Melbourne, Australia – Winemaking company Accolade Wines has appointed Havas Media Melbourne as its media agency, and will be managing its wine brands such as Grant Burge, Hardys, Petaluma, St Hallett, Croser, Houghton, Jam Shed and Yarra Burn.

The scope of work covers media strategy, planning and buying across the entire portfolio of brands and includes planning and buying for global campaigns off the back of early exceptional results from the agency.

Jack Glover, marketing director at Accolade Wines, said, “As we continue to stretch our marketing and digital capability at Accolade Wines, it was vital that we found a strategic media partner who intrinsically understands the complexity of today’s media market.” 

He added, “We were impressed by Havas’s ability to apply our own category insights with their audience and market expertise and tools to deliver unique and forward-thinking strategic solutions. We are incredibly excited about this partnership and look forward to delivering some game-changing campaigns with the team at Havas Media.”

Meanwhile, Naomi Johnston, general manager at Havas Media Melbourne, commented, “We’re incredibly thrilled to be working with Accolade. From day one of the pitch process, we were blown away by the thorough briefing process and collaborative approach to planning led by a clearly very talented marketing team. Since being appointed we’ve felt very much the trusted partner whose experience and expertise in the category has been incredibly valued.”

She added, “We’re looking forward to a long and collaborative partnership, delivering great business results across Accolade’s prestigious portfolio of brands both locally and internationally.”

Melbourne, Australia – iProspect, the media agency under the dentsu network, has announced the appointment of former chief media officer at Cummins&Partners Paul Murphy to be its newest managing director in Melbourne. The appointment takes effect on 10 January 2022.

He brings into the agency 25 years of experience working agency- and client-side in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide, and assuming national roles across traditional, digital, planning, and buying.

Prior to Cummins&Partners, Murphy also had notable roles working for companies like Carlton & United Breweries, Blue Hive, Mindshare Melbourne, and OMD Melbourne. He began his career at full-service agency KWP in Adelaide in 1996.

The announcement of the new managing director was made by Oliver Rapson, CEO at iProspect Australia, who said that this is a major hire for iProspect and one that will have the greatest benefit for their clients and offering in Melbourne.

“Paul is a proven leader, we are delighted to have someone of his caliber join the team and I am excited for 2022 and see a year of huge potential and growth,” Rapson said.

Speaking about his appointment, Murphy said, “From my first conversation with Ollie, I was struck by the energy and enthusiasm the team at iProspect have for the business, their clients, and each other.”

He added, “As the industry shifts at pace, clients need a partner that can continually evolve their communications to reach and engage their consumers at the right place and time, for the best price. I am thrilled to be joining a team of professionals both in iProspect and the wider dentsu Group that are hungry for the challenges ahead.”

Meanwhile, Sue Squillace, CEO of dentsu Media ANZ, commented, “This is a very exciting time for the iProspect brand as we continue to build out the new digital-first end to end brand proposition. We are thrilled to welcome Paul to the dentsu family accelerating and leading the new iProspect offering for our clients and our people in Melbourne.”

Melbourne, Australia – As the city of Victoria emerges from its lockdown due to COVID-19, energy provider Momentum Energy has rolled out its newest campaign with creative agency Havas Media, which ‘takes over’ Flinders Street Station with human-sized ‘bottles of happiness’.

The campaign encourages Melbourne commuters to ‘Get Happy’, created by Momentum Energy’s in-house creative team, in which the human-sized bottles contain happiness-inducing content at Flinders Street Station, supported across multiple touch points including radio, OOH, online video, digital and social.

Said bottles are classified to the following: one jar contains ‘wishing stars’ that come with a ‘supanova-free guarantee’. Meanwhile, the second is a party pack of brightly colored ‘rainbow seeds’ for those who’d like to grow their own organic, full-spectrum rainbow, and lastly, the third is an 80% unicorn and 20% acrylic blend of ‘warm fuzzies’ to provide relief from 2021.

Furthermore, the campaign will take on a digital form where through bespoke display medium rectangle ads (MRECs) the designs of the human-sized bottles and their corresponding creative content will be shown to ‘spark joy’ as well as social content showcasing how people can make their own DIY ‘bottles of happiness’ at home.

According to the company, they believe that Australians not only deserve a boost of happiness as they venture out again, but that their choice of power company should make them feel good too.

Kate Lightfoot, creative lead at Momentum Energy stated, “We’re stoked to welcome people back to the city with these giant jars of imaginary nonsense. Walking around them makes you feel like a kid again and they’re an impactful reminder that Momentum is here to help Victorians get happy.”

The human-sized bottles are designed to evoke a delightful sense of childlike wonder and excitement, while reminding passers-by they can get similar happy vibes from their choice of power company.

Meanwhile, Sarah Cook, associate account director at Havas Media Melbourne, commented, “Our timing with the station domination is impeccable. It’s a great feeling to help spread some happiness and bring a smile to everyone venturing out via Flinders Street Station and reclaiming the love for our city.