L'Oreal Malaysia hands media business to Maxus

This win followed a four-way battle, which included incumbent Media PI, Maxus, Optimedia and Zenith. The pitch was part of a regional media review ongoing since March.

Aegis group's Media PI has been the incumbent agency since it was set up by Carat Malaysia in 2008, to manage L'Oreal Malaysia's account.

In December last year, Maxus was named agency-of-record in Thailand in January, picking up media business worth an estimated 1.8 billion Baht (US$59.64 million), following a pitch that included incumbent ZenithOptimedia.

The agency also won the brand’s media business in India in July last year.

In Australia, the cosmetics giant initiated a review of its US$50 million account, with Universal McCann picking up the entire business that was originally shared with ZenithOptimedia, following a review initiated in August last year.

Universal McCann also retained the media business in Japan, following a review there during June last year. In the US, L'Oreal's US$70 million media buying account is handled by Universal McCann.

Mindshare won the business in China last October after a pitch against incumbent Optimedia, following a long-pending China media pitch.

Stephanie Bell, former GroupM CEO, was appointed as head of media for L'Oreal in Thailand in August last year. L'Oreal began its operations there in 1992 and has since grown to distribute 19 cosmetic brands via four distribution channels, employing more than 500 staff.