Mondelēz hands global creative duties to Publicis and WPP

Mondelēz International has consolidated its global creative account with Publicis Groupe and WPP. The appointments are effective 1 September, but will be carried out in phases to ensure a smoother transition. The handover is targeted to be finalised by the end of next year and Mondelēz’s spokesperson confirmed the appointment to Marketing.Publicis Groupe will be the main strategic lead for biscuits and gum, with Digitas leading the charge. WPP will be the main strategic partner for the chocolate, candy, powdered beverages and cheese divisions, with Ogilvy and David taking the lead, the spokesperson confirmed.Meanwhile, The Martin Agency under IPG will continue its role as global creative lead for Oreo and US creative lead for Ritz, while VCCP will remain creative lead on the UK Cadbury account. Also, BETC will remain creative lead for local biscuit brands in Western Europe, the spokesperson confirmed.Quoting CMO Martin Renaud, Adweek said that it requires a “powerful agency model” to support its consumer-centric focus, purpose-driven brands and digital ambitions. He added that its agency partners “will be in better position” to produce leading creative and digital solutions quickly by sharing best practices and effectively making use of data and insights.Closer to home, Mondelēz is currently working with MSL for corporate communications duties in Southeast Asia, following a review in late 2018. It also picked Publicis Groupe’s Spark Foundry to handle Southeast Asia media duties last year, covering Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, amongst others.The global snack company posted a gross profit of US$2,469 million for the second quarter of the 2019 financial year ended 30 June 2019 (Q2 2019), a 2.8% year-on-year (yoy) decrease. In particular, Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) saw a 0.6% yoy decrease in revenue to US$1,352 million revenue this year.According to its financial statement, the company continued to make good progress against the strategies of accelerating consumer-centric growth, driving operational excellence and building a winning growth culture this quarter. Among the list of areas include achieving marketing and sales excellence by leveraging the company’s leadership in the chocolate category by driving growth and gaining share in key markets with best-in-class Easter execution, Mondelēz said in its financial statement.It also managed to deliver efficiencies including a 40% reduction in business planning meetings in Europe as a result of the company’s new structure and culture. Meanwhile, Mondelēz also successfully invested in fast-growing sales channels, including eCommerce and winning in high-potential emerging markets.(Photo courtesy: 123RF)