
Publicis Groupe
CEO Arthur Sadoun dismisses the notion that the Groupe's $4 billion acquisition of data provider Epsilon was critical to remaining competitive within Adland's ever-shifting landscape, but he admits
that this deal "accelerates" the business model Publicis has been developing.
Creativity, technology and media have been the center of the Groupe's assets, and Epsilon helps provides
them "at scale," he explains.
“Our model was already working to win new business and help existing clients, but Epsilon will enable us to better scale these services to clients at
competitive prices,” he says. “Epsilon completes our sets of assets harmoniously, with data capabilities that are second to none.”
Epsilon's advantages are threefold, says
Sadoun. For one, the Groupe can flesh out its first-party data -- particularly among the retail landscape with its "multiple touchpoints." Second, the Groupe's additional data sets are "enriched" with
Epsilon's information to help link more than 7,000 attributes.
These connections will be particularly advantageous to automotive, financial and retail clients, he says. In addition, Epsilon
delivers the numbers in aggregation. This activates personalized intelligence at scale, Sadoun says.
Sadoun has spent most of his time "before and since" signing the deal on integrating the
data provider into the core Groupe. “When you buy assets, talent acquisition is a huge benefit,” says Sadoun. For now, current Epsilon CEO Bryan Kennedy will join the Groupe Executive
Committee and report directly to Arthur Sadoun. There is a lot of "chemistry" between the two teams, he says. "There have been lots and lots of meetings."
Epsilon will be integrated into
every aspect of the Groupe, sitting alongside the Publicis PeopleCloud platform to fuel every operation. One particular opportunity is within Publicis Media to build consumer IDs, segment audiences
and maximize media-buying ROI.
"My first priority and focus is with current clients," he says about leveraging Epsilon's benefits.
"Clients have been very welcoming," he says. They are
all "under pressure" with business challenges ranging from walled gardens to privacy concerns. "They expect clear, simple solutions," he explains, adding that the new acquisition will help them "take
back control of their customer relationships."