Jewellery retailer Michael Hill has put its media account, believed to be north of $25 million a year, up for review, and incumbent OMD has chosen not to re-pitch after holding it since 2012. When a long-standing agency declines to defend a large account, that decision says as much as the pitch itself.
When an agency does not defend an account it has held for fourteen years, the interesting question is not who wins. It is why the incumbent stopped wanting to.
Jewellery retailer Michael Hill has put its media account up for review. The billings are believed to sit north of $25 million a year, and the incumbent, OMD, has decided not to re-pitch despite holding the business since 2012. A fourteen-year relationship, and the agency chose to walk rather than defend it.
That is the detail worth reading. A media review is routine. An incumbent declining to re-pitch a large, long-held account is not. Agencies fight to keep business like this. When one quietly steps back, it is telling you something about the economics or the relationship that the press release will not.
Why it matters
For any Australian business that works with an agency, this is a prompt to look at your own relationship honestly. Long tenure is often mistaken for a healthy partnership. Fourteen years can mean deep alignment. It can also mean drift, comfort and a set-up neither side has stress-tested in years.
The reasons an incumbent walks are usually some mix of margin, effort and fit. The account got harder to service profitably. The scope crept without the fee moving. The chemistry faded. None of those show up until someone forces the question, which is exactly what a review does.
The years OMD held Michael Hill before choosing not to re-pitch. Tenure is not the same as a healthy relationship
What to do about it
Review your agency relationship on merit, not on tenure. Years together prove nothing about whether the work is still good.
Make sure scope and fee still match. Quiet scope creep is how a good relationship turns into a resentful one.
Ask what your agency actually delivers now versus what it delivered when you signed. If you cannot answer, that is the answer.
Do not fear a competitive review. The threat of one keeps an incumbent sharp, and the process itself surfaces what is really going on.
Watch for the walk. If your agency stops fighting for your business, that is a signal well before any contract ends.
A media review is a normal event. An incumbent choosing not to defend a $25 million account is a message. The businesses that read those signals early are the ones who never get surprised by where a relationship really stood.