P&G reassigns Southeast Asia media agencies

<p>Procter & Gamble has realigned its media accounts in Thailand, Malaysia </p><p>and Singapore following a review that began in February. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Singapore, Zenith was tapped to oversee both planning and buying. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Until recently, it had only been responsible for buying. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Thailand and Malaysia, Starcom became the agency of record. It </p><p>previously only handled the buying portion of the assignment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Sources close to the pitch said a media scheduling test was employed to </p><p>examine agencies' buying capabilities, while the planning evaluation was </p><p>based on strategic recommendations based on possible campaigns for the </p><p>coming 12 months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Starcom used to have the Singapore buying account, while Zenith had </p><p>planning. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the fact that each AOR fell neatly with one agency per market </p><p>was a coincidence. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It just happened that way. I don't think there was any intention of </p><p>consolidating with one agency per market," one source said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, what emerged was that the buying agency won the AOR in each of </p><p>the three markets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"If you're the buying agency and you have a good relationship with the </p><p>client and provided you have done a good job, then it seems that you </p><p>have the edge in getting the whole account," the source said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>