Wunderman Thompson has assimilated WA digital and creative business solutions company Meerkats.

The move will see the Meerkats team be integrated with Wunderman’s Subiaco, WA office as the core of a new experience and innovation practice. The acquisition had been part of Wunderman Thompson’s expansion plans for months.

Meerkats CEO Gavin Bain has agreed to be Wunderman Thompson’s managing partner for Perth, with Doni Savvides as partner, Martin Beecroft as chief innovation officer, and Melanie Wiese as chief strategy officer for Perth.

“The Meerkats business model has evolved in recent years in line with our clients changing needs. We feel that the fresh Wunderman Thompson creative innovation approach is the perfect fit for our expanded strategic offering alongside WPP AUNZ’s focus on providing new offerings.  We’re confident that our combined strengths will build something truly unique in this market and offer great opportunities for our peo

Victorian marketing agency Savi Communications has become the PR agency of record for dog food brand Bell & Bone.

The new deal will see Savi run Bell and Bone’s brand profiling, product placement, and event management.

Bell & Bone is made from Australian grain and superfoods.

“With dog adoption rates skyrocketing and Australian made healthy, quality and nutritious products leading the way for category growth, Bell & Bone is on an upward trajectory which we are delighted to be part of,” said agency manager Leah Hubay.

“As a team of dog parents, we believe in the vision of Bell & Bone to revolutionise the pet food category with purposeful food and transparency in a fairly unregulated industry.”

Former Haystac national strategy head Haylie Marchant is coming to the aid of small and medium businesses with a new PR support solution, simply called The PR Toolkit.

The PR Toolkit is conceptualised as a portal for free resources and tutorials in PR services such as media relations, influencer marketing, and social media management, to aid businesses in promoting their product or services while keeping their PR/marketing costs down. 

Upcoming plans include a six-week online media relations masterclass program. 

“The vast majority (97%) of Australian businesses are small and they account for 33% of Australia’s GDP* – which is why it’s so worrying that 63% of small businesses have been negatively impacted by Covid-19, with 91% concerned about the viability of their business in the next four to six months,” said Marchant.

“There’s a lot of work to be done to help rebuild the economy and re-establish businesses, but the reality is,

WPP AUNZ has officially stood down its bespoke agency Team Red.

Mumbrella reported that the company made the decision as Vodafone, which Team Red had been working with for years, set up its new “You Rule” branding this week. 

WPP AUNZ creative agency VMLY&R, production business Hogarth, and media agency Wavemaker worked with Vodafone on the project.

Despite the end of Team Red, the staff will continue on accounts secured beforehand.

“WPP AUNZ continues to provide Vodafone with a full suite of services including media, creative, and production. Expertise from across the company’s brands work on the account but will no longer operate under the ‘Team Red’ name,” a Vodafone representative said.

Independent communications consultancy The Mint Partners has secured new accounts, spread across a number of practices.

On the consumer front, the agency was named in a list for French drinks maker Pernod Ricard, based on previous success handling some of its strategic brands such as Beefeater, Jacob’s Creek, and St Hugo.

The Mint Partners is also tasked to run social media, influencer relations and digital content for Australian premium skincare brand CEMOY.

Agriculture consultancy Hort Innovation will tap the agency to create a corporate social media strategy.

For the hospitality practice, The Mint Partners will collaborate with hotel company DOMA to build up public awareness for the launch of its new hotel, the Little National Sydney, next month. It will also head up the promotion for two new Marriott properties - the W Melbourne, which will be open in December 2020 and Hobart’s The Tasman, early next year.

The Mint Partners is also reaffirming its relationship with

Communications agency opr has secured the ANZ account for American virtual signature system provider DocuSign.

The new deal will involve opr changing DocuSign’s brand positioning to better reflect its expanded service capabilities, which include contract preparation/negotiation and lifecycle management, and legal analysis of terms.

“DocuSign was looking for a comms and content partner to drive business outcomes though the art of creative storytelling. That not only meant inventive, interesting thought leadership campaigns that work in earned media, but integrated strategy and content so the ideas help DocuSign drive real sales results,” said opr CEO Richard Brett.

“This is where opr and our people are at their best. Working closely in partnership with DocuSign, we’re confident we can increase awareness and understanding of DocuSign as the leading Agreement Cloud Company.”

The Nine Network has officially closed down the former Macquarie Media PR agency Map and Page and a new outfit called the Finchco Agency is now in its place.

Mumbrella reported that most of Map and Page’s staff, including managing director Julia Everingham and director Alana Mroz, have reformed to comprise the new company, with many of the former agency’s clients being retained.

They will also let go of Map and Page’s Surry Hills office and find a new location.

Nine Radio managing director Tom Malone said the closure of Map and Page is meant to help the network concentrate on media businesses.

“We made the decision to close Map and Page to focus on our core radio business, but I’m pleased to see Julia and Alana are setting up Finchco Agency and will be taking on many of Map and Page’s existing clients,” he said.