Weber Shandwick is breaking away from its PR roots with the recent launch of Mediaco.

Headquartered in its New York office, Mediaco is an internal unit made up of media strategists, creatives, content producers and analysts, who will work with Canadian and international brands.

Rooted primarily in digital, Mediaco will be responsible for buying media for its clients, and planning and developing content publishing strategies for them, both on its own, and in tandem with other agencies.

Andrew Lane, VP, content and platforms, Weber Shandwick Canada, tells MiC that Mediaco evolved naturally out of the content production and syndication services Weber Shandwick has been providing to clients for the past few years.

He adds that it was designed to get advertisers thinking like media companies, by adopting an “always on” mentality across their digital and social platforms. He points to Weber Shandwick’s work with Degree Men as an example. Mediaco worked with the Unilever brand on the development of The Adrenalist, an online lifestyle magazine centred on adventure and extreme sports, which also serves as a digital hub for campaigns.

Lane says that Mediaco’s offering can also help Canadian advertisers capitalize on the growth of niche publishing, noting that campaigns aren’t about getting reach, but getting the right reach.

“Brands have a unique story to tell, and often times it’s to a fairly specific target audience. If you can control and own that content on your platforms, and make it social in a meaningful way to the appropriate people, that’s just a more effective way to tell your story in an increasingly cluttered media environment,” he says.

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