Accenture to work alongside WPP-owned agency on Shell CRM contract

27 November 2018 Consultancy.uk

As the firm vies for a share of the design and marketing industry, Accenture Interactive has won a preferred supplier status on Shell's customer relationship management (CRM) roster. The firm will work closely alongside the brand's lead digital agency Wunderman to deploy campaigns for the international energy giant.

Accenture Interactive has grown substantially in the past year, and is presently ranked as the world’s largest digital agency by the Ad Age Agency Report. While this is something hotly disputed by design market incumbents such as WPP, further acquisitions in 2018, coupled with a growing client portfolio, have led the digital design wing of the international consultancy to increasingly eat into the market share of long-standing advertising companies.

Now, a new deal has made for some interesting bed-fellows, as Accenture Interactive works alongside WPP-owned agency Wunderman with a remit to provide "overall global strategic planning and creative direction for Shell’s CRM programmes globally." According to reports first circulated by news site The Drum, Accenture was tapped by oil and energy firm Shell to boost its marketing efforts around eight months ago, but the appointment was kept under lock and key until now.

Accenture to work alongside WPP-owned agency on Shell CRM contract

While Wunderman remains Shell's lead digital agency, having led the CRM account since 2013 when its loyalty budget was estimated to be worth £30 million. Accenture's customer experience arm will meanwhile work to support the deployment of CRM campaigns across Shell’s digital channels. The work is understood to be focused on boosting "one-to-one customer relationships" using Adobe software, as a managed service.

The news comes at the end of 12 months of change for Shell's agency roster for its retail and lubricants arms. The company has been working to reposition itself in a market moving away from heavy dependence on fossil fuels. This has seen the British-Dutch hybrid energy giant move toward renewables and backing electric travel schemes. As it enters into these new markets, CRM – a strategy for managing an organisation's relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers – has become increasingly important.

Regarding the change in its CRM set-up, Shell told The Drum it is looking to "drive deeper and more meaningful connections with customers across every touch point." The Accenture Interactive role comes with a brief including building a robust digital network for global and local campaigns.

Remarking on this remit, Joy Bhattacharya, Accenture Interactive lead for UK and Ireland, said that through "the consolidation of systems and services, we aim to drive efficiencies and scale personalised marketing campaigns, creating greater experiences for Shell customers.”

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