Facebook and Publicis strike multi-million dollar deal

Publicis Groupe and Facebook have struck a major multi-year partnership, said to be worth US$500 million, according to an Ad Age article.The tie up is expected to give the holding group increased access to Facebook’s ad inventory and data, video capabilities and Instagram.“The deal didn’t start from a standpoint of ad pricing or inventory. It started from standpoint of three big pillars that clients, ourselves and Facebook are working on now,” said Laura Desmond, CEO at Publicis Groupe’s Starcom MediaVest Group, according to the Wall Street Journal. Desmond added however, that integration and data was central to the new partnership.When reached, a Publicis spokesperson said that no further details were available at this point.“Agencies, brands, and Facebook all have one common goal: to make great ads and put them in front of the right people. Our work with Publicis will center on bringing clients closer to our products, and creating new planning and measurement tools to make buying easier, more efficient, and ultimately prove out ROI [return on investment],” said a statement from Patrick Harris, director, global agency development at Facebook to the WSJ.Facebook could comment at the time of publishing.Conversations are understood to have taken place as far back as November last year.(Pictured: Maurice Levy)