Canada’s Vision7 Media is among the founding partners of a new consortium of independent media agencies called Local Planet.
Launched this week and headquartered in New York, Local Planet is comprised of 25 agency networks with offices in 40 markets around the world. Its member agencies boast combined billings of US$10 billion for clients including Nike, Pfizer, H&M, Burger King and Geico.
In addition to Vision7 – which operates the Cossette Media and Jungle Media Networks – the network’s founding members include Horizon Media in the U.S., the U.K. network the7stars, Italy’s Media Italia and France’s CoSpirit MediTrack.
Other agency networks in the consortium are based in Europe, South America, Central Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
Local Planet evolved out of the former Columbus Media, which was established in 2006 as an association of independent agencies. Cossette Media owned a 20% stake in that consortium; a Vision7 spokesperson told Marketing the company also owns an undisclosed stake in Local Planet.
Local Planet has appointed a global CEO in Martyn Rattle, who was previously global CEO for the Vizeum network and global chief client officer for Aegis. Horizon Media founder Bill Koenigsberg also serves on Lonely Planet’s executive team, while Vision7 president Joseph Leon is part of the organization’s network leadership team.
Local Planet lists its shared values as “clients come first, always” “simplicity, never complexity,” “act with integrity,” “keep it personal,” “take responsibility” and “respect our differences, act as one.”
Its expertise encompasses various aspects of the media industry including TV and online video; digital display; print; SEO/SEM; programmatic; out-of-home; cinema; radio; social and direct marketing.
Leon was in China on business at press time and unable to respond to interview requests, but said in a release that Local Planet offers an alternative to the traditional top-down model employed by global networks.
“Local Planet represents a global collective of like-minded, independent, transparent partners who will act as a catalyst for strategic and technological innovation,” said Leon.
