Asda hands £12m brief to Leeds-based Brilliant

Asda has appointed Leeds-based media agency Brilliant Media to handle its regional and local media buying and planning business, in place of Carat. The business is understood to be worth &£12m. Historically, Asda has spent about &£5m on regional and local marketing.

The move comes after Asda brought in auditors to examine how it handles regional marketing (MW July 21).

Asda says the appointment will not affect Carat’s hold on its national business. The retailer spent &£38.9m for the year to March 2005 on media buying, according to Nielsen Media Research. It is understood that Asda will boost its local and regional marketing in a tactical response to increasing competition between supermarkets.

It is also having to produce tailor-made communication strategies for standalone George clothing outlets and Asda Living stores.

Brilliant managing director David Moutrie says: “Regional and local marketing is increasingly important to Asda and with our strong retail credentials, we feel perfectly placed to offer Asda the service and expertise it requires in an increasingly competitive market.”

Brilliant also works for DFS, Dolphin and Moben.

The changes to the media roster follow the appointment of Asda’s new president and chief executive Andy Bond, who announced a new structure and 1,400 job losses as part of an effort to make the company more competitive.