L’Oréal Malaysia shifts media account from Wavemaker

L’Oréal Malaysia has shifted media planning and buying duties from Wavemaker to Zenith's OneL’Oréal team. The appointment commences at the beginning of July. This follows a pitch which saw GroupM, Omnicom Group, and Publicis Groupe being invited to pitch in the final round following a shortlist. Ebiquity was the consultant on the pitch, which was conducted for a three-year term.

Zenith created a bespoke agency solution, OneL’Oréal, with strategic leadership and data at the core to power integrated media strategy, channel planning, activation, and buying across all media channels. OneL’Oréal is set up to drive greater accountability and transparency in service of L’Oréal Malaysia’s business growth.

Tomas Hruska, the newly appointed managing director for L’Oréal Malaysia and Singapore, explained that following a thorough agency review and with its continued transformation into a beauty tech company, Zenith stood out to be the best partner for the brand to work with. "We would like to also thank Wavemaker for their many years of partnership and support," he added.

At the same time, Abhishek Bhattacharjee, managing partner at Publicis Media, said L’Oréal Malaysia is one of the most respected companies in Malaysia and the agency cannot wait to start working with them on the integrated remit. "This win is an opportunity to cement a strong global partnership locally in Malaysia and to set a new benchmark for the market on the craft of media. I am very proud of the team’s drive, passion, and commitment and thankful for L’Oréal’s trust in picking us," he added. A+M has reached out to Wavemaker for comment.

This comes a few months after the brand named Publicis Media to oversee performance media duties for Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Meanwhile, GroupM Asia Pacific won the mandate in Indonesia. The appointment is for a three and a half year period and starts from 1 July. L'Oréal Singapore's spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE previously that Publicis Media and GroupM stood out for their excellent services underpinned by a strong proficiency in data and digital advertising technology, and it looks forward to working with the agency. IProspect was the incumbent and R3 managed the pitch.

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