• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 4, 2012

Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest USA has been awarded media agency of record duties for The Travelers Companies, provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. The appointment, per sources, was made without a formal review and is effective immediately. The incumbent was WPP’s MediaCom.

The client spent around $100 million on ads the previous two years, according to Nielsen.

The scope of work includes media planning and buying, as well as content, and data and analytics solutions for all Travelers’ lines of business, including personal and business insurance, the companies confirmed.

The shift was partly due to the fact that Travelers already uses Publicis’ Digitas for digital chores, while sibling agency Fallon handles creative duties for the company, the client said.

John Morris, vice president advertising and media, Travelers, stated: “By partnering with MediaVest, we will drive efficiency across platforms to amplify integration with a consolidated Publicis Groupe solution that spans MediaVest, Digitas and Fallon.”

The win is the first major piece of new business to shift to MediaVest since Brian Terkelsen took the helm of the agency as CEO in June. Terkelsen said the shop would be working hard to “to deliver human experiences that scale across paid, owned, and earned media, helping drive value for Travelers and its customers.”

New York-based Travelers reported more than $25.4 billion in revenues in 2011, up 1% from the previous year.