USAA to consolidate marketing and communications with Publicis Groupe
USAA, a company that provides insurance, banking, investment and retirement products to American military members and their families, has chosen to consolidate its agencies under the Publicis Groupe umbrella.
Credit: USAA
Saatchi & Saatchi, Razorfish, MSLGroup, Mediavest|Spark and Prodigious will be the leading agencies on the account. According to USAA, this streamlined approach “integrates services across three of Publicis Groupe’s four Solutions hubs: Publicis Communications, Publicis.Sapient and Publicis Media.” Publicis Healthcare is the only agency not involved.
The firm ended its relationship with IPG shop Campbell Ewald earlier this year after the agency became embroiled in a scandal involving a racist email sent to staffers by a creative director. Months later, the business began working with sister IPG agency MullenLowe. Publicis was then chosen after “several months of rigorous interviews, onsite visits and in-depth discussions with several companies.”
While “several agencies have supported or are supporting USAA’s communications and marketing initiatives,” the business plans to transition all work to Publicis Groupe by the end of the first quarter of 2017. WME|IMG, which handles sponsorship-related activities like the Army-Navy Game presented by USAA, will be the only outside agency to continue work with the company.
According to USAA, the streamlined approach puts diversity front and center since Publicis has pledged that 30 percent of new hires working on the account will come from diverse communities.
“Publicis Groupe is the right fit with USAA’s culture, sharing our passion for serving America’s military community and belief in the value of diverse perspectives,” said Roger Adams, USAA senior vice president for marketing and communications, in a statement. “Their integrated service offering and approach to diversity perfectly complement our team at USAA. We will be better equipped to deliver integrated and impactful communications to our employees, members, prospective members and community partners.”