To follow up on our post from 10 days ago regarding the split between iShares and MRM, we’ve received a bit more clarification from sources familiar with the matter. First off, a tipster who reached out to us the day after our initial post was somewhat accurate with their info that iShares has actually been partnering with Ogilvy on what was MRM’s portion of the business (digital/relationship marketing) for quite some time now.
While we’re not sure for how long exactly, our sources confirm that not only has O&M already been working with iShares on this part of the business, but following a pitch last week, the agency has now taken on the exchange-traded funds company’s account in full. As a result, O&M’s responsibilities now include brand advertising as well as digital. This marks a reunion for iShares and Ogilvy, who last worked together in 2009 before the former decided to shift its advertising and relationship marketing business to McCann and MRM, respectively. No word on whether McCann defended the account last week. Once again, iShares has yet to comment, but we’ll keep you posted if we somehow get through.