Carat fights off competition for 100m Disney Euro media account

Carat has retained the £100m pan-European media account for Walt Disney Studios following a final shoot-out against ZenithOptimedia. The review covered Disney business units including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Miramax.

MindShare and MPG were knocked out the pitch, which was called in October last year, at an earlier stage.

The UK slice of the business is thought to be worth £17m (Nielsen Media Research). Aegis Media, through Carat and Vizeum, has held the account for more than 14 years.

Carat’s pitch was led by European chief Jerry Buhlmann, who was last month promoted to Aegis Media chief executive replacing Mainardo de Nardis who left without a job to go to.

It is unclear if the appointment covers Disney’s theme park and holiday business, which was also under review.