• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, December 7, 2011

Sprint on Wednesday said Publicis agency Digitas will serve as the new primary agency for the wireless brand, managing brand strategy, advertising, digital, offline media, digital buying and analytics. In connection with the move, Publicis is creating a dedicated unit for the company dubbed Team Sprint that will be led by Digitas President Tony Weisman and that will include sister agency Leo Burnett as a key partner.

“We are focused on continuing to build the Sprint brand, bringing value and simplicity to customers across all segments,” said Bill Malloy, Sprint chief marketing officer,” in a statement. “Team Sprint, a brand-dedicated agency ecosystem, provides an integrated, collaborative environment where the focus is on consumer needs, today and in the future.”

As a result of the shift to Digitas, Sprint cut ties with Goodby Silverstein & Partners, its creative agency since 2007, according to an Ad Age report. A Sprint spokesperson declined to comment on the report, but Jeff Goodby told the trade publication Sprint had notified the agency of the change earlier today.

The Omnicom agency had won plaudits for its cross-media “Now Network” campaign on behalf of Sprint launched in 2009.

In Consumer Reports’ annual customer satisfaction survey of the U.S. major wireless carriers released Tuesday, Sprint finished a close second to Verizon Wireless as the top-performing service with AT&T again rated worst.