UDV awards £30 million media account

- The spirits giant, UDV, has pooled most of its £30 million UK media planning and buying into Carat following a competitive pitch.

The move leaves the incumbent, Western International Media, with media planning and strategy for Smirnoff, Sheridan's, Baileys and Malibu and media buying for the Brown-Forman brand, Jack Daniel's, which is marketed by UDV in the UK. Western's sister creative agency, Lowe Howard-Spink, handles creative work on the four UDV brands on which Western has been retained.

However, Carat will take on media buying for all UDV brands, which also include Gordon's Gin and Johnnie Walker whisky.

The pitch kicked off in February when UDV invited MindShare, Carat and Western to present. MindShare was culled from the pitch at an early stage leaving it as a straight two-way battle.

It emerged last week that Carat had made an eleventh hour revision to its pitch proposal, changing its offer on the prices it was promising the client.

Tony Scouller marketing director of UDV UK, said: "Two organisations of the highest quality presented and, on balance, we chose Carat. Our brands advertising relationship with Lowe Howard-Spink will continue."

UDV is the spirits division of Diageo, the company founded out of the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. Diageo is about to begin a global media centralisation of its spirits portfolio, which is worth more than £150 million worldwide.

This article was first published on Campaign