Procter & Gamble has awarded Omnicom the bulk of its multibillion-dollar media buying and planning business in its first major North American buying shift in nearly two decades.
Omnicom won the majority. Carat will have about one-third of the business, andStarcom Mediavest Group, the incumbent on the U.S. buying and planning business, will likely hold onto some brands, according to people familiar with the matter.
P&G will also divide its business among agencies by category across North America. Typically it’s been divided by region.
Omnicom was the newcomer to a review that began earlier this year, covering the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The holding company’s media agency network Omnicom Media Group pulled together a team that competed with incumbents, including Publicis Groupe’s Starcom Mediavest Group, Dentsu Aegis’ Carat and WPP’s Mediacom. SMG is the longtime incumbent on the massive U.S business. Carat supports buying in Canada, as well as global planning. And Mediacom supports buying in various international regions. SMG and Carat have shared duties on North American communications planning, which was last reviewed in 2004. P&G last reviewed U.S. media buying in 1997 and Canadian media buying last year, when Carat won.
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