No mOne any more

In a recent global development, mOne Worldwide has ceased operations. For the uninitiated, mOne Worldwide was the 50:50 joint venture between OgilvyOne Worldwide and Group M Worldwide. Formed in 2003, mOne Worldwide handled online media planning and buying for the clients of both OgilvyOne and Group M.

As a consequence of this global development, OgilvyOne will have its own online media division, which will handle online media buying and planning for its clients. Each of the GroupM agencies – Maxus, MindShare, MindShare Fulcrum, MediaCom, Motivator and Mediaedge:cia – will have their own online media divisions as well.

Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO, Group M, South Asia, says, “Through this development, all the GroupM agencies will be able to offer their clients online solutions that span strategy, planning, buying, online creatives and search capabilities across all digital delivery platforms, not just the Internet. They will be able to offer online solutions that are integrated with the offline media that they recommend.”

But why was mOne closed down?

All that Srivastava is willing to say is: “When you have two different organisations, each of which has its own business development strategies and independent way of thinking, it is best for everyone to follow their own game-plan.”

The name for OgilvyOne’s online media division is still in the process of being finalised internationally.

Renuka Jaypal, president, OgilvyOne, India, and national business director, telecom, OgilvyOne, Mumbai, says that it is too early to disclose the names of the clients that the new media division will handle.

But will this division handle buying and planning in the online space only or will one see the new division handling other media as well in the near future?

“Purely online planning and buying,” responds Jaypal. “We have a terrific partnership with GroupM across our other client media requirements, which we will both continue to consolidate and develop.”

© 2006 agencyfaqs!