Meerkats move HBF media East
Meerkats has reorganised its media buying services over the past few weeks and the changes have upset several people in the Perth media scene. Below is their official justification via their press release… in addition to this news the Murdoch University account will also be traveling East to Mindshare.
Recently, recognising channel planning as increasingly a key factor in modern through-the-line brand communications, Meerkats provided HBF with a more brand-centric solution to their media needs. Meerkats and global Group M media brand Mindshare currently work together on several Meerkats clients, with Meerkats providing Channel Planning and Mindshare the buying tools and resources along with Digital Strategy. A similar model has now been taken up by HBF.
Meerkats Director of Channel Planning Mark Pinney said “Putting people and consumers at the heart of campaign planning is what Meerkats is all about. That’s why Mike (Edmonds) and Ronnie (Duncan) are so passionate about developing a world class Channel Planning offering. The more we know about what people are doing, their thoughts today and their view looking forward; the more chance we have of creating relevant and engaging work for our clients.”
HBF Group Marketing Manager Sam McFarlane said “We welcome a moreintegrated approach to channel planning and feel confident the solutionoffered by Meerkats will add value to our business.”
Mindshare Country Leader John Petropoulos said: “I have alwaysthought that the WA market requires the sophistication of a GlobalBrand like Mindshare. This arrangement is perfect in that we areintegrated into the offering of Meerkats which I believe is one of themost progressive agencies in the country. In addition we are workingwith a leading WA marketer and can assist to drive their businessresults with our tools and new Exchange framework. Our team is lookingforward to the challenges.”
The new relationship takes effect from October 1st 2009 the date onwhich HBF’s current contract with current media provider Starcom ends.
23 Comments
Shame on you Meerkats and HBF for letting this go east. And why Murdoch Uni is now at Mindshare Melbourne is just as baffling. Meerkats – what the hell are you guys up to???? Taking two fantastic WA brands east is not cool at all. This is a very sad day for WA media.
Give me a break. Another shitful piece of meerkats PR. Just had a sudden flashback to the PADCs at His majestys. What’s next? Luda the magician?
WHAT A DISGRACE!
this is much worse than Tourism going east. Shame on you Meerkats.
What a joke. Meerkats look at yourself in the mirror.
Shane Warne to Meerkats? It’ll make their spin attack even sronger.
That is just about the worst press release I have every read.
I am baffled why Meerkats would take this step. They seem a smart agency but this move is not smart.
HBF and Murdoch will be disadvantaged. You only have to ask any senior media rep in town and they will tell you the same thing.
It is disappointing to see an iconic WA brand get their media bought by a Melbourne agency. HBF has been a big part of the local industry and should be planned and bought out of Perth where they can take advantage of local relationships.
What is more dissapointing is to see a client let this happen. Meerkats and HBF you should be ashamed of yourselves, especially as the local industry is hurting anyway., to move this much media $$ out of the market and over to Melbourne is disgusting.
as an industry we need to stand up to Meerkats!!
Meerkats has invented Channel Planning.
Well done boys!
My conversation with a major media sales figure this morning: “Yes, they will be disadvantaged”
Instead of standing up as an industry, why doesnt the media industry just look long and hard as to why Meerkats had to think about moving it out of WA? room for improvement perhaps????
I overheard a man on the train talking on his phone this morning. He was loudly proclaiming “HBF and Meerkats will be disadvantaged” over and over again in a repetitive montone. Imagine my surprise when he turned around to reveal he was none other than a senior media rep in town.
12.28pm,
He was probably in a state because he would have to starting looking for a job.
Nice touch to make fun of the local media industry and the good hard working Westralians losing out to competitive out of state markets when we know they are just as capable.
Imagine my surprise, when I just don’t find your comments amusing.
Further surprise, you might not be half as clever as you think you are! Imagine?
“I have always thought that the Perth market requires the sophistication of a global brand like Mindshare”?
Thank you John Preposterous. Our sophisticated saviour from the east. All hail Mindshare. What a fatuous and facile observation.
YEAH!!! let’s stand up to Meerkats!! Let’s challenge them to a fight behind the school bike shed. Come on everybody let’s get them!!!!!
A shame for the local television stations but come on, when are the managing directors of media agencies going to move out of the 80’s. The ego’s in this town have brought this on. This should not have happened.
Yeah let’s get Meerkats!!! Who the hell do they think they are trying to the best job for their clients and their brands!!! The dirty rotten bastards!!! Let’s teach them a lesson they’ll never forget. Who’s with me???
For those of you that buy all your electrical goods at Rick Hart, all your furniture at Tony Saddlers and fill your grocery trolley with harvey milk, carnarvon bananas and redback beer, you’re right. All the rest of you are hypocrits…
black swan: great call, couldnt agree more!
3.27
Who are you refering to – 12.28?
I’m confused. I didn’t think that 12.28’s comments were as bad as you are making out.
I didn’t think it was funny or non funny. I must have missed the point?
..and this, the West Australian advertising industry, who got Mike and the Meerkats to where they are now, are now too good for the people who have helped them all the way. Shame. Maybe they should relocate.
This is a huge mistake but hopefully HBF and Meerkats will work this out eventually.
HBF will be disadvantaged and Meerkats obviously don’t realise the impact of what they are doing – to this market and the client.
Just because you work in Sydney does not mean you are smarter or better at planning, negotiating and buying media. We are fortunate to have some wonderful talent in Perth. Meerkats are too up themselves to realise this.
Good luck HBF and Meerkats – you will need it.
Were Helen Hammond or James Burke approached? Two extremely talented strategic planners and respected negotiators and buyers – and both right here. They’re probably even HBF members.
A recent media buy through a WA media agency was a farce for one of my clients. Despite robust consumer research which clearly stated, in the consumers own words, why they liked to receive information about my clients offer through specific channels, the media planner provided the usual generic print out of TV, radio and print almost as if they had never even seen the research…..my client, a youngish marketer in terms of experience was under the impression that they would just have to accept what the media planner said because they were the professionals.
Needless to say I reminded my client that they were actually where the buck stops in terms of decision making and it was okay to not do exactly what the computer had told the media planner to do.
He went back and educated the media planner about why the plan did not meet the needs and got thew plan adjusted using plain old commonsense and the voice of the consumer.
Its all very well blaming the adverting agencies but marketing professionals need to lift their game to and proactively manage all parts of the process – they should be taking ultimate responsibility for it all.