Mindshare wins Bayer task from PHD

by Arif Durrani, mediaweek.co.uk 28-Oct-08, 07:30

LONDON - Bayer, the pharmaceuticals giant behind leading brands Alka-Seltzer, Berocca and Rennie, has moved its £11m media business for its Consumer Care division out of PHD and into Mindshare after a closed review.

Bayer HealthCare has its head office in Germany and specialises in healthcare and medical products.

Its media account includes all above-the-line and digital media planning and buying duties for the Bayer HealthCare division. The decision to appoint Mindshare ends a three-and-a-half year relationship with Omnicom's PHD.

The Bayer division spent £11m on its media in 2007, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research, with TV commanding the lion's share (£6m), followed by radio (£2.4m), outdoor (£1.4m), print (£1.1m) and the internet (£72,000).

No other agencies are believed to have been involved in the review. PHD confirmed that it had lost the account.

The account is Mindshare's biggest win in 2008. WPP sibling MediaCom used to handle the media account for Roche before it was acquired by Bayer in 2004. The subsequently consolidated media business was later awarded to PHD.

Bayer's creative account, held by WPP stablemate JWT, has not been affected by the review.