P&G shifts bulk of media duties from Publicis to Omnicom

In a major shifting of accounts, P&G has moved its media business in North America to Omnicom. The account was previously held by Publicis Groupe's Starcom MediaVest (SMG) and was one of its top few clients.Reports on global media said the bulk of the account has moved to Ominicom with Dentsu's Carat taking on some parts of the media duties as well. Carat has also been handling the client's Canadian business.P&G is the largest global advertiser and according to Kantar Media spent US$2.6 billion on US media in 2014, up from the US$3.1 billion it spent in 2013.Publicis’ Starcom Mediavest Group has been handling US buying for P&G brands, such as Tide washing powder, Head & Shoulders shampoo and Crest toothpaste, all of which now moves to Omnicom Media Group.In an interview to global press, Marc Pritchard, P&G’s global brand officer said: "We’re trying to drive out non-working spending and funnel it toward working spending going direct to the consumer.”“Omnicom and Carat came out with what was a superior and proven performance in data analytics, planning, buying, innovation, talent and, of course, financial value. They’re going to give us better cost and spending on the services they provide and better value in the media they buy for us,” he said.The pitch was called in May this year.SMG on the loss of P&G in North America said: We are proud of our partnership with P&G over the years. Together with P&G and our partners, we created industry-leading work, including Always “Like a Girl” which went on to win numerous awards including the first-ever Cannes Glass Lion earlier this year.""We wish P&G success as they embark on their next chapter in North America and we look forward to continuing to serve as one of P&G’s largest agency partners globally, spanning 41 markets around the world."The news comes shortly after Publicis revamped its organisational structure "in a move to offer clients a more simple and streamlined service."