IPG Mediabrands pulls its media billings from key industry metric Standard Media Index (SMI)
Australia’s fourth largest media agency group IPG Mediabrands has pulled out of key industry metric Standard Media Index (SMI).
The withdrawal of IPG Mediabrands is a blow for SMI as a metric, with the index confirming it would pull all Mediabrands data, including historical figures, from the index immediately after commercial negotiations, globally, between the two sides failed to find agreement.
“We have really enjoyed working with them and are disappointed we couldn’t come to new terms, globally,” said Jane Schulze managing director of SMI in Australia/New Zealand.
“SMI provides the only information on advertising demand across the media and all media sector categories each month. That won’t change.
IPG Mediabrands: pulling all data out of SMI
IPG Mediabrands has claimed RECMA billings of some $1.47bn and the move means the holding group and its clients will no longer have visibility over the index, which detail a large part of the spend across the Australian paid media market.
The move also sees a major withdrawal of funds from SMI as an index and affects its ability to be a complete reflection of the paid media market.
“It is obviously not ideal,” said Schulze, who noted that while IPG Mediabrands has left the index, a number of small, independent agencies including Bohemia, Havas Media and Nunn Media have joined.
“Since we started we have added 12 agencies and that buffets it a bit… while their data is coming out because we are pulling all historical data (for the rest of our clients) the data will still be like-for-like.”
SMI is polarising among some media owners who dislike how the metric reports their agency sales. The index has also struggled to achieve full penetration outside Australia, in other overseas key markets such as the UK and US, where the WPP agencies have refused to sign on.
In a joint statement the two sides said: IPG Mediabrands and SMI said that the timing of the decision to withdraw from the business arrangement related to conversations about the global relationship between the two parties.”
Comment is also being sought from IPG Mediabrands.
Nic Christensen
“Since we started we have added 12 agencies and that buffets it a bit…”
Buffets? Are they trying to have their cake and eat it too?
Now all other agency groups. Quick – take an image of the existing data. When the IPG data is removed from the historical data, you will know exactly how much they were billing.
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i would expect it is because IPG are readying themselves for the imminent loss of Coles
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