Mercedes-Benz has moved its full slate of marketing, communications and media work to Omnicom globally, with plans to create a fully integrated, global agency model to handle the job.
The assignment was awarded following a closed global review between Omnicom and incumbent Publicis Groupe, and covers all brand, media and performance work for the luxury automaker.
For creative, the new assignment moves work away from Publicis Emil, a dedicated agency that was created in 2018 to serve the account by bringing together talent from across the holding company’s agencies in individual markets, including Canada. Publicis Emil’s local work included putting the automaker’s cars onto an icy track in Manitoba and extending a typical “driving event” beyond brand enthusiasts with more social shareability.
On the media front, Mercedes-Benz was already working with Omnicom’s OMD Canada. The agency was not able to comment by press time on if the global win would impact its assignment locally.
However, Mercedes-Benz did say that as a result of the new assignment, it would be looking to create a “fully integrated, global agency model” that would begin work in the new year under the name “Team X,” with talent in some regions partially pulled from those that had already been working on the account, including those at OMD.
Though the companies have not yet unveiled local plans, creative agencies that could be part of this new team include BBDO (which previously had the Mercedes-Benz account in Canada before it was moved to Publicis Emil), DDB and Juniper Park\TBWA. Other than OMD, Omnicom’s media agencies in Canada include PHD, Touche and Hearts & Science. Other Omnicom agencies in Canada include PR firms FleishmanHillard and Ketchum, direct and CRM agency Rapp, digital agency Critical Mass and commerce-focused TracyLocke.
As part of the win, Omnicom has acquired two agencies based in Germany – digital agency Antoni and PR firm OSK – that have Mercedes-Benz as an existing client and were brought in to pitch with the holding company.
