• by Joe Mandese , December 16, 2009

France's best-known automaker and advertising group, not surprisingly, announced a renewal - and an expansion - of their long-term relationship. French auto giant Renault this morning said it signed a new three-year agreement with Publicis Groupe covering "strategy, creative work, production and coordination" for all of its brands products and services through 2012.

Renault, which markets three automobiles under three brands - Renault, Dacia and Samsung - said the new agreement expands the footprint of Publicis' account to cover 28 countries worldwide.

Publicis, which has serviced Renault's advertising account in some form since at least the early 1960s, does not handle media planning and buying. Last year, Renault shifted its consolidated media-buying account with Japanese automaker Nissan to Omnicom's OMD unit from Carat.