overview

landmarks

     overview

Paris-based Publicis is one of the 'big six' advertising and media services conglomerates.

Its activities include creative advertising, media and campaign planning, public relations and marketing. The group operates in Europe,Asia, the Americas and other parts of the world through through two networks - Saatchi & Saatchi (acquired in 2000) and Publicis Worldwide - and standalone units such as Nelson Communications. It boasts 170 offices in over 100 countries, with around 38,000 employees.

Japanese print and advertising group Dentsu has a substantial stake (15% as of May 2002) in Publicis.

The group dates from 1926, when Publicis was founded in Paris by Marcel Bleustein as a print advertising agency. It expanded into radio advertising (including operation of France's first commercial station prior to 1939) and operation of a chain of cinemas. After 1946 it expanded into the UK and Germany before buying existing advertising groups based in the US and creating new groups.

In March 2002 Publicis, Bcom3 and Dentsu announced agreement about merger of Publicis and Bcom3 (in practice a US$3 billion takeover by Paris) to create the world's fourth largest advertising group in the world. A "strategic, long-term partnership" between Dentsu (which had held 21% of Bcom3) and Publicis was announced at that time.

Bcom3 encompassed Leo Burnett, D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, Manning Selvage & Lee, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and Starcom MediaVest.

The expectation was that the expanded group would gain 49% of its US$4 billion revenues from North America, 37% from Europe and 14% from Japan and the rest of the world. It would be the largest advertising group in Europe and third largest in the US.

     holdings

This list is indicative only.

Publicis
Bcom3
Burrell Communications Group
Fallon Worldwide
Frankel & Co
Nelson Communications
Publicis Worldwide
Publicis & Hal Riney
Saatchi & Saatchi
Leo Burnett
D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles
Manning Selvage & Lee
Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Starcom MediaVest
Zenith Optimedia Group (75% held by Publicis, 25% held by Cordiant)
Medicus Group
Publicis Consultants
Publicis Dialog
Burrell, Conill
Publicis Sanchez & Levitan
Bromley Communications
Lapiz
New-A
Vigilante
Pangea
Relay
Publicis Prakit
Publicis-Basic (Philippines)
Publicis-Eureka (Singapore)
Mojo Partners
Publicis Capurro
Publicis Unitros
Hal Riney
Evans Group
Publicis Technology
Casadevall-Pedren
Publicis Welcomm (South Korea)
Publicis Ad-link (China)
Publicis Zen
Publicis AMA
Publicis CB
Publi-graphics
Publicis Dialog New York
Gramercy Group
Lobsenz/Stevens

     memoirs and studies

For the Saatchi brothers and their agencies see Ivan Fallon's The Brothers: The Saatchi & Saatchi Story (Chicago: Contemporary 1989), Kevin Goldman's Conflicting Accounts: The Creation and Crash of the Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Empire (New York: Simon & Schuster 1997), Philip Kleinman's The Saatchi and Saatchi story (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1989) and Alison Fendley's Saatchi & Saatchi: The Inside Story (New York: Arcade 1996).

There's a mordant account of Charles as art patron in Supercollector: A Critique of Charles Saatchi, (London: Ellipsis 2000) by Rita Hatton & John Walker.

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