• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, July 15, 2021

Publicis Groupe is moving deep into retail media, announcing the acquisition this morning of CitrusAd, a SaaS platform that optimizes advertising for brands directly within retailer websites.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but CitrusAd is an Australian-based company founded in 2017 and has a team of 130 engineers and retail media experts.

Publicis said it will operate as a freestanding business within its Epsilon division.

The companies said more than 50% of CitrusAd’s activity is in the U.S. marketplace, and that it currently has a footprint across 22 countries.