Publicis Buys Majority Share of Big Fuel

Ad agency network Publicis has bought a 51% stake in New York-based social media agency Big Fuel, which offers strategic, creative, distribution, management and analytics services to global clients. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With more than 170 employees, Big Fuel is anticipating that revenue will reach nearly $30m in 2011; a 500% increase year-on-year.

The company describes itself as one part marketing agency, 'building brands through consumer insight'; one part entertainment company, 'creating content that people love'; and one part distribution company, 'driving results by delivering content to and growing targeted audiences'.

Through the acquisition, Big Fuel will be aligned under Publicis' VivaKi brand, and serve as a strategic social media center for the VivaKi agencies Digitas, Razorfish, Starcom MediaVest Group and Zenith Optimedia.

Big Fuel is headed by CEO Jon Bond, in partnership with founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer Avi Savar, and Managing Partner and COO Mike McGraw. The team will now report to Laura Lang (pictured), Global CEO of Digitas and a member of the Vivaki Board.

Lang comments: 'Big Fuel specializes in taking brands from content to commerce, and its social media operating system has earned the company Social AOR status with some of the world's most powerful marketers. Sitting inside VivaKi, Big Fuel gives us unprecedented paid, owned and earned capabilities, further enhancing the social media strategies of its sister agencies.'

Web sites: www.publicisgroupe.com , www.vivaki.com and www.bigfuel.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.