Publicis Groupe plots its course in a three-horse agency holding company race

Following another strong year, Publicis Groupe is looking to capitalize on any potential fallout from the pending Omnicom Group-Interpublic Group of Cos. merger by acquiring new business and new talent, along with making continued investments in AI capabilities, Arthur Sadoun, Publicis’ chairman and CEO, told Ad Age. “We will know if Omnicom made the right move in roughly five years, because, as they said, they first have three years of restructuring leading to thousands of job cuts, and then there will be a CEO succession that might take another two, which, by the way, is totally normal,” Sadoun said. “When you look at our own succession and transformation, that’s the [same amount of] time it took us to see some material results.” Sadoun said Publicis is embracing the “challenger position” that the new merger will put it in when completed. It’s “a place that we like a lot, and where we have been pretty successful,” Sadoun said. “The big difference being that we will be stronger than ever because our transformation is completed. We have a revenue mix that is very different, we have a go-to-market that is winning and we have a platform organization.” Sadoun cited COMvergence statistics stating that nine of the 10 largest global pitches last year were won by the four major holding companies. With just three major holding companies post-merger, Sadoun said it creates an opportunity for more large new business wins. Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here Below, more on Publicis’ results and Sadoun’s take on the state of the ad industry, including AI and other tech investments. By the numbers Publicis on Tuesday posted 5.8% organic net revenue growth for 2024, with 6.3% growth in the recent fourth quarter. Publicis’ revenue in 2024 exceeded €13.965 billion, which converts to $14.45 billion. The French holding company is predicting 4% to 5% organic net revenue growth in 2025. U.S. net revenue grew 4.9% organically for the full year; Europe and Asia-Pacific advanced 5.4% and 6.3%, respectively. Publicis’ connected media offering was the strongest performer, with organic net revenue growth in the high single digits in both the fourth quarter and for the full year, Sadoun said. Connected Media includes Publicis’s media, commerce, and influencer capabilities. Creative services’ organic net revenue rose by mid-single digits in the fourth quarter. “We have seen [fewer cuts] in traditional advertising than we could have expected” in the fourth quarter, Sadoun said. Even so, Publicis Sapient was flat due to continued cautious spending from clients, which Sadoun said has also been the case across its competitors in the IT and consulting space. New business and AI Publicis announced plans to invest between €800 and €900 million ($827 million to $931 million) in data tech and AI. Last week, Chinese AI company DeepSeek sent Wall Street into a frenzy when it launched a low-cost AI model. Sadoun said that Publicis is agnostic when it comes to which AI companies it works with, and that the launch won’t affect Publicis’ AI plans. “What happened last week with the DeepSeek is a demonstration that in itself, AI is just a commodity,” Sadoun said. “It’s a tool. It’s not a solution … You need to be able to work with OpenAI. You need to work with Gen AI. You need to work with DeepSeek.” From a net revenue perspective, Publicis became the largest advertising company last year, Sadoun said. However, Omnicom and WPP historically report revenue instead of net revenue, and those two holding companies have yet to report their full-year 2024 results. Publicis also excludes Accenture Song in that comparison. (Accenture Song reported $19 billion in revenue for its full 2024 fiscal year.) Industry rankings stand to be shaken up by the pending Omnicom-IPG merger, which would make Omnicom the world’s largest agency company, up from 4th place, based on 2023 revenue figures compiled by Ad Age Datacenter. Sadoun predicted will take at least five years to determine the success of Omnicom’s pending acquisition of IPG. During that time, Publicis will look to capitalize on new business, he said. Tracking the latest Omnicom-IPG merger news and analysis Publicis has already been hiring executives from Omnicom. In January, the French holding company brought on former Omnicom exec Geoff Calabrese as its chief commercial officer and Matt McNally as the global CEO of Publicis Health. McNally previously served as CEO of Omnicom Health Group. WPP, currently the largest holding company, recently caught some heat for its 4-day in-office work mandate. Sadoun, who has instituted a 3-day in-office rule at Publicis, said there aren’t plans to add an extra day. Omnicom’s earnings report is set to be released later on Tuesday, and IPG is set to announce its results Feb. 12. WPP hasn’t announced its report date yet.

Publicis Groupe plots its course in a three-horse agency holding company race

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