Publicis Groupé, founded by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet in 1926, is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. What started in a little Parisian apartment on Rue Montmartre, with only the founder and a secretary has today grown into one of the three largest holding companies in the world, with close to 80,000 employees.
Back then, Publicis Groupé began just like many of today’s startups. It is with its founder in mind, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit of so many of its employees around the world, that Publicis Groupé is celebrating its 90th birthday by providing mentoring, support and funding to 90 entrepreneurial projects in the digital field.
To take part, projects can be submitted via the Publicis90 platform that was set up on January 18, 2016. Whether it is a student, a new start-up, a successful entrepreneur or a Publicis Groupé employee anywhere in the world, aspirants are welcome to put forward their idea and apply for support from the Groupé. Publicis hopes to provide entrepreneurs with the support they need to bring their projects to life, or to take it to the next level.
“Publicis90 is very much in line with the philosophy of Publicis Groupé and its founder, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet. The idea is to help young entrepreneurs achieve their goals. Not just through investment but also by putting Groupé resources at their disposal for a year. Rather than look back and pat ourselves on the back for 90 years of history, we have taken the forward-looking approach of extending a helping hand to young entrepreneurs,” commented Maurice Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupé.
The Publicis90 platform will be open for submissions until February 28, 2016. Projects will be preselected by region including the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe Middle East & Africa with a first round of votes open to all Publicis Groupé employees. A regional jury will then draw up a shortlist from the preselected projects, before the final selection is made by a prestigious global jury that will pick the 90 most promising projects or startups.
The selected projects will be mentored by Publicis Groupé experts in marketing, communications, management and technology. They will also receive funding in the form of an investment ranging from 10,000 Euros for projects about to be launched to 500,000 Euros for startups that are already ramping up. As for selected projects submitted by Publicis Groupé employees, they will have the benefit of a special internal incubation scheme.
The holders of the 90 selected projects will be invited to participate to Viva Technology Paris, the first forum in France to bring together the people who matter most in digital throughout the world with over 5,000 startups. This event, created by Publicis Groupé and Groupé Les Echos – will be held from June 30 to July 2, 2016 at the Paris Expo Exhibition Centre at Porte de Versailles. The 90 selected projects will be honored at an awards ceremony held during Viva Technology Paris.
