Vizeum wins Ikea's £10m UK media work

WPP's MediaCom has lost the £10m UK media planning and buying business for Swedish furniture retailer Ikea to Aegis Media's Vizeum.

IKEA: media agency review at an end
IKEA: media agency review at an end

Vizeum has won the business following a seven-month review of Ikea's global media requirements, led by Ikea Group's category manager, Anders Bille, and business analyst Eija Nordkvist.

Ikea spent £9m on media in 2008, with the bulk of the business (£5.6m) being directed to TV and £2.3m going on outdoor media.

Vizeum won a final head-to-head battle against WPP's MediaCom. Aegis' Carat and Omnicom's OMD were dropped from contention at an earlier stage.

Ikea's central procurement team is expected to announce the winning agencies for more than 20 markets within the next week.

Vizeum will takeover the planning and buying for the UK & Ireland business from 1 January 2010.

Anna Crona, marketing manager for IKEA UK and Ireland, said the company had enjoyed a "healthy relationship" with MediaCom over the last ten years and the agency have been "integral to helping us move our brand forward".

She added: "Now together with Vizeum we are looking at moving our business on further with a fresh approach."

WPP agencies MediaCom and Mediaedge:cia have held most of the retailer's accounts since 2005, after winning a final pitch against Omnicom's OMD.

MediaCom currently services about 45% of the global media business, including the European markets of France, Spain, Denmark, Germany and Portugal. It also holds the account in Australia.

MEC is responsible for the remaining 55% of Ikea's business, including Belgium, Finland, The Netherlands, Russia and Sweden in Europe, and Canada, the US and China.

Founded in 1943, Ikea turned over €21.2bn last year.

* This is an amended version of a story that was originally published on Wednesday afternoon (4 November), in which Media Week incorrectly stated that Ikea’s UK business had been retained by MediaCom.

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