The agency ends a two-year relationship with the NTUC-owned company, which operates 150 supermarkets, convenience stores and jointly branded petrol station outlets across Singapore.
Mark Ingrouille, McCann Worldgroup’s Southeast Asia area director, said: “FairPrice has some great strengths and is developing in new directions. We’ve had a great couple of years working with them. But there comes a point in many relationships where strategic divergence (and an unbalanced value return) means that it’s best to move forward in different directions.”
“The truth is that FairPrice is just not right for us any longer. And we’re probably not right for them. We wish them every success for the future,” he added.
McCann won the estimated S$1.3 million (US$1 million) FairPrice business in March 2006, taking the account from then-incumbent Scoop Adworld.
McCann was briefed to find a way to refresh the Government-linked chain’s overall brand positioning in an unforgiving market place. Although still the market leader, FairPrice has been struggling to compete with upmarket rival Cold Storage and the more competitively priced Giant.
The supermarket is now expected to review its creative account in Singapore.
FairPrice and McCann Worldgroup part company
SINGAPORE - McCann Worldgroup Singapore has resigned the advertising account of Singapore's largest supermarket chain, FairPrice, citing "strategic divergence" as the reason for the split.
