• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 14, 2007

In what is likely to be the last mega media assignment of 2007, World Marketing Group, the Irvine, Calif.-based media management group for Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America, today is expected to announce the winner of a review for its $800 million media services account, and executives familiar with the decision say it will come down to either incumbent Carat, or challengers Initiative and Havas Media, both of which have been on a roll of late. Optimedia, another finalist, is believed to be out of the running.

The review, which has been managed by Roth Associates, is believed to have been sparked by long-time Hyundai/Kia shop Carat's demands for better compensation.

Carat won the business in 2002, following an extensive review that consolidated media buying, which had been split between Kia agency OMD and former Hyundai agency Bates.

The win would be a critical test for the new management team of Carat's ability to retain an important piece of business. It could also cap a strong new business year for either Initiative or Havas Media--both of which have been on formidable rolls, although Havas' MPG looks to be on the losing end of another important client consolidation: pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline, which is preparing to consolidate its $1 billion-plus North American media account at WPP Group's MediaCom, according to a report in Thursday's edition of Adweek. The switch is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2008, and would have other media incumbents MPG, OMD, Optimedia and Campbell-Mithun on the losing end

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