Publicis' Unilever win solidifies its strength in APAC media rankings

Publicis Groupe's Spark Foundry has jumped from third position in October to second position in the November APAC media rankings after winning the Unilever media account in five markets in south-east Asia, including picking up Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam from WPP. According to Campaign Red data, the $553.9 million win is the biggest move in the table and spans Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, while Mindshare held onto the Unilever media business in Indonesia. Meanwhile, PHD continues to hold its first position bolstered by Q1 and Q2 retentions in China, including SAIC Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group and HP (Hewlett Packard).

 

PHD has managed the SAIC Volkswagen account since 2020, and its renewal of the $310 million contract in Q1, along with the retention of the $110 million Volkswagen Group account in Q2, has solidified the agency's leadership position in the APAC region. PHD also retained HP's huge global media account in Q1. According to Campaign's earlier reports, PHD provides comprehensive media consultancy and planning services for SAIC Volkswagen, including media strategy development, market insights, data analysis, and media buying for both Volkswagen and Audi brands throughout the region.

 

Australia's largest independent shop, Nunn Media, has jumped two spots from 15th position in October to 13th position in November after winning the $58 million Spotlight Retail Group (SRG) account for AUNZ in Q1 from incumbent PHD. 

 

 

Further highlights

 

The top three spots saw minimal changes compared to October with PHD retaining first position while Publicis' Spark Foundry and Starcom swapped second and third positions. PHD’s cumulative wins and retentions, amounting to $1.09 billion, ensure it stays well ahead of the competition.

 

Meanwhile, GroupM stands strong in fourth position, buoyed by its sharp rise in October's APAC media rankings off the back of its recent win of Amazon’s media account across APAC and EMEA. The $311.2 million win spans key markets, including India, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, and China.

 

The biggest drop in November's APAC media rankings was Mindshare that fell nine places from 10th position in October to 19th position in November. Back in June, Yum China ended its 26-year partnership with the agency following a media review and awarded the account to Publicis Media. Meanwhile, Mindshare also lost the Unilever media account in Southeast Asia to Publicis (excluding Indonesia) but continues to hold the account in China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan).

 

Dentsu's Carat rises two places from eighth position in October to sixth in November, this comes after adding the $45 million Pernod Ricard account in September, as well as winning the Legoland Resorts account for China, worth $13 million, and the Mass Marketing Co. Ltd account in Thailand worth $7.6 million.