• by Joe Mandese , November 10, 2006

What a difference a couple of account wins can make. Especially when they're clients like Wal-Mart and General Motors. Winning both of them has catapulted Carat to the second largest media network in the world, and has it nipping on the heels of No. 1 Starcom MediaVest Group. It's an ironic neck-and-neck race, because the two global media networks share some pretty big clients, including Procter & Gamble and GM, but the back-to-back wins of GM's European media account, and Wal-Mart's U.S. media account, have suddenly pushed Carat ahead of OMD and MindShare, Aegis Group's senior management team told analysts during a briefing in London Thursday morning.

"We are now a whisker away form being the No. 1 global network," Jerry Buhlmann, CEO of Aegis Media's EMEA operations said. "And of course, we only have data through October, so who knows, we could be No. 1 by the end of the year."

Global Media Networks Ranked By Billings

Billings   Change  
Starcom MediaVest    $26.440 billion    +3.4%  
Carat                $26.080 billion   +10.8%  
OMD                  $25.675 billion    +3.2%  
MindShare
$25.540 billion    +7.1%  
ZenithOptimedia      $19.770 billion    +2.5%  
Mediaedge:cia        $19.440 billion    +3.7%  
MediaCom             $18.570 billion    +3.6%  
Universal McCann
$13.635 billion    +0.2%  
Initiative           $12.700 billion    +3.6%  
MPG                  $10.105 billion    +3.4%  
PHD                   $6,160 billion    +9.2%  
Average Growth
+4.6%  

Source: Aegis Group extrapolation of RECMA estimates through the first ten months of 2006.

It's a sudden change of fortunes for Aegis Group, whose Carat unit has been up for a number of high profile pitches, but had been striking out until its sudden winning streak.

"All of the pitches are usually against six of seven of our competitors," Buhlmann said, noting that the competition for new business has gotten especially tough in the past year, but that Aegis' media shops have emphasized their "independent position" and that has helped mad a difference. By independent position, he meant that Aegis is not tied to the legacy of traditional agency holding companies and therefore is in a better position to offer clients a strategic vision unencumbered by economic models tied to creating certain types of advertising.

The message seems to be working, albeit slightly differently for each client. For Wal-Mart, the pitch succeeded on the basis of a "fully integrated approach, while Adidas Reebok stuck with Carat based on its "insights to action." As for General Motors, Buhlmann said the automaker was swooned by Carat's "maximizing cost and quality" message and its innovative approach to media planning.

Whatever the message, its contributed to $2.406 billion in net new business wins so far this year, butting it way ahead of its next closest rival MindShare's $1.695 billion in net new business gains.

Net New Business Gains

                   Net New Business
(Billings)  
Carat                           $2.046 billion  
MindShare                       $1.695 billion  
Starcom MediaVest                 $860 million  
OMD
$795 million  
Mediaedge:cia                     $685 million  
MediaCom                          $650 million  
PHD                               $518 million  
ZenithOptimedia
$475 million  
Initiative                        $439 million  
MPG                               $335 million  
Vizeum                            $136 million  
Universal McCann
$30 million  

Source: Aegis Group.