Visa has handed it’s $200 million global media advertising business to Starcom, while digital media agency Essence has also been appointed to support the account.
The review, one of several global reviews currently taking place this year which has placed pressure on many of the largest media networks, was called in April, putting incumbent OMD on alert.
It followed the departure of Antonia Lucio, the chief brand officer for Visa by a matter of days.
The appointment will see Starcom, which has yet to confirm the win despite a basic confirmation to by its parent company Publicis Groupe, take over the running of the account alongside Essence and Social Code in the US.
A Visa spokesperson explained: “We have awarded Starcom the position of global media agency of record supported by Social Code for digital in North America. In addition, we awarded Essence the complementary position to support our programmatic efforts on a project and regional basis.”
Of the $200 million spend, Visa spent $112 million on US as per the data of the previous year spend.
During Visa’s last media review, more than seven years ago, Omnicom’s OMD retained the account and added more international business during. That review, which was also a global consolidation, came on the heels of a massive reorganization in fall 2007, which saw the appointment of Antonio Lucio as the company’s first global CMO.
