Two years after losing the L’Oréal Canada assignment it held for 15 years to GroupM, ZenithOptimedia is back in the beauty business.
Following a four-way pitch said to include Havas Media and Initiative, the Publicis Groupe agency has won Coty’s global print and TV business. The Canadian business was previously handled by OMD Canada, while Havas also worked with Coty in other markets.
The win is the result of a “very collective effort” by the network’s various global offices
Frank Friedman, ZenithOptimedia Canada
It wasn’t specified who would handle the company’s digital media, although ZenithOptimedia said it plans to lead a “digital transformation program” for Coty, as it looks to capitalize on the opportunities presented by digital platforms and new technologies.
“It’s a client that really wants to drive into the digital space in an innovative way,” said ZenithOptimedia Canada CEO Frank Friedman.
The network will also take media responsibility for the company’s 10 so-called “power brands,” which include adidas, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Marc Jacobs and Sally Hansen.
The decision comes as Procter & Gamble is reportedly close to selling its US$12 billion beauty division – which includes the MaxFactor and Cover Girl brands – to Coty. If it goes through, the deal would double Coty’s US$4.6 billion in annual sales.
ZenithOptimedia is extending a 10-year relationship with Coty in Germany and Austria, while the win adds an additional 13 markets. The contract, which formally begins July 1, covers three regions: North America, Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe, encompassing key markets such as the U.S., the United Kingdom and Germany.
The agency group plans to create a dedicated team comprised of specialists from across the organization to lead global strategy and manage Coty’s offline media. The agency will manage digital communications alongside Coty’s other agency partners.
Friedman told Marketing that the agency plans to tap into existing resources to service the account in Canada, with details including staffing and scope-of-work still to be determined.
Friedman, who sits on ZenithOptimedia’s North American management team, said that the win is the result of a “very collective effort” by the network’s various global offices.
Friedman, who also managed the former L’Oréal assignment as EVP, managing director of ZenithOptimedia’s New York office, said that the agency’s prior beauty experience was “definitely” a key factor in the Coty win.
According to industry reports, Coty had requested a 150-day lag before payment, leading OMD – which also supported the brand in the U.S., and the U.K. – to decline to participate in the review. WPP’s GroupM and Dentsu Aegis also reportedly declined to participate because of the terms outlined by Coty.
Coty is among a series of high-profile media accounts placed into review this year, including Unilever’s mammoth global media assignment, as well as Visa and SC Johnson (which recently consolidated its media buying with PHD after consolidating its planning with the Omnicom unit earlier this year).
“If you ask any executive at an ad agency right now they would say it’s an interesting time in the business,” said Friedman. “There are [so] many pieces of business up for review around the world. I think integrity, honesty, openness and transparency need to be the driving forces of how we manage our business.”
