Diageo has reportedly given its global media account to Omnicom Media Group’s PHD, another biggie for what was once the holding company’s second-string media agency. The other contenders were Carat and Publicis Media.
Diageo is a big spender (a minimum $320m but probably rather more of its $2bn marketing budget) but its range of top end brands – Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Guinness etc – are under pressure as people seek out “craft” alternatives.
It will certainly have driven a hard bargain with this pitch. Diageo has been stung by accusations that it wanted to increase payment terms to 120 days and beyond although it’s yet officially to deny this.
People speculated for years over the point of agency holding companies but one is clearly that most of them have the resources to put up with vexatious client ways.
