EXCLUSIVE: Regional telecommunications provider Southern Phone has appointed Foundation to its $11 million media planning and buying account.
Foundation was awarded the account in January following a pitch against an undisclosed number of agencies. The agency has replaced incumbent Pearman Media.
Southern Phone services regional Australia and operates in direct competition with Telstra.
Meanwhile, the telco has significantly increased its ad spend of late. Southern Phone spent an estimated $11 million on main media in the 12 months to October 2011, up from $4.6 million in the prior period, according to Nielsen.
Southern Phone marketing specialist Tim McTernan said: “Foundation’s regional media expertise was a key factor in their appointment to our business. Their strengths in strategic planning coupled with a focus on return on investment were also important considerations.”
Foundation managing director Martin Patton said: “Foundation is a business that has flourished in an environment which demands great partnerships with media owners, and an ability to provide a diversified range of services.”
Regional telecommunications is a hot political topic in Australia and has sometimes divided the Coalition parties, the Liberals and the Nationals. The Nationals had initially resisted the sale of Telstra, fearing regional telecommunications would be neglected under private operators.
Southern Phone was established in 2002 with the assistance of the federal government’s ‘Networking the Nation’ (NTN) program. NTN was set up to improve telecommunications services in regional Australia, which had previously been monopolised by Telstra prior to the government sell-off of the telco giant. The federal government is currently conducting a regional telecommunications review with a particular focus on the national broadband network.
The brand’s most recent television campaign was created by Human, which worked with Southern Phone on a project basis.
This article first appeared in the 10 February 2012 edition of AdNews. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
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