Commentary

Quibi Shifts Media Assignment From W+K To UM

Quibi the short-form mobile video service that launched in April has switched its media assignment from Wieden + Kennedy to Universal McCann, a rep for the client confirmed today.

The service, founded by Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman and backed by major studios and others, awarded W+K the business in 2019. The shift occurred several weeks ago.

Quibi has gotten off to a slower than expected start, which the company blames in part on the pandemic, given that consumers are spending much more time at home where they can opt to view content on larger screens.

A third of current Quibi subscribers say they’re planning to cancel within the next three months, according to a survey last week released by Kantar’s Entertainment On Demand panel.

The company is spending a lot of money this year to promote the service—an estimated $31 million in measured media through the first five months of the year according Kantar.

The service is also a seller of media and ahead of its launch execs said it had $150 million in upfront ad commitments.

The company confirmed the agency switch but did not elaborate. The agencies weren’t anxious to talk about the development and PR people at both shops didn’t bother to respond to queries.

 

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1 comment about "Quibi Shifts Media Assignment From W+K To UM".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, August 18, 2020 at 10:05 a.m.

    I wonder how those "upfront" Quibi sales contracts are worded regarding performance. Based on Quibi's lackluster start and low usage one assumes that the upfront time buyers will not easily be satisfied with thousands of makegood announcements and may not pay up.

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