Japanese carmaker Suzuki has appointed Melbourne independent Noisy Beast as its media agency of record after a two-way tussle with incumbent Maxus, AdNews can reveal.
AdNews revealed the $15m account had gone to pitch late last year. A unusually long shortlist eventually became a battle between the GroupM agency and Noisy Beast, which also includes Swisse, Infiniti and Dymocks among its clients.
AdNews is seeking comment from Noisy Beast and Suzuki.
Maxus has held the Suzuki account for 12 years and helped the brand launch a dozen new models as well as sponsor high-rating TV shows, such as The Block.
It is the second major car brand Maxus has lost recently after Fiat Chrysler switched over to Starcom in a global pitch at the end of last year. Maxus also lost Aldi in the back end of 2016 but picked up Mirvac, Danone and other clients.
Several car brands have been reviewing their media agencies in the past year, led by the high profile global move of VW from MediaCom to PHD.
Kia is also in the process of a media pitch and BMW has just called a review.
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