In a big shake up for Shell, the oil and gas company has decided to expand its creative relationship with WPP by appointing four of its agencies to its eight-strong creative agency roster.
The “Creative Agency of the Future” global roster now includes Wunderman, H+K Strategies, Geometry Global and Mirum. The roster will cover responsibilities including strategy and planning, insight-led creative ideation, B2B and trade marketing and shopper marketing.
Meanwhile, MediaCom has been reappointed to Shell’s global media planning and buying duties across 40 markets. The account is estimated to be worth over $200m.
Commenting on the win, Mark Read, chief operating officer at WPP, said: “Shell were looking for strategic, collaborative partners with a digital-first mindset to form a collective ‘Creative Agency of the Future’, underpinned by best-in-class media and data capabilities.
“We are delighted with the outcome of both the creative and media reviews, which demonstrates the strength of our companies, our flexibility and adaptability as a group, and our enduring ability to win the trust of the biggest global clients.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with Shell to help them transform their communications platform and achieve their business goals.”
Wunderman’s global client partner, Jason Warnes, who led the creative pitch for WPP, has now been appointed as WPP’s global client lead for Shell.
The energy company threw its global creative and media business into review in January, having worked with a WPP team of JWT and MediaCom for decades.
JWT won the company’s global creative account in 1997, whilst Mediacom was appointed to Shell’s UK media in 2001 before winning the global brief in 2005.
