The Queensland Government has kicked off a review of its creative roster, AdNews has learnt.
It is thought marketing services fall under a much broader procurement review of expenditure initiated by the Newman Government.
The Queensland Government's current advertising arrangements, inherited from the former Labor administration, are said to be notoriously complex and bureaucratic.
Agencies have been approached to provide a comprehensive summary of all government work they have undertaken, to get a 'lay of the land', as it were, with some confusion both in the market and within government about which agencies are responsible for which departments.
While there is an official panel of agencies rostered to the Department of Premier and Cabinet, if the work is under a certain amount it can be tendered out, and agencies that have worked for one department under such an arrangement can then be obtain work for other departments.
The key agencies working on the Queensland Government are SapientNitro, BCM, RedSuit, Coo'ee, Junior, GPY&R Brisbane, Clemenger BBDO Brisbane and Publicis Mojo Brisbane.
Tourism Queensland work is largely handled by Clems, Sapient and Publicis, while BCM does work on Queensland Transport, Junior works on Queensland Health and Coo'ee works on Treasury.
The $63 million master media account, retained by eight-year incumbent MediaCom at the end of last year following a drawn-out pitch process, is not included in the current review.
Spending by the state's largest advertiser picked up last year following a tough 2012 after Premier Campbell Newman came to power vowing to slash government expenditure.
The Queensland Government spent $63.1 million on main media in calendar 2013, a 39.7% increase on the prior corresponding period, according to Nielsen.
A spokesperson for the Queensland Government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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