• by Larissa Faw , December 28, 2015

The Publicis Groupe has always been French to its core, and now the holding company is celebrating its roots with a global event in Paris next summer. It will bring together many of the major players involved in the digital transformation including tens of thousands of senior business and marketing executives, investors, academics and opinion leaders. 

The event, Viva Technology Startup Connect Paris 2016, is designed to "solidify France's role in the world of innovation and start-ups," the holding company said. Another objective is to facilitate collaborations between larger businesses and emerging start-ups.

The gathering will convene June 30 to July 2. The program is spearheaded by Publicis Worldwide France CEO Axel Dauchez.  

In addition to Publicis Groupe, the primary partners backing the event are AXA, BNP Paribas, EY, Google and Orange. The event is also supported by the Groupe Les Echos, the leading economic information media source in France.  

Participants can sign up in mid-January on a dedicated Web site and in March, a digital platform will launch that is designed to foster collaboration and encourage partnerships among the attendees.  

"We are entering a new era where a new ecosystem of collaboration between big corporations, startups, VC’s and academics must emerge," the holding company stated. "On the one hand, big companies today are going through their own digital transformation and must connect with startups in order to accelerate their transformation. On the other hand, startups must engage in commercial relations with big companies to accelerate their growth. Our biggest challenge is to succeed at bringing them together to collaborate during the event."  

The conference and exhibition will be divided into three core areas. “Hack” will include 20 specialized labs to serve as meeting hubs for participants. “Imagine” is a dedicated conference area that will host over 200 events including 24 sessions based on the theme of "Technology and Business: the new corporate paradigm." 

Another 180 sessions will discuss how major sectors of the economy are evolving in today's landscape. 

The so-called “Experience” section will demonstrate how new technologies are contributing to today's culture, with more than 50 creative firms presenting their latest innovations, including next-generation drones and WiFi connected objects.  

The last day of the conference will be open to the public.  

Agency executives foresee this event as an annual exhibit, with Paris as the primary host. They say global expansion is possible in the future.  

The company hopes that Viva Technology will promote the growing momentum around start-ups in Paris to an international audience. There is more happening in Paris than people outside of Paris are aware, say company executives, who add that by bringing the world’s key players in digital transformation to Paris, growth and entrepreneurship in France will be accelerated.