Photo: Daimler
Following a six-month pitch against the incumbent agency BBDO, Publicis has been appointed as the global network and digital agency for Mercedes-Benz.
In an email to staff Arthur Sadoun, Publicis’ chief executive, called this „the biggest pitch in the industry over the past 18 months, and one of the most significant wins for the Groupe in many years.“
Part of winning this pitch was formation of a new dedicated agency, Publicis Emil, which will service the account across 40 markets. Publicis Emil will be headquartered in Berlin, and was named after one of „Daimler’s original transformation partners“, Emil Jellinek, who created this auto brand.
The new agency will be lead by Justin Billingsley, Chief Operating Officer of Publicis Communications, in partnership with Maggie Lonergan, who will lead Region Europe and Claire Molyneux, who will lead Region Overseas.
Dr Jens Thiemer, Vice President of Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars, said that the focus of this new partnership „is above all on the worldwide digital marketing and communication measures in order to drive forward digital transformation at Mercedes-Benz. Our criteria for this are clear: best digital know-how, best systems, best creativity, best consultancy, best conditions.”
In the email to staff, Sadoun also underlined that this win is a proof that Publicis’ new model is working, noting that it „demonstrates how far we’ve managed to take our own transformation in a very short space of time. A win like this would not have been possible if we hadn’t begun more than two years ago to radically change the way we work, by breaking down silos, putting our clients at the heart of everything we do, integrating Sapient and developing global initiatives like PeopleCloud and Spine.“
