TLDR
Visit Victoria has appointed Clemenger BBDO as its retained creative and strategic partner of record, ending a post-Covid run of ad-hoc agency arrangements. The brief covers Victoria's events, food, culture and regions, supporting a visitor economy worth $49.5 billion.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The appointment
Visit Victoria has appointed Clemenger BBDO, part of Omnicom Oceania, as its creative and strategic partner of record after a competitive request for tender.[1] The state's tourism and events body had used several agencies on a project basis since Covid and in February opened its search for a retained creative agency, B&T reported.[2] No previous agency was named and no contract value was disclosed.
The brief covers marketing strategy and creative campaigns for Victoria's events calendar, food and culture, regions and tourism experiences.[3] Shae Keenan, chief marketing officer at Visit Victoria, said Clemenger BBDO "demonstrated a strong understanding of our brand, our audiences and the role creativity can play", adding: "We look forward to working together to inspire more travellers to visit Victoria."[3]
Clemenger BBDO co-CEO Mike Napolitano said: "As an agency born and raised in Melbourne, this partnership is particularly meaningful for our team." He added that "Victoria has long been recognised for its creativity, culture, events and entrepreneurial spirit".[3] The agency recently launched the Transport Accident Commission's "Check Your Gear Before You Hit the Road" campaign, built around a life-sized road-surface treadmill it called the Shredmill.[3]
The size of the brief
Victoria's visitor economy reached a record $49.5 billion in the 12 months to June 2026, Visit Victoria said this month.[4] That is the number the new partnership is meant to grow.
The win comes the same week Victoria's Auditor-General tabled a report on government advertising, finding the state spent about $97 million on advertising in 2024-25, with digital and social making up 56 per cent of spend.[5] The report also found two of nine campaigns it assessed broke the rules on television advertising, as Prompt the Market reported. Visit Victoria was not one of the two.
Why a retained agency matters
Moving from project work to a single retained partner gives one agency the whole year's calendar of events, regional pushes and interstate campaigns, rather than a run of separate briefs. For Melbourne's agency market, it puts one of the state's most visible marketing accounts with an Omnicom shop while Victorian government advertising is under close scrutiny.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
- Visit Victoria appoints Clemenger BBDO as creative and strategic partner of record (Campaign Brief, 21 Oct 2026)
- Visit Victoria appoints Clems as creative & strategic AOR (B&T, 21 Oct 2026)
- Visit Victoria names Clemenger BBDO agency of record (Mediaweek, 20 Oct 2026)
- Victoria's $49.5 billion visitor economy (Visit Victoria, 6 Oct 2026)
- Government advertising and communications (Victorian Auditor-General's Office, 20 Oct 2026)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why did Visit Victoria use a project-by-project agency model after Covid?
What is the scope of Clemenger BBDO's brief with Visit Victoria?
What did the Victorian Auditor-General find about government advertising spend?
James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
