Media Buying Briefing: How Publicis is winning and keeping clients, even as competitors cry foul

"The French holding company invested in data, ad-tech, mar-tech and other acquisitions that have rounded out its offerings (Mars United Commerce and Profitero for commerce media, Lotame and Epsilon for data, Influential and Captiv8 for the burgeoning creator economy, and Adopt for sports marketing). Its quarterly and annual earnings are the envy of any agency, holdco or indie, as it consistently keeps margins in the upper teens and shows steady organic growth - alongside a healthy stock price."

"It's all resulted in the amassing of a string of client wins that are the envy of their competitors - landing the likes of Coca Cola, Paramount, Mars, Hershey, Pfizer and, famously, parts of Disney's business back in 2019, which set off the start of its climb back from a moribund second decade of this millennium. As recently as June, Adweek ran a lengthy piece celebrating the holdco's successes, with only a glancing reference to "undercutting on fees.""

"That's the thing, though, it's not that simple. After speaking with analysts, consultants, rival agencies (the latter of which all spoke on condition of anonymity), a picture becomes clear of Publicis using a variety of tools to beat its competitors to winning clients or luring them away. Rivals point especially to client-friendly payment terms of 180 days, which three holding company rivals say they would never offer - nor could they afford to. And analysts confirmed that 180 days is highly unusual and rarely used."

Publicis invested in data, ad-tech, mar-tech and acquisitions including Mars United Commerce, Profitero, Lotame, Epsilon, Influential, Captiv8 and Adopt to expand offerings. Quarterly and annual earnings consistently show upper-teens margins, steady organic growth and a healthy stock price. Publicis secured major clients such as Coca‑Cola, Paramount, Mars, Hershey, Pfizer and parts of Disney. Rivals and analysts report that Publicis uses aggressive competitive tactics, including highly unusual 180-day client payment terms. Competitors say Publicis offered deal sweeteners like a free Super Bowl ad and fee-free FTE resources to win consolidated accounts, prompting concerns about pitching norms.

Read at Digiday