• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, November 2, 2021

Facebook parent Meta has selected Publicis Groupe agency Spark Foundry to be its new media agency after a competitive pitch that began in March.

COMvergence estimates that the social media giant spent an estimated $742 million worldwide on measured media in 2020. U.S. spending totaled approximately $490 million last year, according to Kantar.

The review was notable for the withdrawal of incumbent GroupM from the process in July. It didn’t state a specific reason although The Wall Street Journal reported at the time unnamed sources as suggesting that the departure had to do with onerous terms of the review’s contract, which would have shifted more risk and liability to the media agency.

In addition to GroupM Spark Foundry bested a field that included Dentsu and Havas, which had also been on the media company's media agency roster.  

Confirming the appointment Meta issued a statement:

“We are pleased to announce that Spark Foundry will be our new global media planning and buying partner across Meta’s brand portfolio. Spark Foundry will be responsible for strategic thought leadership, media innovation, planning and investment, cross-channel approaches, tools, tech and operations.”

ID Comms was retained by Meta to help manage the review process.