PARIS, November 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Publicis Groupe [EURONEXT Paris:
FR0000130577] today announced that VivaKi, the
initiative launched in 2008 through the combined scale and
leadership of Digitas, Starcom MediaVest Group, ZenithOptimedia and
later Razorfish, will become a separate business unit more broadly
available to all Publicis Groupe agencies and the market. VivaKi
was created to accelerate the digital transformation of Publicis
Groupe and its agencies, and as a result the Groupe will derive 35
percent* of its revenue from digital activities. VivaKi has also
initiated and expanded the power of partnerships with Google,
Facebook, Microsoft, AOL and many other players for Publicis
Groupe, and it has delivered innovative products and services such
as The Pool and Audience on Demand (AOD).
"The achievements of VivaKi have been extremely profitable to
our clients, helping them to be the best at connecting with the new
consumers and bridging the analog and digital worlds," said
Maurice Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe. "As we seek
even more aggressive growth and digital acceleration, the VivaKi
leadership-Jack Klues, Laura Desmond, Steve
King, Bob Lord and
Frank Voris-has developed a plan to
open up the VivaKi operations, creating a new impetus for further
innovations and more aggressive growth for all Publicis Groupe
agencies."
The four founding agencies will leverage the benefits of VivaKi
in new ways, according to Jack
Klues, CEO of VivaKi. "The VivaKi ecosystem fostered an
unprecedented level of collaboration," he said. "The
agencies have shaped and perfected our offerings, worked together
to create valuable new solutions, and embraced a transformational
philosophy of building, borrowing and sharing to the benefit of our
clients. Digitas, Razorfish, SMG and ZenithOptimedia will continue
to inform our roadmap even as they continue to enhance their own,
unique propositions."
* With LBi acquisition
The four founding agencies will leverage the benefits of VivaKi
in new ways, according to Jack
Klues, CEO of VivaKi. "The VivaKi ecosystem fostered an
unprecedented level of collaboration," he said.
"The agencies have shaped and perfected our offerings,
worked together to create valuable new solutions, and embraced a
transformational philosophy of building, borrowing and sharing to
the benefit of our clients. Digitas, Razorfish, SMG and
ZenithOptimedia will continue to inform our roadmap even as they
continue to enhance their own, unique propositions."
- SMG has accelerated its digital offering by reinventing its
core product around human experience, leveraging VivaKi products
and expanding strategic partnerships with key technology companies.
The integration of Big Fuel into its global, social offering
is an example of integrating new media forms into the number one
brand globally. "Digital growth is a core commitment for
us and, as a result, SMG is the only media agency listed in
Forrester's New Interactive Agency Landscape
(July 2012). We have calculated
that more than 32 percent of our media billings represent digital
investments, making us the largest media agency in the digital
marketplace," said Laura
Desmond, CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group.
- ZenithOptimedia has enhanced its 'ROI Agency' proposition
through 'Live ROI', and taken on the global roll-out of Performics,
one of the world's premier performance marketing agencies, as part
of VivaKi. "Delivering measurable results to clients in a
digital world pivots on our ability to effectively leverage scale,
and VivaKi takes our value proposition to a level that no other
agency or network can achieve," said Steve King, CEO of ZenithOptimedia.
- Razorfish and Digitas have benefited from the massive media
clout and centralized ability of VivaKi to build tools and
solutions that enhance the eCommerce offering of Razorfish, and the
Social CRM capabilities of Digitas. As a result, the digital
agencies have evolved and differentiated rapidly. "The Forrester
report recently called Digitas a 'new
breed of marketing partner that blends strategy,
creative, technology, media, and data offerings to connect brands
and their audiences,'" said Bob Lord, CEO of
Razorfish. "Razorfish has been called
a 'Business
Transformer,' creating new agency models and
inventing new products that clients need. Both agencies were also
prominently featured in the Gartner Magic Quadrant report issued in
October."
VivaKi Transformed
The VivaKi agencies will gain greater autonomy to differentiate
and collaborate with this evolution, yet they will remain tightly
linked to the progress and offering of VivaKi, and as a result,
they will report directly to Maurice Lévy. VivaKi will be
transformed from a platform of coordination and collaboration to a
business unit opened to all Groupe agencies and the market. It will
extend the offerings of the Nerve Center, including AOD and the
Pool, to clients of Publicis Groupe and ultimately to clients
outside of the Groupe.
"The Nerve Center has been one of the most successful
accomplishments of VivaKi," said
Lévy. "Still the only operation of its kind
in our industry, it brings strategic innovations to life by
leveraging the collective influence of its agencies. It allows us
to create world class offerings in the Center rather than building
duplicate capabilities inside each agency. Efficient
innovation is its hallmark. All CEOs and leaders will
immediately engage VivaKi to leverage its products and services,
and to create blueprints for new tools and technologies that will
make us stronger, more efficient and more imaginative partners to
our clients."
VivaKi will also continue to advance its product development and
Partnership Practice-a team that works with companies like Google,
Facebook, Microsoft, etc. to create first-mover opportunities, new
products and preferred pricing. VivaKi Ventures, a group that
aligns with pioneering start-ups to surface new opportunities and
products that benefit clients, will also be enhanced and all
pursuits will be made in the interest of media, digital, creative,
healthcare and all other Groupe assets.
VivaKi Exchange (VX) operations that currently exist in more
than a dozen global markets will continue with oversight from
VivaKi Country Chairs (VCC) who will align with the media agencies
to oversee VX operations and whose duties will include deployment
and adoption of VivaKi offerings in local markets.
Project Olympic-the VivaKi automation and standardization
initiative currently in its third year-will also expand its remit
to the entire Groupe to achieve process reinvention, streamlined
workflow and automation that empowers global talent to focus more
on innovation and ideas and less on manual tasks and transactional
duties.
VivaKi Management
According to Lévy, VivaKi CEO Jack
Klues is going to help set VivaKi on its new course, and
then map his retirement. Klues will retire as CEO at the end
of 2012 after 35 years with the organization, though he will remain
with Publicis Groupe through the first half of 2013 to help
establish VivaKi as a separate business unit.
Frank Voris will serve as CEO of
the strategically focused VivaKi, partnering with Rishad Tobaccowala, who remains VivaKi's Chief
Innovation and Strategy Officer.
Voris, who has served as VivaKi CFO since its inception, has
been responsible for all VivaKi operations, including technology,
product development and the integration of acquisition targets,
since the entity was launched in 2008. Tobaccowala is a 30-year
industry thought leader who has pioneered several industry firsts,
including VivaKi Ventures, Denuo and other future-focused
operational units that have delivered gaming, mobile and internet
expertise to marketers.
An executive board comprised of Desmond, King, Lord and Voris
will collaborate on VivaKi product strategies, priorities and
transactional tools and services.
About Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, part of the CAC 40
index] is the third largest communications group in the world,
offering the full range of services and skills: digital and
traditional advertising, public affairs and events, media buying
and specialized communication. Its major networks are Leo Burnett, MSLGROUP, PHCG (Publicis Healthcare
Communications Group), Publicis Worldwide, Rosetta and Saatchi
& Saatchi. VivaKi, the Groupe's media and digital accelerator,
includes Digitas, Razorfish, Starcom MediaVest Group and
ZenithOptimedia. Present in 104 countries, the Groupe employs
56,000 professionals.
http://www.publicisgroupe.com | Twitter:@PublicisGroupe |
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/publicisgroupe
Viva la Difference !
Contacts:
Publicis Groupe
Peggy Nahmany, Communication
corporate, +33(0)1-44-43-72-83
Martine Hue, Relations
investisseurs, +33(0)1-44-43-65-00
Stéphanie Atellian, Relations investisseurs,
+33-(0)1-44-43-74-44
VivaKi
Cheri Carpenter, Director of
Corporate Communications, +1-312-220-6218
SOURCE Publicis Groupe