The future of transportation, it seems, will be planned from the same offices that once mapped out media buys for rather more conventional vehicles.
WPP has won the media assignment for Waymo, the Alphabet-owned robotaxi service, covering North America and a broad swath of territory including Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The account represents an estimated $120 million in spending in the United States and Britain alone, according to the agency research firm COMvergence, though the full scope of the international remit was not immediately disclosed.
Which agency or agencies WPP is replacing was not clear, a detail that often remains opaque in such announcements (and one that the losing party is rarely eager to clarify).
The assignment follows Waymo's first national advertising campaign in the United States, which made its debut during the World Cup in July. The company, which operates its driverless ride service in six of the tournament's host cities, said it provided transportation to fans attending nearly one-third of all matches, completed more than 90,000 trips to stadiums and official watch parties, and welcomed over 200,000 first-time riders during the event.
"Waymo is already a daily reality for millions of people, and as we scale globally, we're excited to introduce autonomous riding to millions more," said Suzanne Philion, the company's chief marketing officer. She added that the partnership with WPP would help the company "deepen that connection" with the communities it serves.
Ms. Philion described the company's ambition as "becoming the world's most trusted driver," a phrase that carries a certain weight given that the vehicles in question have no driver at all. Whether that distinction troubles potential passengers or reassures them may be precisely the question the new media strategy is meant to answer.
Original story published in MediaPost: "WPP Wins Waymo Media, Includes International"