Facebook signs first agency deal with GroupM

Though Facebook has been working with many media and creative agencies in India, this is the first formal agreement it has signed.

Facebook has signed, what it calls, its first media agency deal in India with WPP's integrated media and marketing company, GroupM. Though it has worked with media and creative agencies in India, this is the first formal agreement signed between the social network and an agency. However, Facebook will keep on working with other agencies as well.

This partnership was announced during the recent visit of Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook. GroupM has been at the forefront of digital developments in India covering areas like search and platforms, mobile, content and measurement.

With this partnership, GroupM's clients can look at aggressively using Facebook for their marketing and promotions. GroupM has been creating digital solutions for clients and - given its access to data and research - has been integrating digital with traditional media for its clients.

In the case of Nokia Lumia, for instance, GroupM pioneered the deployment of Facebook's outcome measurement and leveraged its sophisticated targeting capabilities to deliver a 54x return on Facebook ad spends.

Besides, leveraging Facebook's targeting capability, GroupM delivered results for Arrow, a premium apparel brand. Arrow was running an end of season sale and wanted to drive a special discount promotion to an audience between 18 and 35 years, living in metropolitan cities. Arrow was able to deliver a 30x return on Facebook ad spends and a significant redemption rate from this exclusive Facebook campaign.

"Our partnership with GroupM will help clients reach over 100 million people in India, 84 million on mobile - both smartphone and feature phone - and custom audiences within the 100 million in urban and rural India," says Kirthiga Reddy, head, Facebook India.

CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia, states, "India is projected to be the largest country for Facebook and we see exciting possibilities for our clients. This partnership adds to the set of enablers we have created over the years to help drive digital adoption in our market."