This Week's Agency News Round-Up

March 5th 2026 - Mergers, Movers, and Campaign Creators

5 MARCH 2026

1. Top Stories

Tesco has re-appointed WPP Media’s EssenceMediacom as their media agency partner, building on more than ten years of partnership to cover media planning and buying services. Here’s how they shared the news on LinkedIn.

MRM, the agency previously known as McCann Relationship Marketing, is the latest business to be “retired” in the UK and the US following Omnicom’s $13bn acquisition of IPG, as part of a shake up of the Precision Marketing division. Decision Marketing has the details.

2. Account Moves & Launches

New Agency & brand partnerships

Guide Dogs picks Fold7 as lead creative agency after a three-way pitch that included Fold7, Atomic London and VCCP. Campaign Live has the news.

Zoom appoints independent agency PMG as their global media agency of record, to help establish a cross-functional team to work with Zoom. Campaign Live again has the news on this one.

3. People & Leadership

Hires, promotions and notable exits

Marketing agency connective3 has appointed Nick Handley as their new performance director. Nick has more than a decade of experience in the digital marketing space having previously worked at Rise at Seven, m/SIX and most recently launching Impression in Manchester. Insider Media has the story.

Cheltenham digital design agency JFD has appointed a new managing director this March 2026. Louise Mortimer joins the team from RBL Brand Agency, where she was head of client services, with a view to carrying the business forward through refreshing its digital design proposition. Get the details here.

4. Big Collaborations of The Week

Standout campaigns, launches or stunts

GEL Studios, based in Swindon, has announced the acquisition of digital marketing agency Infinity Nation, expanding its services to include new expertise in Paid Media and Search Engine Optimisation. This is Wiltshire covers the news.

Bournemouth-based Cold Banana will support the Crufts dog show from March 5 to 8 in 2026, ensuring the event’s online platform remains stable and accessible throughout the four-day event. Here’s Yahoo! News with the story.

5. Trends & Talk

Video Is Eating Digital Ad Spend

The UK’s digital advertising market has officially passed the £40bn mark, growing 10% year-on-year, according to new data from IAB UK reported by Marketing Week. The biggest growth driver? Video, which surged 20% to £9.3bn as brands pour investment into streaming, social video and connected TV.

Search still dominates with 44% of total digital spend, while social media advertising jumped 21% to £11.5bn. Meanwhile retail media continues its rapid rise, climbing 18% to £3.8bn as brands chase better data and measurable sales impact.

For agencies, the signal is clear: video-first, commerce-connected and performance-measured creative will define where the money flows next.