Carat retains part of Philips media account post global review

Philips has retained Carat as its global strategic media agency partner across all business sectors and the corporate organisation. At the same time, the company has enlisted MPG for the consumer lifestyle sector in the specific geographies of the Americas, France and southern Europe, in a move from its hitherto single-agency model.

Carat will continue to provide local media agency services in all other geographies.

“Continuing our relationship with Carat is testimony to the strength of their strategic offering and the trusted partnership we have built in the recent years,” said Antonio Hidalgo, chief innovation, marketing and strategy Officer of Philips Consumer Lifestyle, who led the process. “The addition of MPG for specific geographies reflects Philips’ focus on identifying strong local partners to deliver business results.”

“Delivering value with speed is the essence of this future partnership,” said Sital Banerjee, global head of media at Philips. “I am confident that Carat and MPG, together with our other marketing communications agency partners will form a formidable team, delivering value for Philips.”

Nick Waters, chief executive officer, Aegis Media Asia Pacific, added, “Asia is a predominantly important market for Philips. In retaining Asia, we have held on to their fastest growing and most dynamic markets in the world. We are thrilled that Philips has affirmed our strength in this region, and following a long-standing relationship of over a decade, this win is proof of the true partnership we have developed.”

Kartik Iyer, managing director of Carat India, said, “I am absolutely delighted with retaining the business and believe that it bears testimony to the integrated solutions we have been providing Philips across Offline media, Digital media, OOH, Retail and activation over the years in the region. We would definitely like to thank the Philips India team for all the support they have given us and look forward to a long, continuing relationship with Philips.”

The multinational brand's media duties are said to be worth an estimated US$100 million.