Zenith grabs $30m in Hakuhodo deals

<p>TOKYO: In a fresh blow for Japanese agencies, vehicle insurance </p><p>company AXA Direct and Renault have moved an estimated US$30 </p><p>million in total billings from Hakuhodo to Zenith Media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Publicis has retained the creative assignments for both accounts. It is </p><p>understood that both companies left Hakuhodo in search of the personal </p><p>attention they believed a smaller shop could offer. The benefits of </p><p>Western media disciplines in devising media programmes that go beyond </p><p>the mainstays of television and print to incorporate out-of-home media </p><p>also encouraged the move to Zenith. "Japan's recession has made all </p><p>advertisers more interested in maximising media budgets; there is </p><p>increasing interest in a Western approach to media planning," said </p><p>division director Naoya Norisugi. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Zenith will handle planning for both accounts, leaving buying to partner </p><p>agency Yomiko Adverting. "We are closely integrated with Yomiko. We can </p><p>have planning and buying under the same roof which improves quality </p><p>control." Zenith launched in Japan in April 2000 as a division of </p><p>Yomiko, Japan's sixth largest agency, and a shareholder in Saatchi & </p><p>Saatchi Japan. In recent months, several international brands, including </p><p>20th Century Fox and Kit Kat, have defected to multinational agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>