by MarkLives (@marklives) Edcon has issued a statement confirming a number of new agency appointments: those of Young & Rubicam (Y&R), Promise Brand Specialists (Promise) and The Publishing Partnership (TPP) as its new advertising partners for Edgars Division, Specialty Division and Edgars and Jet Club Magazine publishing, respectively.
- See our original story: BREAKING: Y&R SA network, Promise win Edcon.
Edgars Division
New agency: Y&R South Africa (with Y&R Labstore and NATIVE VML)
Former agency: M&C Saatchi Abel
The Edgars Division consists of over 200 department stores targeted at middle-to-upper-income markets, with a product offering including clothing, footwear, cosmetics and accessories.
“We are very grateful to our previous agency, M&C Saatchi Abel, for years of dedicated service,” says Bernie Brookes, Edcon’s chief executive. “We now look forward to joining forces with the team at Y&R to reposition the Edgars brand in line with our new strategy, which places a very strong emphasis on customer centricity, and delivering our newly-aligned service and offering to what our vast customer base has been demanding.”
Speciality Division
New agency: Promise
Former agency: Ireland/Davenport (Boardmans and Red Square)
Retained agencies: Metropolitan Republic (Legit), Promise (CNA and Edcon Group Cellular)
Edcon’s Speciality Division has in excess of 730 stores, operating in numerous chains, including:
- CNA stores (books, magazines and electronics)
- Boardmans (complete home-living solution)
- Red Square (cosmetics)
- Legit (affordable fast fashion for young aspirational shopper)
- Edgars Active (sports lifestyle offering)
- Edcon Group Cellular (cellular and hi-tech), and
- International Brands (iconic international brands with several exclusive licences, including Topshop, River Island, TM Lewin, Calvin Klein, MAC Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, Khiels and Victoria Secrets Beauty and Accessories).
The Speciality account (excluding Legit, which remains with the Metropolitan Republic Group) has been awarded to Promise, which was established in 2005. Promise has already been the advertising partner for the CNA and Edcon Group Cellular brands within Edcon, so is familiar with the group’s customer base and business model. The agency has received numerous creative awards recently for its work on the CNA brand.
Edcon acknowledges and thanks the previous agency for the Boardmans and Red Square brands, Ireland/Davenport, for its partnership and dedication over the past few years.
Edgars and Jet Club Magazine Publishing
New agency: The Publishing Partnership
Former agency: John Brown (Edgards Club Magazine)
Retained agency: The Publishing Partnership (Jet Club Magazine)
The Edgars and Jet Club Magazine Publishing account has been awarded to TPP, a content agency with 19 years of publishing experience. TPP has already been the publishing partner for Jet Club Magazine, and together they have won numerous publishing awards. It also has strong experience in retail publishing, with the Clicks Clubcard Magazine as a major client.
“We’d like to thank John Brown, the former publishing partner for Edgars Club Magazine, for their support and committed service,” says Brookes. “We are very excited about leveraging the synergies that exist in bringing the Edgars and Jet Club Magazine under one strategic partner and leveraging TPP’s experience and skill in growing these brands and delivering value to our customers.”
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