Hulu Sends U.S. Media Responsibilities to Publicis Imagine - Adweek

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Disney has awarded media buying and planning responsibilities in the U.S. for streaming service Hulu to Publicis’ Disney-dedicated Publicis Imagine. The media duties were awarded to Publicis Imagine without a review, sources familiar with the matter told Adweek.

Publicis deferred to the client for comment. Hulu has yet to respond. (We will update if the streaming service issues a statement.)

The holding company created the Publicis Imagine unit, led by media agency Zenith, during Disney’s global media review in 2019. That review concluded with the entertainment colossus sending the majority of media responsibilities to Omnicom and Publicis. Among the properties for which Publicis Imagine was tasked with handling media buying and planning was Disney+, with the appointment arriving shortly before the streaming service’s launch.

This move sees Publicis gaining another piece of the puzzle heading into 2021 as Disney’s streaming push moves ahead with full force. It also follows Disney appointing 14-year veteran Kareem Daniels to lead its media and entertainment division as part of a major restructuring with streaming at the center.

In 2019, Hulu worked with UM Los Angeles and CNN’s Courageous branded content studio on a “The Shape of History” campaign promoting season 3 of The Handmaid’s Title which was recently recognized in Adweek’s Media Plan of the Year Awards.

Hulu spent an estimated $174 million on media from July of 2019 through June of 2020, according to global data consultancy COMvergence, with $113 million spent on traditional channels and $61 million on digital.

The move follows Visa naming Publicis and Wieden+Kennedy as its creative agencies of record.