LVMH drops Dentsu for MindShare ADK

LVMH Modt Hennessy Louis Vuitton Japan has selected Asatsu-DK and MindShare to handle its US$88 million media buying and planning business, marking the end of Dentsu's eight-year grip on the account.<BR><BR>The news follows a review that saw Dentsu and Universal McCann also participate, versus the Asatsu and MindShare 'Mediacenter' combination.<BR><BR>According to LVMH Japan president Emanuel Prat, the company is looking beyond its traditional preference for print media, to adapt to the changing media environment. LVMH is the biggest advertiser in magazines in the country.<BR><BR>"Now, to cope with the change in the media environment, the group needs to take innovative approaches for cross media and solid collaboration with the media owners to reinforce the positioning of our brands/titles and to meet the expectation of our markets/readership," said Prat. <BR><BR>"We selected and invited three media experts for strategic media planning and buying, including Dentsu, to participate in the pitch, which took place in June."<BR><BR>The company's media agency review comes on the heels of LVMH reporting a 15 per cent increase in sales in the first quarter of 2006 over the same period last year - a time when revenue also saw double-digit growth as more Japanese consumers sought LVMH brands such as Dom Perignon and Modt & Chandon champagne.