If 2015 was about moving from a Holding Company structure to a Connected Network, 2017 is going to be about focusing on becoming a platform for the Publicis Groupe. On the sidelines of the ongoing Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Publicis Groupe’s Chairman & CEO, Arthur Sadoun has informed that the Groupe would be diverting all promotional spends to the creation of a new artificial intelligence (AI) powered platform.
All the Groupe agencies that includes Starcom, Zenith, MediaVest|Spark, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and its digital companies is going to sit out all industry events from now to September 2018. This will include global events such as CES and Cannes Lions, and regional events such as Effie Awards, Dubai Lynx and the likes. The Groupe’s employees would not be even attending these Festivals as delegates.
Publicis Groupe is making no bones of the fact that the move is due to cost implications, and that it would like to channel all its funds to the new platform.
Mr Sadoun said that this is the next step of The Power of One. “Marcel is another milestone in our ambition to become a platform at the service of our clients. Make no mistake, it is an operational transformation. We are one of the last industries that has yet to unleash the power of every individual thanks to technology. It’s time to draw a line in the sand for our people,” he explained.
After the acquisition of Sapient and adopting a solution hubs structure, Publicis Groupe wants to builds the platform of the future, that it has named after its Founder – Marcel. Marcel will be the first-ever professional assistant platform powered by AI and machine learning that connects 80,000 employees across 200 disciplines in 130 countries. Marcel draws on the predictive nature of AI to identify opportunities, anticipate clients’ needs, connect people, and unleash creativity while harnessing the power of the Groupe’s data spine to drive business solutions.
Marcel’s features are inspired by the results of Publicis Groupe’s global talent survey conducted in 2017, revealing authentic insight about how the people within our company want to work in the future.
Marcel will give Publicis Groupe opportunities to connect skillsets — designers with data scientists, robotics with retail specialists, consultants with creators, all at the service of its clients.
In June 2018, Publicis Groupe plans to launch Marcel exclusively at Viva Technology in Paris.
“We are applying the strategy we recommend to our clients to ourselves – future-proof your business by delivering valued experiences to your clients, your partners and especially your employees. With Marcel, every person that works at Publicis will come face to face with their best work,” added Carla Serrano, Chief Strategy Officer.
“Marcel is a platform for talent and creativity without borders. It unleashes the collective creative firepower of the Groupe, and is a springboard for the infinite potential of ideas,” commented Mark Tutssel, Creative Chairman of Publicis Communications.
