Brands Take Note: Facebook’s Instagram Signs $50M Ad Deal with Omnicom

 Remember Facebook’s disappointing IPO? Remember the questions about the social media giant’s revenue potential? Well… times have changed. Facebook-owned Instagram just inked a $50 million deal with advertising giant Omnicom – it’s looking like an internet ad-spend revolution that your brand won’t want to miss.

There’s a lot that isn’t known about the deal yet, but reports from around the world indicate that:

• Omnicom’s massive client base (AT&T, Pepsi, Microsoft – you know, the little guys) won’t just be using Instagram to advertise. Its multiple creative agencies will be working closely with Instagram’s in-house team to develop new content and products.
• Omnicom will help clients target ads to the right audiences on Instagram and measure the results.
• Instagram’s community of 150 million active users shouldn’t fear the destruction of their favourite photo app. In a statement, Jim Squires, Instagram CEO, said that the deal “doesn’t change our advertising strategy moving forward – people will continue to see a limited number of beautiful, high-quality photos and videos from select brands who already have a strong presence on Instagram.”
  

So…. Why should it matter to your brand?

Quite simply, mobile social media advertising, the much-touted future of digital ad-spend, is growing and changing shape. Brands are migrating dollars, primarily mobile, to Facebook (and its companies) and recognizing it as an effective means of reaching target audiences in a time when people now spend the majority of their time online on social media sites. Facebook’s ad revenue jumped 63% in the last 3 month of 2012. 53% of that came from Facebook’s mobile focused ad strategy, and the company now has 17% of global digital ad spend (with Google still dominating at 49% of global mobile ad-spend). 

So the question is, should your brand increase it’s focus on mobile if the “big players” are making big deals in the same space? The answer – “yes”.

As noted earlier, people spend more time on social media sites than any other online entity. And as deals like this grow and proliferate (Instagram is also reportedly talking to advertising giant Publicis about an equally ground-breaking deal), new and innovative means of reaching your target markets will emerge.

Social media already offers incredible ad targeting capabilities and unique variations on the traditional ad, especially in mobile. And it’s where your customers are. Even if you begin by testing simple content promotion or advertising, it’s time to take social media and mobile advertising seriously.

 Is your brand there? What are you doing? And most importantly, how are you succeeding and how are you learning? Tell us in the comments section below (links are also appreciated – we love seeing interesting campaigns).