Wavemaker wins Perfetti Van Melle’s $80 million global media account

Italian confectionery and gum maker Perfetti Van Melle, which owns brands including Airheads, Chupa Cups and Fruit-tella, has selected GroupM’s Wavemaker as its global media agency of record.

Wavemaker will handle all online and offline media buying for Perfetti Van Melle across 85% of its global markets, including the US, China, Netherlands, India, the U.K., MENA, Belgium, Turkey and Indonesia. A global account team will run the business out of Amsterdam.

“As we continue to make our mark as a global business, we wanted a partner that could provide strong and consistent support across our main markets,” said Daan Simonis, global media and digital marketing director at Perfetti Van Melle, in a press statement.

He added that Wavemaker won the pitch by “demonstrating impressive strategic capabilities and a challenger spirit we believe will help propel Perfetti Van Melle into the future.”

Wavemaker picked up the global Perfetti Van Melle account through a series of local pitches throughout the year. The $80 million win follows other successful pitches this year, for clients including Burger King, Philips and Pernod Ricard.

“Perfetti Van Melle is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of confectionery, and it has come to Wavemaker with exciting global ambitions,” said Louisa Wong, CEO of Wavemaker, in the Americas.

“We look forward to a fruitful, long-term partnership between our two companies,” Simonis added.