Lionsgate UK moves media planning and buying to Arena. LBB values the account at £26.5m

Lionsgate UK has picked Arena Media for all media planning and buying in the UK and Ireland, Decision Marketing reported on 1 October. LBB, covering the same appointment a day later, put the account at £26.5m. Arena is part of Havas Media Network.

Arena Media UK won a pitch run by The Aperto Partnership

The studio chose the agency after a competitive pitch managed by The Aperto Partnership, a pitch consultancy. Neither report names the previous agency. The work covers cinema releases, films sold on several platforms and films that go straight to streaming services.

Arena will buy TV, outdoor, cinema, online video, social media and search. According to Decision Marketing, the agency will also use Converged.AI, Havas’ own tool for audience planning and measurement.

The Housemaid’s Secret is among the first Lionsgate films

The first releases on the list are The Housemaid’s Secret, The Resurrection of the Christ, The Debut and Day Drinker. Lionsgate is known for the John Wick, Hunger Games, Twilight and Saw series.

Joe Palmer, Lionsgate UK’s head of marketing, said Arena “consistently impressed us with their energy and creativity”. Hamid Habib, managing director of Arena Media UK, said entertainment is “in our DNA”.

Havas adds a film studio as entertainment accounts move

Film and streaming budgets have changed hands often this year. Dentsu became Netflix’s only media agency in 22 EMEA markets. Havas is also growing in Europe: its Havas Market unit made Warsaw its hub for Central and Eastern Europe.

Havas gains a studio account worth £26.5m by LBB’s figure and a slate of four named releases. Lionsgate gets one agency for every channel, from cinema screens to search ads, plus Havas’ planning software.