Asahi Beverages has chosen its new creative agencies, Kerfuffle and BMF. Kerfuffle will lead on Carlton, Great Northern, Vodka Cruiser, Woodstock and Schweppes. BMF will lead work for Victoria Bitter, Hard Rated, Solo and Solo Energy.

 The appointments follow a competitive pitch and the appointment of Mindshare as Asahi’s new media partner. Kerfuffle and BMF replace Clemenger BBDO and Droga5. The two new agency choices represent a shift toward a more unified way of working with external partners aligned to Asahi’s One Asahi philosophy, where the Asahi multi-beverage portfolio is a connected total beverage offering rather than a collection of individual brands.

To make this happen, Asahi Beverages will introduce an Agency Council model to enable all partners to collaborate closely, share expertise and tackle business opportunities collectively.

Lauren Fildes, GM portfolio and brand marketing at Asahi Beverages, stated, “We’re grateful for the time, energy and creativity all agencies brought to the competitive process and we congratulate our new partners on their appointment. By appointing Kerfuffle and BMF alongside Mindshare and embedding a collaborative way of working where we share goals and plan together, we’re setting ourselves up to drive long- term value for the business.”

Stephen McArdle, BMF CEO, commented, “The Asahi team are super smart, values-driven humans with a belief in creativity as a powerful force for brand growth. The fact that many of those brands are already iconic and help shape Australian culture makes this partnership unbelievably exciting.”

Paul McMillan, Kerfuffle CEO, commented, “We’re genuinely grateful for the opportunity and the trust that the Asahi team have put in Kerfuffle. There are a lot of talented people and great agencies in this industry, so we’re incredibly proud that the work, thinking and chemistry of the Kerfuffle team resonated. It’s time to get to work.”