LONDON, UK — Swiss retailer Migros Fachmarkt AG has appointed WPP as its strategic communications partner to help it reimagine the commerce experience for its specialist retail brands.
With experiences increasingly linked to how consumers shop, brands are looking to communications partners who can combine creative ideas with in-depth commerce expertise, underpinned by specialist data and tech capabilities.
Migros’ decision to consolidate its agency accounts into an integrated agency model demonstrates the power of WPP’s offer to clients, which focuses on creatively transforming business and marketing strategies to unleash growth. The account was awarded following a four-month pitch to identify a data-driven and consumer-centric team and involved three international agency holding companies and several local agencies. It is the latest in a series of new business wins involving integrated WPP teams.
WPP’s new tailor-made model for Migros Fachmarkt AG, Team Connect, will bring together talent and expertise from across its agencies in Switzerland, including Ogilvy, Scholz & Friends and Wunderman Thompson, to work across the full range of Migros Fachmarkt brands: Do it +Garden, Melectronics, Micasa, SportXX and Bike World. Team Connect will leverage integrated production capabilities through Hogarth whilst also drawing on retail expertise from Scholz & Friends Commerce in Germany and specialists from WPP’s data products company Choregraph.
The team will work in partnership with Migros on two main focus areas: creative & strategy, to strengthen brand value across the specialist store brands and set new standards in Swiss retail by utilising the latest innovations in data, tech, and omnichannel commerce; and content & production, to enable brands to respond to the fast-evolving market landscape and consumer demands.
Patrik Pörtig, CEO of Migros Fachmarkt AG, said: “A new agency approach like Team Connect is the future because brands in retail today have to be much more data-driven and customer-oriented. There are increasingly more opportunities to leverage synergies across our specialist markets – especially in the use of data, but also in customer experience and in production. In Team Connect we have found the right partner for our transformation journey and now have the chance to build something completely innovative: a truly integrated and highly agile team with the best experts that WPP has to offer.”
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “As consumer habits continue to change at speed, retail brands are reimagining the commerce experience and using the latest innovations to engage with people both in-store and online. Successful brands will be the ones that create meaningful connections that resonate with their customers across the entire commerce journey. We’re delighted to be selected as Migros Fachmarkt AG’s new strategic marketing and communications partner and look forward to helping its retail brands respond to evolving consumer needs and creating more connected commerce experiences.”
