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Publicis launches AI powered tool Marcel

Published

8 years ago

May 24, 2018

MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe has unveiled Marcel – named after Publicis Groupe founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet – an AI-powered innovation that will accelerate transforming the organisation from a holding company to a platform, creating the first truly borderless, frictionless enterprise workforce, comprised of 80,000 employees worldwide, and usher in a new era of creativity and innovation.

Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun says,“In June last year, Publicis Groupe announced the creation of Marcel, to connect our 80,000 employees and completely reinvent the way that we work, for ourselves and our clients. Since then, our industry has gone through unprecedented challenges, demonstrating that incremental change is not a solution. The need for reinvention is stronger than ever.”

Marcel is a journey to shift Publicis Groupe from a holding company to a platform and give creative minds the freedom to progress and thrive in this ever-changing industry. With Marcel, clients will be able to leverage the incredible diversity of talent to bring to life the ideas they need to grow their business.

The company says that tying the development of Marcel to its one-year industry event hiatus was a controversial decision, but a necessary one. It drew a line in the sand and showed its determined to do whatever it takes to reinvent an industry that has struggled to evolve over the past 40 years.

In a world where people no longer want to work for companies and instead expect companies to work for them, Marcel is the first enterprise platform designed with people-first benefits and experiences in mind. At its core, Marcel is about empowering every single Publicis employee to the power of 80,000. Founded in a belief that an augmented workforce leads to higher engagement, which in turn leads to better work and results for clients, Marcel is built on the foundation of four key pillars: knowledge, connectivity, opportunity and productivity.

The bold ambition to transform Publicis Groupe into a platform required that the Groupe take on very significant enterprise business challenges. One important challenge is around data. With more than 80,000 people and over 1,200 entities, spanning 200 specialities and thousands of clients, the Groupe has vast amounts of data. Publicis Groupe estimates well more than five billion data files.

In order to unlock the value of this data, the Groupe created the Marcel AI Platform built on Microsoft AI and knowledge graph technologies. This knowledge graph connects both structured and unstructured data that exist across the organisation and then maps relationships within it. This centralised, integrated source of data will power Marcel as well as other enterprise initiatives. The group will use Microsoft’s sophisticated AI tools to process, filter, connect and organise the data to make it useful for its people.

As a part of Marcel’s power of knowledge proposition, Publicis Groupe has entered into a partnership with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to access The Work, a unique digital platform that showcases over 200,000 pieces of award-winning creative work from 2001-2018.

Built for today’s technology-savvy workforce, Marcel is launching as a mobile application for both Android and iOS. Future versions will include a desktop version or other interfaces as the need arises.

Designed to be as user-friendly as any consumer app, employees can use Marcel through voice or text input. The AI engine will suggest refinements to queries that provide large returns to help someone rapidly make connections and complete goals. Marcel will do more than respond to requests. It will also proactively present relevant knowledge, connections and opportunities. Each workday, Marcel will serve six prompts tailored to the person’s role and interests in the form of a daily digest. Marcel will refine what it presents each day based on an employee’s interaction and feedback.

Today, Marcel is tested by a team of 100 alpha users. In June, Publicis will release a beta version to 1000 people selected as an exact Publicis Groupe representation, by agency, role and geography. This group will provide feedback that will help refine the app. It wants to reach 90 per cent of its people by 2020.

This beta phase will include a precise on-boarding process defined to ensure beta user profiles are complete, a training module available to get the individual familiar with the Marcel platform and a feedback function included for employees to provide real-time feedback.

The aim of this real-time exercise will allow Publicis Groupe to refine the app constantly, course correct as needed, improve the user’s experience and add functionality along the way.

There will be multiple, updated versions until the optimal state-of-the-art product developed for rollout to the entire Publicis Groupe. Publicis Groupe will begin Marcel rollout to the 80,000-person workforce in January 2019.

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India’s Economic Survey 2025-26 calls for ban on junk food ads from 6am to 11pm

Published

1 week ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

DELHI: India is staring down a junk food epidemic, and the government wants to fight back with an advertising ban. The Economic Survey, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, has pitched a radical proposal: prohibit ultra-processed food advertisements from 6am to 11pm across all media platforms.

The timing is hardly coincidental. India has become one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for ultra-processed foods: those calorie-laden concoctions of burgers, noodles, pizza and soft drinks that increasingly dominate Indian diets. The consequences are written in the waistlines of a growing number of Indians.

Excess weight among children under five has jumped from 2.1 per cent in 2015-16 to 3.4 per cent in 2019-21, the survey notes. More troubling still, over 3.3 crore children in India were obese in 2020, with projections suggesting that figure will balloon to 8.3 crore children by 2035.

The numbers for adults paint an equally grim picture. According to the 2019-21 National Family Health Survey, 24 per cent of Indian women and 23 per cent of Indian men are overweight or obese. Among women aged 15-49 years, 6.4 per cent are obese, whilst among men, 4 per cent are overweight, the survey said.

The pre-budget document doesn’t mince words about the scale of the challenge. To tackle ultra-processed foods, it advocates front-of-pack nutrition labelling for high-fat, sugar and salt foods, with warnings that restrict marketing to children and ensure trade agreements don’t undermine public health policy.

The survey also suggests restrictions on marketing infant and toddler milk and beverages, whilst flagging growing obesity among children.

The proposed marketing ban would run from 0600 hours to 2300 hours across all media, with mandatory enforcement of restrictions on marketing infant and toddler milk and beverages.

India isn’t treading new ground here. The survey points to Chile, which has integrated such laws, along with Norway and the UK, where advertisement restrictions are already in place for ultra-processed foods.

Britain recently banned junk food advertising before 9pm on television and online to reduce children’s exposure and curb childhood obesity. Further action on other marketing activities, including school and college sponsorship of events by ultra-processed food manufacturers, can be designed, the survey said.

Yet India’s regulatory landscape remains muddled. Rule 7 of the Advertisement Code prohibits misleading, unverified, or unhealthy advertisements but doesn’t define “misleading” with measurable or nutrient-based criteria, leaving interpretation subjective and inconsistent.

Similarly, the Central Consumer Protection Authority guidelines for prevention of misleading advertisements (2022) mandate that advertisements must not exaggerate health benefits or exploit children.

Yet they lack clear nutrient thresholds or a framework for identifying misleading claims in food marketing, the survey said, adding that this regulatory ambiguity allows companies marketing ultra-processed foods to continue making vague health, energy, or nutrition cues without violating any clearly defined standard, highlighting a critical policy gap that needs reform.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. India is one of the fastest-growing markets for ultra-processed food sales, contributing to chronic diseases worldwide and widening health inequalities.

The survey lays bare the commercial triumph of junk food in India. Sales of ultra-processed foods grew more than 150 per cent between 2009 and 2023. Retail sales surged from $0.9 billion in 2006 to nearly $38 billion in 2019, a 40-fold rise. It is during the same period that obesity has nearly doubled in both men and women, the survey said.

The document advocates a multi-pronged approach to tackle the rising consumption of ultra-processed foods (popularly known as junk foods), which includes burgers, noodles, pizza, soft drinks, and the like, warning it is contributing to chronic diseases worldwide and widening health inequalities.

Improving diets cannot depend solely on consumer behaviour change, the survey argues. It will require coordinated policies across food systems that regulate ultra-processed food production, promote healthier and more sustainable diets and marketing.

The gauntlet has been thrown. Whether India’s policymakers have the stomach to take on the junk food industry remains to be seen.

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PHD Media names Vinita Shrivastav VP – business planning to lead Marico mandate

Published

1 week ago

January 28, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: PHD Media has appointed Vinita Shrivastav as vice president – business planning, taking charge of the agency’s Marico portfolio and reinforcing its strategic leadership bench. The move signals the agency’s commitment to delivering future-ready, high-impact solutions for one of India’s most iconic FMCG brands.

Vinita brings over 17 years of experience across brand strategy, integrated marketing, media planning, research, and business leadership. Recognised as Best South Asian Strategic Planner of the Year by Campaign Asia, she is known for building insight-led, scalable growth platforms across categories.

She started her career with a research foundation at TAM Media, before taking on leadership roles across Reliance and Zee. She later joined Mindshare’s core strategy team, led the marketing vertical at IN10 Media, and most recently drove the L’Oréal business at Wavemaker, delivering integrated, high-impact media and brand-building solutions across markets.

In her new role, Vinita will steer the Marico mandate, focusing on strategic innovation, business growth, and integrated, future-ready media solutions. She will collaborate closely with both Marico and PHD Media leadership to build scalable, impactful brand platforms that deliver long-term business value.

“This appointment strengthens our strategic leadership and reinforces PHD Media’s commitment to insight-led planning and execution excellence. Vinita brings the analytical depth, commercial acumen, and strategic vision to drive innovation and growth for one of India’s most respected FMCG brands,” said a spokesperson for PHD Media.

Vinita said, “I am excited to join PHD Media and lead the Marico portfolio. In today’s dynamic market, building scalable, insight-driven brand platforms is critical. I look forward to collaborating with the teams at PHD Media and Marico to deliver strategic, high-impact solutions that drive long-term business value.”

With this appointment, PHD Media underscores its focus on category-defining brand partnerships and intelligence-led planning, ensuring the agency remains at the forefront of strategic media innovation.

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India’s top 100 advertisers set to chase Rs 1.15 lakh crore in 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

January 27, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

New Delhi: India’s biggest advertisers are gearing up for a spending spree. Fresh Adex estimates show marketing spends crossing Rs 1.15 lakh crore in 2026, with digital accounting for more than half of total outlays and the top 100 brands tightening their grip on the market.

Data tracking ad spends across 2024 and projected growth through 2025 suggests rising concentration at the top. Around 35 per cent of total adex is expected to come from just the top 50 marketers, underscoring the growing clout of a handful of deep-pocketed brands.

India crossed the Rs 1,00,000 crore advertising milestone in 2025, posting over 10 per cent year-on-year growth, making it the fastest-growing major ad market globally. The pace shows little sign of easing.

At the summit, FMCG remains unshakeable. Unilever continues to lead the pack, with Procter & Gamble, Reckitt, Mondelēz International, Godrej Consumer Products, ITC, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, L’Oréal, Amul, Nestlé and Colgate-Palmolive showing no appetite for budget cuts.

Reliance Industries is expected to overtake India’s second-largest advertiser, closing in on Unilever at the top of the table. Autos are the next big battleground, with at least 25 new car and two-wheeler launches pushing Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda and Hero MotoCorp to step up spending.

Digital-first brands are now firmly entrenched among the heavyweights. Amazon, Google and Flipkart sit alongside quick commerce players Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto, reflecting a decisive shift in where the money follows attention.

Fintech is emerging as the fastest-growing category. Groww, NPCI and Angel One are scaling spends rapidly, filling the vacuum left by gaming firms, which saw the sharpest pullback in 2025.

India’s home-grown stalwarts—LIC, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement and Havells—continue to deploy capital steadily, while pan masala advertisers remain reliably aggressive, indifferent to cycles or sentiment.

Behind the numbers lies a structural shift. Television budgets are steadily moving towards connected TV, OTT platforms, digital video and OOH screens as advertisers chase sharper targeting and measurable returns.

The conclusion is blunt: the chase for India’s top 100 advertisers will be brutal in 2026—but the real opportunity may lie just beyond them. In a slowing global economy, India’s ad engine is still accelerating.