Publicis launches group digital operation

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 25-Jun-08, 12:00

LONDON - Publicis Groupe is launching a new digital division named Vivaki, headed by Jack Klues and David Kenny, which will take advantage of the scale and knowledge of group agencies including Digitas, Starcom MediaVest and ZenithOptimedia to develop new services for clients.

Kenny, head of Digitas, and Klues, chairman of Publicis Groupe Media, have taken on the roles of managing partners of Vivaki. As Kenny takes on his Vivaki role, Laura Lang, head of Digitas US, has been promoted to chief executive of Digitas to replace him.

Publicis is hoping that through Vivaki it will be able to make digital central to all of Publicis' operations.

While Digitas, Starcom MediaVest, Denuo and ZenithOptimedia will continue to run independently from VivaKi, the new venture will use the resources of those agencies to create new technologies that all Publicis shops can access.

Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, said: "The explosion of digital over the last ten years has led to a revolution without precedent in economic history -- in terms of the incredible speed of change, its geographical reach and its depth (the world today has at least 1.7bn internet users).

"We are today taking a decisive and transformational step by profoundly modifying the group's organisation, by redirecting investments toward digital and by instituting a significant change in our professional approach.

"In reinforcing our leadership in these new areas, we fully intend to benefit from the surge in this sector's growth and to win substantial new market share."

The name Vivaki is derived from the word "viva" which means life, and "ki" (or Qi) which is often translated as energy flow.

According to Levy, Publicis sought a name that signified a new frontier.

Klues said: "Starcom MediaVest Groupe, ZenithOptimedia and Digitas will take what they need from Vivaki to strengthen their existing operations."

As part of the launch of Vivaki, Publicis Groupe has also announced the creation of a new technology platform that it says will deliver the largest on-demand audience network in the digital advertising industry.

The audience on-demand network will build on Microsoft, Google, Yahoo! and AOL's Platform-A tools to allow clients to connect with a targeted global audiences -- e.g. mothers, travellers, dog owners -- in a single campaign across multiple networks.

To date, agencies and clients have had to work through a highly fragmented media environment of ad networks, exchanges and direct publisher relationships.

Kenny said: "We don't believe that digital media companies are aiming to disintermediate, we believe they are providing the industry with the technology to help us plan and execute campaigns more efficiently.

"Our intention is to provide access to an audience of this scale through a single point of entry, with optimized pricing," said Kenny.