EXCLUSIVE: Westpac has split with incumbent OMD in the battle royale for its $70m media account, with MediaCom said to be in final negotiations.
It is believed UM, which was also shortlisted, is no longer in the running for the business. The earlier stages of the pitch also involved Aegis Media, which controversially partnered up with independent Razor as part of a team effort in conjunction with Aegis-owned agency Vizeum.
The $60 million ANZ media account, handled by Aegis via Mitchell & Partners, is also in review, with speculation in the market claiming that Aegis Media's decision to put its hat in the ring for the Westpac account triggered the review, due to the client conflict between the bank and financial services company.
If MediaCom clinches the account, and the signs are pointing towards this outcome, the move will see the business return to MediaCom three years after it lost the account.
The current incumbent OMD, which has not run down its contract with Westpac yet, won the consolidated Westpac and St George Bank accounts in 2009, replacing MediaCom.
Westpac launched the review process in July.
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