MediaCom wins Mars' £1.4 billion global media business

After evaluating a review of its media planning and buying business for close to eight months, Mars has now awarded the duties to GroupM’s MediaCom. The entire business, which is worth £1.4 billion globally, according to data from Recma, will now be consolidated into MediaCom, including buying for the US and China. Mars deals in a range of products varying from the pet care brand Pedigree to the chocolate brand Snickers.

The result follows a competitive pitch against Omnicom and Publicis. MediaCom had previously managed media planning globally for the client and buying in over 20 markets, including Mexico, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands.

In India, the incumbent on the account is Publicis’ Starcom that had won the account in December 2016. MediaCom will start working on the account starting January 1, 2019, after the transition is completed between August and December 2018.

To deliver on the assignment, MediaCom will work as part of GroupMW, a GroupM solution, tapping into the resources of GroupM and WPP agencies to deliver outstanding results for Mars.

This decision connects to the larger transformation Mars has been driving with its marketing and media agenda – looking to build competitive advantage through insights, investment and innovation. With an ever-changing marketing and retail landscape, Mars has been putting an increased focus on driving value from fast approaches to data, new creative and content models, and ways to incubate innovation.

“This partnership will be a crucial accelerator in our ambition to be quicker, bolder and even more innovative when it comes to meeting our consumer needs. It brings thought leadership and actionable use of data and insights to meet our media needs,” said Andrew Clarke, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer, Mars.

“It was impressive to see some of the fresh, challenging approaches from all three of the agencies. It has helped evolve our thinking throughout the pitch and inspired us to be even bolder in our ambition. GroupM created a custom operating model for us which enables us to put data at the heart of our decision making, drive speed at a global, local and campaign level, and use our resources efficiently,” said Rob Rakowitz, Global Media Director, Mars.

“Building on our existing remit, and extending our 25-year relationship, we, along with our GroupMW colleagues, will now be managing all of Mars’ media buying, as well as their data and analytics,” said Stephen Allan, Worldwide Chairman and CEO, MediaCom. “This confirms our place as the trusted media partner to one of the world’s most prestigious advertisers.”

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