Honda Motor Europe has appointed WPP Media’s EssenceMediacom as its lead media agency for the region, following a formal review.  

Spending in the region last year by the client is estimated at close to $90 million by agency research firm COMvergence.  

The auto giant previously worked with UM in the region. It wasn’t immediately clear what other agencies participated in the review.  

The new partnership, effective in August, spans Honda Motor Europe’s automobile, motorcycle, marine, power products, and corporate communications divisions across 16 European markets as well as pan-European activity.  

As part of its remit, a dedicated agency team will lead Honda’s media strategy, planning, and activation across Europe. It will leverage marketing platform WPP Open, to integrate  Honda’s brand-building, product communications, conversion activity, audience intelligence, channel planning, activation, and reporting into a unified system. 

Honda’s decision comes as the company strives to evolve its marketing approach and strengthen alignment across brand, product and customer engagement activities, according to the company.  

Consultant MediaSense was retained by the client to assist with the review.