L’Oreal China tipped to consolidate media with Mindshare

One source close to the pitch told Campaign Asia-Pacific said that ZenithOptimedia has retained "some" of the brand's digital-media business, but details could not be confirmed in time for publication (update). Carat, the third company taking part in the pitch, is reported to have gone home empty-handed.

The pitch took place in September. Previously ZenithOptimedia handled L’Oreal China’s digital media business, while Mindshare was the incumbent media agency for its offline business.

According to an undisclosed industry source, the China L'Oreal account is massive and requires a team of at least 100 staff. According to Recma, L’Oreal’s media adspend in China is US$800 million. And the brand spends an additional US$100 million on digital media, according to an industry source.

In the India market, Maxus has retained L'Oreal's media account after a pitch last month.

Update, 17 October: Sources close to the pitch report that ZenithOptimedia held digital planning and search before, but will now handle search and ecommerce, including Taobao.