Uber looks for global creative agency, media account also being reviewed

Uber is on the hunt for its first global creative agency and is reviewing its media agency. According to sources close to Adweek, the company is seeking a single agency to manage its brand campaigns worldwide. The review follows the appointment of Bozoma Saint John, former marketing executive at Beats, as chief brand officer in August, and Dara Khosrowshahi, former Expedia CEO, as Uber's new CEO during the same month.Uber declined to comment on Marketing's queries. In Singapore, Uber has worked with creative agency BBH for several of its campaigns such “‘Where’ is more than just a place”, taking consumers on a journey to places that hold special memories and future potential for Singapore and its residents.Ahead of its current media review, Uber made headlines for filing a lawsuit against Dentsu-owned ad agency Fetch for click fraud in the US. Uber claimed that they were improperly billed for "fraudulent ads" and that Fetch took credit "for app downloads that it had nothing to do with".A day later, Fetch's CEO James Connelly shot back at Uber. In a statement to Marketing, he said that Uber’s allegations are “unsubstantiated, without merit, and purposefully inflammatory to draw attention away from Uber’s failure to pay suppliers.” He added that it was unfortunate that Uber would misconstrue facts and use an industry-wide issue as a means of avoiding its contractual obligations.Earlier this year, Uber founder Travis Kalanick resigned as CEO after taking an indefinite absence of leave. According to the New York Times, five of Uber’s major investors, including venture capital firm Benchmark, “demanded” that Kalanick stepped down instantly. This was done so via a letter titled “Moving Uber Forward” which was delivered to Kalanick while the CEO was in Chicago.