Diageo ends its media global review and retains its relation with Carat U.S.

Diageo ended its global media review after selecting Dentsu Aegis to handle media in North America, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. WPP’s Mindshare will be responsible for India and South Africa, while Publicis Groupe’s Mediavest will oversee Australia. “The media review has given us the opportunity to bring great talent and thinking across our brands to deliver a future Diageo media planning best-in-class approach to reaching consumers through media and build the right future footprint incorporating our data-driven plans” Diageo said in a statement. “We worked with four media companies across this review, all of whom impressed us, and we would like to thank all participating parties for their efforts.” The marketer -who handles brands such as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan- has been working with four global networks, including Dentsu Aegis’ Carat in the U.S. and the U.K. Diageo spent $785 million on advertising in the U.S. in 2015. Diageo’s partnership with Carat in North America “is a continuation of the relationship, but it’s also a refreshment of the relationship as Dentsu Aegis organization has made efforts to build a team just for us” said James Thompson, CMO and Innovation Officer at Diageo North America. The media review came after several changes in Diageo’s creative agencies.