• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 13, 2011

Publicis Groupe's Starcom has successfully defended its media planning and buying assignment for the Coca-Cola Company in China, the client has confirmed.

According to CTR Market Research, Coca-Cola was the fifth-largest advertiser in China last year, spending an estimated $1.1 billion on ads. (Procter & Gamble was No. 1, spending more than $5 billion, per the research firm.)

Coke's decision to reappoint Starcom China came after a formal review the agency described as "comprehensive and extensive." The final round of the review pitted the incumbent against WPP's MEC and MediaCom.

"Our strong partners, such as Starcom, will be instrumental for us to reach the 2020 shared vision," the company stated, referring to its forward-looking mission statement. In essence, it says it wants to dominate the beverage business, but in a responsible way for shareholders and consumers while being as green as possible along the way.

The win was huge for Starcom, which has handled Coca-Cola in China for the last eight years. To lose the business would have been devastating at a time when most agencies are ramping up in the market to capture a portion of the significant growth in Chinese ad spending. Future growth is also forecast as China's middle class continues to expand and make gains in spending power.

Last year, advertising expenditure in China was up 13% to about $87 billion, per CRT. The firm is forecasting 2011 growth of 15%.

"We have been a partner of Coca Cola China since 2003 and this reappointment further underscores the uplifting and meaningful work that Starcom China has consistently brought to the table," stated Bertilla Teo, CEO Greater China, SMG.

Coca-Cola says it is doing brisk business in China. In the first six months of 2011, it said sales of its beverages in the country topped 1 billion unit cases -- double the rate sold five years ago when the company first delivered 1 billion unit cases for a full year.

Among the bigger sellers in the last full quarter (April-June) were the Coca-Cola soft drink brand and Minute Maid Pulpy, which it said was the top-selling juice brand in China.