Dentsu will fold media strategy and planning agency Vizeum into digital agency iProspect, it was confirmed yesterday.
Speculation has been rife about the future of both companies since August last year, when the Vizeum brand was dropped in Australia after its merger with iProspect.
Then, in October, Campaign reported that Hamish Nicklin, who had recently joined Dentsu as UK and Ireland executive director – media from Guardian Media Group, would oversee a UK and Ireland merger of Vizeum and iProspect as part of a wider global restructure.
The new iProspect entity will be led by global president, Amanda Morrissey (pictured), bringing together more than 8,000 media and performance specialists across 93 key global markets.
As well as being a cost-saving move, the merger aims to ‘turbocharge’ iProspect as the understudy media network to Carat.
Clients will gain access to the unique capabilities of both Vizeum and iProspect, all from one integrated team leading performance-driven brand building by delivering digital-first media strategies underpinned by data and technology at every touchpoint in the consumer journey.
Morrissey said: “iProspect is designed for clients at the intersection of brand and performance. We believe brand drives performance, and performance drives brand. We no longer exist in an ecosystem where these elements can be planned and bought separately. We must look at business and brand goals through a combined lens, and this will mean accelerated growth for our clients.”
Peter Huijboom, Dentsu International global CEO media & global clients, said: “By bringing iProspect and Vizeum together we are creating a global digital-first, end-to-end media proposition. This will give our clients a scaled choice that sits alongside Carat’s brand-first approach and dentsu X’s experience-driven approach while also allowing greater access to our Creative and CXM service lines.”
The new iProspect agency will now be launched through a phased market plan over a three-month period with a target completion date of 31 March 2021.
