If you target major advertisers – we’re talkin’ the big guys – those who spend over a billion in media – you know that the sales cycle is as long and complex as the list of decision-makers you’ll have to build consensus with just to get a meeting, let alone a deal.
To sum it up, it’s a cluster#$%@. That’s why Winmo breaks those accounts down brand by brand (budget by budget) to tell you who is handling advertising, media planning and creative strategy for each particular business line, and exactly how to reach them.
In order to help you get in the door with some of these behemoths, we’ve compiled a list of five top national advertisers with media spend over $1 billion in 2018, plus key brands in their portfolio and select agency relationships.
Serving as the number one maker of consumer products available in 140 countries across the globe, it’s no surprise that P&G takes the trophy of highest company media spend at $2,701,243,165 for 2018. The biggest overall channel of investment in their media mix is broadcast, reported at $2,146,375,421 in 2018.
Associated Brands Tracked by Winmo: 81
Gillette | Notable Agency Relationship: Carat (Media Planning & Buying)
Always | Notable Agency Relationship: Lapiz (Multicultural)
Pampers | Notable Agency Relationship: Hearts & Science (Media)
The worldwide manufacturer and marketer of automobiles spent a total of $1,455,741,017 on company media throughout 2018. The largest channel of investment was broadcast, reported at $1,262,982.031.
Associated Brands Tracked by Winmo: 61
Cadillac | Notable Agency Relationship: Carat (Media Buying & Planning)
Chevrolet | Notable Agency Relationship: Casanova/ McCann (Multicultural)
GMC | Notable Agency Relationship: Digitas (Digital)
As one of the largest research-based pharmaceutical companies in the world, Pfizer has several therapeutic medications that top a billion dollars in sales each year. The company is divided into seven business units, altogether spending $1,286,684,803 in media spend in 2018. The largest channel of investment was broadcast, reported at $1,110,175,239.
Associated Brands Tracked by Winmo: 147
Advil | Notable Agency Relationship: Carat (Media Buying & Planning)
Viagra | Notable Agency Relationship: CreativeOndemand (Multicultural)
Robitussin | Notable Agency Relationship: Grey Group (Creative)
Notable News: Merging is the new trend in the health and pharmaceutical industry, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer are merging their global businesses. The merger will see brands like Panadol, Anadin, Aquafresh and Chapstick under one entity with annual sales of $12.7 billion. Sellers should reach out in order to stay on their radar, with various brands likely to see an increase in spend. The merge will save the companies about $633.7 M and 25% of those savings will be invested in the business, suggesting available dollars to invest in marketing.
The developer, manufacturer, and marketer of cosmetics and beauty products had a tracked media spend of $1,079,565,273 in 2018, with their main channel of investment being print reported at $615,392,884.
Associated Brands Tracked by Winmo: 75
Garnier | Notable Agency Relationship: Wavemaker (Media Buying & Planning)
Maybelline Face Studio | Notable Agency Relationship: Gotham (Creative)
Redken Hair Care Products | Notable Agency Relationship: Elevate (Digital)
Rounding out the group that spends at least 1 billion on its media mix, AT&T has a tracked media spend of $1,042,636,274 in 2018. Broadcast was the main channel of investment, totaling $923,221,601 in 2018.
Associated Brands Tracked by Winmo: 7
AT&T U-Verse | Notable Agency Relationship: Hearts & Science (Media Buying & Planning)
AT&T Digital Life | Notable Agency Relationship: BBDO Worldwide (Creative/Digital)
AT&T Small Business | Notable Agency Relationship: Tribal Worldwide (Creative/Social)
Notable News: In order to combat spend decreases, AT&T launched a recent campaign called “Just OK is not OK” in an attempt to encourage customers to not settle when choosing their mobile phone provider. While overall spend has seen declines, it will most likely pick up within the next few months with big plans to leverage content gained from its WarnerMedia acquisition, particularly with a new streaming service set to launch in Q4. Spending should also increase following the 5G offering as well.
