EBay moves global media business to Dentsu’s iProspect

EBay has appointed Dentsu’s iProspect as its global media agency following a competitive review that was first reported in April. EBay is looking to shift from a “decentralized model of marketing,” in which each country does its own campaigns, to one more centralized globally, Global Chief Marketing Officer Adrian Fung told Ad Age in May. As part of that shift, the company decided to reevaluate its media agency capabilities, Fung previously said. “IProspect stood out for their passion of the eBay brand and their strong operating model,” eBay said in a statement. “Their support will be critical as we focus on full-funnel campaigns that are integrated throughout the entire buying and selling journey.” Also read: Amazon concludes its media review GroupM’s EssenceMediacom, the incumbent on the account, and Havas Media Network also pitched for the business, according to a person familiar with the matter. Both companies declined to comment. Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here “We want to thank all the agencies who took part in the review process, in particular EssenceMediacom,” eBay said in its statement. “We appreciate our long-standing relationship and are very proud of the accomplishments we have made over the years.” This is the latest in a series of account losses for GroupM. Over the past year, the WPP network has parted ways with Kimberly-Clark (Mindshare), General Mills (Mindshare) and Uber (EssenceMediacom). In May, Ikea moved its U.S. media account from Wavemaker to Dentsu’s Carat. Unilever, one of Mindshare’s biggest clients, is currently reviewing its global media account. The agency change comes as San Jose, California-based eBay faces fierce competition from e-commerce behemoths, including Amazon and Walmart, as well as Chinese retailers Temu and Shein. In January, eBay cut its workforce by 9%, laying off around 1,000 staffers. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs EBay’s global marketing expenses totaled $1.2 billion in 2023, in line with what it spent on worldwide marketing in 2022, according to the company’s annual report. In the U.S., it had measured media spending of $307 million in 2023, up from $286 million in 2022, according to figures from Vivvix, which includes paid social data from Pathmatics. The company previously reported a 1% rise in second-quarter revenue, to $2.6 billion, along with a profit of $226 million. It has been using generative AI to improve e-commerce efficiencies and multiply the amount of creative work it produces, then uses its science models to assess which creative will perform the best for each customer to create a more personalized customer experience. The agency timeline EBay consolidated its global media buying and planning business in 2019 with Mediacom (now known as EssenseMediacom following a 2023 merger with GroupM media shop Essence). The company has essentially flipped its media business between GroupM and Publicis Media in the past decade. Mediacom was awarded eBay’s global media account in 2014. In 2016, Publicis Media’s Blue 449 won buying and planning duties for eBay’s U.S. market. Mediacom retained certain markets, including Europe and Australia, before taking back the global account in 2019. EBay has recently worked with indie shop Joan on creative. In December 2023, Joan launched “Authenticity Guarantee,” a series of photos depicting eBay buyers and sellers interacting in a lively fashion. That effort followed a campaign targeting Gen Z meant to position the brand as a trusted source for resale amid an uptick in counterfeiting. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

EBay moves global media business to Dentsu’s iProspect

Featured Stories