Saatchi & Saatchi has been appointed as the new creative agency for New Zealand rural insurance company FMG, beating out three other agencies in a competitive pitch, and taking over from ‘the heartland agency’ Tracta, previously known as Adplus.
Andy Earnshaw, FMG’s communications manager, says the pitch list is confidential but he says the agencies in the running “ranged from small and bespoke to the larger ones”.
“We’re going through a rebrand at the moment, so we decided it was refreshing to have a look around,” he says.
Unless you’re an avid reader of rural press, you may not have seen too much of FMG. But by choosing Saatchis, he says it’s an acknowledgment that the company is aiming to become more mainstream.
“We’re focusing on taking on new markets and really introducing ourselves to a wider group of New Zealanders and the Saatchis’ guys came up with some pretty good stuff around that.”
Chris Black, FMG’s chief executive, says the company has “a significant history and a compelling future as a market leader within New Zealand” and Saatchi & Saatchi immediately understood that.
“We connected instantly with their team and their creative pitch was exciting and compelling,” he says.
Not surprisingly, given what’s been a rather rocky 2010 for Saatchi & Saatchi, Livia Esterhazy, general manager of the Wellington branch, was pretty stoked to have won the business.
“During the pitch process we realised how passionate FMG are about their organisation and what great clients they would make. The FMG brand is embarking on a new journey and we are very proud that they have chosen us to partner them. We showed them some new ways of approaching their communications challenge and they were open to and excited about this thinking.”
First on the agenda? A slightly less early 90s style website, perhaps?
