Dentsu international today announces it has scooped the entire European and USA scope for Banco Santander, as the Spanish bank consolidates its media buying under one roof.
Following a competitive pitch, Santander will now work with Carat in the UK, Spain and Portugal, as well as with dentsu X in Poland and the USA.
The dentsu agencies will manage the strategy and investment in all media, as well as providing Santander with the expert capability needed to accelerate their digital transformation at a regional and local level.
Carat has held the UK media business for over 20 years, having also worked with the bank’s predecessor, Abbey, before it rebranded to Santander 2005. Santander also has an existing relationship with dentsu in Poland, where it leverages the creative services of the integrated advertising network.
The announcement follows a six-month international agency review by Santander, with the intention of finding a single regional agency partner with a truly integrated network to look after all the markets in which it operates.
Clare Chapman, CEO, Carat UK said: “We are really proud that Santander have chosen to continue to partner with Carat, allowing us to build on the success of the last 20 years and deliver their digital transformation moving forwards.
I am really pleased that the strong foundations we have built in the UK have been mirrored across regions by dentsu, where we have consistently shown the benefit of our integrated network and talent when it comes to meeting Santander’s mission to help people and business prosper.”
Santander is the largest bank in Spain, the fourth in Europe and one of the 20 largest in the world by volume of managed investment. The contract will commence on 1 April 2022.
