Clemenger Wins Nab's Ad Work

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday November 13, 2006

Julian Lee

NATIONAL Australia Bank is expected to announce within a fortnight that it has awarded its $30 million advertising account to Australia's oldest advertising agency, Clemenger BBDO.

After a review lasting nearly six months among its roster of advertising agencies, the bank has decided to consolidate its advertising needs into one agency.

The appointment is widely read as a signal that from early next year NAB will embark on a more aggressive marketing campaign to win back market share, the final phase in its recovery strategy after the currency trading scandal in 2003 that seriously damaged the bank.

Neither NAB nor Clemenger, which is 46.67 per cent owned by BBDO Worldwide of the US, were willing to confirm the news despite mounting speculation in the advertising community that the account had already landed.

The loss will be a severe blow to Photon Group, the listed marketing services company which paid $9 million in cash and shares in February for See Life Differently, the ad agency which handles the bulk of NAB's advertising.

Photon fell 26c to $5.60 on Wednesday on speculation that the account loss was imminent. It fell 30c to $5.70 on Friday.

See has reportedly been shedding staff in anticipation of the move. But Photon chief executive Matt Bailey denied the business was lost. "We still have a relationship with NAB. We are still very much there," Mr Bailey said.

Another loser will be George Patterson Y&R, which handles the advertising for NAB's credit cards.

Clemenger is also expected to be thrown the bonus of handling the advertising for NAB's wealth management group, MLC, which See also handled.

Industry sources estimate that Clemenger could receive up to $6 million in fees to handle the bank's advertising, direct marketing and strategy.

For 2005-06, Clemenger reported revenues rose 10 per cent to $212 million and net profit 9 per cent to $20.5 million.

The NAB deal is a big win for Clemenger's Melbourne office and comes soon after its hiring of arch rival George Patterson's creative director, James McGrath, who was responsible for creating Carlton Draught's Big Ad.

The managing director of Clemenger's Melbourne office, Peter Biggs, declined to comment.

The slow but steady rebuilding of the NAB brand - bank executives have dubbed it "The Journey" - began in March last year with a series of ads showing athletes in training for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a metaphor for the bank's return to financial fitness.

NAB was a major sponsor of the games, the staging of which gave the bank the chance to show it had changed - complete with new logo.

NAB spokesman Geoff Lynch said: "This was a business-as-usual review of the sort we conduct every couple of years.

"We do it because our needs change, as do the capabilities of the agencies that we work with. It's logical to go back and look at the agency mix.

"But the review is not yet complete and we expect a decision in the near future."

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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