DDB takes lucrative Coles account

Australia - Australian retail giant Coles has appointed DDB Melbourne to manage its advertising business with Coles marketing head Tony Philips joining the agency to lead Coles' lucrative account.

Coles, owned by provate equity group Wesfarmers is one of the largest advertisers in Australia.

The retail group is currently going through a major transformation in a bid to commpete more aggressively with another supermarket giant Woolworths.
The protracted pitch process was a final battle between DDB and Leo Burnett.

The account has been managed for a number of years by The Solomon Partnership.

Phillips, the former general manager marketing communications & services at Coles, will join DDB as national managing director of retail and will play a major role in managing the Coles advertising account.

The win caps off a massive year for DDB Australia which has seen it bag the Tourism Australia account and secure all of the local McDonalds business. DDB has also picked up a swag of awards including Agency of the Year from Australian industry title AdNews.