Accenture has named UM as its new global media agency of record, replacing incumbent MEC.
UM, part of IPG Mediabrands, will take on media buying and planning for the global professional services company. Roxanne Taylor, Accenture's chief marketing and communications officer, said the company works with a team of different agencies, including TBWA Worldwide, DigitasLBi, Landor and Interbrand. She said UM fit well into that integrated team.
"I really like the fact that they're able to help us hyper-customize and personalize and target content to engage our different key audiences," she said. She said those audiences include clients, employees and potential recruits.
Kasha Cacy, UM's U.S. CEO, said part of her firm's work with Accenture will be putting relevant information into the hands of its target audiences at the right moment. "If you think about a C-level executive as they go throughout their day, there's going to be moments where they are ready to lean in and learn about something and moments when they need bite-sized type information," she said.
"There are also going to be triggers in the marketplace, big news happens with either a technology or a client, where there's going to be news and information that is super relevant. The strategy we have with Accenture is how do we deliver the exact right topic of information in the right format that the C-level exec is ready to consume at the moment when they're going to be most interested in consuming it."
Cacy, who began her career at Accenture, said the company has been open to new ideas.
"Sometimes in pitches, you swing for the home run and do things that are really aggressively innovative and then you hear back, 'Oh, we didn't want to be that innovative,'" she said. "With these guys, everything that we talk to them about, they were engaged and excited and willing to try … It's really exciting to work with a client who wants to push hard and do new things and try new things and is just sort of fearless in how they're approaching it."
Accenture had previously worked with MEC, part of WPP's GroupM, for media.
"Our relationship with Accenture dates back three decades – a proud accomplishment," an MEC spokesperson said in a statement. "Since 1987, together we've delivered against the speed of communications, globalization and technology. From the early days as Andersen Consulting, it's been incredible to be part of the history and Accenture's rebranding journey, shifting the brand in minds of business leaders and breaking new ground globally through insights-driven solutions. As the company pivots again, we wish them all the very best."
