Specsavers worked with consultants at The Aperto Partnership and Media Marketing Compliance on the review.
OMD Ireland has retained the Specsavers media account following an internal review by the company that reflected its commitment to the Pitch Positive Pledge, the UK industry-wide initiative aimed at making the pitching process more accountable and responsible for advertisers and agencies.
OMD Ireland has been working with Specsavers for 11 years.
The contract renewal extends Specsavers’ relationship with the Omnicom-owned media agencies and comes in the wake of what Specsavers described as a “pioneering move” that eschewed “an unnecessary and lengthy pitch process” involving other agencies.
Instead, the advertiser “sought to continue the relationship with Manning Gottlieb OMD and OMD Ireland with the goal of building “the best, most effective advertiser-agency partnership in the market”.
“We are exceptionally proud of our long-term relationship with Specsavers and the partnership we have developed together,” says Fiona Field, managing director, OMD Ireland.
“This relationship centres on a continued focus on collaboration, learning and leveraging the brand position in innovative ways with a sharp focus on effectiveness in what is a highly changing and dynamic media environment.”
As part of the review process, Specsavers worked with consultants at The Aperto Partnership and Media Marketing Compliance which delved into the current contract and working relationship.
Specsavers was one of the first signatories to the IPA’s and ISBA’s Pitch Positive Pledge in the UK when it was introduced. It said the process was designed “to ensure Specsavers remains at the forefront of an ever-evolving media landscape; has the best talent on its business; delivers best-in-market effectiveness, remaining commercially competitive and transparent; and continues to deliver best-in-class creative media solutions”.
The review examined several key areas: team, talent and structure; effectiveness and measurement; account management and ways of working; integrated system; and commercials and transparency.
Ian Maybank, head of connections planning, media, and insights at Specsavers, said the advertiser recognised that pitches can be both “valuable and also disruptive, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis, when we want our agency partners focused on delivering our customer agenda without the threat of us moving the account.
“We’ve been able to achieve the same outcomes as a competitive pitch would by conducting a root and a branch review with support from Aperto and MMC. We see this as a reflection of our commitment to the ongoing relationship and to the IPA and ISBA Pitch Positive Pledge that we signed up to 12 months ago to improve pitching behaviours.”
