Starcom wins Ferrero's China media mandate from Carat

Starcom has scored a sweet victory in China, emerging as the winner of a major media pitch by  Ferrero, Campaign has learned.

The China-wide account includes all offine and online media planning and buying for the Italian chocolate and confectionary company's entire suite of brands in the market, including Kinder and Ferrero Rocher, according to someone with knowledge of the pitch. Varied estimates suggest the account to be worth at least RMB $200 million (US$28.5 million) in total billings.

The incumbent on the account was Carat, and Campaign understands that Carat was among the pitch's final contenders along with GroupM agency M/Six. The loss is another blow to Dentsu Aegis Network which is retrenching jobs in China due to business challenges there. 

Mindshare won the bulk of Ferrero's global media duties—including the US, Australia, Southeast Asia and India—in September after defeating incumbent PHD in a pitch, but was conflicted in China. In October, however, Starcom was awarded Ferrero's UK media business.

Ferrero declined to comment for this piece. Campaign also requested comment from both Starcom and Carat.