MindShare loses grip on Kellogg
WPP-owned MindShare has lost its grip on Kellogg’s European media buying following a reversal of the cereal maker’s strategy.
Eighteen months after Kellogg consolidated its European account into the WPP-owned media buying group known as Kellogg’s Europe Media, Carat has won the business in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe.
The account is being reviewed with Carat and MindShare on the pitch list in France, the Benelux countries, Spain, Portugal and Italy. A decision is expected this month.
MindShare continues to handle Kellogg in the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia.
The shift in strategy, which gives greater power to local management, follows the arrival of Jean-Louis Gourbin, the new head of Kellogg’s Europe and former head of Kellogg’s Asia-Pacific.
He was brought in to replace veteran Kellogg executive Don Fritz, who resigned suddenly during a period of great upheaval for the cereal manufacturer, which faces declining share on both sides of the Atlantic (MW September 17).
In a statement to Marketing Week, a spokesman for Kellogg acknowledges “a need for greater local empowerment. Each country manager is deciding how the media buying service will be handled in each local market”.
The company denies that it is reviewing its advertising in the UK.