VW appoints agency after lengthy digital pitch

Omnicom’s Tribal Worldwide has held on to founding client Volkswagen’s international digital marketing account after a competitive pitch.

The account is thought to be worth around £10 million ($13.6 million), according to agency estimates, and has grown over the last year as the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted VW to put more emphasis on digital marketing. 

Tribal Worldwide, part of Omnicom's DDB network, has held the VW digital account since launching in 2000 as a full-service digital shop. 

The pitch, which lasted for about 12 months, was due to conclude last May, but became a protracted affair due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and a change of marketer at Volkswagen. The process was overseen by Marianne Bearton, digital marketing manager for Volkswagen Passenger Cars UK. 

The previous commercial cars marketer Sarah Cox changed job roles last Spring to become head of marketing for Volkswagen Passenger Cars UK. Her replacement, Kate Thompson, was given the newly-created role of head of marketing, press and PR for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK.

A spokesman for Volkswagen UK said: “The contract will mean that Tribal Worldwide will continue to work with both brands on website content and services, as well as Blended Retail digital tools, which combine to mean that Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles are as ‘digitally open’ as possible for our customers – especially important in the current, challenging situation.”