Pitch watch: daimler/mercedes-benz settles media; whybins favourite for virgin mobile? ; magnum wins morsol

_Mumbrella casts an eye over the major media, creative and public relations pitches at play in market. _ _In this wrap up the latest on: Mercedes-Benz (decided pitch); Virgin Mobile

(creative); and MorSol (decided pitch)_ DAIMLER/MERCEDES-BENZ WRAPS $18M MEDIA PITCH One of the last remaining Mediapalooza pitches has finally been decided with Daimler/Mercedes-Benz opting

to keep its media with Omnicom agency Foundation, Mumbrella can reveal. The pitch kicked off in earnest locally in July and had involved GroupM’s MEC and Publicis’ Vivaki in the final-three

shootout. It was an offshoot of a global process. ADVERTISEMENT It was also a make or break moment for Foundation, the little sister of OMD and PHD, with Daimler/Mercedes-Benz its biggest

client, having held the account for a decade. In the announcement Lachlan Jones, Foundation’s managing director said: “We are passionate about the Mercedes-Benz brand and we love working

with the people at Daimler. The pitch process has been enormously helpful to us in reaffirming our commitment to the relationship and ensuring we have not become complacent in terms of the

work we deliver.” Jason Nomikos, director of marketing, Mercedes-Benz Australia said: “Foundation provided an innovative and thorough response to the brief. We are really looking forward to

working with Foundation over the next years to continue to drive our business forward.” Leigh Terry, CEO of OMG Australiadescribed the victort as a “testament to the longstanding

relationship and a great partnership” between the client and agency. Omnicom Media Group has also been reappointed to the business in New Zealand (retained by the incumbent, Spark PHD),

Canada, and is newly appointed in South Africa. WHYBIN\TBWA FAVOURITES FOR VIRGIN MOBILE CREATIVE? While the Singtel board has not yet signed it off a number of sources are citing

Whybin\TBWA Sydney as the winners of the Virgin Mobile creative pitch. The pitch kicked off alongside the Optus process in June with all agencies on both rosters up for review. Havas

Worldwide is the incumbent with Virgin, while With Collective was also strongly linked with having a good shot at the main account with Steve Coll, the man behind the Fair Go Bro campaign

for it, now the agency’s chief creative. It is also thought Virgin wanted to consolidate PR alongside the creative, which could see Eleven PR picking up the work at the expense of incumbent

One Green Bean. All agencies contacted declined to comment at the time of publication. RESTAURANT GROUP MORSOL APPOINTS MAGNUM & CO TO HANDLE PR AND INFLUENCER ACTIVITY PR and social

media agency Magnum & Co has picked up restaurant and catering group MorSol following a competitive pitch. Magnum & Co will handle PR for MorSol which is the collective name for a

group of restaurants including ARIA Sydney, CHISWICK Woollahra, CHISWICK at the NSW Art Gallery and North Bondi Fish as well as ARIA Catering. The appointment will see the agency lead PR,

influencer marketing and media events for the group with the exception of ARIA Brisbane which will continue to be managed by local Brisbane consultant Victoria Lloyd. MorSol owner Matt Moran

said in a statement: “We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the restaurant and dining scene. We have grown and will continue to do so based purely on our philosophy of using

seasonal, fresh produce and providing premium dining experiences in iconic settings. We wanted to find an agency on the same page – innovative thinkers and industry leaders in their space

who aren’t afraid to think differently as we plan for a big year ahead with the opening of our Barangaroo site.” Magnum & Co managing director Michelle Hampton said in a statement: “We

are thrilled to be working with the group responsible for the most unique and renowned restaurants in Australia. MorSol is leading the food and dining revolution in this country with its

commitment to fresh, local and seasonal produce and we are glad to be working with the team to bring such a great philosophy to the table.” Magnum & Co rebranded from Magnum PR in

October. The agency’s clients include Under Armour, Reebok, Swarovski, 3DR, Wok on Inn, Polk Audio, Power Crunch, Proto Whey, Pawshake and Sophos. MIRANDA WARD & ALEX HAYES