Volkswagen, the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group, has extended its global creative contract with Omnicom’s DDB for three more years.  The extension was awarded without a formal review involving other agencies.

In addition, Omnicom will broaden its partnership with Volkswagen to include precision marketing capabilities with a remit to transform the company’s customer experience and production processes.   

A newly formed VW-dedicated precision marketing team will be integrated with the media team at Omnicom’s PHD, which in June retained the global media agency assignment for Volkswagen Group after a formal review. VW Group spent an estimated $2.2 billion on measured media last year according to agency research firm COMvergence.    

DDB has been Volkswagen’s creative agency for over six decades. (VW also works with  regional agencies like Johannes Leonardo in the U.S.).    

The VW-DDB partnership has produced some of the most memorable and effective creative work in the industry, including the iconic “Think Small” and “Lemon” VW Beetle campaigns which launched in 1959.   

More recently, DDB and other Omnicom shops, such as AlmapBBDO in Brazil, have been working together as a global network for the brand.     

Susanne Franz, Global CMO for Volkswagen said: “Omnicom and Volkswagen are entering a new era in how we create our communication. The DDB heritage and their depth of knowledge of the Volkswagen brand is unrivalled, and the seamless introduction and integration of new and existing Omnicom partners will take the partnership to a new level. Their care, love and passion for the Volkswagen brand is always felt by our teams.”   

“We are proud of the iconic work we’ve done with Volkswagen over the years with DDB at the helm and we are energized about our new and evolving partnership with them,” added John Wren, Chairman and CEO, Omnicom. “Our ability to prove to an existing client that, after many years, we are the right partner in their transformation is a clear demonstration of our ability to build strong long-term relationships, while continually adding new offerings.”   

DDB will continue to lead the account from Berlin, drawing on Omnicom talent from around the globe.