iWorld
Facebook’s global media account worth $750 million up for review
NEW DELHI: Social networking colossus Facebook's global media account worth $750 million is up for review. The pitch is being managed by ID Comms and several holding companies have been invited to participate in the review process; Mindshare and Dentsu are the incumbents in the fray.
The pitch includes media planning and buying across Facebook’s family of apps — Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger.
According to data available in the public domain, Facebook spent an estimated $650 million on media globally last year, all of which was handled by GroupM’s Mindshare.
Considered the biggest social media platform in the world, Facebook is also a massive advertiser. A recent report published in AdAge had suggested that Facebook increased its ad spends by 43 per cent in 2020. Recently, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company has directed this budget to a campaign urging support for targeted advertising, as it could help small businesses to reach their customers.
Meanwhile, in the course of time, Facebook has split its business between different agencies for the company's various apps. It includes Ogilvy (Instagram), Wieden + Kennedy (Facebook), Leo Burnett (Messenger), BBDO (WhatsApp), and Droga5 (corporate brand).
Apart from these agencies, Facebook's internal agency Creative X is also working across brands.
By pitching the global media account for review, Facebook aims to reconsider its agency models in the aftermath of the Covid2019 pandemic.
In an attempt to streamline its agency roster, Coca-Cola had put its $4 billion creative and media account up for review. Unilever had also thrown open its global media agency roster, and it is expected to be one of the largest pitches of the year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, major account shifts have happened in the business, and more biggies are expected to reconsider their agency models in the coming weeks as the world slowly gets back on the recovery track.
iWorld
Epic Company launches unified Epic Studio for films and OTT
Vivek Krishnani to head films business; Samar Khan leads OTT & Television.
MUMBAI: Epic just merged its creative superheroes under one cape because when films and OTT need to fight for attention together, you don’t keep them in separate universes. The Epic Company has launched Epic Studio, a next-generation creative and production powerhouse that unites Juggernaut Productions and Movieverse Studio under a single banner. The move creates a streamlined, scalable platform for premium storytelling across theatrical films, OTT originals, television, digital-first formats and branded content.
Vivek Krishnani has been appointed chief executive officer, Epic Studio (Films), overseeing the theatrical and film business with a focus on culturally resonant narratives across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam cinema. Samar Khan continues as chief executive officer, Epic Studio (OTT & Television) and retains his role as chief content officer for Docubay and Epic On.
The Epic Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “Epic Studio brings together our entire creative ecosystem under one unified studio vision. This is not just an integration of verticals, but the creation of a collaborative environment where writers, filmmakers, creators, and brand partners can seamlessly develop and scale stories across formats and screens.”
Vivek Krishnani added, “We are building an audience-focused mainstream film studio committed to delivering fresh, engaging, and innovative stories for both theatrical and streaming platforms.”
Samar Khan commented, “This alignment allows us to approach storytelling with a unified studio mindset. We are building IP under one creative umbrella, with scale and longevity in mind from inception.”
The unified structure eliminates silos, enabling ideas to flow fluidly from concept to screen while adapting to evolving audience behaviour. Epic Studio positions itself as a creator-led ecosystem championing purposeful, resonant storytelling with commercial strength.
In an entertainment landscape where stories now leap between screens faster than plot twists, Epic isn’t just building a studio, it’s crafting a single launchpad where every tale gets the best shot at soaring across every platform.
