• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, June 26, 2014

Publicis Groupe unveiled a new specialty agency Thursday called Roar that is comprised of talent selected from across the digital firms within the holding company.

Sean Reardon has been appointed president of the new shop which will focus on strategy, creative, user experience, media and analytics. Reardon, former president of strategy of Publicis Groupe media shop Zenith, will report to both Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Vivaki and Tim Jones, Chairman and CEO ZenithOptimedia North America. Jones is also chairman of Performics Worldwide.

“Roar has been created to meet specific client needs while delivering the alchemy that comes with combining insight, emotion and technology to transform the business of our clients,” said Tobaccowala.

Roar’s leadership team also includes Madeleine Friend, EVP, Lead Across Digital Activities and Head of Client Service and Eric Pisick, EVP, Media.

The new shop is based in New York with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, London and Hong Kong. The Initial client is JPMorgan Chase; others are being pursued.

Prior to leading strategy at ZO, Reardon was EVP strategy at Liquid, an internal consultancy at Zenith Media designed to help the agency hone its communication planning practice. Earlier, he held roles at Publicis & Hal Riney, Goodby Silverstein & Partners and AKQA.

Commenting on Reardon’s appointment, Jones said, “We wanted a leader with multidiscipline experience and strategic chops capable of leading us into the future. Sean more than fits the bill.”