Broadcaster Sky is set to drop EssenceMediacom as its European media planning and buying agency, with Publicis-owned Zenith Media being appointed in its place.
This marks the latest blot on the GroupM agency’s copybook, having lost the high-profile L’Oréal UK and Ireland media account to Publicis earlier this year.
Thought to be worth an estimated £350 million in the UK alone according to Campaign, the media giant’s account had been one of EssenceMediacom’s flagships – with a relationship stretching back 20-odd years.
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The lucrative account also covers the Irish, Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss markets. It is understood that Omnicom’s PHD was the the third agency in a three-way competitive process.
This is Sky’s first review of its media planning and buying account since 2017, when it appointed EssenceMediacom over Publicis’ Zenith and Dentsu’s Carat.
So far, all parties involved have declined to make any comment on the news, although following the thousands of redundancies made across the WPP network in H1 2024, this latest development does not bode well for GroupM or EssenceMediacom.
