Dive Brief:
- Publicis Groupe posted 5.8% organic overall growth in 2024, the holding company reported. In Q4, Publicis Groupe delivered 6.3% organic growth overall and €3.9 billion ($4 billion) in net revenues.
- For the year, net revenue totaled just under €14 billion ($14.5 billion) up 6.6%, making the ad holding group “the largest advertising company in the world in 2024,” per Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun.
- The executive remains confident in the holding company’s ability to outperform in 2025, a year that is poised for dramatic change if Omnicom’s proposed acquisition of IPG goes through while uncertainty remains at the macroeconomic level.
Dive Insight:
Publicis has been growing and Sadoun seems confident that it will continue to do so. By region, Publicis posted 4.9% growth in the U.S. for 2024, 5.4% in Europe and 6.3% in Asia Pacific. In Q4, the U.S. was up 5.6% organically; Europe was up 6.5%, Asia Pacific was up 5%; Middle East and Africa was up 4.7%; and Latin America was up 30.3%.
However, Sadoun also called out the potential for the landscape to change drastically in 2025 if Omnicom’s proposed acquisition of IPG takes place.
“In terms of industry dynamics, the new Omnicom will roughly match Martin Sorrell’s WPP in terms of size and value, meaning an industry leader with over $20 billion in revenue and market cap,” Sadoun said in a call with analysts.
Numbers like that would also put Publicis back into the challenger position, which isn’t necessarily a bad development, Sadoun said.
“Being in the challenger seats pushed us to be bold and disrupt our industry. So getting back would actually suit us extremely well,” Sadoun said.
On the plus side, the Omnicom-IPG deal would consolidate the industry in a way that could provide opportunities for Publicis, per Sadoun. For example, Omnicom would have only one seat at the table for new business once the deal goes through, he noted. The merger could also lead to significant job cuts that would put talent into the job market.
Publicis continues to position itself for growth, including via $12 billion spent on data tech and AI capabilities. In 2025, the company has no plans to slow down and will invest to build areas such as first-party data, production, digital media and technology, Sadoun said.
The ad holding group has also been growing via acquisitions. Late last month, Publicis Groupe’s U.S. media arm acquired performance-focused digital marketing agency Dysrupt. In 2024, the ad holding group acquired influencer marketing firm Influential and commerce marketing specialist Mars United Commerce.
On the back of its investments, Publicis has also won some notable accounts in recent months, including, on the media side, The Hershey Company in the U.S. and The Lego Group globally.
