Drug Merger Sparks Review

GlaxoSmithKline Contacts Consultants to Manage Process
LOS ANGELES– In the wake of drug-marketing giants Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham’s announcement in January that they planned to merge, media-agency insiders immediately started speculating about a possible ac-count consolidation.
That process is now underway as newly named GlaxoSmithKline has quietly begun contacting consultants to handle a possible media review once the merger is finalized at the end of August.
Last year, Glaxo spent more than $250 million and SmithKline spent about $65 million on ads, according to Competitive Media Reporting.
The two clients’ roster shops include The Media Edge, New York, which is Glaxo’s agency, Jordan, McGrath, Case & Partners/Euro/-RSCG, New York, which does SmithKline’s print buying, and MediaCom, New York, which handles Smith-Kline’s broadcast-buying account.