Facebook Inc. and French public relations company Publicis Groupe have formed a $500 million multi-year partnership.
The deal was announced by Publicis on Monday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The advertising holding company said the deal will give them more access to Facebook's ad inventory and user data. The agreement will also give the company opportunities in video and in Facebook's Instagram properties.
"This is a new breed of partnership between agency networks and publishers," said Laura Desmond, CEO of Publicis' Starcom MediaVest Group.
"The deal didn't start from a standpoint of ad pricing or inventory," Desmonded added. She said the deal began from visual storytelling, data and targeting, and video advertising angles, which are "the pillars that clients, ourselves and Facebook are working on now."
Anita McGorty, spokeswoman for Starcom MediaVest, said all of Publicis' North American companies will manage the deal, Reuters reported.
The deal's negotiations were led by Starcom MediaVest.
Specific details about the agreement have not been released, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, Facebook hinted that the deal will help the social networking service find ways to work better with marketers.
Facebook will integrate its information with Publicis' systems for ad targeting, as well as for planning and optimization goals.
"You can boil it down to integration and data," Desmond said. "We're the first agency network that will have this comprehensive level of data and access."
Starcom MediaVest and Facebook rival Twitter made a similar deal in April 2013, which was worth at least $200 million over two years.
Desmond added that discussions between Starcom MediaVest and Facebook started in November. She said the partnership will be long term in order to make time to produce results, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"Once we start to see outcomes, this will lead us to want to co-create other solutions or products that will unlock more value for clients and for Facebook and for all of us," she said.
