The ancient advertising ritual of the global review — in which a marketer examines its roster of agencies, determines there are too many of them, and proceeds to winnow — has claimed another participant.
Heineken, the Dutch brewer whose portfolio includes the namesake lager as well as Amstel, Dos Equis and a considerable stable of other brands, has completed a sweeping consolidation of its creative, media and production partners. The review, which had been underway for several months, results in a smaller set of holding company relationships, a configuration that has become fashionable among global marketers seeking what they like to call "simplification."
The precise contours of the new arrangement — which agencies won, which lost, and how the work will be divided across Heineken's considerable geographic footprint — were not immediately disclosed. (One imagines the holding companies that emerged victorious will be more forthcoming than those that did not.)
Such consolidations have become something of an annual migration pattern on Madison Avenue and its outposts around the world. Marketers argue that fewer agency relationships mean cleaner lines of communication, more consistent brand stewardship and, not incidentally, more favorable pricing. Agencies argue, at least privately, that the arrangements often mean more work for less money, though they rarely decline to participate in the reviews that produce them.
For the holding companies that secured places on the new roster, the Heineken assignment represents the sort of integrated, multi-discipline relationship that chief executives like to highlight on earnings calls. For those that did not, it represents a fresh entry in the new-business pipeline and a reminder that in the agency world, few arrangements are permanent.
Heineken, for its part, can now return to the business of selling beer — presumably with somewhat fewer conference calls.
Original story published in adage.com: "Ikea campaign sees the world from the bottom of its iconic blue bag - Ad Age"