Westpac has moved its media account to Publicis from GroupM following a closed agency pitch, say industry insiders.
The account at Australia's oldest bank is said to be worth as much as $70 million.
Industry insiders say Spark Foundry and Performics Mercerbell are the Publicis Media agencies to pick up the business.
Westpac confirmed the move: "Westpac conducted a closed agency pitch for its media account between Group M’s Wavemaker/ Media Lab and Publicis Media Australia, and can confirm that Publicis Media Australia is the successful agency. We thank Group M for their support and collaboration."
The media account was run from Media Lab at Wavemaker, part of GroupM.
“We have enjoyed a strong and collaborative partnership with the Westpac Banking Group, but we understand their need to consolidate in these times," says Peter Vogel, CEO of Wavemaker.
"We co-created the bespoke Media Lab unit with Westpac to meet their group’s evolving media requirements and are very proud of the great work we were able to deliver for their business and brands over the past four years.
"We were fortunate to develop some great work in collaboration with their other agency partners for their 200th Anniversary and for the award-winning ‘Help’ campaign.
"We were also there to support them and their customers through more difficult times too, like the devastating Victorian Bushfires.
"I’d like to thank all our people for their commitment and dedication to the Westpac business, and to the Westpac Marketing team for being great partners.”
Westpac's creative agency is DDB.
According to annual results posted this week, cash profits at Westpac fell 62% to $2.6 billion.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.