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Heinz has moved strategic planning for its pounds 18m annual UK

media spend into Starcom in the week the agency confirmed its merger

with Motive to become the Starcom Motive Partnership (SMP).

Starcom, which won the business without a pitch, will run the media

strategy across all Heinz’s grocery activity.

It already handles implementational planning and buying across all

brands, as well as strategic planning on the John West brand.

According to Heinz general manager, corporate marketing, Eric Salamon,

the move reflected Heinz’s need for strong creative media planning

following a change in advertising strategy over the past 18 months,

which has seen the company switch from an umbrella-type strategy across

major brands, to individual brand campaigns.

SMP, which begins trading from April, will be the UK’s third-largest

merged agency, with billings topping pounds 440m. Motive managing

director Mark Cranmer will head the operation as managing director of

SMP, as well as managing director, Starcom, for Europe, Middle East and

Africa.

He will report direct to Jack Klues and Bob Brennan, Starcom’s chief

executive officer and chief operating officer, who are based in the

US.

Starcom UK joint managing directors David Connolly and Richard Beaven

take the roles of executive director, European operations and executive

UK planning director, respectively. Motive’s client services director,

Iain Jacob, becomes executive client services director, while the

agency’s buying director, Andy Roberts, takes the role of UK buying

director.

The tie-up appears to leave MediaVest out in the cold, despite the

pounds 625m global merger of its parent company, MacManus, with

Starcom’s, the Leo Group, to form BDM.

Cranmer was unable to comment on the situation, as the formation of BDM

has yet to be formally ratified, but any link-up between SMP and

MediaVest would result in client conflict on a number of key accounts,

including NatWest/Barclays and Whitbread/Scottish Courage.

By contrast, the merger of Starcom and Motive appears to be a good fit,

with no major client clashes. Motive’s key clients include Levi’s,

Whitbread, ITV and NatWest; while Starcom’s include P&G, McDonald’s,

Heinz and UB.