General Motors has awarded its global media operations account to Carat, part of the specialist media and digital group Aegis Media, after an extensive review of the company’s global marketing operations. The account had previously been with French advertising group Publicis Groupe.
The account carries responsibility for most of GMs global planning and buying operations for consumer-facing media, including broadcast, digital and social media.
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“We wanted a media agency partner with the sophistication to leverage global marketing opportunities,” said Joel Ewanick, GM vice president and global chief marketing officer. “Carat has an innovative approach to drive significant marketing value and their service model has been tailored to align well with our global and regional brands. They are uniquely positioned to help us form strong media partnerships and drive significant global efficiencies.”
Carat will immediately begin to take over responsibility for GM’s media operations in most global regions, with the exception of China, India and Brazil, where these activities will continue to be managed by agencies specific to those countries.
Publicis Groupe said in a statement the company “regrets that a long-lasting relationship with GM has ended”.
It added that the contract with its US Starcom unit represents less than 0.5% of its full-year revenue and that the company “will serve GM on other fronts”, Dow Jones reported.
