Geometry Global, the entity resulting from the merger last June of WPP Group’s G2, JWTAction and OgilvyAction retail marketing operations, has rung up an impressive early win, according to sources: Unilever’s shopper marketing business in the U.S.
The below-the-line business would be comparable to a $400 million media account or $40 million in revenue, sources said. Unilever is one of WPP’s largest clients.
Advantage Sales and Marketing, Irvine, Calif., appears to be the incumbent. The agency also works for companies like Mars, J.M. Smucker, Ralcorp/Post Cereals, Energizer and GlaxoSmithKline.
Execs at Geometry, Unilever and Advantage could not immediately be reached for comment.
Geometry claims to be the world’s largest activation network with more than 4,000 people in 56 countries.
Shopper marketing is one of the industry’s fastest-growing practices, and WPP chief Martin Sorrell has described it as the next big battleground for retailers in mature markets. That importance was underscored at Grey Global Group, which in the wake of its split with G2, hired Joe Lampertius to work on behalf of clients with his initial focus on Procter & Gamble. Last month, Grey said Lampertius had joined the WPP agency as CEO of its new global shopper marketing practice, after the agency recruited him from Interpublic’s Momentum Worldwide where he was svp, shopper marketing.