• by April 2, 2002

Twelve advertisers shifted a combined $348 million in media accounts in March, down from $400 million in February and $2 billion in January, according to the MAP Barometer.

"After a burst of activity in January, things have settled down considerably on the media account front," said Jim Surmanek, Chief Executive Officer of MediaAnalysisPlus, which publishes the MAP Barometer. "You've got a couple of big accounts in review right now, but marketers for the most part are sticking to their knitting, which means fewer distractions for their agencies."

The largest publicized media account changes in March were Premiere Marketing and Distribution, which assigned its $60 million film marketing business to KSL Media in Los Angeles from Optimedia, and Wachovia, the North Carolina financial institution, which awarded its $60 million media account to Mullen/LHC.

The Wachovia media consolidation followed the bank's merger with First Union. In February, advertisers reassigned 14 media accounts totaling $400 million. That compared with 24 accounts in January worth a combined $2 billion.