The Walmart-owned retailer this week kick-started the process of reviewing the £100 million account, putting Saatchi & Saatchi, the four-year incumbent, on alert
Agency sources said they had received calls from Asda last Friday to sound out their willingness to pitch for the business. The review has been triggered by a restructure in the Asda marketing department and the arrival of Chris McDonough, the former Molson Coors managing director of brands, as the marketing director
The Asda review remains at an early stage and it is unclear when the supermarket will finalise a shortlist of agencies. Sources said that Asda was not using an intermediary and that its marketing and procurement teams would handle the process directly
Asda’s move follows ad agency reviews in the past 18 months by The Co-operative, Lidl, Morrisons and Tesco as supermarkets jostle in an increasingly tough market
Sales at Asda have been strong in recent months, rising 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 on the back of a 4.5 per cent increase in 2012. However, market share has remained static at 17.9 per cent while its close competitor Sainsbury’s has increased its own share slightly
Andy Clarke, the Asda chief executive, recently praised its "Every Day Low Prices" initiative, which has been supported by advertising activity from Saatchis. While competing in what Clarke termed a "challenging trading environment", Asda is investing heavily in new stores and the online offering
One senior agency source who has worked on supermarket ad accounts said: "There’s a tectonic shift in that you have got the likes of Asda and Morrisons caught in a pincer where Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, the more upmarket rivals, are becoming more accessible for the weekly shop, while Aldi and Lidl are coming up hard and have got their marketing sorted."
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