Optus prepares to take on Telstra with new agency appointments

The telco market is set to heat up this year as Optus appoints a suite of new agencies; Droga5, Accenture Media, Apparent and BRX, to help it take on market leader Telstra.

Optus is readying to boost its brand and market share in the telco category following the appointment of a host of new agencies. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Optus has appointed Droga5, Accenture Media, Apparent and BRX as its agencies to manage creative, media, specialist B2B and production as the telco seeks to challenge Telstra’s market share.

The highly anticipated announcement sees Accenture Song assume control of both creative advertising and media business, signalling an intent to create a more integrated approach to the brand’s end-to-end marketing proposition.

Optus head of marketing Cam Luby said in a statement: “As the way people live, work and connect evolves, we’ve chosen partners who truly understand our industry and bring future-fit capabilities we need to stay ahead — especially in AI, automation, and data-led storytelling.

“With the right blend of creativity and technology across our new agency panel, we’re excited about the opportunities ahead. This new lineup brings together unmatched firepower to help us drive more integrated, effective, and future-ready marketing,” Mr Luby said.

The official announcement ends months of speculation about the creative and media accounts, which were widely believed to be set to land at the Accenture Song agencies. However, the decision marks the end of the telecommunications company’s long-standing relationships with Emotive, M&C Saatchi and UM.

Optus is currently the second largest telco behind market leader Telstra and has ambitious goals to increase its market share. It also faces the significant challenge of bolstering the brand which has suffered from the impact of customer data leaks and tech outage. The brand kicked off this offensive last year, at the time Mr Luby told The Australian the brand was focused on products and services to win back consumers.

“[When] we deliver for customers, one of the outcomes that we expect from that is going to be increased trust, and that’s because we’re giving people what we know that they need. We have a strong expectation of commercial growth and the continued progress of building our brand. And we’re going to see those brand trust scores moving up as well.”

Recent Roy Morgan Brand Trust data revealed the strategy was working with Optus trust ratings were improving, however, it is still one of the five most distrusted brands in Australia.

The announcement comes as rival Vodafone runs its own creative agency search with four agencies in the running for the business. The TPG-owned brand is also keen to shake up the category with a return to its cheeky challenger brand status and a desire to steal share from its larger rivals.