"Team Connect": New WPP agency model for Migros specialty stores

"Team Connect," as the new agency model is called, is to build a tailored agency ecosystem for Migros' specialty stores, focusing on two crucial areas: The Creative & Strategy division will pursue the goal of strengthening the brand management of all specialty store brands and setting new standards in Swiss retail with fresh, surprising ideas. This will be accompanied by Content & Production, which will enable the brands to respond not only more quickly but also more efficiently to the market and customers in the future.

"A new agency approach like Team Connect is the future," says Patrik Pörtig, CEO of Migros Fachmarkt AG, "because brands in retail today have to be much more data-driven and customer-oriented." As of Jan. 1, 2021, Migros' specialty stores with its Do it + Garden, Melectronics, Micasa, SportXX and Bike World brands were transferred from the Federation of Migros Cooperatives to Migros Fachmarkt AG. This company defines the strategic orientation of the formats and provides all the central services so that the ten regional cooperatives can organize the operations of the stores in a customer-centric and focused manner. In this strong team, the consistent further development of the specialty stores is being driven forward at high speed. "In future, each brand will operate entirely independently and compete directly against the competition in its own category.

But there are more and more opportunities to leverage synergies across the specialty stores - especially in the area of data, of course, but also in customer experience and production. Our declared goal is to develop each of the five brands into a frontrunner in its category," says Pörtig.

20 experts from various WPP agency

Team Connect is made up of around 20 experts from the various WPP agencies in Switzerland: Ogilvy, Scholz & Friends and Wunderman Thompson. They are joined by retail experts from Scholz & Friends Commerce in Germany and an international production team from Hogarth.

"With Team Connect, we have the chance to build something completely new: a truly integrated and at the same time highly agile team with the best experts WPP has to offer. Putting together such a team from several agencies of a holding company is a completely new approach. I think this example will set a precedent," says Elke Guhl, Chief Customer Officer at Migros Fachmarkt AG. Elke Guhl has been a member of the management team since last September and has since been building a new, overarching customer excellence organization for the formats. She led the agency pitch process, which now coincides perfectly with the launch of her new internal organization.

"We are thrilled to have won such a weighty mandate in the Swiss market. The future of strong retail brands consists of the perfect combination of creation, customer experience and data strategy. It is our ambition to make Migros' specialty stores the benchmark here," explains Peter Petermann, who will lead WPP's Connect team together with his colleagues Tobias Händler and Swen Morath.

Team Connect had prevailed in a 4-month pitch against two other international agency holdings as well as several local players. "We are convinced that with Team Connect we have found the right partner for our transformation. I would like to express my gratitude to our previous agencies for their great commitment and the unbelievably professional handover process over the last few weeks," Guhl concludes.