It has been announced today that Carat, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, has been chosen as the new media agency for Countdown.
Countdown was with Ogilvy through its transition into Stanley St, but now moves its media business to Carat effective from September.
Sally Copland, Countdown’s GM Brand and Countdown X says this move was an important step towards keeping up with the changing face of the Kiwi consumer.
“Kiwis are communicating with businesses in completely different ways than they used to, and it’s important to us that we keep pushing ourselves to stay relevant and interesting for our customers, no matter how they want to engage with us. Stanley St (and before them Ogilvy) has played a critical role in supplying media services to our business for over 20 years, and I’m proud that we have achieved a huge amount together over this time. It’s been a tough decision to make this change and we are enormously grateful for the passion and dedication the Stanley St team has shown our business.
“We’ll be moving media services to Carat New Zealand, which is part of the Dentsu network. We’re excited to work with Robert and the Carat team, and to continue talking to customers in new ways and places. Carat has proven expertise across the media landscape, but are also widely respected for their collaborative approach and talented team. We’re looking forward to bringing these skills to our Countdown business, together with our creative agency Greenhouse NZ.”
Comment from Robert Harvey, Dentsu Aegis Network NZ CEO says,
“We are thrilled to be given the opportunity to partner with the team at Countdown. It is an iconic business that is interwoven into communities across New Zealand, and we feel privileged to be working with them to continue building their great brand.
“Now more than ever, customers have higher expectations from retailers and we are really excited about Countdown’s commitment to innovation in media to drive more positive customer outcomes, and accelerate the growth of their business in the digital economy.”
