• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 26, 2011

Sara Lee has appointed OMD to handle its estimated $200 million media agency assignment for Europe and Asia after a consolidation review, the client has confirmed.

The Omnicom shop was the incumbent for European duties and will now handle Asia as well, where WPP's GroupM had been the incumbent.

The review began in March, not long after the client's decision late last year to split into two companies, including an international coffee-and-tea concern. OMD will handle media services for that company, set to split off officially sometime in early 2012.

The company's beverage brands include Café do Ponto, Butter-Nut Cappuccino and Java Coast.

Commenting on the review, Harm-Jan van Pelt, senior vice president and member of the board of the yet-to-be-named international company, stated: "With the creation of a stand-alone publicly listed company focused on coffee and tea, Sara Lee's international businesses will undergo a significant change."

He added that during the process, the company looked for a media partner with "not only the right competences and experience for our business today but also to support the needs of our future coffee company."

A company rep would not confirm ad spending, but did note that Sara Lee has indicated that it will sharply increase the amount of advertising it does in the coming years.

Separately, a North American retail and food service business will operate independently under the Sara Lee corporate umbrella. Media for that business is handled by Publicis Groupe's Starcom, which won a consolidation review for the North American assignment in 2004.

According to Kantar Media, ad spending by the North American operation totaled $125 million in 2010. Brands within that operation include Hillshire Farms and Jimmy Dean. The North American assignment was not part of the review that just concluded.

Currently the North American unit's management is in flux with the forced resignation earlier this month of C.J. Fraleigh. A search for a permanent replacement is underway for Fraleigh, the former GM and PepsiCo marketing executive. In the interim, Fraleigh's duties have been assumed by Sara Lee Corp. CEO Marcel Smits.