• September 4, 2012

Mondelez International is preparing to launch a media agency review, the company has confirmed.

Estimated ad spending on the account is $250 million annually, according to Nielsen.

The unit is the snack foods operation of Kraft Foods that is spinning off to become a separate company this fall.  Brands moving with the spin-off include Oreo and Ritz.

The remaining part of Kraft Foods will become Kraft Foods Group, the company disclosed earlier this year. Brands in the Foods Group include the flagship Kraft moniker and Oscar Mayer, among others.

Both businesses had been handled by Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest for years. However, after the client disclosed plans to split into two last year the Kraft Foods Group operation, with annual spending of about $500 million, was shifted to MediaVest sibling agency Starcom.

The agencies have shifted accounts in the past to adjust for conflicts. When Kraft acquired Cadbury for example, MediaVest client Mars Inc. moved to Starcom.

It’s understood that MediaVest will defend the Mondelez account.

MediaVest officials declined to comment on the developments.