Media new business has yet to show signs of improvement as global billings dropped 25.9% at the start of the year.
Media account moves amounted to $3.90 billion in Q1 2024, down from $5.27billion in Q1 2023, according to Campaign Advertising Intelligence.
This follows the trend seen in the second half of 2023, which ended with a 24.4% drop in billings.
Despite the decline, there were positive signs for agency-client relationships. A theme that occurred in Q1 2024, particularly in Asia-Pacific and EMEA, was the high level of retentions seen by some of the biggest spenders.
“Having a strong agency relationship that lasts is a good sign,” says Shufen Goh, co-founder and principal of global consultancy R3.
“This means that clients and agencies are not only evolving together but they are committed to resolving any issues.”
She also notes that sticking with the same agency “might also suggest that fees are competitive, and clients feel they are getting a good return on their marketing investment”.
In Asia-Pacific, the most active region for media new business ($1.67 billion), 59.9% of the media total comprised reappointments.
A key review was SAIC Volkswagen in China, which renewed its relationship with Omnicom's PHD. The account, valued at $440m, was the biggest pitch in the three months.
PHD will continue to look after Skoda, Volkswagen, New Energy and Audi. Volkswagen was allocated the lion’s share, valued at $310 million.
Meanwhile, WPP’s Wavemaker held on to China Mobile and Mercedes-Benz in China, valued at $150m and $134.3 million respectively.
EMEA was the third most active area with $838.2 million in billings, with reappointments representing 37.8% of this total.
The biggest review was Lidl, which retained Omnicom’s OMD as its European media partner – the UK portion is valued at $120 m. The multi-market pitch largely came to a close in December 2023 but Campaign has been informed that the UK review only concluded in January this year.
OMD also held on to Italy’s postal service producer Poste Italiane, worth $39.7 million, and Dentsu’s Carat retained furniture retailer Poltronesofa, valued at $27.4 million.
Big six scoop clients from indies
North America was the second most active region and the only one to see media activity climb.
Where Asia-Pacific’s billings dropped by 32.2% and EMEA’s fell by 27.3%, the US and Canada's rose 47.2% from $847.2 million to $1.25 billion.
Nutella owner Ferrero was the biggest pitch in the three months. The confectionery giant moved its $185.8 million US media account from WPP’s Mindshare to Dentsu’s iProspect.
Notably, Ferrero concluded its global media review ($967.8 million) in December 2023. At the time, it appointed Dentsu most (61.8%) of its account, along with Publicis and WPP.
Meanwhile, two companies turned to the “big six” after parting ways with independent shops.
A confidential retail client in the US moved its $134 million account from independent shop Marketing + Media to Publicis Media. And telecoms company Optimum moved its $110 million brief from Horizon Media to Connect at Publicis Media
The holding company rankings: Publicis and Omnicom battle for top spot
Publicis and Omnicom fought to be the most active of the big six holding companies. Publicis pulled ahead with $1.07 billion in media billings, Omnicom followed with $1.06 million.
Of the big six, Publicis was the only one to grow its media billings, up more than three times from $322.9 million in Q1 2023.
Publicis harnessed its “Power of One” model when it was handed Spotify’s $238.7 million global media account. The holding company set up a bespoke unit, Publicis OneVibe, which pulled in talent from across Publicis Media to service the music app’s global and regional brand media output.
Dyson in China was another key win; the technology company moved its $124 million account from WPP’s Mindshare to Starcom.
That said, the group’s biggest win was a $134 million retail client in the US, which it scooped from independent shop Haworth Marketing + Media.
AliExpress swaps in-house for OMD
Omnicom's second place was driven by its being reappointed to some of the biggest global clients in Q1 2024.
Alongside SAIC Volkswagen and Lidl, Omnicom also held onto HP’s global account, valued at $101m. PHD will continue to handle the technology company’s traditional media strategy and planning and buying, but HP has decided to move its digital media buying in-house.
As for new clients, e-commerce company AliExpress, which previously handled media in-house, enlisted OMD to run its $70 million US account.
Despite these big victories, Omnicom’s billings were still down by a third, from $1.56 billion to $1.06 billion.
WPP was in third place after its retention of China Mobile and Mercedes-Benz in China.
It was also added to the roster of a third large account in China, when a technology company handed Wavemaker its $92.7 million account.
As for new wins, vitamin company Nature's Bounty Co hired Mindshare to handle its $31.2 million media account in the US. Meanwhile, property website Rightmove moved its $25.7 million UK brief from independent shop Electric Glue to sister shop Wavemaker.
However, much like the wider global trend, WPP’s media billings dropped by two thirds, down from $1.92 million to $657.1 million.