Facebook selects Publicis Groupe’s Spark Foundry as its media agency

Facebook named Publicis Groupe’s Spark Foundry as its media agency of record today following a seven-month review. The process ended within the past week with Facebook ultimately selecting Spark Foundry as its “global media planning and buying partner across Meta’s brand portfolio.” Meta is the new corporate identity for Facebook after the company underwent a sweeping rebrand last week. Spark Foundry now assumes the role of ushering in that new brand and helping craft the corporate message and culture. “Spark Foundry will be responsible for strategic thought leadership, media innovation, planning and investment, cross-channel approaches, tools, tech and operations,” a Meta spokesperson said in an email to Ad Age. Facebook, now Meta, has been one of the most high-profile accounts up for review this year. The company has a yearly marketing budget of close to $1 billion, and the media agency will help place ads across the internet, TV and out of home. Media agencies help develop the best media strategy for any brand, and for Facebook’s Meta brand that could be a major undertaking. Meta worked with growth consultancy ID Comms through the agency RFP process. Last week, Facebook unveiled a rebrand, with a new name and new logo under the Meta moniker. Meta is an entirely new vision for how Facebook sees itself, and Facebook hopes it will shape the way the public sees the company. Meta is a “metaverse” company, one focused on hardware and software that will build the next generation of computing. Meta has plans for multiple devices like Meta Portal communication screens, Meta Quest virtual reality goggles, VR software platforms like Horizon Workrooms, Home and Worlds, which are alternative cyberworlds for avatars of real-life people to interact in the metaverse. The rebrand was viewed cynically by some as a way for Facebook to put some distance from a maligned brand name, dragged down by the social network, which boasts 3.6 billion people who use its family of apps monthly. Facebook owns the Facebook app, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus (now Quest) devices. Those apps and devices live on, but Facebook has a monumental public relations marketing task ahead of it. The old brand is under attack, with critics blaming the company for the societal upheaval stoked by a divisive internet, shaped by misinformation and extremism. After intense competition, Meta picks Publicis Groupe’s Spark Foundry to handle media across Facebook and its other brands. Fuente AdAge