OMD snags $25m Richemont work

HONG KONG: Optimum Media Direction has won the US$25 million

Richemont Asia-Pacific media agency of record assignment following a

shoot-out against Carat, Motivator, Starcom and Initiative.

The luxury goods giant consolidated the account to boost buying

efficiencies in an effort to offset the economic slump.

Richemont - with brands such as Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Dunhill,

Lancel, Mont Blanc, Piaget and Shanghai Tang - previously used a roster

of agencies to service the account, including Carat, Motivator and

Starcom. OMD, however, was not on its roster prior to the pitch.

The current roster of creative agencies, including M&C Saatchi and Euro

RSCG, remains unchanged.

The review to consolidate the account - the biggest shift in Hong Kong

this year - consisted of a review process that spanned several rounds of

presentations.

Richemont's worldwide media director, Philippe Nettre, said: "Our

objective is to optimise our media effectiveness at the ground and brand

level, keeping the individual characteristics that make each of our

brands unique.

"We chose OMD because of its strong team, proprietary systems, luxury

goods experience and overall enthusiasm."

OMD regional chief executive, Mike Cooper, said it won through what he

called "sheer enthusiasm" and "recommendations on new solutions, how to

handle the business, the types of resources which would be allocated and

means to enhance the efficiency of the buying process". He said OMD had

to demonstrate a consolidation strategy while meeting the specific needs

of each brand under the control of Richemont.

Richemont distributes its products across the region including in Hong

Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and Australia. However,

the bulk of its adspend is in Hong Kong and, increasingly, China.