Publicis agencies Leo Burnett Detroit and DigitasLBi Detroit will soon merge, creating a new unit called Engage M-1 that will be dedicated to serving their shared General Motors accounts.
“After years working together on General Motors in Southeast Michigan, DigitasLBi and Leo Burnett will come together as a united partnership—Engage M-1 (reflecting the central roadway of Detroit)—serving our General Motors clients including Buick and GMC.”
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The spokesperson told us that, while the soon-to-be-united team “shares a mission of providing world class work to our clients,” both agencies will retain their separate brands and office spaces.
This shift follows an April Adweek report in which sources speculated that a “blind RFP” making its way around Detroit-area agency circles amounted to the launch of a creative review for the Buick and GM accounts. General Motors declined to confirm the news at the time, telling Adweek that Leo Burnett and DigitasLBi remained its agencies of record and stating, “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation or on the particulars of our agency projects.”
That said, the client did move its Chevy Silverado truck line business from Leo Burnett to Commonwealth//McCann last year in a shift that led to a round of downsizing at the latter’s Detroit office.
The Publicis spokesperson did not provide more information regarding any staffing changes that might accompany the merger or clarify when any related operational changes will take place.