OCBC Bank hires local agency GOVT
GOVT has won the OCBC advertising account in what could prove to be the new business coup of the year for a local agency in Singapore.
The agency, which has an office in KL as well as its home base on Outram Road, claimed the business after a final round of pitching with Singapore’s largest agency, Ogilvy, according to numerous industry sources.
GOVT has landed a one-year contract to handle the bank’s advertising starting from the beginning of 2017.
A statement from the bank’s head of group corporate communications, Koh Ching Ching, reads: “We have decided to award THE GOVT PRIVATE LIMITED our creative agency account for 2017. During the pitch process, we met a number of network and independent agencies, all of whom presented strong and thought-provoking ideas in their proposals. We are happy to see the high level of creative talent within the industry in Singapore. We look forward to working with GOVT to develop new creative solutions to engage our customers.”
The local shop takes on the multi-million dollar account from multi-national network McCann, which did not participate in the review.
The win is probably the most significant in GOVT’s short history. Leon Lai, the agency’s co-founder, wrote on Facebook today: “4 years ago, Aaron Koh, Casey Loh and myself dreamed that we would one day create a Singaporean agency that we would be damn proud of, an agency that will one day get a chance to lead work for great Singaporean brands. Along the way, a certain Timothy Chan decided to join in the party.”
“We pitched and won this account against fantastic agencies, agencies that we have a tremendous amount of respect for. But the icing for us is that we won it on our own terms, and will lead this in a different agency structural format. To a better GOVT!”
Is the contract for 3 years or just for 2017?
ReplyDoesnt ocbc know that ogilvy is at the top of campaign brief asias creative rankngs for 2016 and govt is nowhere on that list?
Guess awards aint all theyre cracked up to be.
ReplyCreative rankings 🙂
ReplyOne year contract for a ‘multi-million’ business? Just the handover would take at least a good 2 months if the business is that size so not sure the purpose of 1 year contract.
Replyno pressure GOVT. all eyes on you now…. They really just surfaced in year 2014.
ReplyHow is getting a one year contract after pitching for a three-year business ‘winning on your own terms’?
ReplyI don’t have a dog in this fight but Im quite pleased to see Goliath toppled.
If you take away the veneer of their proactive work which includes such “gems” as east timor tourism, the hospice and numerous other howlers, their real work and the people behind it are just as mediocre as any nondescript local agency.
Good on OCBC for recognising this and refusing to subsidise their awards budget….hope many others follow.
As for the one year contract, this is a standard precaution with a new, untested agency. GOVT deserves applause for wining but make no mistake, their work is terrible as well….probably a few hundred thousands cheaper than Goliath’s though.
GOVT have a lot to prove so let them get on with it.
ReplyAgree. A fine win. A fair win. Name any other business where you can honestly say that. Advertising, or whatever it’s called these days, it’s nothing if not self-destructively egalitarian.
ReplyHave your say