by Herman Manson (@marklives) Telkom has awarded its advertising account to DDB. The tender went out on 14 March 2014 and closed on 8 April. Bidding agencies had to have the capability to operationally support a business with media spend of R25 million per month, according to the tender document.
The new tender went out shortly after Telkom appointed ex-Vodacom executive Enzo Scarcella as its new chief marketing officer. He took up his position at the parastatal in February 2014.
Previously, the Telkom account was serviced by Y&R South Africa and the Telkom Mobile account by JWT. Telkom had confirmed at the time that the tender went out that the two would be consolidated.
In a press statement, DDB CEO Emmet O’ Hanlon says, “This was the biggest and most prestigious pitch of the year and one that we threw absolutely everything at, given our deep-rooted desire to work with Telkom and our respect for a strong competitive field.”
Comments Andrew Welch, Y&R SA CEO: “As is the nature of the advertising industry, clients come and go. In many cases, agencies bring on additional resources to service new business, especially for sizeable accounts like Telkom.
“There have been many ongoing changes to the Telkom business over the last two years that have resulted in corresponding ongoing changes at the agency. Our job at all times is to mirror our clients’ business needs.”
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