German automaker Daimler AG, parent of luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz, is consolidating most of its advertising business with one of its two agencies, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group, according to three people with direct knowledge.
The decision would be a huge loss for one of the companies, as Daimler spent $790 million on marketing worldwide in 2020, Comvergence estimated.
Omnicom Group has handled Daimler's global media planning and buying since 2018.
Publicis Emil — a dedicated Mercedes-Benz unit that pulls resources from Publicis divisons like Publicis Communications, Publicis Media, and Publicis Sapient — has created Daimler's advertising campaigns in 40 markets outside the US since 2018.
The people with direct knowledge said Daimler is seeking to consolidate these responsibilities with one agency and invited only Omnicom and Publicis to compete for the business.
Omnicom also develops ad campaigns in the US through its agency Merkley + Partners and in China through BBDO. Two of the people with direct knowledge said they don't expect that work to be part of this pitch process.
Publicis and Omnicom declined to comment. A Daimler spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
The move comes as the automaker merges its global marketing and communications divisions into a new division headed by Bettina Fetzer, VP of global marketing at Mercedes-Benz AG, Adweek reported.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid