Havas wins $300 million global media for Douwe Egberts owner

Havas Media Group has been awarded the $300m (£250m) consolidated international media account for JDE Peet’s, the packaged tea and coffee giant behind the Jacobs, Kenco, Tassimo and Douwe Egberts brands.

Starting in January 2021, Havas will be responsible for all JDE’s offline and online media planning and buying outside of North America. The incumbent agency has worked with JDE for five years and this new deal is expected to run for another three.

The international media account, which comprises 54 markets, is worth upwards of $300m globally (£250m), according to agency estimates. 

The account had previously been split between Havas and Dentsu’s Carat. Both agencies pitched for the business, as did WPP’s Wavemaker, after JDE first called a review six months ago.

Havas Media had won the global (offline) media account in 2014, while Carat had the UK media business since 2017, as well as all digital buying globally (plus offline buying in Russia). 

A JDE spokesman told Campaign that ecommerce is a “strategic priority” for the business as it aims to reach consumers with an “omni-channel approach”, which means direct-to-consumer selling, online marketplaces and third-party retail. 

“The shelter-in-place mandates by local governments around the world has seen consumers increasingly turning to the convenience of online shopping and direct to home delivery. We expect this trend to stay,” a company spokesman said. “We were impressed by Havas’ ability to connect our brands to consumers online through their tools and dedicated specialist ecommerce teams.”

JDE’s ecommerce business grew 63% during the first half of 2020, the company says, as Covid-19 social distancing measures around the world led to a surge in people going online to order groceries for home delivery. 

Fiona Hughes, chief marketing officer of JDE Peet’s, said: “Through our brands, we are committed to continuing to build stronger connections with coffee and tea consumers. 

“We are delighted to expand our long-standing relationship with the Havas Media Group by awarding them our global portfolio outside North America. We are convinced by their product suite and commitment to continue to build the tools that we need to enable our scientific, data-driven approach to brand building.”

Separately, Joint has been appointed as the creative agency behind a joint venture between Jacob Douwe Egberts UK and Nestlé. The companies have launched Podback, a new coffee pod recycling service, and Joint will develop the brand and create all brand-led comms ahead of a consumer launch next year.

JDE is described by market analysts as a “top three” player in Europe and Latin America, it is a relatively small business in North America. It floated on the Amsterdam stock exchange in May and raised just over £2bn on its market debut.