By: Ewan Larkin and Brandon Doerrer, AdAge
Publicis Groupe has now taken over PayPal’s global media business following a review, marking the latest win in the French holding company’s new-business tear. Publicis, which also handles PayPal’s creative business through BBH USA, declined to comment.
WPP Media had held PayPal’s media account since 2023, but the network in April told the portal Ad Age it resigned to “pursue other opportunities.”
“We recently completed an agency partner review for global media and have appointed Publicis as our new global media agency partner,” Geoff Seeley, PayPal’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “This PayPal-led process was shaped by our ambition to modernize how we go to market and align with a partner that reflects where we’re headed as a brand. We appreciate the time, thinking, and energy from all the agencies that participated. We’re excited about what comes next.”
PayPal’s peer-to-peer payment app Venmo launched a campaign in June that marked a shift in its marketing by promoting paying for goods and services using the app, business lines that have proven to be lucrative for the brand.
PayPal’s first-quarter earnings revealed that Venmo revenue grew 20% year-over-year, largely due to Pay with Venmo transaction volume growing by 50% and Venmo debit card monthly active users growing about 40% compared to the same period a year prior. Venmo’s total payment volume rose 10% from the previous year, the company reported.
WPP Media (then GroupM) provided media support on the Venmo campaign prior to the review. Stagwell’s 72andSunny handled creative while Publicis worked on organic social and influencer efforts.
PayPal has also positioned itself as a commerce tool. In September, the brand released its largest campaign to date, created by Publicis’ BBH, which features Will Ferrell discovering how PayPal’s debit card can be added to digital wallets for tap-to-pay purchases. The comedian proceeded to use the feature at locations ranging from a clothing boutique to a coffee shop to a “shady” lemonade stand while belting out his rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere.” It released a follow-up ad in April.
PayPal Holdings spent $574 million, $364 million and $518 million in advertising expenses in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, the company previously reported. This includes media spending for its PayPal and Venmo entities.
PayPal will report second-quarter results on July 29. Today, it launched a new offering that connects cryptocurrencies, digital wallets and merchants.
PayPal joins a string of lucrative media wins for Publicis this year, including Coca-Cola Co. in North America, Mars and Paramount. The agency group has also been busy bolstering its services through acquisitions, snapping up influencer agencies such as Captiv8, sports marketing shop Adopt and data management platform Lotame.
