Mondelez Launches Global Creative Agency Review for All Brands

Snack giant Mondelez has placed the entirety of its global creative business in review, a spokesperson confirmed. "We’re constantly reviewing our practices and partnerships to ensure we’re fit for the future," said the representative. "With a new growth strategy and a new operating model, we’re putting digital at the center of our marketing approach and are in the early stages of evaluating our structure." AdAge first reported on the news Thursday evening. The representative declined to elaborate on the above statement. It is unclear at this time whether the company will be managing the review internally, and the spokesperson did not confirm which agencies will be competing in the review. This review follows a similar mid-2018 review of the Deerfield, Ill.-based company's media business that reportedly saw RFPs go out to all major holding companies. The first round saw Mondelez consolidating the North American portion with Publicis Groupe's Spark Foundry on buying and VaynerMedia on planning and digital. The subsequent global review proceeded on a regional basis, with WPP's Wavemaker and Mindshare winning a majority of work in the AMEA and MEU. Spark Foundry retained most of its accounts in the Middle East and Latin America while adding work in China and Southeast Asia. IPG and WPP currently handle the majority of creative work around the world for Mondelez brands like Oreo, Chips Ahoy and Ritz via networks such as Ogilvy, FCB and The Martin Agency. Spokespeople for those agencies have not responded to requests for comment. Mondelez has made several significant changes to its leadership mix over the past year-plus, most prominently naming Mars and Coca-Cola veteran Dirk Van de Put CEO in Nov. 2017 and elevating him to chairman in April 2018 after hiring Martin Renaud away from Danone as global CMO. As part of that move, the company also named four regional CMOs for North America, Europe, Latin America and EMEA in an attempt to "reinvent marketing." As sales of certain snack foods dip, especially in key markets like the U.S., Van de Put says he is "hungry for fresh ideas." In late 2018, he introduced the tagline "Snacking Made Right" as part of a larger attempt to counter growing customer concerns about issues like genetically modified ingredients that have allowed competitors to grab greater market share. (According to Mondelez, sales for its largest brand, Oreo, did rise by 8 percent in 2018.) Consultancy R3, which counts Mondelez as a client but is not involved in this review, estimates the company's annual global paid media spend at approximately $800 million to $1 billion, though past estimates have been as high as $1.5 billion.