Unilever, the world-renowned consumer goods manufacturer, has begun a review of its global media planning and buying account. The last review took place in 2021, and the current one is part of the company's standard process aimed at regularly evaluating and ensuring the best partnerships with media agencies.
The previous review took place 3 years ago
During the 2021 review, most of Unilever's media planning and buying duties in key markets, including the US, the UK and India, remained with Mindshare, owned by GroupM. In Canada, responsibility for media was taken over by the Omnicom Media Group's PHD network, which also won business in several former WPP markets, including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Havas Media won in France and Spain, while IPG's initiative retained Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Greece.
Mindshare defends key markets
Mindshare will again bid for the Unilever account, managing the company's media activities in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordic countries, Italy, Eastern Europe, South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam), as well as in China following the 2020 review.
Unilever is counting on the best partnerships
Unilever's global media review: Mindshare defends key markets
According to a Unilever representative: "Yes, we are conducting media agency reviews in many of our markets. This is part of our standard process, aimed at periodic review to ensure the best partnerships with media agencies."
A prestigious pitch for the industry
This review is significant, given that Unilever is one of the world's largest advertisers, and its choice of media agencies could have wide-ranging implications for the marketing and advertising industry. Unilever's review process and the selection of its new media partners will be closely watched by both the industry and market observers.
Summary
Unilever has begun a global review of its media account, covering advertising planning and buying. In 2021, most markets, including the US, the UK and India, retained Mindshare of the GroupM group. Now the agency will defend those briefs, with competition including PHD, Havas Media and IPG.
The pitch is crucial for the industry, because Unilever is one of the world's largest advertisers. The company's decisions will affect the balance of power among agency holdings and may determine future media strategies in the most important markets.
