March 13, 2019 – MediaPost — As bundled offerings seem to be regaining favor among marketers seeking simplified agency relationships,
COMvergence is out with a new study of integrated reviews in the U.S. over the past two years.
The agency tracker found that over that time (January 2017-December 2018) 62 advertisers placed both their creative and media accounts in review and that about one-third of them (20 clients) conducted a single search for an integrated agency partnership and selected creative and media agencies from the same holding company.
Six others conducted a single pitch but opted for creative and media agencies at different holding companies. The balance did separate reviews and selected agencies from different holding companies. WPP and Interpublic were the most selected groups among the 20 clients conducting integrated searches and opting for shops from one holding company. WPP had eight wins (including BP and Newell) and IPG six wins (including Ulta Beauty and Phillips 66).
Eight of the 20 marketers selected holding companies that created dedicated units to service the accounts. Six of the 20 clients had billings of over $100 million and the others had spending budgets of between $5 million and $73 million.
