Mondelez consolidates global creative with WPP and Publicis

The Mondelez global creative review shootout has come to an end, with the business being consolidated between WPP and Publicis. Ogilvy is leading the WPP team and Digitas is at the helm for Publicis.

WPP will handle chocolate, candy, powdered beverages and cheese for Mondelez, while Publicis will oversee biscuits and gum.

In addition to WPP and Publicis, the CPG food company is retaining "beloved" incumbent shop The Martin Agency on Oreo U.S., Ritz U.S. and Oreo global, said Jonathan Halvorson, VP of global media, digital and data at Mondelez International.

He added that Mondelez will also work with a few other "guest specialist agencies," such as VCCP on Cadbury global, Cadbury U.K. and other "local jewels in the U.K.; and Havas’ BETC on Lu in France and the biscuits portfolio in Western Europe.

Mondelez kicked off the creative review in March. Interpublic Group and WPP had previously handled most of the creative work for the company around the world with shops such as Ogilvy, FCB and The Martin Agency.

The creative appointments will become effective September 1, but some of the changes will be phased in over time depending on each of the brand’s life cycles. All transitions are expected to be finalized by the end of 2020.

The new creative structure is part of Mondelez’s "journey since last year to lead the future of snacking," said Halvorson. Last August, the company announced its new global media agency roster, which includes Publicis’ Spark, WPP’s GroupM, Dentsu Aegis Network’s Carat and VaynerMedia.

With its new media and creative agency model in place, Mondelez will continue to focus on improving overall ROI and strengthening its core pillars "to be even more consumer-centric, purpose-driven and digitally-enabled than before," Halvorson told Campaign US.

Mondelez - which devotes 40 percent of its media to digital - was looking for creative agencies in the review with "the highest levels of digital competency," he said, adding that the company feels "amazing about the partners we’ve chosen."

Each of the winning agencies delivered thought-provoking ideas and visions on how to advance personalization. Mondelez was seeking partners that can deliver on both relevance and impact, which Halvorson said is the key to personalization.

The WPP team, led by Ogilvy, will include support from other shops within the network, such as David. Publicis’ power of one solution, with Digitas at the helm, will tap into Saatchi and Leo Burnett depending on the local market and brand.

The Martin Agency is being referred to as a "lead global equity agency," with Publicis behind it as the network partner. Same goes for Cadbury, with VPP as the lead agency and Ogilvy as the supporting network.

"Our consumer-centric focus, our purpose-driven brands and our digital ambitions need a powerful agency model to support them. We’re creating the basis for deeper strategic partnerships that give our local and global brand teams access to the best talent and best creative minds," said Martin Renaud, chief marketing officer of Mondelez International, in a statement.

He added: "By sharing best practices and leveraging data and insights more effectively, our partners will be in a better position to deliver winning creative and digital solutions, with speed, to our global and local business teams. We’re excited about how we’re revolutionizing our marketing approach and energized about our new partnerships, just as we’re proud of the work and the partnerships we’ve built over years with our incumbent agencies."