• Adweek, Monday, February 16, 2009 12:45 PM

In a Q&A session, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy discusses how he plans to win market share this year and his agency's acquisition strategy for 2009. Publicis has $3.6 billion available for potential deals.

"We'll do a moderate level of acquisitions this year, including digital assets in all markets and opportunities in emerging markets," says Levy. "We're only looking for good opportunities that carry a fair price. People think we're on a buying spree, so we're obviously turning down a lot." Larger acquisitions are not at the top of the list, he notes. "If we see an acquisition of a decent size, we'll look at it -- but we're buying very cautiously."

He plans to gain market share in two ways: First, "by giving advertisers new, bold ideas and the imagination to connect and reach consumers." Second, "we offer our VivaKi Nerve Center, which is integrating new technology across the board and working closely with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL."

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