Booze barons sack agency – then vanish with PR firm

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ONE FOR THE ROAD: Independent Liquor has sacked Barnes Catmur & Friends Dentsu, and decided to move their creative and media to other agencies. The agency has confirmed the move, but Independent Liquor and its PR firm PPR have made a dive for cover.

The agency has resigned itself to the change – which came very suddenly – and has fired off a salvo about budgets at the booze barons.

“For a number of years we have worked with Independent Liquor on NPD, packaging design, trade packs, media, digital, websites, DM, social media, activation and even a bit of advertising,” says ECD Paul Catmur.

“We have worn a groove in the road down to Papakura that others will now follow.

“We’ve had a lot of fun, got through some tough times, worked with some wonderful people, and are very proud of what we achieved as a team with budgets that were always a distant relation of anything reasonable.

“So thank you to everyone we worked with and good luck to Independent Liquor and its new partners.”

The creative and media partnership between the agency and client had produced nine Effie Awards, including Client Of The Year in 2013 and a Sustained Success gold this year.

Independent Liquor has yet to name a new agency.

In fact, Independent Liquor is going out of their way to avoid making any comment at all – M+AD spoke to their receptionist this morning who informed us that all press comment must come via their PR firm, PPR.

PPR, predictably, proved just as elusive. They promised to call us back. They didn’t.


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