The retail group carried out closed review.
The Co-operative Group has extended its partnership with Dentsu UK and Ireland media agency Carat for a further two years following a formal, closed review process.
Carat was appointed official media partner of The Co-op Group in 2018 following a competitive review called to consolidate its media contract across Co-op Food, Co-op Funeralcare and Co-op Insurance.
In 2023, it was one of Carat's three highest-spending accounts.
MediaSense advised on the latest review which closed this year.
The extended partnership means Carat will continue working with Co-op on media for its “Owned by you, right by you” platform, launched in July with creative agency VCCP, and on branded entertainment, which has included three-part miniseries Celebrity Send-off on Channel 4 for Co-op Funeralcare.
Kenyatte Nelson, chief membership and customer officer at Co-operative Group, said: “We are excited to continue our partnership with Dentsu to help us achieve our vision of cooperating to build more value for our member-owners every day.
“Their innovative approach, top talent and dedication to excellence have been instrumental in growing our successful relationship with them.”
As part of its work with Co-op, Dentsu has partnered the Co-op Media Network, giving it secure access to Co-op member and customer data to gain insights into shopping behaviours.
The network was founded in February to bring together the supemarket’s in-house team and retail media agency partner Threefold, part of SMG.
The partners also have a shared commitment to equal opportunity and youth skills development in the UK.
Supporting Co-op Academies, a trust set up by the group to support primary and secondary schools across the north of England, Dentsu has mentored school students through a scheme called The Code and used this to recruit new talent who now work on the Co-op team within Carat.
The Code has been running in the UK since 2017 and has benefited other Dentsu clients, including Vodafone, Mondelez, WWF and Jaguar Land Rover.
Matthew Landeman, chief client officer at Carat UK, said: “At Carat, we are guided by Dentsu’s Sanpo Yoshi philosophy – good for people, good for society and good for business. It’s integral to the work we produce and the client relationships we build.
“In the Co-op Group, we know we have a partner who not only shares our values but also our commitment to excellence and industry leadership.”
This summer, the Co-op Group consolidated its creative and digital account with VCCP following a one-off project with the agency earlier this year.
Click here for the news released on Campaign UK.
