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Tag: Publicis Groupe

  • MSLGroup appointed as strategic communications advisors for the Raymond Group

    MSLGroup appointed as strategic communications advisors for the Raymond Group

    MUMBAI: MSLGROUP, the strategic communications and engagement consultancy of Publicis Groupe, and the largest brand and reputation advisory network in Asia and Europe, today announced a recent new business win for August 2014.  The Raymond Group – India’s leading Textile and Apparel Company and a global conglomerate has appointed MSLGROUP as their partner for strategic advisory, creative unbound communications and engagement solutions in the country.

     

    Commenting on the new business win, Jaideep Shergill, CEO India, MSLGROUP, said, “Partnering with The Raymond Group is a very exciting opportunity for us to lead the next level of engagement and innovation in this ever-changing consumer landscape. With the emergence of new media tools, we are committed towards adding value that provides real impact on business and helps brands stay ahead and stay relevant against the competitive backdrop. For Raymond, our attempt is to create channel agnostic programs that excite and inspire.”

     

    The mandate with the Raymond Group includes brand building, reputation management, influencer outreach, and crisis and issues management.

     

    “The strength of MSLGROUP pan India network coupled with the team’s ability to understand our business and recommend creative ideas were pivotal in our decision to appoint them as our communications partner. In this cluttered marketplace, it is essential not just to connect with our consumers but also to engage them in a meaningful dialogue. We look forward to working with MSLGROUP to reach out to our ever growing consumer base spread across product categories, thus reinforcing our strong brand equity,” said Rohit Khanna, Head – Corporate Communications, Raymond Limited.

     

    The Raymond Group offers end-to-end solutions for fabrics and garmenting in India. Some of the leading brands within its portfolio include Raymond, Park Avenue, Color Plus, Parx and Raymond Premium Apparel amongst others. Raymond also has one of the largest exclusive retail networks in the textile and fashion space in India through its exclusive chain of outlets – ‘The Raymond Shop’.

     

    As part of the diversified group, Raymond also has business interests in men’s accessories, personal grooming & toiletries (Park Avenue Deos, Beer Shampoo, Speed Shower and KS Deos), prophylactics (KamaSutra Condoms), energy drinks (KS Energy Drinks), files & tools and auto components.   

  • Publicis Groupe’s H1 profit drops down 17 per cent, exchange rates impact numbers

    Publicis Groupe’s H1 profit drops down 17 per cent, exchange rates impact numbers

    MUMBAI: With the slowdown of global economic activity since the start of the year and economic uncertainties prevailing in several regions of the world, Publicis Groupe has announced that its second-quarter performance was well below that of the first quarter. The company saw a 16.9 per cent fall in first-half net profit to Euro 260 million as compared to the Euro 313 million in the corresponding half of the previous calendar year-2013.

     

    Due to the substantial impact of the strong Euro (Euro 81 million negative impact in Q2 alone), the Group’s reported consolidated revenue for Q2 2014 was Euro 1,761 million, down 1.5 per cent as compared to the Euro 1788 million in H1 Q2 2013.

     

    The group says that organic growth of just 0.5 per cent was largely due to unfavourable comparable (+5.0 per cent in Q2 2013), but also to the persistent weakness of certain markets and investments on the part of a number of clients who substantially downsized their budgets.

     

    In a statement published on the group’s official website, Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy said, “The first half-year was heavily impacted by exchange rates which had an adverse effect on revenue of Euro 148 million. At constant exchange rate, revenue would have increased by close to 5 per cent during the period.

     

    As we predicted last fall, growth stalled in the second quarter. However, it should be underscored that weakness was stronger than expected mostly due to the cancellation or postponement of campaigns and lagging economies in Europe and in emerging countries. Our organic growth was +1.8 per cent for the first half-year. Our margin remained strong, though fractionally down, as a result of accounting treatments and lagging growth.”  

     

    Lévy conceded, “These figures are not satisfactory by our standards. They are not consistent with what our operations can achieve. As can be seen from our digital growth (+8.8 per cent) or the numerous awards from various juries (Gunn Report, Gartner and an impressive haul of awards at the Cannes International Festival), our strategy is spot-on and our networks are at the cutting edge of the industry. For the second part of the year, we can confirm that we are already on track for higher growth, and this should be evident as of the third quarter.”

     

    “Given the situation in Europe and the slow pick-up in the emerging economies, we prefer to be extremely cautious on growth prospects and prioritize cost control in order to achieve a margin closer to our goal for the full year.

     

    Although 2014 will be a difficult year, it does not undermine our mid-term prospects. Our business plan between now and 2018, as announced on 23 April 2013, is currently being revised to factor in market developments and the investments required reaching our transformation goals ahead of schedule. The strong feedback from our entities leaves us very confident about achieving all our goals,” he concluded. 

     

    It was in May 2014 when Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group have called off their $35 billion merger. Levy then in a statement mentioned, “The decision to discontinue the process was neither pleasant nor an easy one to make, but it was a necessary one.” Experts believe the deal failed majorly because of tax issues.

     

    Four regions contribute to Publicis Groupe’s revenue- Europe excluding Russia and Turkey, North America, BRIC + MISSAT (Mexico, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey), and the rest of the world.

     

    The group says that Europe (excl. Russia and Turkey) remained negative overall (-0.3per cent), while all the other regions reported growth in the first half-year. North America recorded growth of +2.8 per cent, and continues to show resilience.

     

    The BRIC and MISSAT countries achieved growth of +0.4 per cent though the good performances of Russia (+5.9 per cent), Mexico (+10.3 per cent), Turkey (+2.5 per cent) and Singapore (+7.2 per cent) were overshadowed by the Greater China region’s slower-than-expected return to high growth (+1.4 per cent) and by negative growth in Brazil (-0.6 per cent). India’s -14.7 per cent adversely affected the BRIC group. The economic slowdown observed since mid-2013 in emerging countries has had a significant impact on advertising investments. The rest of the world, which includes Australia and Japan, reported growth of +5.6 per cent.

     

    On 30 January 2014, Publicis Groupe acquired a major stake in Indian based advertising agency Law & Kenneth. In an unprecedented move, Law & Kenneth took over the Indian operations of Saatchi & Saatchi and now is called L& K Saatchi & Saatchi. During the first half of the year, the holding company’s BBH India won the creative mandate of Viber (India) and Piaggio Vehicles’ Vespa (India), while Leo Burnett India added MAA TV to its kitty.

     

    Click here to read the financial report

  • Indigo Consulting appoints Harshad Hardikar as COO

    Indigo Consulting appoints Harshad Hardikar as COO

    MUMBAI: Indigo Consulting which is a part of the Publicis Groupe, announced the appointment of   Harshad Hardikar as its new chief operating officer. Hardikar is the former senior VP, e-commerce & CRM at OgilvyOne India.

     

    Hardikar will be working closely with the agency’s managing director Vikas Tandon to help strengthen and grow its business nationally and internationally. Hardikar comes with over 17 years of experience in the industry. He is credited with launching India’s first coalition loyalty programme, iMint (now Payback).

     

    In his previous role as senior VP, e-commerce & CRM at OgilvyOne India, he led the agency’s ecommerce and CRM practice nationally, managing clients’ needs end to end.  Prior to this, he worked for Rediff.com, heading the company’s online sales division, Rediffshopping.

     

    Commenting on the latest appointment Tandon said, “FY 2014 has been a great year for us, we are once again ready to shift to a higher gear. Not only are we seeing great organic growth, our international business as a regional COE for Leo Burnett Asia Pacific is seeing phenomenal traction. From a service bouquet point of view, after establishing our Mobile and Social practices, we are now investing in e-commerce and CRM capabilities. This is the ideal time for Indigo Consulting to expand its top management and leadership team. Harshad’s blend of expertise in our focus areas, and experience in driving revenues and P&L is exactly what we need to fuel and drive our journey in the next gear. I am very excited to have him on board and look forward to working with him in scaling up the company.”

     

    Hardikar added, “I am very happy to become a part of this large family. Indigo already is a company with a great reputation and highly respected for their creative and technology capabilities. What really attracted me in this opportunity is the vision Vikas has, to grow this company further. I am sure with my experience of managing 360-degree digital work; I will be able to contribute to a greater success for this company.”

     

    In addition to Hardikar’s appointment, the agency has also roped in Rimjhim Ray as AVP strategy and client services and Hanisha Vaswani as business head for the agency’s Delhi office.

     

    Ray joins Indigo Consulting from Tata Consultancy Services, where she headed the company’s social media strategy department. In her new role, she will be responsible for steering the digital initiatives of key accounts, while also helping expand the agency’s portfolio.

     

    At her previous stint at Edelman, Vaswani was responsible for devising brand building, content, and engagement strategies for clients such as HP, GM, GE, Shell, Juniper Networks, and the 1st Indian Grand Prix. At Indigo Consulting, she will be responsible for bringing in new business as well as managing the existing accounts of the agency’s Delhi office.

  • MSL group India wins big at PR week Asia Awards 2014

    MSL group India wins big at PR week Asia Awards 2014

    MUMBAI: Close on the heels of winning 4 metals at the recently concluded Goafest Abbys  2014;  MSLGROUP,  the strategic  communications  and engagement  consultancy  of Publicis Groupe,  and the largest  brand  and  reputation  advisory  network  in  Asia  and Europe  added  yet another feather to its cap! MSLGROUP India emerged winner in the Technology Campaign  of the Year category  for its entry for Sony Xperia  Z1: ‘The Rise of Mobile Photography’ at the PRWeek Asia  Awards  2014.    20:20 MSL bagged a Certificate  of Excellence in the same  category  for its
    ‘Evernote Life Campaign.’

    Ryusuke Fukushima, General Manager Marcomm at Sony India said, “It is a great pleasure to receive an award like this as our aspiration has always been to deliver the most engaging campaign in the industry. We would like to thank and congratulate our partner MSLGROUP’s creativity and passion to help us achieve this vision.”

    “Evernote  is the workspace  where  knowledge  workers  get work done.  With  a large  and swiftly growing population of knowledge workers and professionals, India is a key market for us. Exposing our app to as many new users as possible is a major goal for us in India. In India we partnered with  20:20MSL a while back, and we’re happy to know that their knowledge and creativity has reaped them  awards  both  this  year and the last,”  said,  Troy Malone,  General  Manager  – Asia  Pacific, Evernote.

    Jaideep  Shergill,  CEO  India  MSLGROUP  had  this  to  say  on  the  award,  “This  has  been  truly  a remarkable  year from MSLGROUP.  We are honoured  to receive  this prestigious  award. This is a result of our commitment towards providing result-oriented services to our clients. I thank and congratulate our client for believing in capabilities and our entire team for their fantastic work.”

    Narendra  Nag, Vice President,  said, “This campaign  is a great example  of art, code, and copy coming together to enable conversations and brand awareness. Sony has given us the opportunity and the freedom to think out of the box and build organic-first  digital campaigns.  The team is super-excited about this win but focused on making the next campaign bigger and better.”

    Amrit Ahuja, Client Services  Director,  Technology and B2B lead Asia at 20:20  MEDIA had this to say on the Evernote campaign,  “Evernote has been mandate for us since December 2010. The campaign on Evernote has broken all traditional boundaries of PR and the team has worked on a integrated campaign involving media, users, bloggers, academicians and developers. The team has shown exemplary passion and strategic thinking that has helped Evernote be the most awarded PR campaign for 20:20 MSL ever! Winning this award has been exhilarating experience for us and it feels great to get a recognition for a stupendous work done by the team at the most prestigious award for the PR fraternity.”

    MSLGROUP’s winning campaigns are:

    • Sony Xperia Z1: The Rise of Mobile Photography by MSLGROUP in India was awarded in the category Technology Campaign of the Year for successful real-time engagement with influential photographers and consumers through a virtual gallery. The campaign demonstrated deep capabilities the product and facilitated dialogue between consumers and unbiased photographers on the craft of imaging using a mobile phone.

    • The Evernote Life Campaign  by 20:20  MSL, was recognized with a Certificate of Excellence in the category Technology Campaign of the Year for its highly integrated online and offline storytelling elements to position Evernote as a vital digital lifestyle accessory for daily use that helped to increase user base by 100%.

  • After setting up ROAR, Publicis Groupe acquires Crown Partners

    After setting up ROAR, Publicis Groupe acquires Crown Partners

    MUMBAI: It was last week when Publicis Groupe, the French holding company had announced the launch of ROAR, an agency of hand-picked talent drawn from across the digital resources within the group.

     

    To scale up its digital side of the business, the group has acquired Crown Partners, a full service firm that drives commerce and content solutions, based in the United States.

     

    According to WSJ, the group is aiming at generating at least half of its revenue by 2018 from digital. Publicis reported that its digital revenue rose 14 per cent on an organic basis in 2013, with digital representing 38 per cent of the company’s revenue.

     

    Crown Partners will be aligned with Razorfish, to further accelerate the agency’s strong leadership and growth in commerce, marketing and content technology platform-related services.

     

    Founded in 2001 by CEO Richard Hearn and president Mark Kennedy, Crown Partners currently has 150 employees based at its headquarters in Dayton, Ohio and across US offices in New York, Dallas and Denver.

     

    The firm offers technology solutions to Global 2000, Fortune 500 and emerging enterprises, ensuring clients—which include Lands’ End, ASICS, Keurig-Green Mountain, GlaxoSmithKline, St. Jude, United Technologies and David Yurman—achieve their digital goals.

     

    The acquisition supports Razorfish’s commitment to identifying opportunities for business transformation that have commerce at their core. Crown Partner’s healthy business, combined with Razorfish’s approach to creating superior integrated customer experiences on behalf of their clients, will amplify the agency’s ability to provide exceptional services to its clients.

     

    The Crown Partners’ team will join Razorfish Technology Platform Services. Hearn will assume the position of executive lead and president of Razorfish Technology Platform Services, and will report to Razorfish North America CEO Shannon Denton.

     

    “We believe this is a time of great opportunity for businesses that are willing to embrace transformation. The businesses with the best and most consistent customer experience will come out on top, and the only way to win is to effectively leverage technology and data,” mentioned Razorfish global CEO Pete Stein in a statement.

     

    “The integration of Crown Partners within Razorfish reinforces the agency’s technology capabilities in the commerce and retail space and offers increased capitalization on growth opportunities, while ensuring continued talent development and delivery of the highest quality client work,” added Razorfish chairman Rishad Tobaccowala.

     

    Hearn continued, “For the past 13 years Crown Partners has empowered companies to use digital technologies to expedite growth, drive new business and minimize costs. Joining forces with Razorfish will give our shared clients access to unmatched innovation, depth of expertise and balance in platform enabled professional services.”

     

    Razorfish and Crown Partners will also be able to expand an already long list of successful platform implementations with mutual key partners hybris, a SAP company, and Adobe.

     

    hybris president and co-founder Carsten Thoma said, “Crown Partners has been a dynamic force in realising omni-channel commerce solutions leveraging the hybris and SAP platforms. Together with Razorfish, we have a valued partner in the market with the innovation, experience and ambition to change the face of commerce.”

     

     “It’s exciting to think about the potential that will result from an innovative partner like Crown Partners joining forces with a powerful Adobe global partner like Razorfish. This acquisition will further extend Razorfish’s current success with providing customers the value and benefit of Adobe Marketing Cloud solutions by growing their web experience and experience-driven commerce practice,” concluded Adobe vice president, global alliances Jim Sink.

  • Publicis Groupe launches ROAR

    Publicis Groupe launches ROAR

    MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe to bring together strategy, creative, user experience, media, and analytics under one roof has announced the launch of ROAR.

     

    It is an agency of hand-picked talent drawn from across the digital resources within the group.

     

    Embracing the idea that people are inherently analog and ultimately their behavior is rooted in emotion, ROAR will use a combination of intelligence (IQ), emotion (EQ) as well as technology (TQ) to transform the marketing strategy of its clients.

     

    ROAR will be headquartered in New York with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, London and Hong Kong. The agency launches with JPMorgan Chase and will selectively pursue additional clients.

     

    At the helm of the pride resides Sean Reardon as ROAR’s president. He will report to both at VivaKi chief strategy and innovation officer Rishad Tobaccowala as well as ZenithOptimedia chairman & CEO North America and chairman Performics Worldwide Tim Jones.

     

    ROAR’s leadership team includes executive vice president, lead across digital activities, and head of client service Madeleine Freind and executive vice president media Eric Pisick.

     

    “ROAR has been created to meet specific client needs while delivering the alchemy that comes with combining insight, emotion and technology to transform the business of our clients,” said Tobaccowala in a press statement.

     

    “Leadership was a vital component for this role. We wanted a leader with multi-discipline experience and strategic chops capable of leading us into the future – Sean more than fits the bill,” added Jones.

  • Publicis-Omnicom’s $35 billion merger terminated

    Publicis-Omnicom’s $35 billion merger terminated

    MUMBAI: Paris based Publicis Groupe and New York based Omnicom Group have decided to part ways. The duo through a press statement has jointly announced that they have terminated their proposed merger of equals by mutual agreement, in view of difficulties in completing the transaction within a reasonable timeframe. With this announcement the proposed $35 billion merger has come to an end.

     

    A statement released by Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group states, “The parties have released each other from all obligations with respect to the proposed transaction, and no termination fees will be payable by either party.”

     

    This decision was unanimously approved by the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Publicis Groupe and the Board of Directors of Omnicom. In a joint statement, Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy and Omnicom Group president and CEO John Wren stated, “The challenges that still remained to be overcome, in addition to the slow pace of progress, created a level of uncertainty detrimental to the interests of both groups and their employees, clients and shareholders. We have thus jointly decided to proceed along our independent paths. We, of course, remain competitors, but maintain a great respect for one another.”

     

    The announcement comes after the meeting of the Supervisory Board of Publicis Groupe, chaired by Madame Elisabeth Badinter which was held on 8 May in order to decide on the action to be taken regarding the proposed merger of equals with Omnicom Group.

     

    The Supervisory Board examined the recommendation of the Management Board, which has unanimously voted to terminate the proposed merger of equals between Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group.

     

    Lévy in an earlier statement said, “The two groups each have a brilliant track record. This merger was always one of opportunity, not necessity. The teams at Publicis Groupe worked diligently to complete the merger, but, in view of the obstacles encountered, the execution risk continued to increase. The decision to discontinue the process was neither pleasant nor an easy one to make, but it was a necessary one. Prolonging the situation could have led to the diversion of the Group’s management from its principle function: to best serve our clients. Our paths diverge today with mutual respect. Publicis Groupe will continue to pursue and accelerate the implementation of its ambitious strategic plan for 2018. I am very confident in our ability to successfully see this through and to achieve all our goals.”

     

    The deal which came in the limelight in July, if worked out, would have created the world’s largest advertising holding company, impacting mostly the Chicago advertising market. The planned merger had called for a 50-50 ownership split of the equity in the new company, Publicis Omnicom Group, with Wren and Levy serving as co-CEOs for 30 months from the closing.

     

    According to an Ad Age report, the proposed Publicis-Omnicom merger would have created a company with a combined market cap of $37 billion and joint 2013 revenues of nearly $24 billion. Combined, the duo could have leapfrogged London-based WPP as the world’s largest advertising holding company.
     

    With the merger being called off, WPP Group CEO Martin Sorrell can have a good laugh. Sorrell while talking to CNBC from China said, “I think this deal was driven by ego issues and emotional issues, I think both CEOs wanted to try and dislodge WPP from its number one perch and so it was emotional and egotistical. It was also a case of eyes being bigger than your tummy.”
     

  • MSLGroup gets 8 new regional practice leaders in Asia

    MSLGroup gets 8 new regional practice leaders in Asia

    MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe’s strategic communications and engagement consultancy, MSLGroup has appointed eight new regional practice group leaders and two regional deputy practice group leaders across Asia to further strengthen the firm’s expertise and leadership.

     

    The practice leaders will ensure best-in-class client service and strategic counsel, including growing the business, developing new offerings and methodologies, structured internal capability enhancement and thought leadership.

     

    MSLGroup president Asia Glenn Osaki  said: “Most of these top talents and leaders have been with us for many years, some have grown with us for over a decade. We are very happy to appoint these experts to take on international leadership roles and to contribute to developing the future of MSLGROUP in Asia and globally. MSLGroup is driving the change. I’m proud that these top talents will play a part in taking our firm – and our industry – to the next level.” 

     

    The eight regional practice leaders are: Amrit Ahuja (with over 20 years of experience she will be adding the role of regional practice leader to her current position as client engagement leader for 20:20 MSL in India), Narendra Nag (will be adding the role of regional practice leader to his current position as vice president and co-leader of MSLGroup Social Hive in India), Parveez Modak (apart from his current position as senior VP and co-leader of MSLGroup Social Hive in India, he will be adding the new role to his portfolio) , Amit Misra (he will be adding the role of regional practice leader to his current position as executive VP and director, Public Affairs, at MSLGroup in India), Par Uhlin (will add the role of regional practice leader to his current position as vice chair, MSLGroup China), Ellen Cheng (the sought-after trainer and advisor to senior executives of leading international companies in China will be adding the role of regional practice leader to her current position as director, MSLGroup China), Ken Hirata (will add the role of regional practice leader to his current position as senior director, MSLGroup in Japan), Dennis Hsu (will add the role of regional practice leader to his current position as VP, MSLGroup in Taiwan).

     

    Jaideep Shergill will continue his leadership of the regional Financial Communications practice.

     

    Two deputy practice leaders have also been appointed: Jolin Liu (will be adding the role of deputy regional practice leader to her current position as group account director, King Harvests) and Fu Yumei (will add the role of deputy regional practice leader to her current position as healthcare leader and senior associate director at MSLGroup in Singapore).

  • MSLGROUP announces two senior hires

    MSLGROUP announces two senior hires

    MUMBAI: MSLGROUP, Publicis Groupe’s strategic communications and engagement consultancy, has appointed two industry veterans to its fold – Amit Misra comes on board as executive vice president & director – public affairs in Delhi and Rekha Rao, as general manager in Mumbai of 20:20 MSL.

     

    Amit Misra will be the overall market leader for MSLGROUP for the Delhi market & the practice leader for the public affairs practice across India for MSLGROUP. In addition, he will also strategically collaborate with 20:20 MSL in Delhi for business development, PA, key client relationships and talent development.

     

    In her role, Rekha Rao will report to Ian Sequeira, senior VP at 20:20 MSL and her key responsibilities will include operational performance, growth, profitability, talent management and client engagement.  

     

    On the appointments, MSLGROUP CEO Jaideep Shergill said: “We warmly welcome Amit and Rekha to our family and eagerly look forward to their contribution in helping us grow in both reputation and expertise. Each of them comes with capabilities necessary to provide the more value-adding, strategic and content centric offerings that our clients increasingly are looking for in India. MSLGROUP is a people centric agency. We invest in our talent by giving them exceptional opportunities to work on exciting client engagements, attend world class trainings and pursue an international career. We see that this is appreciated: never before have had so many of the industry’s top talent wanted to join MSLGROUP, where Misra and Rao are very notable examples. By appointing Amit Misra and Rekha Rao in their new roles, we are strengthening MSLGROUP’s core functions, which will further add impetus to our continuing growth story.”

     

    With these two hires, MSLGROUP wants to forge ahead.

  • India’s strong showing in Publicis Groupe’s global growth in Q1

    MUMBAI: India continues to be a driving force for France-based global media conglomerate the Publicis Groupe in 2013. The group‘s business in the country grew at 10.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2013. It was the region to record the second highest growth after China that grew at 15.2 per cent.

    Publicis Groupe‘s consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2013 was Euro 1,563 million, up 7.6 per cent from Euro 1,452 million for the same period in 2012. The group registered overall organic growth of 1.3 per cent for the first quarter (8.5 per cent organic growth in digital and -2.3 per cent in analogue/non-digital business).

    The growth by geographies was led by the BRIC+MISSAT (Brazil, Russia, India and China + Mexico, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey) regions at 14.2 per cent. The two combined territories grew from revenue collection of Euros 176 million in Q1 2012 to Euros 201 million in the first quarter of 2013. Russia grew at a rate of 5.7 per cent.

    While North America contributed to nearly 50 per cent of the revenue, majority regions in Europe saw significant negative organic growth. Publicis‘ revenues in North America grew from Euros 724 million in Q1 2012 to Euros 776 million in Q1 2013, an increase of seven per cent. The region saw organic growth of 4.4 per cent.

    Europe (excluding Turkey and Russia) registered organic de-growth of 6.5 per cent. It saw advertising investments decline sharply, mainly in the non-digital segment (analogue). The vast majority of countries in this region recorded negative growth, including Germany (-4.8 per cent), the UK (-6.1 per cent), France (-11.3 per cent), Spain (-13.1 per cent) and Italy (-13.7 per cent) while Central Europe grew by 3.8 per cent.

    The group has maintained its thrust on India with its only acquisition in the quarter coming in the form of full service digital marketing and consulting agency Convonix. It is expected to align with Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) in India to provide search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing and online reputation management to an extensive roster of clients.

    Major account wins for Publicis Groupe in the country in this period included HP (DigitasLBi), Eureka Forbes (DigitasLBi) and Subway India (Publicis Worldwide).

    Publicis has also recently made it known that it plans to make more acquisitions in the country. A technology services firm is said to be the next target on the group‘s mind which will be merged with its digital entity Razorfish on acquisition. Details of the agreement are expected over the next month.

    Other major investment for the group in Q1 2013 was the completion of the share purchases of digital agency LBi International and the buyback of shares (approx. 3.9 million for a total price of 181 million euro) from Japanese media giant Dentsu.

    The Groupe expects its revenue stream to grow slowly in the first half-year, then gathering pace in the second half-year, with annual growth for 2013 exceeding the market and its own performance in 2012. The Groupe‘s internal objective is between 3.2 per cent and 3.6 per cent.

    Publicis chairman and CEO Maurice Levy said, “As I predicted, 2013 is turning out to be a difficult and contrasted vintage, with on the one hand the United States consolidating its growth and on the other hand Europe suffering. Our first quarter ended satisfactorily, and while 1.3 per centorganic growth may seem modest, it is above our internal objectives and compares with the strong growth recorded in the first quarter of 2012. This is particularly true for Europe with a 10 points gap between 2012 first quarter (+3.6 per cent increase) and 2013 (6.5 per cent decrease). The Groupe‘s transformation continues apace: digital activities now represent 37 per cent of total revenue, and strongly stands as our first activity. When combined with revenue from the so-called “emerging” markets, our business in these high-growth segments generates close to 60 per cent of our total revenue, in keeping with our five-year goal of 75 per cent from these segments. North America accounted for 50 per cent of our revenue in the first quarter of 2013. This rebalancing is very encouraging in order to meet the challenges of 2013 and 2014. They bear fruit as shown by our performance in net new business wins surpassing the high level of $ 2 billion. The pipeline remains solid and comforts us in the Groupe‘s ability to reach its objectives for 2013, namely to improve its margin and to outperform the market and our own 2012 in terms of organic growth.”