• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 31, 2022

Publicis Media this morning announced the launch of a “consciously inclusive marketplace” in order to “provide media that adheres to a new set of inclusive values” developed by the agency.

While Publicis did not spell those values out, it said the new marketplace -- dubbed DIME (an acronym for diverse and inclusive media exchange) -- was incubated at its Spark Foundry unit, but is also available to clients of its Starcom and Zenith units.

Publicis described the marketplace as having a dual strategy of providing better access to: 1) diverse publishers serving “underrepresented communities; 2) existing publishing partners that also adhere to Publicis’ new set of inclusive values.

“This includes editorial inventory that the agency group will buy on behalf of clients,” Publicis said in a statement, adding that it has partnered with independent news and information verification service NewsGuard to ensure the publishers it works with “adhere to responsible journalism to further strengthen the marketplace."

Publicis said British publishers The Guardian and Reach Group are the first two to register for the marketplace, and that it is in discussions to bring other premium publishers on.