Uber
Previous agency: GroupM’s MediaCom (now EssenceMediacom)
New agency: Omnicom Media Group
Size of account: In May, Adweek obtained a copy of Uber’s request for information document, which listed the account size at $600 million.
Why it’s significant: Uber consolidated most of its global business with OMG, which now oversees media in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America for the ride-share company. The result is curious, given how Uber approached the review. It allowed each of its regional marketing leads to select the agency they preferred.
“Therefore, you are not guaranteed the entire Uber business,” the RFI read. This means that the review will be expansive, and holding companies could present different agencies for consideration, depending on the markets.
Geico
Previous agency: Horizon Media
New agency: IPG Mediabrands
Size of account: Geico spent $1.38 billion last year on measured media, according to COMvergence. Of that, $827 million went to offline spend, including TV, and $553 million went to digital investments.
Why it’s significant: Until this year, Geico maintained a 29-year relationship with the largest independent media agency in the U.S. market, Horizon Media. It’s unclear what prompted Geico to initiate a review, but it did recently add a new CMO and execute a round of layoffs in its marketing department.
With this change, Geico consolidated most of its marketing spend with IPG, since it was already partnered with IPG creative shop The Martin Agency. The Geico pitch was one of few led by IPG Mediabrands—the subsidiary group that includes media agencies Initiative, UM and Mediahub.
