- Steve McClellan

NEW YORK Real estate company Re/Max is conducting a review of its national media chores, the Denver-based client has confirmed. Aegis Group's Carat, which has held the account since the company began buying national TV advertising in 1999, is defending, the client said.

Re/Max spends close to $50 million annually in measured media, according to Nielsen.

Abby Lee, director of regional marketing at the client, said the evaluation includes national duties on TV, radio, print and online initiatives. Local media chores, handled in-house, are not part of the review.

In addition to incumbent Carat, Lee said the contenders are WPP's Mediaedge:cia and independent Horizon Media. Another shop, OrangeSoda, a search and Internet marketing specialist based in American Fork, Utah, is contending for online chores.

"We have been extremely happy with Carat, but it is a regular practice throughout the industry to every so often do a check," said Lee. "In this economy, we're taking the opportunity to ask ourselves if we've been with the right agency all along or is there something we should be doing that we are not taking advantage of."

She added: "Times are changing both in media and real estate, and we want to position ourselves so that when the market turns around we are out in front of the competition."

The company expects to complete the process in the next four to six weeks, in time for this year's upfront television marketplace.