L’Oréal Indonesia concludes media pitch

L’Oréal Indonesia has reappointed Wavemaker to manage media duties for the 12th year, following a pitch review in December 2019 which saw Havas also shortlisted. The new mandate includes additional services of eCommerce and search. According to Wavemaker, it leveraged on the strength of the agency's and GroupM's networks locally and globally, offering "a massive transformation" from a largely localised solution to a network solution combining the power of local operation. It also tapped into the expertise from the Singapore hub.

L’Oréal Indonesia's president director Umesh Phadke (pictured right) said the brand has been working with GroupM for several years in Indonesia and many other parts of the world, but this review was done in the context of a very dynamic market further disrupted by COVID-19.

"For the first time we ran a pitch entirely virtually and I was impressed with the quick adaptation that all agencies demonstrated. During the review, we realised that GroupM can leverage its scale in the market to get us the best efficiency in media buys. But beyond that, it brings a wide and deep talent bench and toolkit that can help us navigate through a very dynamic landscape post-COVID-19," he said. Phadke explained that to that extent, GroupM has proven what he have always held dear - agencies are only as good as their talent pool and Phadke said he is glad that the company is going to work with the best.

Himanshu Shekhar (pictured left), CEO, GroupM Indonesia, said retaining the trust of L’Oréal is fabulous. As an incumbent with a long relationship, he said that the team had to ensure continuity of operation at the same time imagine the change L’Oréal envisioned.

"We had to break some internal barriers, build new operating models and leverage our network strengths to create a solution fit for L’Oréal. This is even more important especially during times of COVID-19. It required a massive team effort & I have been privileged to have worked with extremely passionate and talented team across our offices in this effort," he explained.

Meanwhile, Wavemaker Indonesia's MD, Amir Suherlan, said that the win is a testament to the quality and depth of its client relationships. "L’Oréal decision to retain its trust with us and also award us with the extended mandate reinforces that we have been able to successfully in navigating this task with an integrated approach to solve its media market problems. We are super charged and excited to take L’Oréal’s business performance from strength to strength in this next lap of our relationship," he added.

Separately, L’Oréal Indonesia also reappointed GroupM's INCA to handle its influencer media mandate following a pitch announced towards the last quarter of 2020 which saw seven agencies participating. According to GroupM, it was chosen because of the deep expertise it had in running and managing influencer engagement across top advertisers in Indonesia. Additionally, it was also future-ready even before going into the pitch by recruiting talented individuals who are in line with the client's ambition.