HSBC’s global media business, worth an estimated $400m (£298m), has moved out of WPP’s Mindshare in a blow to the network still reeling from the sudden exit of chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell.
Omnicom’s PHD has won the business following a review, managed by ID Comms, which began in January.
In a statement, HSBC said: “We have selected PHD as our preferred media planning and buying supplier as they demonstrated strong strategic skills and advanced digital transformation capabilities.
"In a complex media and communications marketplace, PHD's overall approach stood out as being forward thinking, yet straightforward and pragmatic.”
Mindshare had held the business for more than 13 years. The review came shortly after the appointment of a new group head of marketing in Leanne Cutts.
At the time, the banking group said it was simply a “commitment to the ongoing development of HSBC’s media and marketing arrangements” and that it “periodically evaluate[s] all marketing service suppliers to ensure we maintain the best working relationships to support our strategic goals".
However, it came as part of a wider shake up of its agency roster. Just months before, HSBC picked Publicis-owned Saatchi & Saatchi to replace WPP’s JWT to lead its global advertising business, though the latter continues to manage some creative duties.
It comes as a major blow to WPP, which is currently hunting a replacement for Sir Martin Sorrell while battling to retain or win some of the estimated $10bn worth of media business that went under review at the beginning of the year.
Alongside HSBC, Ford, Shell, Asda, P&G, Mars, Coca-Cola and Sky all issued tenders worth hundreds of millions in the first few weeks of 2018.
WPP's Mediacom won Sky’s £425m media account, but the network is still battling to retain Ford, Shell and Mars.
P&G recently consolidated media duties for its North American haircare business, taking it out of Omnicom and moving it to Dentsu Aegis Network's Carat.