Bayer to Consolidate Agency Work Again
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Just one month after finalizing its acquisition of rival Merck’s over-the-counter pharmaceuticals business, Bayer is making some changes in its agency lineup.
Specifically, the company is consolidating its business with its two incumbent agencies; Havas and other parties will lose the work.
For context, Bayer’s last major consolidation occurred in 2010, with the company awarding creative duties to WPP (Ogilvy/JWT) and Omnicom (BBDO/CDM Group) and media to GroupM.
The first big move to follow the acquisition was the shift in media agencies at Merck: the work went from Initiative to MediaCom. Today’s announcement, however, marks the end of an extended partnership between Bayer and Havas. Moving forward, it seems that all creative will belong to WPP and Omnicom.
Internal memo after the jump.
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Bayer was ordered to run corrective advertising for one of its brands. The FDA and 27 state attorneys general ordered Bayer to produce a six-month, $20 million corrective-advertising campaign for Yaz, the German pharma company’s birth-control pill. It began in late January and is scheduled to end July 26.
