Joint pitching wins Look & Listen account

Makhene continues, "We realised that we would need an integrated approach to win this business, but also one which emphasised the creative, and we chose the right team for the job."

RMG:Connect's creative director, Nick Liatos, says three things about the pitch worked to win the account: "Great creative, great retail insight and great strategy."

Explains Darren Levy, CEO of Look & Listen, "At Look & Listen, we were looking to establishing a more formalised, sophisticated and coherent advertising and branding campaign. In terms of the pitch, the JWT/RMG:Connect team certainly grasped this, in terms of both the culture of the group and the message we wanted to convey.

"They understood that it wasn't just about promoting a product. When they presented the theme it was clear that they had understood our customers well and what Look & Listen does differently in order to attract and keep our customers, in other words, why people shop at our stores.

Adds Levy, "They encapsulated all of this in the campaign strap line - "For the Fans!" They just got it right! The campaign they presented included both the brand building and the product component - they also showed a strong understanding for executing a retail campaign."

Rob McLennan, group creative director at JWT, explains that the team felt that although Look & Listen stores were performing very well, "we wanted to give Look & Listen a stronger brand image and a clear "golden thread" of what the brand stands for. Look & Listen has a clear vision of where they want to go to, they're going to be looking at expanding their stores, so the timing is ideal to further establish the brand."

Liatos says, "The campaign was launched in July with the core theme of "For the Fans!" It's about the content: a wide range of music with a great in-store experience. But on a broader level, we are placing an emphasis on how people will get music in the future. Certainly it's about getting people into the stores, but it's also about getting closer to the consumer. Most of all - the loyal consumer. We're going to be using new media extensively, which also speaks to both the target market and reinforces the brand personality."

McLennan concludes by emphasising again the integrated approach: "It's going to cover ATL, viral marketing, online - the works!"