Aegis Group plc ("Aegis") announced that Carat has been appointed by General Motors Co. ("GM") as its global media partner, following a full agency review undertaken during the fourth quarter of 2011.
The appointment carries an anticipated annual media spend of US $3 billion worldwide, according to Kantar Media. The remit of the multi-year contract includes media planning and buying, search, social media and mobile communications and the relationship will be managed and co-ordinated through Carat's global US team. The contract will cover all three global Aegis reporting regions – EMEA, Americas and Asia Pacific – and follows Aegis Media's appointment as GM's media agency across Europe on 1 January 2007.
Operating in 120 countries around the world, Aegis communications group is the holding company for Carat, Vizeum, Isobar, Posterscope and iProspect.
Joel Ewanick, GM Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer said: "We wanted a media agency partner with the sophistication to leverage global marketing opportunities."
Jerry Buhlmann, Chief Executive Officer of Aegis Group plc, said: “ This win reflects Aegis Media's unique ability to deliver integrated and specialist media and digital communications services on a global scale. We are excited about developing our relationship with GM in the future, and look forward to delivering many years of innovation and value to GM, our largest global client."
Nigel Morris, Chief Executive Officer of Aegis Media Americas, said: "This is a defining moment for our business and the market. We have designed our organization for convergence and globalization. We have a clearly differentiated operating model that is focused on reinventing the way we work with our clients and their brands."
