• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, February 19, 2013

Movie and TV studio Lionsgate has selected WPP’s Mindshare to handle its consolidated account after a review, the studio has confirmed.

Annual ad spending on the account -- including Summit Entertainment, which Lionsgate acquired last year -- is more than $400 million, according to Kantar Media. In 2011 Lionsgate spent nearly $270 million on ads, while Summit spent close to $150 million, per Kantar.

Incumbents on the account included Interpublic’s Initiative -- which has handled media duties for Lionsgate since 2006 -- and Mindshare, which won media chores for Summit in 2007, the year the production company was formed. The two incumbents and independent Horizon Media competed in the review.

Lionsgate called the decision a “move that would generate significant cost savings.” Mindshare’s office in Santa Monica, CA will handle media planning and buying duties for the studio’s theatrical features, as well as all home entertainment releases by Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and Pantelion Films.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger stated that by commingling media-related services in one company, "Lionsgate will immediately see significant savings, which will impact the studio’s bottom line, achieve economies of scale that can be leveraged across our feature film entities and allow us additional resources to market and distribute our films in North America.”

The executives also said the move “reflects a fresh strategic approach to media buying for our feature film and home entertainment slates.”

Mindshare North American CEO Antony Young stated his agency would develop "visionary and cost-effective media planning and buying strategies" that reflect Lionsgate's "game-changing spirit.”

Upcoming films from the company’s slate include Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," “Tyler Perry’s A Madea’s Christmas” and Summit Entertainment’s “Red 2” and “Ender’s Game.”

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