Unilever divvys up media assignment among 6 Ad Groups

Unilever has completed its global media review, divvying up assignments across the six major holding companies.

In what was seen by many as a “must win” for WPP, given a number of recent losses, the UK holding company did retain its assignments in the US, UK and China, three of Unilever’s largest markets. In the U.S. the company won an integrated shopper marketing brief previously held by Publicis.

Publicis Media won five markets in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam, which were previously handled by WPP.

Interpublic, Havas, Omnicom and Dentsu also won pieces of business.

Unilever is one of the largest advertisers in the world. The company’s total brand and marketing investment last year was around $9.5 billion, according to its 2023 annual report. About $5.2 billion of that was earmarked for measured media according to agency research firm COMvergence.

The review began in January and followed the appointment of the company’s new marketing chief, Esi Eggleston Bracey in October of 2023.

Bracey issued a statement:“Thank you to everyone who took part in this process as we prepare for the next generation of marketing. It’s fantastic to accelerate this journey with both new and long-time partners. Together, we have an exciting opportunity to further optimize our media and content to better reflect people and culture as we continue to build our brands and drive to commerce.”

The company confirmed the new media agency roster:

Mindshare (WPP)

Australia and New Zealand

Central Eastern Europe

China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan)

Indonesia

Italy

Netherlands and Belgium

Nordics

North America

South Asia including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Sub Saharan Africa

UK and Ireland

 

OMG (Omnicom Group)

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates

Germany, Austria and Switzerland

China: Hong Kong and Taiwan

Turkey

Initiative (Interpublic Group)

Canada

Greece

Latin America including Argentina, Brazil and Mexico

North Africa

Ukraine

Havas Media (Havas)

France

Spain

Publicis Media (Publicis Groupe)

Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam

Dentsu

Japan

Unilever markets several hundred brands around the world including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Lynx.