GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare has consolidated the bulk of its global media business at units of GroupM and Omnicom Media Group after a review.
In Japan, however, the market’s dominant player, Dentsu, will retain the pharmaceutical company’s media buying and work with GroupM.
OMG’s PHD successfully defended its business in the U.S. and West Africa and added responsibility for Canada and communications planning. The agency, however, lost its Latin America business to GroupM.
GroupM, which had worked for the company in Latin America, Asia and Greece, will manage the rest of the world, adding markets like Europe. GSK’s consumer healthcare operations are located in London, Parsippany, N.J. and Singapore.
As a result of the review, GSK has eliminated Publicis Groupe's Starcom and Dentsu's Carat from its roster of agencies. All told, GSK spends more than $1 billion in media annually.
“The decision to consolidate our media investment with two network partners, GroupM and OMG, with Dentsu buying in Japan, is based on various factors including simplicity and speedier deployment of best practices,” said Sam Singh, vp, global media. “We continue to hold the outgoing agencies, Starcom and Carat, in the highest of regard.”
Singh joined GSK last September from Procter & Gamble where he was vp, media, Asia and China. In February, he launched the company’s media review.
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