“We all the time win”: Publicis raises its forecasts because of important positive factors in media accounts

Publicis is once again raising its forecasts for 2024, despite uncertainties around the economy, high inflation and the upcoming US presidential election.

The holding company now expects growth of 5.5% this year. He had predicted growth of 4 to 5% at the start of the year and predicted a 5% increase in July.

“There’s a lack of confidence heading into the fourth quarter, and we’re coming in strong saying, ‘We can raise our guidance,'” Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, told ADWEEK.

This confidence comes after a strong third quarter, during which the holding company recorded an organic increase in revenue of 5.8% to $3.72 billion.

A growing force in the media

Publicis’ growth comes in part from new contracts, notably at its media agencies, after winning multimillion-dollar accounts from companies. Pfizer, Hersheyand others.

The combined services of media and its data unit Epsilon grew 10% year-over-year to account for 65% of overall revenue.

But Publicis hasn’t been in all the big fields, Sadoun said.

For example, Amazon’s media activity was up for grabs and was ultimately awarded to rival holding companies Omnicom and WPP.

Sadoun seemed unfazed. “We are still doing double our revenue in terms of new business compared to [our competitors]“, he said. “And despite that, we still win. »

Sadoun also noted that very little of Publicis’ business comes from media mandates, a controversial practice. establishing itself again in the United States

Sadoun said less than 1% of Publicis’ total U.S. media revenue comes from these activities.

“We don’t operate a black box at all,” he said.

High expectations for commerce and influencer marketing

Publicis has made two major acquisitions this year in industry growth areas: an influencer marketing company. Influential in July, and retail media agency Mars United Commerce in September. These purchases, which cost approximately $1 billion, gave the holding company access to 3.5 million creators and 1,000 commerce experts, respectively.

According to Talia Raviv, global CEO of Publicis Media, the holding company integrates technology from both companies into Epsilon and connects it to consumer identities.

Integrating data with technology has helped Publicis gain market share, Sadoun said.

And unlike other holding companiesthis type of investment did not penalize Publicis’ margin, which went from 17.3% in Q2 to 18% in the third quarter.

From creation to “intelligent content”

Publicis’ next big goal is to bring its creative agencies and production studios closer to AI and data, with the end goal of being able to personalize messages. Publicis calls this “intelligent content.”

But it’s not yet where it should be. “Our ability to power this connected media ecosystem with quality, personalized work remains a challenge,” Sadoun said, describing this area as having “huge room for improvement.”