Indiantelevision.com Team

(15 February 2008 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Publicis USA and its media agency unit Optimedia US have formed Optimedia Inside, a new JV designed to offer clients "media neutral strategic solutions" for their marketing plans and to get media involved earlier in the development process, reports adweek.com.

Paul Hindle, managing partner of Optimedia Inside New York, will head the new unit. Hindle will jointly report to Publicis USA's EVP and director of engagement strategy Mark Hider, and Optimedia US president Antony Young.

"Following on the heels of our complete redesign of strategic planning at Publicis USA, this move demonstrates that we are committed to leading the industry in finding new ways to inject more media-neutral thinking into the creative process and putting consumer-driven strategy front and centre at Publicis for the benefit of our clients," said Publicis USA's chairman and CEO Susan Gianinno.

The new unit is "a true effort to connect media, creative messaging and digital into an organic, idea-led communications platform," said Young.

He also added that the Optimedia Inside team "will constantly look for ways to embed media earlier into the strategic channel and creative development process."

Hider said, "We see media not as a way of distributing an engaging idea but as an integral part of the expression of that idea. We are looking for really differential insights and ideas from the media realm, right from the outset of the development process."

Optimedia and Pubicis are both part of holding company Publicis Groupe and currently share such clients as T-Mobile, Whirlpool, L'Oreal and Nestle, among others. The new offering will be jointly funded by the two wings (profits will also be shared) and will be available to all interested Publicis clients.