Expanded global media role includes wider GroupM solution, appointment of Essence to manage biddable media

Mars, Incorporated has retained WPP’s MediaCom as its global media agency across its Mars Wrigley, Mars Petcare and Mars Food segments. This new global partnership, which began in January 2022, will run until the end of 2025.

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The reappointment follows a thorough media review throughout 2021, a critical element of Mars’ new vision for marketing called “Building Brands for Mutual Value.” This strategic platform includes transforming its approach to consumer engagement, data insight, digital marketing, and brand purpose in three ways:

• Driving an innovative media transformation plan across all Mars businesses, brands, and regions. It will focus on embracing the latest in data-driven planning, underpinned by WPP’s Choreograph, which will bring its data enablement capability to help Mars evolve its content strategy and adapt to changing media habits.
• Supporting Mars as a champion of brand safety and expanding its investments in inclusive and sustainable marketing through GroupM’s industry-leading Responsible Investment Framework.
• Extending the relationship to include GroupM sister agency, Essence, who will develop Mars’ approach to auction-based media. Essence will enable Mars to reach and engage consumers, and will be responsible for Mars’ fast-growing programmatic video, social and search investment, establishing specialist hub capabilities regionally in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Rankin Carroll, Chief Brand & Content Officer at Mars Wrigley and Executive Sponsor for Media, Mars Inc. said: “We set out a detailed vision and operating plan for our next wave of media transformation at Mars. We were impressed by WPP’s commitment to evolving their own integrated team to deliver that vision, building on our trusted partnership with MediaCom but adding in fresh, digital-first thinking from other GroupM partners, including Essence.”

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Simon Sadie, WPP’s Global Client Leader, Mars and Client President, MediaCom said: “After a decade of partnership, we are incredibly proud to extend our relationship with Mars, and excited to embark on the next stage of the journey together. The coming years will see accelerated changes in how Mars approaches media, reflecting changing media habits and the fast-evolving data-driven media opportunities. We are dedicated to seeing the bigger picture for Mars to deliver smarter and forward-thinking media solutions.”

Ron Amram, Senior Director of Global Media for Mars, commented: “The extension of our WPP relationship brings a new level of partnership between Mars Inc. and WPP, building on enhanced mutually aligned commercial terms and greater operating transparency which will enable us together to drive improved media effectiveness and real business growth we have designed a modern partnership that addresses many of the challenges of the 21st century digital age”.

Sasha Savic, MediaCom’s U.S. CEO, said: “It is an honor to evolve and expand our partnership with Mars. Their new vision for marketing, “Building Brands for Mutual Value,” compliments our philosophy and allows for an even stronger path to transformation – by being data-driven, collaborative, and purposeful.”

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