AXA concludes global media and creative pitch covering 30 markets including Asia

AXA has appointed WPP to handle global media duties following a pitch. The account covers close to 30 markets across Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America, and Wavemaker will handle all markets except France, where GroupM will oversee the account.

Marketing understands that the contract is for three years and the pitch, which saw four agencies in the running, last for six months.It is also understood that the key markets in Asia are Hong Kong, Japan, China and Thailand.

Meanwhile, AXA also named Publicis Groupe as a partner for strategy and media buying in four of its key markets - UK, Germany, Italy and Hong Kong. In these countries, Publicis Groupe will set up integrated teams and manage creation, media and data for AXA's advertising practice. The network also retained creative duties following a 10-month pitch process which also saw?Dentsu, Havas, Omnicom and WPP vying for the account.

This marks the Groupe's 10th year working with AXA and its data expertise will be key to accelerate the insurance giant's marketing transformation, beginning with advertising, and in deploying a powerful, relevant and aligned engagement strategy. It will also mobilise its talents and expertise to continue the "Know You Can" brand strategy launched in 2019, which fully embodies AXA's vision to be the everyday encouraging partner to its clients.

CEO of WPP Mark Read said AXA is a great brand and it is very proud to have been given such an extensive brief to support its development through the media, technology and data expertise of Wavemaker and GroupM.

Toby Jenner, Wavemaker's new global CEO, said the agency is delighted to begin a new relationship with AXA. "To have won their business and be their chosen partner as they transform into a services company says everything about the breadth and depth of Wavemaker's ability to deliver transformative solutions," Jenner added.

This is the latest in a series of new client assignments and wins for Wavemaker, which include Huawei across multiple markets including China, China Mobile, Australia Post, Eurostar in Europe, William Hill in the UK and the global retention of Chevron.

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe said AXA Group's renewed trust is another demonstration of the relevance of its integrated model of creation, media and data, which perfectly meets the major marketing transformation needs of its clients.

Launched in July this year, its "Know You Can" global integrated campaign featured US American tennis champion Serena Williams, and embodied success and self-belief. The campaign built on?Williams? iconic journey as well as customer empowerment stories.