Carat sets the record straight

With reference to “3m Simply Kitchens to MediaCom” (MW December 3). I have always held Marketing Week in high regard for properly researching news stories, so I was very unhappy when I read the above article.

To recap the facts as I originally outlined them: We pitched for and won the media in May.

The client works out of Harvey’s furniture stores, which uses MediaCom for media buying. Through this connection, Simply Kitchens agreed to hear MediaCom’s case. The client held a mini-pitch in October, we won and our appointment was reconfirmed.

Simply Kitchens is a start-up company with limited assets. We were therefore only able to obtain a very small amount of credit cover from our insurers.

Having originally agreed to do so, the client was unwilling to prepay Carat for media bookings on account over and above this small limit.

In November we resigned this business, as it is a company rule that we credit insure all our clients or they prepay us.

The client then appointed Media-Com, which took over 20,000 worth of bookings from us without credit cover.

Simply Kitchen’s total media spend for 1998 was 108,881 and not 3m. With regard to 1999, it will spend, at most, 1m and not 5m.

I have taken the unusual step of disclosing confidential information because I would like Marketing Week to print an accurate account of events.

Colin Downing

Director

Carat Manchester

Manchester