• Advertising Age, Friday, October 23, 2009 9:45 AM

MPG is expected to retain the $100 million North American portion of Danone's media buying and planning account. Mediaedge:cia, which pitched against MPG in the U.S., will retain the U.K. business worth approximately $40 million, and OMD will control the company's $150 million planning and buying account in China.

Danone's market-by-market global media review was procurement-led, which explains why much of the business isn't shifting shops. The RFP included questions such as: "Can you [provide] precise flexibility of budget you allow to keep these guarantees for 2010?" "Can you improve your net CPM?" "Can you improve the level of guarantee and penalty you're willing to give to reach the financial commitment?"

"Every single question was about pricing," notes an agency insider. "Their first set of questions was the most arduous set of spreadsheets we have ever filled in. These are the people who treat media as an utter commodity," an executive says.

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