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Honda: business worth up to £60m

Honda has consolidated its £60m media business into Naked and Starcom Motive following a review of the account out of Mediahead.

For the first time the client's entire media brief - combining cars, motorcycles, power equipment and marine motors - will be united, with Naked taking on a strategic communications role and Starcom handling buying and planning.

The news comes as a blow to Mediahead. Honda is its biggest piece of business and it has handled the account for seven years.

Mediahead, formerly CDP Media, first suggested Honda consolidate the pieces of business into one. Before this, full-service agency Golley Slater & Partners handled Honda's power equipment business and Zed Media worked on its motorcycles business, both of which are worth in the region of £1m.

Neither Golley nor Zed were invited to repitch for the business. Mediahead re-pitched in conjunction with sister agency Mediaedge:cia and the account would have been run through Mediaedge:CIA if successful. Walker Media also pitched.

Mediahead will continue to run the account until the end of the year, but Starcom and Naked will work on new projects in the interim.

Naked will be playing a "creative media" role across the Honda business.

Naked Communications partner John Harlow said: "Honda is a very exciting company and it's no secret that when you get under their skin you get to do some very exciting work."

Honda customer communications manager Chris Brown, said: "We need to be more creative with our media and need greater financial effectiveness - therefore there's no surprise to our new media line-up."