Mercedes-Benz Taps BBDO

NEW YORK Mercedes-Benz today said it is realigning its global agency lineup, with Omnicom Group's BBDO network adding significant business and implementing marketing concepts worldwide.BBDO here, which had previously handled some European projects for the automaker, notably in France, is expected to add assignments in at least a dozen markets around the world. Beyond that, the agency declined to discuss the details of the realignment.Client officials could not immediately be reached for comment.In the U.S., U.K., France, Italy, Spain and Japan, Mercedes-Benz will continue to work with its current agency partners, the company said in a statement.As part of the realignment, independent German shop Jung von Matt becomes lead agency for the automaker in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. BBDO would likely implement concepts from that shop in multimedia worldwide as well as develop its own campaigns.The shift takes place on Jan. 1, 2007.Mercedes-Benz spent $160 million in U.S. measured media last year and has already spent that much through the first three quarters of 2006, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Global spending was not available.The U.S. business is handled by Omnicom's Merkley + Partners in New York. Sources have said, however, that Omnicom is looking to "align" Merkley with BBDO [Adweek, Nov. 20]. Under one scenario, Merkley could end up reporting into BBDO CEO Andrew Robertson, whose agency also handles Mercedes' SmartCar and DaimlerChrysler brands Chrysler and Mitsubishi.A Mercedes USA representative two weeks ago declined to comment on a possible BBDO-Merkley alignment, but acknowledged that the two shops are working closely on next year's C-Class effort. "Every resource we have right now is going to be directed to this launch because it's very important to us," the rep said. "So I would expect Merkley and BBDO to work very closely together." Olaf Gottgens, client vp, brand communications, said in a statement, "The new agency model is the basis for globally integrated brand communication activities using every tool at our disposal. By reorganizing our partnerships with the agencies, we are aiming to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of the marketing activities worldwide not only in terms of quality, but also time and costs."As the lead agency, Jung von Matt will be responsible for the key strategic and creative tasks associated with the communication of the Mercedes-Benz brand.Following a comprehensive international selection process, Mercedes-Benz chose the agency network BBDO worldwide for the global adaptation of communication measures to the local needs and requirements, the client said.

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Mercedes-Benz Taps BBDO

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