MUMBAI: Nestlé India has appointed ZenithOptimedia as their media partner for their planning and buying in India.

With this, India, will be the 15th country so far for the Publicis Groupe to handle the Nestlé business besides, US, Canada, Australia, Spain, New Zealand, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Egypt, Hungary, Romania, Brazil, Philippines and Japan.

The assignment relates to Nestlé’s entire brand portfolio and the partnership will start with effect from January 2006.

The review for the media account was part of a global exercise undertaken by Nestlé on the parameters of leadership, effectiveness and efficiency in media management.

 
ZenithOptimedia CEO ,Ambika Srivastava, said, "We are delighted to have Nestlé in our client portfolio as it is one of the most prestigious accounts to work for in India as well as globally. We are totally committed to meeting the challenges of achieving media excellence for Nestle India."

 
ZenithOptimedia CEO Asia,Philip Talbot, said, "Clients are increasingly recognising the true value that ZenithOptimedia can provide them through greater consumer understanding with Touchpoints and Insights DNA."

He added,that, ZenithOptimedia will aim at providing Nestlé India with comprehensive solutions to all their communication needs.

ZenithOptimedia Worldwide CEO, Steve King, said, "The Nestle mandate is undoubtedly our most momentous assignment to date, for our Indian operations, which is just in its second year."

King attributed the success to three main factors – the team strength, ZenithOptimedia's proprietary tools and in Nestlé having a high degree of trust on the agency.