The business is understood to be worth around US$40 million and was previously handled by Hakuhodo. The appointment of UM followed a pitch that also involved the incumbent and Dentsu.
According to a source, H&M also recently appointed the agency for planning and buying duties in Japan, worth around $12 million. That pitch reportedly involved Dentsu, the incumbent, ADK, Hakuhodo, and TBWA Hakuhodo.
Representatives from UM were unable to confirm, deny or comment on the developments.
Campaign understands that demand for data and analytics services played a role in both appointments. UM offers a proprietary Business Analytics Engine to monitor performance and assist in the media-planning process.