Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG has reorganized its regional media operations, while retaining Omnicom Media Group in a handful of international markets.

The company has moved its Canadian media operation out of North America and regrouped it into a new region that now includes Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. With the shift, the OMG team adds South Africa to its remit, which already included the other three markets.

Omnicom Media Group is the Omnicom media agency network that houses media shops PHD and OMD.

Ebiquity supported the search, which covered Daimler in the four regions and was run out of Germany.

"With the current growth strategy, 'Mercedes-Benz 2020' in mind, we are further pursuing regional optimization and consolidation in the area of media activities," said Jens Thiemer, VP-marketing for Mercedes-Benz Cars, in a statement. "Our concern is for consistent, innovative marketing communications that lead in quality, for still greater efficiency in media planning, and above all to have the right positioning for the global challenges presented by digital media."

Three agency groups participated in the pitch process for international business which began in June, the company said.

Sabine Lutz, head of procurement for non-production material, said in the statement that the "bundled tendering of the media activities" in the four markets follows consolidations in Europe and Asia. "The Omnicom Media Group has convinced us with the most competitive bid," he said.

Europe, China and the U.S. were not part of the review. A Publicis media agency team won the business in Europe a couple years ago. Omnicom's PHD, which had been working with Mercedes in the U.S. since 1999, retained its business after a review last year. The China pitch is ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The German automotive giant spent $339.8 million on U.S. measured media in 2014, according to Kantar Media.