Paris-based advertising group Publicis is stirring things up with its recent acquisitions and digital marketing plans. China’s leading independent digital marketing agency, Communication Central Group (CCG) became a part of Publicis Groupe for an undisclosed amount on July 30th, 2007. Last month Publicis purchased the French agency Business Interactif for $182 million and this past December Publicis bought Digitas for $1.3 billion. The aim, according to Publicis, is to increase revenue from digital marketing to 25 percent by 2010.
“It is only a matter of time until nearly all advertisements around the world are digital” contends chairman and chief executive of Digitas David W. Kenny.
This belief drives Publicis Groupe’s plan to build a powerful, global digital ad network. This network will create thousands of versions of each ad, using data about consumers and computer algorithms to decide which advertising message to display to each potential consumer as they navigate through content on their computer, cell phone and, eventually, even their TV. As a result, ads will be relevant and new each time a potential customer sees them. Utilizing myriad iterations of advertising creative fits into the Internet paradigm where finely targeted advertising is becoming the norm. Video advertising, for example, can target consumers with far greater specificity on the Web than offline.
The challenge here lies in the shift. Moving from mass video advertising campaigns to the personalized, thousand iterations strategy entails a dramatic transformation in the breadth and scope of advertising creative production. Publicis Groupe’s acquisitions have, in part, broadened the company’s access to countries with low-cost labor markets to fill the need for greater production capacity.
Will Publicis Groupe’s digital advertising angle meet its 2010 projection, drive up digital revenue and enhance the consumer’s experience? Whether or not they succeed, their goals will certainly have interesting implications for others in the digital advertising and media space.
