Special Group has pulled another rabbit out of the hat – a fairly big one, this time.
It’s won the MediaWorks business.
Keen readers will remember that Colenso BBDO parted company with MediaWorks last year after sister agency AIM Proximity took on the TVNZ business. (And after 20 years together.)
Sources reckon MediaWorks still holds BBDO in high regard and vice versa.
It’s hardly a surprise that MediaWorks has chosen Special, after its myriad awards and high-flying success this year.
It’s only a surprise that it’s taken them so long to choose another agency after flying solo for so long.
Special has been tasked with rebranding and relaunching music channel C4 to FOUR, a change announced by MediaWorks last week.
It’s expanding its target audience to compete directly with TVNZ’s mainstream channels, while TV3 will be repositioned to an older, broader audience.
The move is considered to be incoming CEO Jason Paris’ master stroke.
“Advertisers want to be where the most appealing audiences are,” he said.
“We intend to deliver those audiences in strong numbers to our clients, across both channels.”
Director of marketing and communications Roger Beaumont is a big fan of the agency.
"It's been excellent working with the crew at Special
on the FOUR brand development.”
See FOUR’s new logo, right.
“The refreshing thing about working with these guys is that the shareholders of the business work on your business. And I mean work. They don't just show up at the first couple of meetings, they're all in there boots 'n’ all getting down into the dirty detail.
“With FOUR, they have demonstrated a great blend of creative and strategic thinking.
“On top of all that, they are down-to-earth, relatively modest, and just bloody all round nice guys. Yes, this is an agency I'm talking about!"
The win is a coup for the agency beyond just another business addition – instead, it marks larger accounts’ vote of confidence.
Special is not sad about it.
"It's a great creative opportunity to help develop a channel from scratch with the MediaWorks team. They are very smart people and have ambitious plans," Special Group creative director Tony Bradbourne said.
Managing partner Michael Redwood: "This is a dream brief for us. An exciting and super competitive category, and a client that really values creativity – and is thinking big."
Four for FOUR – winning the MediaWorks business is a corner-turning moment for the agency.
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Special scores ex-Colenso account
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