Bacardi has decided to consolidate creative and media for its major brands, choosing BBDO and OMD without a review, Adweek reported yesterday.
According to that publication, the process began with a secret meeting between Bacardi mangement, led by CEO Mike Dolan, and executives at BBDO and OMD. Within a couple of weeks the brand had struck a deal with the two agencies to consolidate its major brands, handing off both creative and media responsibilties to the pair of Omnicom shops. Prior to the consolidation, Bacardi worked with a wide variety of agencies on its creative accounts, with media handled by Mindshare in North America and Zenith in Europe.
“Our goal is to be able to work better and to create a closer alignment between our global and local operations,” Dolan said in a statement. “To achieve this goal requires that we work with a global network.”
“It was so unique in how this happened,” OMD worldwide CEO Mainardo de Nardis told Adweek. “It wasn’t about a review, pitches, presentations, spreadsheets, pricing. We feel empowered because this is a decision based on strategic discussions about how to improve Bacardi’s business. It’s a real partnership with a huge amount of trust. If only [all new business] could be like this.”
Among Bacardi’s 200 brands are flagship brand Bacardi, Grey Goose, Martini, Bombay Sapphire, Dewars and William Lawson’s.