Starcom to handle media duties for P&G across Malaysia and Singapore

After a hiatus of 11 years, Starcom is back to managing media planning and buying duties for TV and digital for P&G for the next three years, overseeing 17 brands except SK-ll which remains with MediaCom.

The RFI and RFP procedures lasted a full year, and it is understood that the appointment will take effect on December 1.

P&G’s CFO Andre Schulten had indicated at the end of July that more than 50% of the company’s advertising is in digital and that it had developed better targeting over both TV and digital.

“Our ability to improve effectiveness of reach and quality of reach is allowing us to drive cost per effective reach down both in digital and in TV,” he said.

As such, he explained, P&G which had been able to deliver significant productivity in recent years, had reinvested that productivity and incremental media spend ahead of sales leverage.

On a separate note, Publicis Groupe, having worked with P&G for more than 50 years, had in 2016, launched PG One, bringing in expertise across various disciplines, including creative and media to help P&G “drive superior communication” with its consumers.

As P&G’s Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard put it: “We are constructively disrupting in all areas of our business and these partners are leading the way to innovate in advertising and media as we reinvent brand building at P&G.”

PG One Singapore meanwhile got Sarah Ko last April as its new ECD, and who was the former Regional Group Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore.

Sarah brings to P&G Singapore her vast experience having worked on over 20 disciplines/categories within 10 markets in APAC and EMEA as well as stints with Ogilvy Philippines, Lowe and Partners and Havas Worldwide Thailand.