dentsu confirmed its intent to integrate iProspect and Vizeum to create a new end-to-end global media agency under the iProspect banner. By integrating these two agencies, dentsu brings Vizeum’s media strategy and planning, storytelling, and brand-building capabilities together with iProspect’s digital expertise, audience knowledge, and performance mindset. Clients will have access to the capabilities of both agencies, all from one integrated team leading the new territory of performance-driven brand building by delivering digital-first media strategies underpinned by data and technology at every touchpoint in the consumer journey.
The new iProspect media agency will draw from the broader dentsu capability set, allowing clients the flexibility to seamlessly build bespoke and specialised teams with resources from across the network. Clients will gain access to expansive new audience insights, integrated and effective strategies, market-leading planning and activation, and business performance. Carat and dentsu X clients will continue to access industry-digital performance services through dentsu Media Scaled Services.
The new iProspect entity will be led by global president Amanda Morrissey, bringing together more than 8,000 media and performance specialists across 93 key global markets.
“iProspect is designed for clients at the intersection of brand and performance. We believe brand drives performance, and performance drives brand. We no longer exist in an ecosystem where these elements can be planned and bought separately. We must look at business and brand goals through a combined lens, bringing accelerated growth for our clients,” said Amanda Morrissey, global president, iProspect. “By focusing on how consumers behave in their digital world and applying that to real-world scenarios via a highly connected and creative use of all channels, we position our clients to combine the learnings from the short and long term to drive more effective business growth today and tomorrow.”
Peter Huijboom, dentsu international Global CEO media & global clients, said, “At dentsu our goal is to help our clients to make meaningful progress and thrive in a world of change. Because we know people better than anyone else, we deliver human-centric solutions designed to drive growth for our clients and good in society.
By bringing iProspect and Vizeum together we are creating a global digital-first, end-to-end media proposition. This will give our clients a scaled choice that sits alongside Carat’s brand-first approach and dentsu X’s experience-driven approach while also allowing greater access to our Creative and CXM service lines.”
“We believe focusing our business capabilities around the consumer is the greatest advantage we can give our clients,” Huijboom added.
The new agency will now be launched through a phased market plan over a three-month period with a target completion date of 31st March 2021. This integration is a proof-point of dentsu international’s strategy to simplify how it operates to deliver even greater agility and flexibility for clients through a more focused portfolio of six leadership brands.
In MENA, work to integrate the two brands is already underway with the operation led by Vimal Badiani, VP – performance media, MENA. Vimal comments:
In MENA, we aim for this integration to fill a gap in the market. We are integrating teams, expertise, and capabilities so that if a brief comes in that is performance only or media only, is a combination of the two, or a unique brand building brief – we will have the right people and skill sets to deliver. The newly combined offering hinges on all media being performance-driven and really understanding audiences from a digital first perspective. I’m excited to lead iProspect MENA into the next phase of its evolution and leveraging both brands’ heritage to create a truly end-to-end media agency.
