STARCOM MEDIA AND SHAREMIND SET TO WORK ON HEINEKEN BRANDS ACCOUNT

Heineken has announced that it is to consolidate media planning and buying for its brands worldwide into one media agency. The move to globalize media buying is in line with a number of other initiatives across several aspects of the company's business designed to leverage its global scale, including the appointment of a global advertising agency for the Heineken brand and the creation of the Global Business Services organization.

Publicis' Starcom MediaVest and WPP's MindShare, have been shortlisted and their affiliate in Nigeria Starcom Media and Sharemind will handle the account in the country. The chosen agency, in first instance, will focus on Heineken's top fifteen markets, which represent 85% of the company's media spend and will be tasked with maximizing the effectiveness of the company's world-class brand building and fully utilizing the company's increased buying power. The company plans to have the new agency in place by the middle of 2012.

Heineken already works with both agencies in the majority of its regions. The Company operates 140 breweries in more than 70 countries..

In Nigeria, the two global agencies (represented by Starcom Media and Sharemind) also work for Nigerian Breweries Plc, Heineken’s brewery in the country. Between them they manage planning and buying for leading Nigerian brands including Heineken, Star, Gulder, Amstel, Legend, Maltina and a host of others that were added as a result of recent acquisitions.