Omnicom wins Philips’ $300m global creative & media account review

Global health technology and beauty giant Philips has awarded its creative, public relations and media accounts, worth $300m, to Omnicom following a review.

Philips' creative and media accounts were previously held by Ogilvy and Carat respectively / Philips

Why choose Omnicom?

• Philips will work with a cross-agency team drawn from several Omnicom shops – primarily TBWA for creative and OMD for media, with FleishmanHillard and Ketchum continuing their handling of the brand's communications efforts.

• Staff from Interbrand, Critical Mass and Omnicom Precision Marketing Group will also contribute.

• Lorraine Barber-Miller, chief marketing and e-commerce officer at Philips said in a statement: “As we look to extend our leadership as a health technology solutions provider, Omnicom will be an important part of our world-class marketing capabilities, helping us to deliver personalized, differentiating customer experiences.”

• “We are delighted to be named the integrated agency partner for Philips and to help the company navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead,” said John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom Group.

• “During an intense pitch process, we were able to leverage the strength of our agencies in a model that connects creativity, culture and technology to help Philips build a category of one in the changing health technology industry. We are proud to be Philips’ partner in this important, new chapter of their history.”

What does it mean?

• The review for all three accounts began in January and involved a four-way battle between winners Omnicom, incumbents Dentsu and WPP, and MDC Partners.

• FleishmanHillard and Ketchum, which have held the Philips account for 10 years, acted as a beachhead; the brand credited them with the ”expansion of that relationship with the Omnicom Group.”

• The move is a loss for Dentsu, which was found lagging in its Q1 results relative to holding company rivals. Media agency Carat had held the Philips account for 20 years, Campaign reported, though it is still the media partner for Philips’ domestic appliances business.

• Peter Huijboom, global CEO of media and global clients, Dentsu International, said: ”Dentsu is proud of our two-decade long relationship with Royal Philips and the growth we have fuelled together.We look forward to joining forces in bringing meaningful innovations to consumers’ homes.”