SINGAPORE: BP has consolidated its group brief with MindShare and
Ogilvy & Mather by asking the two WPP-owned firms - which already work
on BP - to take on its Castrol brand.
The move comes 17 months after BP acquired Castrol, which previously
booked its media through several agencies including FCB, while a roster
of Asia-Pacific agencies including FCB and Saatchi & Saatchi handled
creative.
The Asia portion will be managed from Singapore. Manpreet Singh,
managing director of MindShareworld, said it was still unclear how large
an account Castrol would be in Asia. Globally, Castrol is worth
US$120 million.
Naveen Kshatriya, BP (lubricants) senior executive strategic marketing
and customer service, said the company felt it could manage its brands
better if it dealt with one ad and media agency.
"The new style agency structure helps us manage distinct brand
personalities while ensuring they still reflect the overall values of
the BP corporate brand. It also allows us to leverage our adspend and
resources more effectively, he added. Kshatriya said BP contacted other
agencies in Asia, "but we felt this was the best way forward". To ensure
there is no account conflict, MindShareworld will continue to house the
Shell Oil account at its other media shop Maximize.
