SINGAPORE: The Media Edge (TME) outgunned its rivals to scoop the
S$40 million (US$23 million) Singapore Telecommunications
consolidated media deal, the largest pitch in Singapore this year.
The Young & Rubicam shop pitched against Starcom, Carat and Zenith for
the media buying contract, which was previously split among several
agencies.
TME was the main incumbent on the business, although O2 Advertising did
some buying and Starcom handled SingTel's youth brand Pod and retail
advertising for its mobile services.
Starcom managing director D. Sriram,said there would be no job cuts as a
result of the loss as the agency only handled 15 per cent of SingTel's
media buying. "TME largely had the account. There must have been some
resistance to moving it."
Sriram added: "SingTel was the biggest spender but it wasn't buying as
one. It was buying as a group of fragmented companies."
A SingTel spokeswoman confirmed there would be a separate pitch for
media planning.
TME managing director Adrian Smith said his agency would employ four
extra people to handle the increase in billings. Smith said agencies in
the pitch had to complete a test for the buying TV spots to achieve a
certain reach and frequency against particular target audiences.
