A raft of Canadian media management companies will soon be vying for the right to a whopper-sized piece of business, if a proposal to consolidate the media buying accounts of Burger King Restaurants of Canada, Pillsbury Canada, United Distillers & Vintners, and Guinness goes through.

The combined value of the accounts is estimated at $20 million to $30 million. A review for the business could be underway by the end of the year.

The four companies in question are all part of international food and beverage giant Diageo. The company, which is based in London, England, reported its Canadian media expenditures in 1997 to be US$15.6 million.

The company, formed by the merger of Grand Metropolitan PLC and Guinness in late 1997, markets its brands in more than 200 countries around the world.

George Michel, president of Burger King Restaurants of Canada, confirms that discussions have been underway among the Canadian companies but says a decision about proceeding with a formal review hasn’t been made.

‘It’s an option we’re looking at to see if there are ways for us to be more effective in how we buy and place media,’ he says.

The companies are currently searching for some common ground with respect to a few agencies that might be invited to pitch the business, he says.

Michel wants to keep the process ‘exploratory’ until Burger King’s new marketing director joins the company Nov. 1.

Susan Chuang, currently director of marketing for Enbridge Consumer Products, will be taking over the role left vacant this past July when Chuck McAulay moved to Blockbuster Canada.

Michel says he expects to have a clearer picture of the media consolidation option by mid- to late November.