IBM has handed its $190m global media business to Omnicom after a pitch against Publicis and Dentsu. Incumbent WPP Media did not compete. IBM’s global creative account, which is still under review, split from WPP’s Ogilvy in March after a 32 year partnership.
Omnicom will handle IBM’s media across the Americas, EMEA and APAC following the review, which was run by LA-based 3C Ventures. Initiative, part of Omnicom Media Group, already handled the business in EMEA.
The win is the latest in a series of victories for Omnicom after its merger with IPG at the end of last year. These include Dyson’s $500m global media business, On and Delta Airlines in the US; plus Legoland Resorts, Skechers and Under Armour in China.
Omnicom has started building more bespoke teams for some business in line with the Publicis and WPP models. Beating the seemingly all-conquering Publicis to IBM will be a particularly sweet triumph for Omnicom – although Publicis did just win the bigger prize of IBM rival/collaborator Microsoft’s $2bn global media.
