It awarded the KFC and Pizza Hut business in Malaysia to Carat and the Singapore assignment to MindShare. Previously, OMD had KFC in Malaysia and Pizza Hut in Singapore, MindShare had KFC in Singapore and Carat had Pizza Hut in Malaysia. SK Wong, KFC Holdings vice-president of marketing, insisted that the consolidation had nothing to do with dissatisfaction with its agency line-up.
"If that had not been the case then we wouldn't have restricted it (the pitch) to existing agencies," said Wong, adding that the move was driven purely by the need to consolidate the business.
He said combining KFC and Pizza Hut's media budgets in each market would give the company clout to gain better ad rates.
For the pitch, the agencies had to explain what they could deliver "over and above the standard" in terms of value added services and "creativity in media solutions".
Wong added: "It's not just a matter of them sharing with us details on media commission. The media commission is about the same ball park figure for all agencies.
"We were looking for something extra that the agencies could give. Media has changed so much; there are so many other media options (to consider)."
The trimming of its roster comes just months after KFC Holdings consolidated the creative account for KFC and Pizza Hut across the two markets with BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather respectively. The move was sparked by KFC Holdings' acquisition of the KFC and Pizza Hut business in Singapore last year.