• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 15, 2015

Spark, part of Publicis Groupe’s Starcom MediaVest Group, has been awarded media AOR duties for Providence Health & Services after a competitive pitch.

Headquartered in Renton, Washington, Providence is billed as the third largest not-for-profit health system in the nation. It currently serves customers in California, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Alaska, and is said to have ambitious expansion plans. 

The company spent $6.4 million on ads in 2014, according to Kantar Media, but sources say spending for this year and the next several years will escalate to an estimated annual $30 million.

A Providence spokeswoman confirmed the appointment, stating: “We have a new partnership with Spark which consolidates our media purchasing to a single agency partner.  Our selection of Spark was the result of an internally driven RFP process, which included incumbent agencies, who had previously serviced our regional media needs, and a broader set of national agencies.”

The identities of the incumbents and contenders were not immediately available.

"Providence Health & Services has a 158 year tradition of providing care for communities, and all of us at Spark are honored to uphold and elevate that tradition," stated Chris Boothe, CEO of Spark. "With the expertise that our team brings to their business, we look forward to connecting them with a whole new generation of people that will benefit from their legacy of care and service."

Spark is on a roll in the new business department. In the last three weeks it has won Valspar, Taco Bell, and now Providence.