Omnicom wins BMW media account in US, Canada and Latin America

BMW has selected Omnicom to handle media buying and planning for the U.S., Canada and Latin America, including Mexico, the automaker confirmed to Ad Age. The assignment includes the BMW brand in addition to BMW-owned Mini and the automaker’s motorcycle business, known as Motorrad. The holding company is expected to create a bespoke unit led by its Critical Mass agency to handle the business. Interpublic was the incumbent on all of the accounts except for Brazil, where WPP’s Ogilvy handled the business. IPG, whose UM had the U.S. account, participated in the review. Also read: Inside Netflix’s ad leadership shakeup “It's no secret that the media landscape has become increasingly complex, and is rapidly changing,” said Marcus Casey, chief marketing officer for BMW of North America, in a statement. “Against this backdrop, and with the consolidation of our media planning and buying activities across three brands and multiple countries, it was important that we found a forward-thinking partner who is able to tackle the challenges of the digital and social era.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The decision is the first step in a larger review that began in January and also includes creative, social media, digital and CRM. Those assignments are expected to be finalized by the end of this year. In the U.S., Omnicom’s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is the creative incumbent, while Critical Mass has digital, independent agency Anchor has social and IPG’s Performance Art has CRM. Omnicom’s media win is a positive sign for the holding company retaining U.S. creative, while picking up other businesses, although no final decisions have been made. Ebiquity is the consultant for the reviews. Winning agencies will work under five-year contracts beginning Jan 1. BMW spent $98.9 million in measured media in the U.S. in 2022, up from $80.2 million in 2021, according to Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics. That includes $13.3 million for Mini in 2022, up slightly from $12.7 million in 2021. Omnicom’s win continues a recent winning streak—it won the bulk of Uber’s global media business last week, which followed last month’s pickup of Beiersdorf’s European and North American media. The BMW reviews are part of a procurement-mandated process that happens on a regular basis every several years. Casey has been overseeing the process in the U.S. Since May 2022 he has been overseeing U.S. advertising, retail marketing, consumer experience and brand partnerships, CRM and digital media. He had been working at BMW’s Munich headquarters as VP for digital and e-commerce for BMW Group. The agency reviews come as BMW enjoys a business uptick. Sales for the BMW brand in the year’s first three quarters reached 254,363 vehicles, up 10.3% from the same period last year, the automaker reported this week. Mini reported 7,900 vehicles sold in the third quarter, up 10.1% from the same quarter in 2022. Like most automakers, BMW has poured investments, including marketing dollars, behind electric vehicles. Goodby was behind BMW’s 2022 Super Bowl ad that plugged its electric BMW iX with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek Pinault portraying Zeus and Hera. BMW sold 31,043 EVs in the first three quarters of the year, accounting for more than 12% of total sales. Its newest EV is the BMW i5 midsize sedan, which will begin arriving in U.S. showrooms in the fourth quarter.

Omnicom wins BMW media account in US, Canada and Latin America

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