Carrefour moves US$5 million media business to Mediacom without a pitch

SINGAPORE - French supermarket chain Carrefour is believed to have moved its media business to Mediacom from local group Ad Planet without a pitch.

Sources suggest that the business strategy put forward by Mediacom impressed the clients who were looking for a change in this aspect of their marketing.

The account if estimated to be worth $5 million.

A Mediacom representative declined to comment.

Last year in August, Carrefour moved its creative business to Leo Burnett in four Asia-Pacific markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Singapore. The agency's appointment followed a three-way pitch between Publicis Groupe's creative agencies Publicis and Saatchi & Saatchi. The agency already handles the Carrefour business in Taiwan.

Last year in January, Publicis Groupe was appointed as Carrefour’s global partner for its $1 billion. The advertising group was handed the account without a pitch.  

At the time of winning the account, reports suggested Publicis Groupe would create a dedicated ad-hoc structure devoted to the Carrefour business. This structure, independent from all the networks of Publicis and based in France, is believed to be working with different operations worldwide.