Kellogg has begun to unpick its pounds 160 million centralised
pan-European media account out of MindShare, handing the business to
Carat in a number of key European markets.
Carat has snaffled the account in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and
Eastern Europe, and is pitching against MindShare for the business in
France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Benelux.
MindShare’s hold on the Kellogg account in the UK, Scandinavia and
Ireland is not under formal review.
The centralised European Kellogg business was secured by J. Walter
Thompson’s media operation in 1997 after a head-to-head pitch against
Carat. It moved into MindShare when JWT media merged with the Network
early this year.
The business has been accommodated in a special dedicated unit, Kellogg
Europe Media, run by MindShare.
However, Kellogg Europe’s new chief, Jean-Louis Gourbin, is said to be
unhappy with MindShare’s performance in some European territories. At
the same time, Kellogg is keen to hand more responsibility for
advertising and marketing back to local management.
Each local manager will now have the option to appoint their chosen
media operation. There is not a Europe-wide diktat to move into Carat,
but the Carat network is understood to have been given a corporate stamp
of approval.
A decision on those markets under review is expected later this month,
and sources suggest that if the business does move in the UK, Ireland
and Scandinavia, it will do so without a formal pitch.
