Following a lengthy process that was put on ice in 2021 and rekindled recently, PHD is in the driver’s seat to continue as VW Group’s media agency of record, according to a report in the US by AdAge.
The business includes brands such as VW, Škoda, Cupra, Seat and luxury brands including Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini.
According to an internal memo viewed by AdAge, Omnicom’s ‘agency-as-a-platform approach’, which offers a flexible and fully integrated Omnicom team, has been credited with retaining the business.
PHD was handed the keys to the account in 2016, which it had won from GroupM’s Mediacom.
The group called a review in 2021, but then delayed it until last year due to complications running a pitch and changing agencies in the wake of Covid.
B&T has verified the account has been retained, but PHD and VW Group declined to comment on it.
Volkswagen Group is the largest automotive manufacturer in the world, with reported combined revenues of US$344.9 billion in 2023, ahead of Toyota Corporation, which had revenue of US$291 billion in its most recent fiscal year.
In Australia, Toyota leads the automotive pack in terms of sales and advertising spend. Other brands that spend heavily on advertising include Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Kia and Mazda, according to Nielsen figures.
The automotive sector spent $661 million on advertising in 2023.
