The multi billion naira MTN media pitch, which opened at the tail end of last year with six leading media specialist shops in the review, has produced three finalists, each of them good enough to clinch the business. The shops include the incumbent capital media led by Tony Udenze, Emeka Okeke’s Carat Media Perspectives and Starcom Media team led by Ayo Kupoluyi.
According to source in the know, the multinational company has communicated with the three agencies that made it to the next level as well as all other participants who did not qualify. “We have communicated with all of them”, it said.
According to our source the next phase which is the commercial phase of the pitch will come up within the next few days, and will determine who runs home with the mouth watering business.
The phase is meant to review what individual agency is offering in terms of commission, fees and other commercial considerations. Having all proved good enough to handle the business on strategy level, it, therefore, infers that the business could swing the way of any of these three contenders.
Having taken longer than envisaged, the final result may also be released before the end of January. This is to partly make up for the lost time in the review, which was planned to conclude last year. Also, the recent gales of events in the country including the just ended civil protests and strike against the removal of fuel subsidy by the civil society groups, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress have not helped matters.
It is on record that six top notch media agencies were invited to pitch the MTN media business in the dying months of 2011. The plan was to round-off and conclude on all aspects of the review as the year winds up.
MTN as the one of the country’s top three spenders is the envy of all agencies. Its retainer’s fee, which is said to be about two hundred million per annum, makes the business the darling and envy of every agency.{jcomments on}
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