Fonterra calls pitch for Asia-Pacific media

ASIA-PACIFIC - New Zealand-based dairy company Fonterra is believed to have called a regional pitch for its media business. Sources suggest that the pitch is a closed-door run-off between a GroupM agency and incumbent OMD.

The Asian markets understood to be involved in the review include Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It remains unclear whether China is part of the pitch.

The company’s key brands include Anchor, Anlene and Anmum.

The current pitch is reportedly being led out of Singapore, which is the company’s head office for its brand businesses in Asia.

Fonterra consolidated its creative and media account with Omnicom agencies BBDO and OMD in August 2006. The company’s media account was previously split between several media agencies in Asia.

The company’s creative assignment in Asia is being led out of BBDO Singapore.

Fonterra operates consumer brands and exports dairy products. The company sells US$2.4 billion worth of products into Asian markets, with 25 per cent of commodity exports going to Asia. It has a 0.8 per cent share of the region’s dairy products market, according to Euromonitor. Its earnings for Asia, Africa and Middle East were up 19 per cent in the 2008/09 fiscal year.