VML has been named auto-parts retailer Napa's lead agency after a review.

The account had been at Publicis Groupe's Publicis Kaplan Thaler since late 2009. Consultant the Bedford Group oversaw the process. Publicis Groupe's Spark, which handles media, was not affected by the review.

Although the WPP shop is a digitally driven agency, the Napa account will go beyond that to include TV, radio, print, sponsorship activation and digital. New work from VML is expected to launch in March, if not earlier.

"As Napa looks to the future and the growing change in their demographic, and as millennials become more of the decision makers, the balance of broadcast and digital and the ability to be fully capable in all media was definitely a point of differentiation at VML" during the review, said VML president-CEO Jon Cook.

A spokesman for Napa said, "Our policy is not to comment."

Napa, an acronym for National Auto Parts Association, has more than 6,100 locations in the U.S. and competes with other major auto retailers like AutoZone, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Pep Boys. From January through September, Napa spent about $28 million on U.S. measured media. In 2012, it spent about $34.4 million, up slightly from $33.7 million in 2011.