• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, December 5, 2017

Food and snack giant Mondelez International is conducting a review of its North American media agency assignment, the company has confirmed.

The company spent more than $200 million on measured media in the U.S. last year, according to Kantar Media.

Carat, part of Dentsu Aegis Network, has been the media agency incumbent for the company’s North America region since 2015, when Mondelez conducted a global review.

The firm then split the account between Carat and Publicis Groupe’s SMG. In addition to adding North America duties, Carat retained its Europe and Asia-Pacific assignments.

A Mondelez spokesperson confirmed “we are doing a review of our NA media roster, and Carat has been invited to participate in that process.”

The spokesperson emphasized the review is focused on North America media and noted “Carat continues to be a valued media partner to Mondelez International, supporting our business across a number of geographies around the world.”

The firm had said earlier that it intends to cut some $3 billion in costs out of its budget by 2018.

I wonder how that will impact fees for whichever agency wins the review? Think maybe Mondelez will be paying a little less for NA media agency services going forward? Thaat would be my guess. Still, it's a huge account with iconic brands like Oreo, Cadbury and Ritz and most agencies would jump at the opportunity to handle it.