Carat snatches PPP Healthcare account in competitive pitch

The appointment follows a competitive pitch against the incumbent agency, OMD Connect. OMD Connect, a joint venture between OMD and WWAV Rapp Collins, handles the media for the majority of AXA's brands.

The account will be run out of the Carat Direct division. Carat Direct launched in April following the appointment of Helen Davies from Proximity and handles accounts including Dell, Churchill and Weightwatchers.

In March, Media Audits launched a wholesale review of AXA's UK media account but this was called off following a renegotiation of terms and conditions with the incumbent. However, it is understood that Carat won the PPP brief without the assistance of a media auditor.

PPP will spend an estimated £3.5 million below the line, with the remaining £1.5 million allocated above the line.

In January, AXA announced, for the second time in a year, that it was reviewing its £23 million creative account, which was largely held by TBWA\London.

A long list of TBWA, Publicis, BMP DDB, WCFA Integrated, HHM and J. Walter Thompson was whittled down to just two and, in a head-to-head battle, JWT beat BMP to the centralised account.

No-one at Carat would comment on the win.

This article was first published on Campaign