The agency change is designed to establish a “consistent, unified voice” across the Ohio-based tire maker’s brands, which, in addition to Cooper and its namesake Goodyear, include the Mickey Thompson brand, according to the company. (Goodyear is selling its Dunlop brand to Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries for roughly $700 million.)
Goodyear’s move will impact 60 agencies, according to the tire maker, which in a statement said: “We had many disparate vendors and agencies due to operating under regional scopes.” Impacted agencies include Stagwell’s Colle McVoy, along with Omnicom Group’s GSD&M and The Marketing Arm. Colle McVoy referred calls to comment to Goodyear. GSD&M and TMA declined to comment.
Goodyear was close to wrapping a creative review in last May, Ad Age reported at the time, but that review was “not relevant” in the Publicis decision, a spokesperson said, citing that it predated the July appointment of Will Roland as senior VP and global chief marketing officer. Goodyear did not comment on whether there was another, broader review to consolidate under Publicis, stating instead that the holding company was selected based on “global footprint” and “excellence across many disciplines/capabilities.”
“We’re bringing talent from around the world together to re-invigorate Goodyear’s iconic brand, and Publicis has the strategic vision and creative firepower needed to move quickly,” Roland said in a statement.
Roland, who joined Goodyear from automaker Stellantis, headed strategy and analytics for Publicis Media from 2019-2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. Goodyear CEO Mark Stewart worked with Publicis during a prior stint at Stellantis, where he was chief operating officer in North America.