Good, same: Zenith retains Aldi as supermarket giant consolidates into Publicis

News 11 Oct 2022 - 2 min read

Good, same: Zenith retains Aldi as supermarket giant consolidates into Publicis

By Brendan Coyne - Editor

Market Voice 3 min read

Retail media: Key lessons to avoid repeating programmatic ‘gold rush’ mistakes, hollowing out brand budgets

By Rory Heffernan - Chief Executive Officer, Atomic 212º | Partner Content

Retail media’s rise comes as marketers are being told to do even more with even less, says Atomic 212º Chief Executive Officer, Rory Heffernan, and puts brand budgets under further pressure.

Market Voice 4 min read

Airports are back bigger and better: why they are the next frontier for incredibly human brand connection

By Jemma Enright - General Manager, Airport, JCDecaux ANZ | Partner Content

In the next 5 years, brands will be reaching 85m passengers a year in the transformed terminals of Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth airports. That’s a massive opportunity to engage an emotionally charged audience in a context of curiosity and discovery, says JCDecaux’s Jemma Enright.

Market Voice 3 min read

The best relationships are personal – regional strategies should be too

By Phil Leyshon - Director of Digital, ACM | Partner Content

Mi3 sat down with ACM Director of Digital Phil Leyshon to discuss how first party data and enriched targeting is bringing brands closer to the regions – and notching upwards of 30 per cent growth.

Tags: Aldi Publicis

Zenith has retained the local Aldi account as the discount supermarket consolidates more of its international media business into Publicis. Following the review, the French-owned holdco now handles media duties across major 'Aldi South' markets, including the UK, US and Ireland.

What you need to know:

Zenith retains Aldi account locally after global pitch.
More global business consolidated into Publicis – UK, US and Ireland markets as well as Australia.
Creative not being consolidated, BMF remains agency of record.

Zenith has retained the Aldi account as the discount supermarket consolidates more of its media business into Publicis.

An Aldi spokesperson confirmed the deal as part of a global review, with marketing boss Mark Richardson running the rule over partners locally. They said the relationship would remain unchanged, though the consolidation would bring “global efficiencies” into play.

In the UK, UM has lost the business, worth an estimated £66m (A$115m) to Starcom, having held for the best part of two decades. Following the review across ‘Aldi South’ markets, Publicis-owned agencies now house the business across the US, UK and Ireland as well as Australia.

Aldi’s Australian media spend is circa $50m. The spokesperson said there are no plans to consolidate creative locally, with BMF holding the account for 21 years and delivering highly effective work.

The retention maintains momentum for Publicis after losing out to incumbents OMD and Deloitte for the Coles business locally.

Woolworths may be next off the block with a contract extension understood to expire next year. With Zenith holding Aldi and Starcom housing Metcash, Spark Foundry could conceivably bid to bring another retailer into the fold.

Since launching in 2001, Aldi has opened 581 stores in Australia. Per Roy Morgan data the retailer had a 12.4 per cent grocery share in 2020. That share may now be higher, despite incumbent supermarkets fighting back on price: This year Aldi research compiled by PwC suggested one in ten shoppers have changed supermarket as the cost of living spirals.