Indiantelevision.com Team

(31 October 2006 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: It's now official. Confirming media reports doing the rounds this past week, retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores announced it had concluded its advertising duties by awarding its media account to Aegis Group's Carat USA, with the creative duties going to IPG's DraftFCB.

The estimated size of the account has been pegged at about $ 570 million.

In ensuring this seamless approach to integration, DraftFCB will partner with Carat to drive more personalized communications with an increased focus on local outreach, adds the release.

"Recognizing that a one size fits all model is a thing of the past, we have strategically transformed marketing ranks to move from a predominately national approach to a store-by-store, customer-by-customer execution of marketing campaigns," said Wal-Mart senior vice president marketing communications Julie Roehm.

"We are confident that DraftFCB and Carat's strong retail heritage and data-driven orientation will help us as we continue to explore ways to cement our relationships with our customers on a more personal and local level."

"In this day of consumer-focused marketing, Carat passionately believes that communications have the power to transform our clients' business. The agency that we have built reflects this vision. Wal-Mart can expect guidance from a team that is leading the industry in delivering transformational communications as a key force to grow business," said Carat Media Group Americas president Ray Warren.

Commenting on the first big win post the Draft and FCB merger, chairman and CEO Howard Draft said, "This is one of our industry's biggest wins and a huge vote of confidence in the powerful promise of DraftFCB. I must salute the Wal-Mart team for having the vision and absolute conviction to embrace our revolutionary agency model. We have built an entity that is the perfect combination of creativity and accountability, of science and art, and we're thrilled to be partnering with a true innovator in the retail world. Working with Carat, we will deliver a holistic, consumer- centric business solution designed to propel Wal-Mart's business forward."

Wal-Mart executive vice president and chief marketing officer John Fleming expressed his excitement at the integrated approach that DraftFCB and Carat have to offer. He said, "They have assembled a dream team that can deliver creatively and seamlessly across all marketing solutions, including advertising, direct mail, interactive, promotions, retail and new and emerging media."

Also read:
Indiantelevision.com's interview with DraftFCB president & COO Laurence Boschetto