Henkel hires three to £90m German domestic business

Henkel, the German household goods and cosmetics giant, is understood to have appointed three agencies – BMP OMD, Carat and CIA Medianetwork – to its &£90m domestic media account.

The media review, revealed last month (MW August 12), is Henkel’s first in its home market, and follows the appointment of former D’Arcy media director Ian Gallois as international media director last year.

Gallois has been working with Helmut Grosscurth, media director for Germany, on the review.

Germany, Henkel’s largest market, accounts for a third of the company’s media spend. Any agency with a stronghold in the country is in a good position to pick up a large proportion of the &£300m global business.

Henkel is considering cutting its global roster to two agencies, so the decision to appoint all three gives no clue to its future plans. It may have been sparked by uncertainty over their potential alliance partners. CIA Medianetwork, for example, is known to have been in talks with agency networks vying for Unilever and Procter & Gamble business, some of which conflicts with Henkel accounts.