EssenceMediacom has won its bid to keep hold of the Tesco media planning and buying business – covering the UK and Ireland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia – following a three-month, multi-stage pitch process.
MediaCom has handled the business since 2015 when it fought off the then incumbent, IPG-owned Initiative; this time round it beat Publicis’ Zenith in a head-to-head shoot-out.
EssenceMediacom’s strategy centres on Tesco’s ambition to serve customers, communities, and planet “a little better” every day.
The account covers all Tesco Group media planning and buying across its mobile, bank and retail businesses, with the newly merged business – formed in April this year – combining Essence’s digital and data-driven heritage with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel, audience planning and strategic media offering.
Tesco chief customer officer Alessandra Bellini said: “We are very happy to be continuing our partnership with MediaCom. We know that these are challenging times for customers everywhere and we believe that impactful and relevant communication combined with constantly exploring trends and technologies is very important to help us reach our customers across all parts of the Tesco group.
“This collaboration with Essence and Mediacom will help us be better prepared for the current and future opportunities.”
MediaCom UK chief executive Kate Rowlinson added: “We are absolutely thrilled to be renewing our partnership with Tesco and beginning a new chapter of growth and transformation with them.
“Tesco brings out the very best in us, our people, and our agency and the results we have achieved together over the last seven years are testament to that.
“This pitch process has allowed us to showcase the new thinking, talent, and capability coming from the creation of EssenceMediacom – a new breed of agency – and how we can utilise this to create growth, innovation, and transformation for our clients. Tesco is a formidable organisation, with a serious focus on excellent marketing. We are so proud to be continuing our work together.”
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