• by Steve McClellan , June 11, 2012

Barring last-minute glitches in contract talks, it appears that WPP’s MediaCom will retain the global Shell oil media account. Six months after confirming that it was reviewing the assignment, the oil and energy giant is now negotiating a new contract with the incumbent agency, per sources.

The client spends an estimated $250 million on ads worldwide. In the U.S., the company spent $64 million on ads last year, according to Kantar Media.

Shell talked to several other shops about the assignment, including Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia, Omnicom’s OMD and Interpublic’s Initiative. But sources indicated that the discussions didn’t evolve into a full-blown pitch with RFPs and numerous rounds of presentations before the client negotiated a renewal with the incumbent.

A Shell rep had no comment on developments regarding the review by deadline. In January, when news of the review broke, a rep confirmed that Mediacom had managed the account for seven years. Since then, he added: “There have been significant changes in the media landscape and, as such, it is the right time to review all options.” 

Shell’s last global media review occurred in 2005, just as MediaCom and parent Grey Advertising were being acquired by WPP. MediaCom, the defending incumbent, and WPP’s Maxus entered the review with separate and competing pitches, but ended up combining efforts and winning the account. They ran it via a dedicated unit called Shell Team Media.

Over the last few years, however, the client has moved the entire account to MediaCom.