Mediacom wins Mars media buying in ANZ after global pitch
Mediacom has landed one of the most valuable media accounts in the region after the agency was awarded the Mars media buying business ahead of incumbent Starcom, ending a long-running local relationship with the agency.
Mars confirmed Medicom has won the media buying business in Australia and New Zealand as part of the global review, with Starcom retaining China, Southeast Asia, and the UK. Starcom has also added India and Germany.
Mars said the move was a bid to give the company the best media mix across all its markets.
“To ensure that we have the strongest possible media-buying agencies supporting our business objectives around the world, Mars incorporated marketing teams in six key markets—Australia/New Zealand, China, Germany, India, Southeast Asia and the UK—and conducted concurrent media-buying agency pitches this fall,” a Mars spokesperson said.
“Our teams evaluated each agency proposal on both qualitative and quantitative criteria. After thorough analysis of each agency’s proposals at local and global levels, Mars is excited to announce the following assignments.”
Mars said the local move to Mediacom would have an immediate impact on its 2017 media investments, with the local buying transitions taking effect straight away.
The move is a major victory for WPP in Australia, which will add the business to the planning business won globally at the end of 2014.
Starcom confirmed the loss in a statement, with Publicis Media chief operating officer, Chris Nolan, saying the agency was proud of the work it had done over a decade and a half.
“Starcom is proud of its 15 year relationship with Mars and the work we have pioneered in Australia that has been adopted globally to drive Mars’s growth,” Nolan said.
“I would like to thank the team at Starcom that have worked hard on the Mars business, with many globally recognised campaigns, including Pedigree ‘Adoption Drive’, Mars ‘Strauchanie’ and Twix ‘Pause’ – all recognised with silverware from Cannes, as well as the more recent work for My Dog ‘My’ and Pedigree ‘Feed the Good’.
“In addition to this, we created and developed Mars’s now global ‘cost per reach’ methodology, and we were a three-time nominee in the Mars Commercial Awards for Maximising Value for Money, as recent as last month. In 2012, Starcom was recognised with the ultimate award as the Mars ‘Supplier of the Year’.
Most recent spending figures for Mars overall reveal the brand had an Australian budget of more than $43m.
When contacted by Mumbrella a spokesperson for Mars was unable to confirm the move.
It is believed the move applies to all four Mars divisions – pet care, food, chocolate and Mars-Wrigley in Australia.
The company launched the review out of the US at the end of September with a view to consolidating the $US2.57b business.
“both qualitative and quantitative criteria” is procurement-speak for “price”, innit?
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Tough year for Starcom….
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A statement will be released by Mediacom once they figure out who is MD.
Seriously, stiff luck for Mediacom; the best news they’ve had in years, and it comes out at Christmas when no one is around.
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How can one business excell in dog food and chocolate? So weird.
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