Daimler awards international media account to the Omnicom Media Group

Oct 23, 2018

Decision taken on global pitch for new media agency
All Daimler divisions supported by one and the same agency
Company's digital transformation on next level in marketing communications, too
Stronger focus on digital media activities in future

Stuttgart. Daimler AG has awarded its global media account to the Omnicom Media Group. The Omnicom Media Group is one of the largest and most renowned agency groups in the media sector worldwide. The processes in the area of marketing communications are being redefined in the course of the Group's digital transformation process and its evolution into an integrated and fully interconnected mobility provider.

"In the Omnicom Media Group we are delighted to have a top-calibre partner at our side for our global media activities. Daimler is one of the world's largest advertiser, with a portfolio boasting Mercedes-Benz as a global top 10 flagship brand, making it a highly attractive international account", said Natanael Sijanta, Director Marketing Communication Mercedes-Benz Cars. "Our goal is to be the global digital champion in automotive marketing. We aim to fully reorganise our processes and our basis for decision-making in marketing and to address our customers worldwide in a personalised manner with content which is specifically of relevance to them. We have already established a global network of experts for this purpose: our three creative hubs for Europe, the USA and China are producing creative and brand-defining communicative content with great success. Since 1 July, 'Publicis Emil' has been supporting the digital transformation process in around 40 markets as our international network agency. Together we are establishing a globally consistent brand image across all communication channels. In the Omnicom Media Group we now have a media partner on board which will have a further key strategic role in our agency vision and which will be crucial in shaping our digital performance."

The pitch focused first and foremost on shaping the digital transformation process in the media area. The aim is to address customers and potential customers of the brand in an even more precise and individual manner by means of data-based and personalised digital marketing and to make more effective use of media data, for example. Beyond this, we will also have a means of optimising our own content and distribution activities. By pooling our global media activities we will additionally achieve increased efficiency across all channels. The Omnicom Media Group will be responsible as of 1st January 2019 for more than 40 markets worldwide and all Daimler divisions (Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Trucks, Daimler Buses, Daimler Financial Services).

In its search for a partner for the digital transformation process in marketing, Mercedes Benz opted back in February 2018 to collaborate with Publicis and the customized agency "Publicis Emil" which has been established specifically for this purpose. Along with the local adaptation of the global and regional Mercedes-Benz campaigns in around 40 markets, the focus of the cooperation is on increasing synergies for a more consistent presentation of the Mercedes-Benz brand on the digital platforms, accompanied by stronger harmonisation and the ongoing optimisation of central and local digital content on all channels.

Fair and transparent selection process

Selection of the new agency was made on the basis of a standardised, uniform process involving all participating regions. In order to guarantee a fair and transparent process, Daimler's internal Pitch Team was supported by Accenture Media Management. The agency services presented were assessed according to uniform criteria and collated to form an overall result with the aid of a predetermined weighting key. Throughout the process, Daimler also followed the common guidelines of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) on conducting pitches.