Arla awards Carat £100m pan-European media business

The agency, which was on the food giant’s roster, will now take responsibility for Arla’s media buying business across the 11 countries in which it operates. It will cover media planning and buying for Arla’s six key brands, which includes Lurpak, Anchor and Cravendale (see some recent campaigns in related campaigns, top right).

Ad agencies on Arla’s roster include Wieden & Kennedy, Saatchi & Saatchi and CHI & Partners.

It follows a three‐way pitch process, which began in April involving the incumbent Carat, MEC and Mediacom.

Arla says the UK represents the biggest market within the pitch and the UK account, worth over £30 million,

Danny Micklethwaite, vice president of marketing at Arla Foods UK, says: “We are delighted to continue to develop our long‐term relationship with Carat. They have been a key partner in helping us to grow our business and we look forward to delivering some great work together in the future.

“Carat presented a brilliant strategic plan and strong team of people to lead the account which we are confident will ensure that Arla’s media buying power is maximised and will help to ensure cross‐country alignment within Arla Foods.”

Matthew Landeman, Board Director at Carat UK, adds: “We are really pleased that Arla Foods has chosen to continue working with Carat and to extend our relationship into new European markets. We have always been proud of the work that we have produced for Arla and feel that this appointment marks the beginning of an exciting new stage in a very strong partnership.”

Carat has worked with Arla Foods in the UK since 1996 and is also currently working with Arla in the US and Australia.

As part of the European account, Carat will work within three new markets in which Arla operates including Holland, Russia and Greece.

This story first appeared on Pitch, Centaur’s subscription-based online interactive marketplace for agencies and clients to share news, opinion and debate.