C&C has moved the creative account for Irish cider brand Bulmers back to the UK in a surprise move. The account has now moved to the London-based agency Lucky Generals which counts the likes of Paddy Power Betfair, Hostelworld, Amazon, Premier Inns and the Unilever-owned Pot Noodle amongst its clients.
The account had been held by Publicis Dublin for the past two years following an unsuccessful stint with the London agency Red Brick Road. Publicis won the account after a pitch that involved agencies like Ogilvy and McCannBlue.
The decision to move the account to Lucky Generals is understood to have been made by interim chief marketing officer Gav Thompson who joined C&C from Paddy Power where he was chief marketing officer in the UK. The creative account for Tennent’s, which is also owned by C&C, has also been awarded to Lucky Generals, which was founded by Andy Nairn.
The decision to move the account to London is surprising given the growth in the cider market in Ireland over the past two years. While the entry of the Heineken-owned Orchard Thieves brand to the Irish market did shake the market up, it also helped grow the category across the board. In its most recent trading statement in October, C&C pointed out that Bulmer’s volumes were up by 6% in the first half of the year and that this was a result of its a strong performance in the on-trade market where it held an 89% market share while it had increased its share in off-trade to 51%.
