Publicis Groupe bags Spotify India's media business worth Rs 100 crore: Exclusive

Publicis Groupe's media investments company has bagged music streaming app Spotify India's media mandate, following a global pitch and realignment, sources have confirmed to Storyboard18. India was not part of the global pitch after the streamer called for a review of its $240 million in global media account in 2023. The global contest came down to two groups - Omnicom and Publicis.

Spotify's media spends in India are to the tune of Rs 100 crore and heavily skewed towards digital, almost 90 percent of spends are on digital media, as per industry executives.

The review was led by Spotify's US office, its primary market, which gave the mandate to Publicis Groupe. India was not part of the pitch and as a result the account has landed in Publicis Groupe's India kitty from IPG Mediabrands-owned Lodestar UM. UM was Spotify’s media agency for the last seven years. Spotify also has an in-house agency.

In 2021, Spotify released its maiden global brand campaign for Spotify Advertising. The brand collaborated with FCB New York for the campaign. In August 2023, WPP and Spotify inked a global strategic partnership. With this WPP's clients have early access to Spotify's innovative ad products, first-party intelligence and creative ways to reach engaged audiences at scale.

In India, Spotify's creative duties are handled by another Publicis Groupe agency Leo Burnett.

Storyboard18 has reached out to Publicis Groupe for comments.

However, Publicis Groupe India is denying the report. A Publicis Groupe spokesperson said that the process has not concluded and that the article is factually incorrect.

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