Tesco appoints WPP duo to influencer marketing brief

Tesco is planning to ramp up its influencer marketing after the reappointment of two WPP-owned agencies following a five-month pitch process.

EssenceMediacom retained Tesco’s media brief in October last year after a shoot out against Zenith, but, as Mediacom it has held the business since 2015; Goat has worked on the influencer account for the past three years. However, this is the first combined agency win since the acquisition of Goat by WPP earlier this year.

Tesco is not alone in its expansion of influencer marketing; nearly two-thirds of brands (65%) plan to increase their budgets in the next six months, according to Capterra’s 2023 Influencer Marketing Survey.

The WPP agencies plan to take a data-focused, integrated approach to planning and executing influencer campaigns for the supermarket.

The integrated pitch brought together the media buying of EssenceMediacom and the data-driven insight and influencer-specialism of Goat. The duo claim the partnership demonstrates how creative thinking, combined with specific market insight can create impactful, accountable campaigns within the creator economy.

EssenceMediacom claims it can leverage its understanding of the market with its expertise to create content with cultural relevance that cuts through the saturated market on scale. Goat, meanwhile, brings a wealth of knowledge and learnings on the challenges and opportunities the market offers the retailer.

To optimise reach and enhance results, the agencies are spearheading a data-driven approach to influencer marketing by unlocking new measurement capabilities.

Goat’s set of data and insights contains details of over 100,000 influencers the agency has worked with, as well as a wealth of knowledge of market preferences to guide new campaigns, which, combined with EssenceMediacom’s legacy, can be scaled to new heights, the agencies insist.

Tesco group customer director Emma Botton said: “During the pitch process, we were convinced by the depth of market knowledge the EssenceMediacom and Goat teams brought in, demonstrating that they know what works in our industry and what it takes to break through to new audiences.

“We look forward to working together to bring our strategy to life and innovation into our influencer offering.”

EssenceMediacom CEO Kate Rowlinson added: “We are excited to extend our work with Tesco, collaborating with Goat to bring a hyper-focused data-driven approach to its influencer marketing. This win illustrates the wealth of market knowledge our Creative Futures division brings to the table, working with Goat as one team, with a key focus on measurability and accountability of results.”

Goat CEO Arron Shepherd said: “This highly competitive pitch process was a great way to bring our teams together and show how the depth of our influencer insight, together with EssenceMediacom’s scale and media experience, can help us deliver bigger, better, and even more impactful campaigns.”