Tea conglomerate Ekaterra has hired PHD as its inaugural media agency following the business’ spin-off from Unilever and acquisition by venture capitalists.
Campaign understands the final choice was a shootout between PHD and UM.
Ekaterra is the world’s largest tea business, operating in 42 markets. Its brands include PG Tips, Lipton, Pukka and T2, and it spends an estimated €70m (£59m) on media each year.
Unilever completed the sale of its tea division to a CVC Capital Partners fund this month, but had called a global media review, working with ID comms, earlier this year.
Ekaterra’s portfolio generated global revenues of about €2bn in 2020, across 11 production factories on four continents and tea estates in three countries.
Its media brief was to find a “digital-first” agency to support its investments and campaigns across its global markets.
Ekaterra’s brands were formerly supported by a range of media agencies that worked with Unilever. In the UK, the bulk of Unliever’s media planning and buying is handled by Mindshare.
On the appointment, Aparna Sundaresh, chief marketing and digital officer at ekaterra, said: “I am delighted to partner with the talented team at PHD on our journey to grow a world of well-being. Our iconic tea brands like Lipton, PG Tips, Pukka and many more have deep cultural resonance. I look forward to bringing the power of these brands into every household through agile, effective, and innovative media thinking.”
Commenting on the announcement, Philippa Brown, WW CEO, PHD, said: “PHD is thrilled at the prospect of working with ekaterra. We have enjoyed our interactions with the entire team and found the process collaborative, transparent and expertly managed. We are excited to help the brands achieve a disproportionate share of attention as we work to achieve sustainable and consistent growth over the coming years.”
“This was an exciting pitch that saw the team make leaps in their approach to customised strategic planning. We focused on how strong rigorous media planning, combined with science, can unite for ekaterra through our Omni marketing solution. We are delighted to have the opportunity to grow their exciting brand portfolio in the region and beyond,” adds CEO of PHD MENA, Luca Allam.
Whilst the transition plans will kick in from August, implementation will begin in September 2022.
Source: Campaign UK
