Mars reviews UK media planning
Mars is understood to be reviewing its UK media buying business with a view to consolidating into one agency, following its acquisition of The Wrigley Company last year.
ZenithOptimedia currently holds the media account for Mars, which includes brands such as Dolmio pasta and sauces, the Pedigree dog food range, the Sheba and Whiskas cat food ranges, and Uncle Ben’s.
MediaCom holds the media account for Wrigley which has brands including Airwaves gum, Wrigley’s Extra, and the Wrigley’s Orbit range.
It is believed that the company will now look to consolidate media buying into one agency – an increasingly trend occurring among large companies looking to cut costs in the face of the recession.
In June, Mars unveiled a major £7m relaunch of its Pedigree dog food aimed at increasing “consumer trust” in the brand
The company claims that it is the biggest relaunch in the brand’s history, highlighting how Pedigree is the “first” dog food producer to contain meat that is “traceable back to the farm”.
In April last year, Mars announced a $23bn (£11.5bn) takeover of Wrigley, going down in history as one of the largest global deals to be made in recent years.
A Mars spokesman decline to comment on the review.
