The7Stars wins UK media accounts for Irn-Bru and Japanese manufacturer Kao
We consider this week’s account wins, kicking off with Irn-Bru’s new media planning and buying partner.
Irn-Bru is known for its fun and quirky ads
Rust-colored fizzy pop Irn-Bru has a decent claim to being Scotland’s second national drink. It’s defended its position against the likes of Coca-Cola and Pepsi over the years by developing a humorous, underdog persona in its marketing efforts, including a long series of ads made by the Leith Agency.
Responsibility for helping the brand’s owner Barr Soft Drinks maintain its market position has now fallen to The7Stars, which has been appointed by Barr to lead its consolidated media planning and buying account in the UK.
The competitive pitch, led by Ebiquity, includes Irn-Bru, Rubicon and the Barr Flavours range.
Adrian Troy, chief brand officer of AG Barr, said: “We immediately hit it off with The7stars and felt aligned with their agile independent spirit, their passion and knowledge of our business, and their well-defined approach for taking our brands forward.”
Liam Mullins, managing partner at The7stars, added: “AG Barr is an exciting UK business with an impressive track record of serving up great-tasting products that people love. We are delighted to be on board to help with their ambitious growth plans and look forward to delivering stand-out campaigns for their unique and distinctive portfolio of brands, all of which deserve a bigger customer base.”
It’s been a strong week for the agency, which also picked up the account for Japanese consumer goods manufactuer Kao. The company, which specializes in haircare equipment for salons and hair brands such as John Frieda, appointed The7Stars to handle its media planning and buying in the UK. The competitive pitch was led by Abintus.
Wendy Brown, UK country manager, Kao Consumer Care, commented: “We are very excited to have appointed The7stars as our new media planning and buying partner. We were impressed by the progressive thinking and integrated omnichannel approach and are very much looking forward to working with Jenny and her talented team at The7stars.”
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KFC has hired Spark Foundry as its US media agency.
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Indian peer-to-peer lender LenDenClub has appointed Chimp&z Inc as its digital marketing partner.
Want to tell us about your new agency appointment? Email Sam at businessonthemove@thedrum.com.