The following article appeared on AdAge on Thursday, March 9, 2017. Read the original here.
By Lindsay Stein.
Gaming giant Activision Blizzard is heading toward the final round of its global media review, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Omnicom’s OMD currently handles the U.S. media, while WPP’s MEC works on the company’s international media business. Representatives from the two incumbents were not immediately available for comment.
Consultancy Roth Ryan Hayes is supporting the media review, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The same people said four agencies are in the finals for the review and one shop is expected to be selected for the entire global account.
Representatives from Activision Blizzard and Roth Ryan Hayes declined to comment.
In 2011, Activision shifted its North American media business, which was $150 million at the time, from MEC to OMD without a review, Ad Age previously reported. MEC continued to handle the business in Europe and Asia Pacific.
Activision Blizzard, which saw global revenue of $6.1 billion last year, spent about $133 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2015, according to the Ad Age Datacenter
Last fall, Activision appointed 21st Century Fox executive Pete Vlastelica CEO of its Major League Gaming online network as part of the company’s move to take over the emerging professional video-game play business. Activision held a “Call of Duty” World Championship in Los Angeles in September and delivered an $800,000 prize to the first place team EnvyUs.
(Photo Credit: Activision Publishing Inc.)
