Mercury Energy is believed to have kicked off a pitch process for its below-the-line business, with a list of contenders thought to include FCB, DDB-owned RAPP and the incumbent Chemistry Interaction.
Mercury Energy spokesperson Shannon Goldstone said that it was still too early to comment on the pitch and added that the power company would only release further information once a final decision had been made.
In keeping with the modern trend of enforced silence that usually accompanies pitches, RAPP, FCB and Chemistry would not confirm or deny their involvement in the process, with spokespeople from all agencies keeping their lips pursed.
Given that energy companies traditionally invest substantially in direct marketing to both potential and current clients, the account would be decent win for any of the agencies involved (StopPress understands the account is split around 80 percent below the line vs. 20 percent above the line).
According to Nielsen’s rate card statistics, Mercury was the second biggest spender on advertising among Kiwi energy companies over the last two years.
FCB will be particularly keen to win back an energy company, after losing the Genesis account to .99 in 2012.
WhybinTBWA holds Mercury’s above-the-line account and it is thought above-the-line jobs will be included on a case- by-case basis. Its latest ad is pushing the Good Energy Monitor, which is on track to save customers a combined $2 million on their yearly power bills.
Mercury is also promoting its involvement in HRV’s Pure Invironment project, which saw a house in Ponsonby renovated and filled with eco-friendly products. It is set to go to auction on 25 May.
According to Nielsen, Contact Energy is the biggest energy company with 743,000 of people aged 15-plus using the company as their main provider. Genesis Energy is number two with 642,000 users, followed by Mercury (564,000), Meridian Energy (327,000) and Trust Power (257,000) while the remaining 462,000 use other power companies.
