After 74 Years With J Walter Thompson Vegemite Makes Switch to Melbourne Start-up Thinkerbell

The decision to change agencies comes off the back of the Bega Cheese acquiring the Mondelez Foods business in 2017 and bringing Vegemite into Australian ownership for the first time in over 90 years.

This milestone triggered a desire within the marketing team to re-invigorate the business' agency roster with a bold and ambitious approach to the brand's management.

Ben Hill, marketing director Bega Foods, said the recent strength and positive-growth on Vegemite could be attributed largely to the increased exposure the brand has been generating. One driver of this has been the return of the iconic brand to Australian ownership under Bega and the positivity surrounding the return of Vegemite to home soil.

Says Hill: "Through recognising the strength in our Australian heritage and our need to focus on the future to continue positive momentum, we felt the time was right to refresh our creative agency. Thinkerbell - a new cutting-edge Australian agency - represent everything that we want our brands to deliver.

"With a new team and new outlook, we are thrilled to be working closely with Thinkerbell to instil the Vegemite and Bega brands further into the Australian psyche."

Thinkerbell was founded in July 2017 and is led by Adam Ferrier, Ben Couzens, Margie Reid and Jim Ingram as partners. The creative agency represents a great balance between strategy and creative, and they will now manage the creative execution on the Bega Foods suite of brands including Vegemite and Bega Peanut Butter.

Says Ferrier: "We feel a great responsibility and are thrilled to be at the helm of the creative execution to drive the future success of brands such as Bega and Vegemite, two of Australia's most loved and iconic brands."

Says Margie Reid, managing partner, Thinkerbell: "Our approach and differentiation is that we focus on bringing science and creativity together. We will use this combination to spearhead the development of a new creative platform that will help both Vegemite and Bega Peanut Butter continue to grow into new markets locally and abroad."

While the new partnership is set to propel Vegemite into the future, the team at Vegemite acknowledge with great pride, the extensive success former agency - J. Walter Thompson - had over their history on the brand.

J. Walter Thompson were the creative minds behind the now famous "Happy Little Vegemites" campaign Australians still enjoy today. Vegemite enjoyed a strong and successful relationship with J. Walter Thompson that lasted 74 years and produced some of Australia's favourite moments; connecting the brand to millions of homes and families in Australia and around the world.

Says Hill: "We anticipate a bright future with Thinkerbell and can't wait to inspire more Australians than ever before."