Publicis Groupe has beaten WPP in a €2 billion media planning and buying shoot-out for the world’s fourth biggest global car giant, Stellantis.
Stellantis (the name was chosen because it means “brighten with stars” in Latin) is the new name for the merged PSA and FCA car groups, which is headquartered in Amsterdam.
Publicis previously held the FCA media account (mostly through Starcom), while WPP worked with PSA — each account was worth around €1 billion. Its collection of brands includes Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Chrysler, Opel/Vauxhall, Maserati, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Dodge.
Car accounts have come back into fashion now that the move to electric and the bid to stay relevant as climate change climbs the agenda has made mainstream advertising and marketing a key priority for the sector.
On the creative side, both WPP and Publicis are associated with big car accounts – not necessarily Stellantis brands. Ford is still WPP’s biggest account, and it still has a strong relationship with former Ford brand Volvo through Grey.
Publicis’ work for Renault in particular has been a calling card for the group over decades, while it also works, through various of its agencies, with Audi, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, and Fiat (ad for Fiat by Leo Burnett Brazil above).
This is a corrected version of an earlier story.
