At the same time, Initiative has won the account covering the Commonwealth of Independent States, the former USSR, with international coordination for the accounts being handled from Carat International in London. The two agencies will carry out buying on a local basis.
The Indesit group's biggest brands are Indesit and Ariston. Other major ones are Hotpoint, Stinol and Scholtes.
The review of the business took in 18 territories across Europe, kicking off with pitches in Italy, Russia and the UK, where Aegis-owned Carat is incumbent on the £1.5m media account. Other networks asked to pitch as part of the media review were Mediaedge:cia and Omnicom Media Group.
The group, which is based in Italy and operates throughout Europe, produces a range of gas and electrical household appliances. It is behind white goods brands such as Ariston, the Cannon cooker range and the Hotpoint washing machine and dishwasher brand.
The company has a 15% share in its market across Europe, sales of £2bn and employs 20,000 people across Europe. The brand became Indesit when it renamed from Merloni Elettrodomestici in 2005.
Marco J Rota, marketing director for Indesit in Europe, said: "As a company we are continuously working to improve our marketing effectiveness and always striving to achieve best practice. Our aim was to review our agency alignment across Europe in order to further improve our communication effectiveness and media buying across the region.
"All four agencies invited demonstrated enthusiasm and professionalism during the selection process and produced high quality strategic solutions. Both Carat and Initiative have demonstrated innovative thinking, strong strategic abilities and excellent buying performances which will contribute to maximising Indesit Company ROI."
Susanna Outfin, chief executive of Carat Global Management, said: "Carat is delighted to be extending our partnership with Indesit. It is particularly pleasing to be able to develop the strong foundations we have built together. We will continue building on these with further innovation and an increased focus on effectiveness.
"We feel Carat and Indesit share the same values of putting the consumer at the heart of our thinking; this is borne out by Indesit's innovative new product range."
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