021 after Aimee Buchanan joined GroupM as national CEO.
Following OMD’s appointment, IMAA CEO Sam Buchanan said: “While we are disappointed with the way the NSW Government has conducted its main media pitch and the outcome, we are not surprised. The government has turned its back on the independent media agency sector and seems content with agency profits being sent overseas, rather than supporting Australian businesses. IMAA continues to have active discussions with the government to modify the process in the future. »
