Sainsbury’s is the second of the UK’s massive retail manufacturers to separate with their company this week. Incumbent of 6+ years Wieden+Kennedy has declined to repitch, simply as adam&eve/DDB have walked away from the John Lewis and Waitrose assessment.
New enterprise groups will likely be going into overdrive with two such plum accounts up for grabs. It’d sound like Sainsbury’s heard that adam&eve/DDB was free, so shortly introduced a pitch, however apparently the grocery store has been speaking to businesses for just a few weeks.
Who’s within the working for these two meaty accounts? adam&eve/DDB may do a very good job with Sainsbury’s, which is a a lot larger spender than John Lewis and Waitrose mixed.
AMV may fancy their probabilities of a re-run with Sainsbury’s, or perhaps a go together with John Lewis, however its excessive profile failure with Asda, which cut up with AMV in 2021 after solely a few years, may depend in opposition to it.
John Lewis and Sainsbury’s may presumably have a look at smaller businesses. In any case, British Airways stunned everybody when it appointed Unusual to run its international enterprise.
New Industrial Arts already works with Habitat, a part of the Sainsburys Group (in addition to holding the founders’ expertise with John Lewis as a trump card); Pablo received right down to the wire with Morrisons final yr; and even a more moderen participant like Wonderhood, whose founders have a historical past with Ikea, may make sense.
House337 will likely be on the lookout for a retailer, particularly after just lately splitting with Tesco’s F+F clothes model, and they are going to be milking their relationship with Nathan Ansell, who solely simply left the company to change into the client director at Waitrose.
Ansell was chargeable for some fairly common promoting whereas he was advertising director of clothes and residential at M&S, together with the “Go Jumper” 2019 advert which was by Odd, now a part of House337. In 2019 he ditched concept of blockbuster Christmas adverts like Paddington and Mrs Claus in favour of shorter, social movies that leaned on Holly Willoughby, David Gandy and a variety of product.
The Ikea assessment has gone quiet, but when that’s nonetheless circling, Mom may nicely be one of many many businesses entering into gear.
There are some massive WPP businesses on the lookout for retailers. Gray works with Sainsbury’s Nectar rewards scheme and with Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury’s. An operation like Wunderman Thompson has associated expertise in excessive turnover work with First Direct, and the construction to accommodate a giant retailer.
Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi used to work with Asda and has area for a retailer, as do McCann. Or Droga5, as a part of Accenture, may be in with a shout.
No matter, adland is in for an fascinating few months and a variety of late nights.
