H&M has tapped Interpublic Group’s UM as its new media agency in the U.S., according to an internal memo that the agency sent out.
The shop, which adds the U.S. to the 15 other markets IPG’s media agency network already supports, replaces incumbent Zenith, which is a Publicis Groupe agency, according to people familiar with the matter.
UM declined to comment for this story. H&M and Zenith didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ad Age obtained a copy of UM’s internal memo announcing the win, which provides insight into the pitch process. “After having the field of contenders narrowed down to two, H&M alerted the finalists that they were to receive one last assignment,” wrote Kasha Cacy, UM’s U.S. president, in the memo to staffers. “When the assignment was given, our team literally had 24 hours to complete and present. UM was named a finalist on Wednesday evening, given the final assignment at 8:30 PM and were back in the H&M offices presenting at 8:30am Friday morning. I could not be more proud of the individuals who rolled up their sleeves, dug in and produced the best-in-class work for which our agency has come to be known.”
The fast-fashion retail giant spent $34.9 million on measured media in 2015, according to Kantar Media. While that’s not a huge budget comapred to the massive accounts that have gone up for review over the last year, it’s the kind of sexy lifestyle account that’s likely to attract young talent.
It also shows continued momentum at UM, which in 2015 won Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, CVS and the New York State Lottery.