Thjnk Defends Its Enercity Lead-Agency Account After a Pitch
Updated: 6 days ago
TL;DR: Agency thjnk has successfully defended the account of Hanover utility Enercity in a competitive pitch, remaining its lead creative agency — a reassuring retention after a period of leadership change at the agency.
A reassuring retention for a German agency under scrutiny. Thjnk has successfully defended the account of Hanover utility Enercity in a competitive pitch, remaining its lead creative agency.
The win
The pitch-defence comes after a leadership transition at the agency, making the retention a signal of stability in a key client relationship. Thjnk originally won Enercity a few years ago.
Defending an account in open competition is, in many ways, harder than winning a new one — the incumbent has to prove it's still the best choice, not just the familiar one.
Marketing Minute's read
Retentions rarely make headlines, but they're a truer test of an agency's health than new-business wins. Keeping a client through a competitive review — especially during internal change — shows the work and the relationship are strong enough to withstand scrutiny.
For Enercity, re-pitching and re-choosing thjnk is also a vote of confidence that continuity beats disruption here. In a complex category like the energy transition, the value of an agency that already understands the brief is real.
What marketers should take from it
Don't treat incumbency as a reason to re-pitch, or as a reason not to. Review when you genuinely need to, and weigh the hard-won category knowledge your current agency holds against the fresh thinking a new one promises — sometimes continuity is the smarter bet.
Quick FAQ
What happened with thjnk and Enercity?
Agency thjnk successfully defended the Enercity account in a competitive pitch, remaining the Hanover utility's lead creative agency after a period of leadership change at the agency.
Why do account retentions matter?
Keeping a client through a competitive review — especially during internal change — is a truer test of an agency's health than a new-business win, showing the work and relationship withstand scrutiny.
Retentions rarely make headlines, but they're a truer test of agency health than new-business wins. Defending an account in open competition — during internal change, no less — means the work and the relationship can withstand scrutiny. And in a category as complex as energy, continuity has real value. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
Account retentions are a truer test of agency health than wins — weigh your current agency's category knowledge against the promise of fresh thinking.
When you consider re-pitching, do you properly value the category knowledge your current agency already holds?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Horizont, Campaign Germany.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
