• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, February 27, 2012

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has opted to retain WPP’s MEC as the company’s media agency after a review that began last fall, according to sources.

The lawn and garden products company spent nearly $94 million on ads in 2010, according to Kantar. From January through September of 2011, the latest data available, the company spent a little more than $60 million.

The review kicked off shortly after the arrival of a new chief marketing officer at the client, Jim Lyski, who came to the company with an eye toward changes in the marketing game plan.

Lyski spent more than a decade at FedEx before joining Scotts. He told Advertising Age shortly after his arrival last year that he intended to shift from a regional and weather-based targeting strategy to a more individualized communication plan, ramping up digital, social and educational spending in order to grow markets. 

The Marysville, Ohio-based Scotts posted net sales of about $2.84 billion in fiscal year 2011, down about 2%. It blamed the decline, in part, on poor weather conditions throughout the U.S. during the lawn and garden season. Net profits for the year were down about 18% to $168 million.

MEC initially won the account in 2003, after a review that included the incumbent, New York-based independent R.J. Palmer.

Agency reps could not be reached for comment. A client rep said the selection was still being “finalized,” and that it would issue a press release when the process was complete.