- Kimberly-Clark is handing U.S. media-planning and -buying duties to Publicis Groupe, which is organising a dedicated unit for the buyer packaged goods firm, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. Ad Age previously reported on the news.
- The ad-holding group’s solution is known as K-C One and draws on resources from the Epsilon, Spark Foundry and Profitero agencies throughout the network. Kimberly-Clark has an existing relationship with Epsilon, a data-marketing shop, dating back several years.
- The account switch marks a loss for Mindshare, a division of WPP’s GroupM. Publicis lately has focused on constructing bespoke agencies for clients as a part of its larger Power of One strategy.
Publicis notches a serious media account win with Kimberly-Clark. The CPG marketer owns quite a lot of household brands, including Cottonelle, Kleenex, Huggies and Scott, and commands a whole bunch of tens of millions in annual spending power. Kimberly-Clark first put the U.S. business up for review in March, while the account changeover will happen starting in 2024 to support the corporate’s digital transformation journey, a spokesperson said.
Building a bespoke solution for Kimberly-Clark speaks to growing client demand for streamlined agency offerings that may reduce complexity and supply more integrated products. K-C One will leverage resources from different groups inside Publicis, including data-marketing specialist Epsilon, e-commerce shop Profitero and media agency Spark Foundry.
Epsilon continues to stand out as a growth driver for Publicis as marketers look to agencies for assist in navigating an increasingly complex digital ecosystem where wresting control of first-party data is a top mandate. CPG brands have also grown increasingly reliant on retail media networks amid the deprecation of third-party cookies, which has modified a few of their marketing services needs.
“The shifts within the media landscape and consumer behavior created a chance to re-assess our integrated media ecosystem and the necessities needed to speed up media’s contribution to business growth,” said Luke Kigel, Kimberly-Clark North American vp of selling capabilities, in an announcement shared with Marketing Dive. “We are excited to bring K-C One on board as they will likely be a key enabler to improving the performance of our marketing investment.”
Publicis has put a bigger deal with agencies designed with a single client in mind through its Power of One strategy. When it won the Inspire Brands media account in 2021, Publicis Media launched a tailor-made unit to handle the QSR’s portfolio, which incorporates brands like Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin’ and Buffalo Wild Wings. The bespoke approach has not all the time paid off.
Still, the Kimberly-Clark win builds on strong momentum for Publicis Groupe in 2023. The ad-holding group saw organic revenue, a key metric of agency health, grow 7.1% within the second quarter. Earlier this yr, it was awarded a big chunk of the Pfizer business because the pharmaceutical giant seeks to revamp its marketing.
Read the total article here
