Global agency group Publicis has seen its organic growth rise by 5.3% in the first quarter, registering what it calls a ‘solid performance’ across all of its operational regions.
CEO and chairman Arthur Sadoun credited a series of factors for the upbeat figures, driven primarily by the group’s ability to “capture a disproportionate part of the increasing demand for data-led marketing transformation driven by AI” as the industry adapts to a rapidly advancing cookieless future.
Sadoun also singled out “continued new business tailwinds” and a “clear rebound in the tech sector” as major contributing factors to the firm’s consistently strong performance.
Despite the overall positive spin, Publicis has struggle to experience meaningful growth within its digital business consultancy work led by Publicis Sapient, which has stumbled to 1.1% growth due to a “slowdown in client speed”.
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Re-iterating its forecast for the year ahead, the group is still expecting to see the organic growth of between 4% to 5% that it initially predicted after its 2023 full year results were released.
This is in marked contrast to British rival holding group WPP, which expects to experience a much more complicated 2024, predicting growth of in between 0 and 1%.
Regionally, Publicis experienced strong growth across its home European market (6%), and similar figures (5%) US driven by data and media; notably it experienced its strongest regional growth on the Chinese market at 7%.
Exuding clear optimism, Sadoun added that Publicis has “extracted itself from the pack” with the Paris-based outfit now expected to register its eighth consecutive quarter of growth.
