Publicis and Google will be ‘thought leaders’ says L赹

Maurice%20Levy%2C%20PublicisThe future of advertising is digital and the industry needs to stop “hanging on to old models”, says Publicis chairman and chief executive Maurice Lévy.

In an exclusive interview with Marketing Week, Lévy says that Publicis’ agreement to combine its expertise with search-engine giant Google will make the network a “thought leader”, and represents the open and collaborative attitude to digital that the industry should adopt.

He did not reveal any details about the deal announced last week – which is seen as a way for the French advertising giant to drive online revenue – but adds: “Hanging on to old models is ridiculous. The direction everything is going in is digital. It’s what consumers need and want, so we have to revisit models to account for this, not protect outdated models.”

Lévy says the deal provides Publicis with knowledge that will help it to serve clients more efficiently, and considerably boost its technology credentials. He further adds that privacy is important to Publicis. Access to Google’s targeted data will help Publicis to focus advertising on the right audiences and not “hound people”, says Lévy.

He says that no one can stop the march of Google and that “Publicis gets much more from working with Google”.

Publicis and Google have been working together for over a year. On January 22, Publicis announced that the two companies are working together to develop technology to improve internet advertising. Google has set up a Publicis account team, and the agreement also includes the placement of staff to each others’ organisations.

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