AUCKLAND, Today: The Vodafone media business is not moving in NZ – despite a global shift of the account from incumbent WPP Wavemaker to DAN/Carat. The NZ end of the Voda media business remains securely in the hands of GroupM/WPP NZ.
Vodafone NZ, of course, is now part of Infratil NZ – an ownership model which has kept it out of the loop on the latest offshore moves.
GroupM/WPP NZ ceo Chris Riley told M+AD last night: “Vodafone was never up for pitch in our market.” In other words, the NZ business remains with Wavemaker, and is still under the purview of Chris Riley.
Needless to say, nothing’s changed at Vodafone’s NZ creative account, which is firmly cemented into DDB NZ.
“Carat takes control of the British giant’s media business in 15 markets, including the UK and Germany – but not NZ.”
Carat will take control of the British telecoms giant’s media business in about 15 markets, including the UK and Germany.
Carat and DAN will largely handle offline media buying, but will also play a strategic role in advising on in-sourcing digital media.
Globally, The media account is worth close to £400m (NZ$787m) annually.
Omnicom and Publicis Groupe also took part in the review process but were eliminated at an earlier stage.
About GroupM
GroupM is a leading global media investment management operation. It serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence and m/SIX. The agencies that comprise GroupM are all global operations in their own right with leading market positions.
Share this Post
