Tag: Publicis Groupe

Mumbai, India — Automobile brand ŠKODA AUTO in India has unveiled its newest integrated campaign to promote the launch of its latest sedan, ŠKODA SLAVIA. The campaign was done in collaboration with advertising company Publicis Groupe.

Entitled ‘It’s All That Really Matters’, the campaign is built on the central thought – the car that’s in your heart is the car that really matters. The TVC traces the journey of the protagonist who has been creating his dream car since he was a toddler until he discovers the SLAVIA. Created with an impeccable balance of contemporary stylish design, stunning interiors, great performance and innovative technology, the SLAVIA breathes new air into the sedan market. The campaign is a part of ŠKODA AUTO’s 2.0 ethos of ‘Made of what really matters.’

Tarun Jha, head of marketing of ŠKODA AUTO India, said that they wanted to revive the decrease in the sedan segment and bring back the love for sedans.

“ŠKODA SLAVIA, with its stunning design and class-leading features, is the perfect product that will create the desirability of owning the sedan. We tapped into a universal human insight that as a child the first car we imagine is a sedan and not any other body type. This love and fascination continue all our lives,” Jha said.

Simultaneously, Vikash Chemjong, national creative director of Publicis Worldwide India, spoke about the campaign, sharing, “With all that the SLAVIA had on offer – be it the space, the style, the power and the presence, it felt so right to say that it was the car that we always had in mind since we were kids. Without quite knowing it was the car we always wanted.”

The campaign will tap all essential channels for its nationwide launch, including a strong presence across national and regional television, print, outdoor, radio, digital and social media.

Paris, France – Global multinational advertising and public relations company Publicis Groupe has announced that it is officially exiting from Russia, the latest advertising giant to halt its operations in the European country. Publicis Groupe joins more than 300 companies now that have suspended or ceased operations in Russia.

Through the announcement, Groupe said that it is handing over control of its Russian operations to Sergey Koptev, founding chairman of Publicis in Russia, with the clear contractual condition of ensuring a future for employees there.

According to Arthur Sadoun, CEO and chairman at Publicis Groupe, by ceding control of their Russian operations to Koptev, they are securing a future path for their colleagues while immediately stopping all of their operations, engagement and investment in Russia.

“Since the start of the invasion, we have been working on exiting Russia as we strongly condemn the unilateral aggression against Ukraine. We were committed to taking strong actions that fully [responded] to the gravity of the situation. But we were determined to take the necessary time to come with a solution that was truly people-first, because our 1200 employees in Russia are our people too,” Sadoun said.

Sadoun also said that the safety of their employees in Ukraine remains their number one focus, adding that they are in daily contact with all 350 of them on an individual basis and doing everything they can to protect them.

“From security alert systems, to psychological and mental health support, to help with visas, or guaranteeing salaries for everyone for the entire year, we will continue to stand by their side, be exhaustive in the solutions we bring and immediate in the aid we provide,” Sadoun concluded.

Publicis Groupe joins advertising giants Interpublic Group (IPG) and WPP in the latest exit from Russia.

Tokyo, Japan – Global communications network Publicis Groupe has appointed Tomoko Akizawa, former executive vice president and client growth leader at global communications company Edelman, to be its new managing director of MSL Japan and new business director of Publicis Groupe Japan.

In her new roles, Akizawa will further develop and deepen MSL’s presence in Japan. She will also lead the MSL team in strengthening its service capabilities to drive greater impact for their clients under the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One offering, which is a frictionless collaboration between all of Publicis Groupe agencies that are able to better service their clients and people. 

Akizawa brings with her 20 years of experience in communications. Aside from her most recent roles at Edelman Japan, she has also held the director of technology and digital practices role.

Commenting on her appointment, Akizawa said that she is excited to join MSL especially as it looks to strengthen its positioning in both corporate and integrated communications in the Japan market.

“Given how MSL is so closely connected to the different solutions under the Publicis Groupe, I strongly believe that MSL is uniquely positioned to contribute and deliver integrated communications solutions as part of the Power of One partnership,” she added.

Meanwhile, Gareth Mulryan, the CEO of Publicis Groupe Japan, believes that Akizawa’s senior appointment will enable them to offer a stronger suite of communications services to their clients via the Publicis Groupe’s service offering of Power of One. 

“I look forward to working with her as part of the Publicis Japan executive team and am confident that she will help to continue our growth in Japan,” said Mulryan.

Margaret Key, MSL’s CEO for APAC and AMA, commented, “With her extensive experience in public relations and integrated communications, MSL Japan will have greater prowess in delivering impact and influence for our clients. I look forward to working closely with Tomoko to scale MSL business in this key growth market.”

Singapore – Global communications network Publicis Groupe has appointed Amit Misra as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of its PR firm MSL Southeast Asia, which is in addition to his current role as CEO of MSL South Asia.

As part of his expanded responsibilities, Misra will be driving MSL’s growth in the South East Asia markets, leading a team of 100 colleagues across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, as well as Vietnam, and the Philippines, along with 450 colleagues across eight offices in South Asia. In addition, Misra will be working to drive Publicis Groupe’s Power of One solution in SEA markets.

Misra has joined MSL India in 2013 and took over the India operations as CEO in 2015. Under his leadership, MSL India’s growth in recent years has been driven by its integrated communications offerings and it will continue to be the focus of the business under his leadership in SEA.

Commenting on his appointment, Misra said, “MSL’s journey in South Asia over the last few years has been enriching and exhilarating at the same time and I look forward to taking my learnings to the expanded role. This is a tremendous opportunity to create interesting synergies across geographies from the perspective of our clients and talent and I remain excited about our growth in Asia.” 

Meanwhile, Amrita Randhawa, Publicis Groupe’s CEO for Singapore and SEA, said, “Amit leading the mandate for two regions will further leverage the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One model, with MSL being a true powerhouse offering scale and depth of services to our clients. I have no doubt that MSL South East Asia will reach unprecedented heights with Amit’s leadership.”

Margaret Key, MSL’s CEO for Asia, Middle East, and Africa, commented that Misra is a respected industry leader who has a proven track record of innovation and growth in the region. 

“With his appointment, two strategic geographies in Asia have come together thereby unlocking incredible opportunities for MSL. I look forward to working closely with him,” said Key.

Malaysia – Global advertising company Publicis Groupe in Malaysia has been appointed by automotive manufacturer BMW in Malaysia to handle its strategic planning, creative advertising, and digital for BMW passenger cars, Motorrad and MINI business units, which will take effect in April 2022.

During the pitch, Publicis Groupe has developed a compelling strategy and holistic ideas on how to lead, promote, and educate electric vehicle adopters for the BMW and MINI brands, as the automotive industry transitions to electric mobility.

The remit will see Publicis Groupe enhancing BMW Malaysia’s consumer journey, elevating their brand experiences, and crafting a sustainability narrative, as well as building brand relevance for each brand and their audiences. 

Through the remit, Publicis Groupe Malaysia is now setting up bespoke hybrid teams to manage the brands separately with domain experts and related automotive experience.

Neil Hudspeth, Publicis Groupe’s CEO for Malaysia, commented that they could not be happier and prouder to warmly welcome BMW and Motorrad, and of course continue their relationship with MINI, one of the world’s most recognisable car brands. 

“It is incredibly rewarding to see world-class work being recognised by world-class and storied brands, and we look forward to achieving great things together over the next five years, especially as together we can help shape the automotive narrative in Malaysia,” said Hudspeth.

Publicis Groupe Malaysia is also the incumbent agency for MINI Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Global advertising company Publicis Groupe in Malaysia has recently won the creative and social account of isotonic sports drink brand 100PLUS, effective by February 2022. The pitch covers the enhancement of the brand’s consumer journey, elevating brand experiences, and building product category relevance for each 100PLUS beverage and their audiences. 

Neil Hudspeth, CEO at Publicis Groupe Malaysia stated that they are delighted with the extension and expansion of their partnership with Fraser and Neave and 100PLUS.

“Our continued collaboration is a testament to our joint belief in great work that delivers impactful business building solutions. This extension and appointment is another hugely valued milestone for us and we’re committed to build upon the existing relationship and drive 100PLUS forward to win in this platform world.”

Meanwhile, Graham Lim, managing director at F&N, commented, “We are excited to announce the renewal of our partnership with Leo Burnett. As Malaysia’s favorite rehydration beverage, we seek a strong agency partner who is passionate about building brands and also able to take 100PLUS to the next level of consumers’ share of mind in the current dynamic market.”

Lim added, “We are confident that our renewed partnership with Leo Burnett will unleash 100PLUS brand potential to new heights.”

The new account won by Publicis Groupe MY follows its announcement of two new hires, namely Emir Shafri as chief creative officer and Andrew Michau as chief strategy officer.

Iska Hashim, executive creative director at Leo Burnett, said, “We’ve had a great relationship with the 100PLUS team for 2 years, weathering the challenges of the pandemic. And we’re honored to continue to serve as the creative agency of record, and now social agency of record, to help grow the business even further.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Global advertising agency company Publicis Groupe in Malaysia has announced two new senior appointments namely Emir Shafri as chief creative officer and Andrew Michau as chief strategy officer. Both internal promotions will take effect immediately.

Shafri will drive the company’s creative ambition, while Michau enhances the company’s integrated, and data-led approach to connected solutions. Providing their expertise to clients in the region, both appointees will report to Neil Hudspeth, CEO at Publicis Groupe Malaysia and global client leader for APAC.

Shafri first joined the agency in 2019 as an executive creative director and has since been instrumental in elevating creative products and helping some big brands win in this platform world. As the new chief creative officer, he will develop and head creative communications, bringing together brand-building ideas with a modern approach. Prior to returning to Malaysia, he was previously Y&R Singapore’s head of digital.

Speaking about his promotion, he said, “It’s been a refreshing experience working alongside and learning from some of the most talented thinkers, storytellers, artists, digital tinkerers, customer experience builders as well as data and human insights detectives over the past few years. I’m excited to write our next chapter with this amazing team by bringing together their diverse skills to help businesses solve their most pressing problems with creativity.”

Regarding his appointment, Hudspeth said, “Emir’s passion, humankind, and commitment have enriched our most important asset – our people. He is driven by his love for understanding human behaviour, asking “what if” and crafting experiences with the alchemy of technology, creativity and humanity. I am confident that as my creative partner, we will continue to grow and succeed, not only business-wise, but also in terms of expanding our capabilities in CX and innovation to support our clients’ growth acceleration and creative ambitions.”

Meanwhile, Michau’s new role means he will drive diverse thinking and functional insights across teams, thereby promoting a culture that delivers extraordinary work. As the company evolves to better integrate a broader strategy and insights team, Andrew will continue to drive and lead strategy for clients, while maintaining close relationships with them.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “I am extremely proud to be asked to lead such a talented team of strategists, analysts and transformation specialists. I look forward to accelerating our strategic growth agenda with our clients and continuing to help our teams across our enviable portfolio to deliver world classwork.”

On Michau’s new role, Hudspeth said, “Andrew’s passion for crafting well-thought-through narratives with increasingly data-fuelled intelligence is highly valued and appropriate, and I am confident that working closely with the rest of the incredible talent we have in our Strategy & Insights team, our agency proposition will go from strength to strength.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Publicis Groupe today has announced the appointment of Elya Eusoff as the new General Manager for MSL Malaysia, the communications network’s PR firm. Eusoff will lead and further strengthen MSL’s end-to-end integrated communications offerings while accelerating the Groupe’s innovative influence proposition using the ‘Power of One’, the network’s ethos.

Eusoff joins MSL from Ruder Finn, where he was responsible for overseeing the integrated marketing communications efforts of the agency. Prior to that, he led the public relations department at Bonsey Jaden. Eusoff brings a wealth of experience in public relations, digital marketing, and marketing communications to his new role as general manager.

Margaret Key, CEO for APAC & MEA at MSL, said, “I am pleased to welcome Elya to the MSL family. The industry is evolving, and MSL has developed an exceptional approach to client service that prioritizes digital media and social influence. Elya’s extensive understanding of digital PR and influence will undoubtedly ensure that we can put together the best, most agile solutions that ultimately drive business impact for our clients.”

Meanwhile, Neil Hudspeth, CEO of Publicis Groupe Malaysia and Global Client Lead for Asia Pacific at Publicis Groupe, said, “Public Relations has evolved rapidly to become a crucial component for brands trying to win in a platform world. With a digital content and experience-first approach coupled with the right Influencer and earned media strategies, I am looking forward to accelerating our holistic customer-centric PR solutions that will continue to drive our clients’ and the Groupe’s growth.”

Eusoff on his appointment, “I’m excited to be joining MSL during the rise of the platform era. With platforms serving consumers with abundant amounts of content, I am eager to collaborate and create humanized, relatable campaigns in collaboration with the leadership team of Publicis Groupe in realizing the client’s business objectives.”

MSL’s network in the Asia-Pacific has been growing rapidly over the last few years and currently includes 25 offices spread across APAC markets such as China, Singapore, India, Japan, and South Korea, and also Hong Kong, and Taiwan, among others. MSL’s activities in the Asia-Pacific region are coordinated by its Singapore hub and overseen by Key.

Paris, France – Global advertising agency, Publicis Groupe, has announced that it has acquired CitrusAd, the SaaS platform based in Australia that helps retailers monetize their digital page views. The acquisition aims to create the industry-first global retail media offer based on real identity.

CitrusAd, which has a presence in 22 countries and 6 industries, optimizes brands’ marketing performances directly within retailer websites. It provides technology to more than 70 retailers globally and over 4,000 brands are utilizing their self-served platform.

Under the acquisition, Publicis Groupe will be combining CitrusAd’s onsite expertise with its data-tech platform Epsilon’s offsite retail media offering, both powered by the CORE ID, positioning the agency to lead the new generation of identity-led retail media, with transparent measurement validated by transactions.

Publicis Groupe’s CEO and Chairman Arthur Sadoun commented that they are delighted to welcome the CitrusAd team to Publicis, as their developed technology, coupled with Epsilon’s CORE ID, will enable CPG brands to grow faster and retailers to generate new sources of revenue to win in a platform world.

He added, “It will also give Publicis a strong competitive advantage in a channel that by 2025 should surpass traditional TV spend.”

Publicis Group believes that the merger will also provide its clients with three decisive competitive advantages in e-commerce, namely, growth, customer understanding, and consolidated measurement.

The move will enable its clients to accelerate their growth in this dynamic channel, by increasing conversion rate and maximizing return on ad spends. They will also be able to access superior customer understanding based on first-party data from retailers, equipping them for a cookieless world.

In addition, brands will be able to reach their customers both onsite (in-retailer ecosystems) and offsite (in publisher ecosystems), and measure in real-time the consolidated performance of their media investments, whatever the channel of conversions.

“Retailers and brands are entering uncharted territory as retail media grows and having Publicis supporting CitrusAd in its efforts, I know that our customers will reap the benefit of a century’s worth of media expertise combined with high-quality technology and a team of retail media experts,” said Brad Moran, the co-founder and CEO of CitrusAd.

New York, USA – In a bid to empower global PR clients with timely PR tech solutions, PR technology, global public relations firm MSL has announced that it is extending its partnership with media monitoring company Onclusive to offer its PR Attribution service globally, which has previously only been available to MSL’s US clients.

Said service is a PR software that enables public relations key persons to use blended deterministic data with artificial intelligence to their PR services. The PR Attribution service links individual articles and pieces of content to specific business outcomes, allowing for precise PR analytics with truly actionable insights. 

Instead of relying on proxy metrics like coverage volume and potential reach, PR Attribution delivers real-time sights, including total volume of website visits from earned and owned media; specific website interactions by individual content; projected revenue impact of individual content; and trending statistics by communications campaign, message or topic.

MSL said that in terms of its features, all PR Attribution™ data is aggregated, anonymized, and designed to comply with worldwide data privacy regulations. 

The software will be integrated into solutions for current and new MSL and Publicis Groupe clients globally. 

According to Bryan Pedersen, chief innovation officer at MSL U.S, they have spent the bulk of the past two years at MSL honing an earned-first tech stack based on co-development partnerships, connected APIs and rich Epsilon data that has powered insights and innovation in ways that haven’t been possible for the public relations industry until now.

“Onclusive’s PR Attribution™ model has brought us unmatched visibility to PR measurement, deprioritizing industry vanity metrics and inaccurate forms of attribution. Extending our partnership globally further cements MSL’s leadership in ‘influence impact’ and competitive advantage in comms tech.” Pedersen said.

Meanwhile, Dan Beltramo, CEO at Onclusive, said, “Attribution has become standard best practice in marketing, and we are proud to have brought a similar set of advanced capabilities to communications practitioners. As the industry’s first and most accurate attribution solution, PR Attribution™ is changing PR measurement. Utilizing Onclusive’s best-in-class data science we are proud to be a strategic partner to MSL and their clients globally.”