Daimler AG has awarded its global media account to the Omnicom Media Group (OMG).
The win is worth between $600M and $950M, according to multiple sources.
OMG was the incumbent on the business in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Publicis Media looked after a large section outside of the U.S. WPP's GroupM/Wavemaker retains China -- Daimler's biggest market. GroupM did not participate in this review.
"It's a big blow to Publicis -- not only in terms of actual revenue loss but also to the whole Publicis One pitch," an industry insider told Campaign US.
OMG will take the keys on January 1 2019 for more than 40 markets worldwide. The shop will be responsible for all Daimler divisions (Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Trucks, Daimler Buses, Daimler Financial Services).
It is understood that OMD handled the majority of markets outside the U.S. prior to consolidation and is expected to play a significant role going forward. The U.S. market will remain with OMG.
"In OMG we are delighted to have a top-calibre partner at our side for our global media activities," said Natanael Sijanta, global marketing director at Mercedes-Benz Cars.
"Our goal is to be the global digital champion in automotive marketing. We aim to fully reorganize our processes and our basis for decision-making in marketing and to address our customers worldwide in a personalized manner with content which is of relevance to them.
"We have already established a global network of experts for this purpose: our three creative hubs for Europe, the USA and China are producing creative and brand-defining communicative content with great success."
The media review -- launched earlier this year -- came shortly after Publicis Group was named the international network and creative and digital agency for Mercedes-Benz, following a six-month pitch against rival holding groups WPP and Omnicom. Publicis, which created a dedicated shop for the business, began working on Mercedes in 37 markets worldwide -- excluding the U.S., Germany and China -- on July 1.
Publicis Media declined to comment.
This story was updated to clarify GroupM's work with Daimler.