• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 2, 2008

Publicis Groupe

One Primo Puppy

Most of Madison Avenue talked a good digital game in 2007, but it was Publicis Groupe that moved the most significant pieces. It has built the most well-positioned agency holding company in the increasingly crowded field of interactive marketing services.

Publicis was always fairly well centered in the digital space with strong interactive media services inside its flagship agencies and media networks. Starcom's digital team and ZenithOptimedia's Moxie Interactive, have long paved a path on the new media front, and the formation of Denuo, a best-of-breed consulting, media and marketing services boutique comprised of the industry's top thinkers (CEO Rishad Tobaccowala, president Nick Pahade and a team including Tim Hanlon, Scott Witt and others) helped keep Publicis and its clients one digital step ahead.

But Publicis' $1.3 billion acquisition of Digitas - arguably the best of the big pure-play interactive shops - truly transformed the Paris-based agency holding company, and helped trigger a buying frenzy for other interactive advertising services as others sought to catch up. Publicis chief Maurice Lévy began rethinking the most fundamental aspects of Publicis' core. That led to a restructuring of its venerable Leo Burnett agency unit into an "open architecture" organization aligned with Digitas, Denuo and SMG under a new "Insight Factory" team reporting to Publicis Groupe Media chief and former Leo Burnett media honcho Jack Klues.

The move was one of the boldest in a series of agency integrations during 2007 that indicated the best way to teach old dogs some digital tricks is to let their media tails do the wagging.