JPMorgan Chase consolidates $400 million global media account with WPP and Dentsu

JPMorgan Chase has concluded a global media review, selecting WPP and Dentsu as its global media agencies of record.

The review, kicked off in late September, spanned the financial services giant’s offline media buying business in the US, Northern Europe and Asia, and was supported by MediaLink.

Zenith, the US incumbent, lost the account after holding it since 2005.

Sources told Campaign US that WPP and Dentsu were notified of the win before the holidays. Zenith, MediaLink and WPP declined to comment. Dentsu did not reply to requests for comment in time for publication. 

JPMorgan Chase splits its media buying budget, managing its $200 million digital media account in house, and outsourcing the $218 million offline portion to agencies. 

WPP will create a team of GroupM media agencies called Team JPMC powered by WPP to handle the account, which includes all offline and digital planning, media buying, analytics, measurement and SEO.

The review kicked off five months after a leadership shake-up in JPMorgan Chase’s marketing department. The firm promoted Tracy Ann-Lim to chief media officer in April, who aims to streamline the brand’s media buying strategy. 

Sources told Campaign US that the pitch was about consolidation, but that there were up to nine partners involved. 

JPMorgan Chase has been in-housing parts of its marketing business since 2015, when it launched an internal agency called Inner Circle under CMO Kristin Lemkau. In January, Leslie Gillin replaced Lemkau as CMO, who became CEO of the company’s wealth management division.