Initiative wins Burger King £50m pan-Euro business

by Olivia Solon, Media Week 01-Aug-06

Burger King has confirmed the appointment of Interpublic Group's Initiative to its £50m pan-European media planning and buying account, eight months after the pitch process started.

Initiative already handled smaller markets in Holland, Mexico and Spain
for Burger King, and will now add to its portfolio Germany, Sweden and
the UK.

Initiative beat incumbent Carat and MindShare, who formed the shortlist

of agencies drawn up in January. Aegis-owned Carat had handled the UK

and German part of the business since it was handed the account without
a pitch in 2000. The Swedish business was managed by Mediaedge:cia.

Gillian Smith, Burger King's global senior director of media and
interactive, said: "Appointing Initiative in six of our key markets will
enable us to build on our innovative approach to media buying and
planning. We are looking forward to bringing its expertise, particularly
in the area of digital marketing, to the UK, Germany and Sweden."

Burger King announced the review at the start of December. The company
sought to achieve greater consistency and cost efficiencies by
consolidating the five European territories as well as Mexico into one
account.

The fast-food giant initially drew up a longlist of agencies which also
included Starcom Mediavest and Universal McCann.

Burger King spends between £10m and £15m annually in the UK,
its second-biggest market outside the US. The pan-European media account
is thought to be worth £30m.