dentsu dissolves Vizeum under iProspect, new entity to roll out in phases

Dentsu International has folded Vizeum under iProspect, with the new entity led by global president Amanda Morrissey (pictured below), bringing together more than 8,000 media and performance specialists across 93 key global markets. The new agency will be launched through a phased market plan over a three-month period and is targeted to complete by 31 March this year. 

While dentsu has yet to iron out the specifics for how the integration will impact its Asia Pacific operations, its spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that "the new iProspect media agency will access the broader dentsu capability set, allowing clients the flexibility to build bespoke and specialised teams with resources from across the network seamlessly".

This comes a month after dentsu announced last December that it is integrating about 160 brands to six global leadership brands within two years. It added previously that the transformation programme includes all service lines, functions and central teams and will initially be led by its largest markets which cover more than 80% of dentsu international's revenue.

The new entity combines Vizeum's media strategy and planning, storytelling, and brand building capabilities together with iProspect's digital expertise, audience knowledge, and performance mindset. Clients will gain access to expansive new audience insights, integrated and more effective strategies, planning and activation, and business performance. Carat and dentsu X clients will continue to access digital performance services through its dentsu Media Scaled Services. Morrissey said by focusing on how consumers behave in their digital world and applying that to real world scenarios via a highly connected and creative use of all channels, it positions its clients to combine the learnings from the short and long term to drive more effective business growth moving forward.

Peter Huijboom, dentsu international's global CEO media and global clients, said by bringing the two agencies together, it is "creating a global digital-first, end-to-end media proposition". This will give its clients "a scaled choice that sits alongside Carat’s brand-first approach and dentsu X’s experience-driven approach while also allowing greater access to [its] creative and CXM service lines", Huijboom added.

Separately closer to home, the agency recently promoted Prerna Mehrotra to the role of CEO, Media, Asia Pacific, in addition to her current role as MD, media group, Singapore. Mehrotra is responsible for driving dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in Asia Pacific, while reporting to Huijboom and Ashish Bhasin, CEO, dentsu APAC in her new role. Meanwhile its Malaysia operations also saw Dheeraj Raina join as media CEO to lead all media brands under its wing. He was most recently with Mindshare for two years, rejoining the agency as MD in 2018.

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