Aegis Media takes over COFCO's buying business from Mediacom

The change took effect in October. The business carries an anticipated annual media spend of US$136 million (RMB850 million), according to CTR.

The remit of the one-year contract includes media buying in non-CCTV television channels, radio, print, outdoor and digital. Charm Advertising currently holds the CCTV media negotiations for COFCO, while Saatchi & Saatchi is in charge of creative work.

Lisa Wei (魏丽锦), chief investment officer of Aegis Media China, who led the pitch team against COFCO's incumbent agencies as well as MPG and Womei Media, will manage the agency's relationship with the state-owned food conglomerate, also known as China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation.

There was a separate pitch for the media planning part of the business. The winner has not been announced but the shortlist is reportedly down to Aegis and Mediacom.

The latest report from Kantar Worldpanel’s national urban panel shows that COFCO ranks second behind P&G in the mainland, reaching 150 million households out of a universe of 162 million buying families on an annual basis—representing a 93 per cent penetration rate.