Publicis Groupe has retained the Novartis global media account, reckoned to be worth $600m. The Swiss pharma giant was previously handled by Starcom and now Starcom is combining with Publicis’ new data firm Epsilon in an entity called NovartisONE2.
WPP, whose Wavemaker handled some Novartis business, also pitched as did Havas and Omnicom.
Starcom global president John Sheehy says: “Just as Novartis seeks to reimagine medicine, we too seek to reimagine and transform how we deliver data-driven marketing strategies for our clients. Rooted in a data-led, digital-first approach, NovartisONE2 unites Starcom and Epsilon to deliver capability that is agile, collaborative and relentlessly focused on driving business outcomes, along with delivering personalized experiences at scale for Novartis’ complex and evolving consumers.”
Good luck with that. Retaining Novartis will be a relief for Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun and his media supremo Steve King. Publicis reported disappointing half-time figures a couple of weeks ago.
