The West Australian leaves Marketforce after 40 years and appoints Rare as new creative agency

Seven West Media (WA) has announced the appointments of creative agency Rare and media buying house Carat for its newspaper The West Australian.

In a statement, the company said  SWM WA is committed to delivering a more compelling cross-platform media offering. Whilst The West Australian is well placed within the market with new initiatives in place, it was against a background of change that it put its advertising account out to market and – following a competitive pitch – appointed West Perth agency Rare, along with Carat who will handle all channel strategy and media buying.

Nicola Bedwood, General Manager, Marketing of Seven West Media (WA) said, The West Australian had enjoyed a strong relationship with its previous agency, Marketforce and the decision to appoint two new agencies was made in the face of a rapidly evolving media landscape.

“For forty years, Marketforce was our agency of choice. This speaks volumes. They have been fantastic to work with and have delivered strong results for The West Australian. We thank them for their service. However given the changes in the market, we were keen to see how other agencies might approach our business. Now more than ever, Seven West Media recognises the need to look at all facets of the business with a refreshed prespective”

She said The West Australian was confident the partnership with Rare & Carat will deliver unique, high impact strategies and campaigns to deliver the best possible results.

 “We know we need to change the way we do things. Audiences are changing the way they consume media and our aim is to be there waiting for them. The appointment of Rare and Carat is the first step in this process,” Bedwood said

As one of the fastest growing communications agencies in WA, Rare is locally owned and run by Managing Director, Callum Mackenzie (pictured) and Creative Director, Brett Wheeler.

“As a fully integrated agency with a strong digital offering and access to the considerable resources of the McCann World Group, Rare has the expertise and resources needed to deliver fresh thinking to The West Australian,” Mackenzie said. “We’re very excited to be appointed to the business and look forward to a long and successful partnership.”

Carat Managing Director, Adam Marshall said the team were thrilled to have been appointed and were looking forward to applying their unique planning approach to the business at The West Australian.

“From a media perspective Seven West is already a major partner. To extend the relationship further and help them build their rapidly changing business is a dream brief and we can’t wait to get started,” said Marshall.