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Publicis scraps Mediavest branding with agency to become Spark Foundry

Almost 20 years after the agency was first formed in the United States, Publics has retired the Mediavest brand, renaming Mediavest Spark to Spark Foundry.

Squillace: New branding better positions the agency for the future

The move comes just three years after Mediavest was split from Starcom to operate as a separate agency in Australia and little more than a year after Publicis merged its operations with Spark to form a single agency – Mediavest Spark.

Spark was positioned as the more progressive element of the business and the decision to rebrand and drop all references to Mediavest is a reflection of the drive to position Spark Foundry differently as more of a start-up minded agency.

The global rebrand is also aimed at highlighting the agency’s capabilities beyond media buying in areas such as analytics, insights and technology.

The agency will continue under the leadership of Sue Squillace who oversaw the establishment of Mediavest as a separate agency following the split with Starcom three years ago.

“We are thrilled with the evolution of the Mediavest brand to Spark Foundry, as it is more reflective of who we are today and will no doubt give us a platform to accelerate this further,” Squillace said.

“We have grown rapidly in this market by embracing these entrepreneurial principles and creating bespoke agency models and partnerships for clients that go beyond traditional media and investment.”

Locally the agency’s clients include Diageo, Citibank and Kraft Heinz.

At the time of the split between Mediavest and Starcom,  Publicis Media COO Chris Nolan said he he expected Mediavest would grow to become a similar size to Starcom.

Mediavest was about one tenth the size of Starcom and has since grown to billings of around $130m according to Squillace, with offices operating in Sydney and Melbourne, having more than doubled in size over that time.

“I think the new name represents who we are compared to what Mediavest was,” she said.

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