King James crowned overall agency for Pick n Pay

It's no fairytale - King James has been awarded the much sought-after Pick n Pay advertising account!

Founding creative partner, Alistair King, gives us the scoop...

1. What's the impact of this account win for KJ?

King: There's no question that this is a defining moment for our agency. It obviously takes us into a different league in terms of our size, but the timing is perfect. We're doing the best work of our lives, and we've never been more prepared structurally for an account of this nature. The size of the account doesn't scare us at all. We're just excited about the potential the brand has and we know from experience that we do our best work on our biggest clients. It's the way it should be.

2. What exactly will it entail?

King: We're still working out the exact scope of work with the client, but we both have this window of opportunity to rethink the retail model entirely. We'll solve that together. What I can confirm is that King James and King James II will be handling the account in both offices from 1 June. We intend to put our top strategic and creative minds on the account and hopefully do some category defining work.

3. Give us some insight into the pitching process.

King: The winning agency seldom has anything bad to say about the pitch process, but I can truthfully say it was a fantastic one - I doubt any of the participating agencies would say otherwise. So many aspects of the process were refreshing.

For one thing, we're used to being given a strict two hours to pitch our case and then literally kicked out the door when the time is up. It's ridiculous given the importance of the decision that needs to be made, and this client mentioned that on a number of occasions. They gave us all the time we needed because they genuinely wanted to get to know us and fully understand how we think. Our work was not just viewed, but dissected. The 'how we do it' (and 'who did it') seemed as important to them as the 'what we do'. I could see they weren't sitting there ticking the boxes of some pitch appraisal form. They were genuinely engaged and seemed to be trying to get an intuitive feel of who we are as a group of people. Their process felt very personal.

4. Tell us why you won the account - what was the stand-out factor from your side?

King: If I look at King James right now, I have to believe we have a lot to offer a serious marketing brand like Pick n Pay. Our model of integration is running very smoothly and we have the work to show for it. This would have been a huge decision for them to make given the brand's history, but I think they have declared some very real intent in choosing an agency like King James. We have a particular creative ethos and a particular way of doing brand advertising, and I guess that's exactly what they are looking for, for their brand. They are showing some very real purpose right now and we are thrilled to be their chosen partners on that mission. PnP is such an epic brand and there is no reason why they shouldn't be making the best advertising in the country. So watch this space.

Watch this space, we will! In the meantime you can click here for more on King James and follow them on Twitter.