Latest news with #PublicisGroupe
Independent Singapore
5 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Outgoing WPP CEO says AI is ‘disrupting' the advertising industry and will soon make the world's expertise available to everybody at low cost
INTERNATIONAL: Artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked debate over its impact on jobs, and while experts say AI can't replace humans in the workforce , WPP's outgoing CEO Mark Read said it is 'totally disrupting' the advertising industry and 'unnerving' investors, CNBC Make It reported. Tools like OpenAI's DALL-E, Google's Veo, and Midjourney can now create images and video content in seconds. 'AI is going to make all the world's expertise available to everybody at extremely low cost,' Mr Read said, noting that the best lawyers, psychologists, radiologists, accountants, and advertising creatives may soon be driven by AI. Mr Read said during London Tech Week that around 50,000 WPP staff are now using WPP Open, the company's AI-driven marketing platform, adding that this is his 'legacy' in many ways. He said that as AI impacts the creative parts of ad businesses, it has driven industry consolidation. He noted that companies will need to adapt to how AI is changing everything, from creating briefs and media plans to running ad campaigns. See also Facebook says to block foreign state media ads for US election French advertising giant Publicis Groupe's CEO, Maurice Lévy, echoed this, saying the industry is undergoing a 'huge transformation' due to the disruptive effects of AI. He noted that image and video generation has sped up content production, while automated messaging systems now make personalisation much easier. However, Mr Lévy noted that users should not believe 'AI is more than a tool.' While he believes AI will 'destroy some jobs,' he said AI will 'transform jobs and will create more jobs'—the same impact the internet and smartphones brought before. Still, analyst Nicole Denman Greene from Gartner warned that people may not trust brands that rely too much on AI, as a Gartner survey last year found that 82% of consumers want companies using generative AI to preserve jobs, even if it means earning less profit. Ms Greene said advertisers should shift their focus from what AI can do to what it should do. This includes creating groundbreaking insights, reaching diverse and niche audiences, helping brands stand out, and delivering more personalised experiences to consumers. In Singapore, four in 10 businesses have adopted AI across various areas, including advertising, marketing, customer service, operations and logistics, product management, and workforce management. /TISG Read also: Nvidia CEO says that if he were a student today, he would learn AI to have a successful career Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Brands Are Spending More on Influencer Marketing -Should You Be Doing the Same?
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. Influencer marketing budgets are growing, as more and more brands look to tap into the popularity of online creators to boost their branding efforts. Because these days, big-name YouTubers and TikTok stars are just as recognizable as TV and film actors, while there are also many niche-specific influencers offering more specialized reach, as well as platform-specific creative nous, which can help to drive your messaging with just the right audience. Indeed, according to a recent report from Statista, the global influencer marketing industry is expected to grow 36% between 2024 and 2025, reaching close to $33 billion in total. That shift is being largely driven by big-name brands, who are now re-aligning their budgets to follow the lead of emerging online stars like MrBeast. As reported by Bloomberg: 'Unilever PLC's recently appointed CEO, Fernando Fernandez, said he would hire 20 times more influencers as part of a social-first marketing strategy because consumers are 'suspicious' of corporate branding […] within the last year, Publicis Groupe SA bought Influential, the largest influencer marketing company in the world by revenue, and BR Media Group, a leader in Latin America that works with 80 percent of the region's biggest influencers.' These shifts underline the value of online influencers, who are now seen as your best bet for reaching the next generation of digital native audiences, who've never lived in a world where YouTube didn't exist, and they didn't have full control over their content intake. That's a significant consideration, while as noted, the added value here is that these creators know what works on each platform, and how to frame brand messages in a more audience-friendly way. As such, partnering with the right influencers can significantly boost your brand promotion efforts, and help to align your content with a broader audience, particularly those in younger age groups. Because while you may not understand the latest online trends, these creators are often leading those shifts, and can help to integrate your promotions with such. Influencer marketing shouldn't be a side note anymore, it should be a key discussion point among your marketing team, with a view to aligning with the right voices to help boost your brand. That doesn't mean that every brand will be able to afford to work with the top influencers in their niche, nor that every business should be investing a significant portion of their marketing budget in this element. But it should at least be a discussion, in order to ensure that you're aligning with the latest content trends and shifts. The big-name brands are spending on these influencers for a reason, which is worth noting for your marketing efforts. You can review potential brand influencers on Meta's Creator Marketplace, TikTok's Creator Marketplace, and Snapchat's Lens Creator Directory, among others. Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
Campaign ME
13-06-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Network of the Year (Middle East and Africa) 2024
Saatchi & Saatchi's Middle East network took the top spot for Network of the Year (Middle East and Africa) 2024 as a Silver winner at this year's Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards. The network posted a notable 32 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024, underpinned by a disciplined return to fundamentals and a focus on integration. The Publicis Groupe's network's 'Power of One' model – connecting strategy, creative, and execution under a single point of contact – has become a core part of its pitch and delivery. Its Dubai, Riyadh and Doha offices showed steady progress and consistent creative performance – account wins in 2024 included Pfizer, Subway and Amazon. Internally, the agency reports 89 per cent employee retention – a rate that suggests its culture efforts are resonating, including learning and development initiatives focused on upskilling across creative, strategic, and technical disciplines such as AI tools aligning staff development with evolving client needs. It launched new AI-powered service offerings for clients, as well as PubCubs – offering aspiring talent the opportunity to experience the ad industry by supporting teams and contributing to client work. Bronze: TBWA (South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates) Spanning the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, TBWA's 1,000-plus employees, referred to as 'Pirates' grew revenue at double-digit rates, and welcomed almost 50 new clients aboard. Its work included honouring the late South African hip-hop icon Riky Rick, with TBWA\South Africa by turning his final social media posts into 'Stronger', a song created with AI to amplify his words; a high-fashion collaboration with 50 global luxury brands that elevated Istanbul's Beymen luxury department store brand; and a 120-metre CGI Nissan billboard lighting up Dubai's busiest highway, which hit five million views in 24 hours. This content was first published on Campaign UK.
Campaign ME
12-06-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Do you need Albert Einstein on your creative team?
Artificial intelligence has become a powerful force in the advertising world. It can analyse massive datasets, predict consumer behaviour, optimise ad placements and even generate copy or visuals. In short, AI has a high IQ — some estimates place ChatGPT's verbal IQ as high as 155, putting it in the top 0.1 per cent of human test-takers. But in an industry where emotion drives action, one question looms large: Can AI truly understand and create with emotional intelligence? Creative core of advertising At its heart, advertising is not just about selling — it's about connecting. The most memorable campaigns don't just inform; they move people. Think of Publicis Groupe's Working with Cancer (2023), a global initiative that encouraged companies to support employees battling cancer. Or Cars to Work which helped job seekers in France by offering free cars until they secured employment. And then there's WoMen's Football, which cleverly challenged gender bias in sports by disguising female athletes as male football stars — only to reveal the truth and flip perceptions. These campaigns didn't win awards because of clever algorithms or media spend — they won because they tapped into human emotion, cultural relevance, and authentic storytelling. This is where EQ comes in. Why EQ matters in creative work In emotionally intelligent advertising, empathy plays a foundational role — it's about truly understanding the audience's feelings, struggles, and aspirations, not just targeting demographics. This deep emotional insight allows brands to craft messages that resonate on a personal level. Equally important is cultural sensitivity, which ensures that campaigns navigate diverse values, humour, and taboos with respect and relevance, avoiding missteps that can alienate or offend. Emotional timing is another subtle yet powerful element; knowing when to inspire, when to comfort, and when to provoke can make the difference between a forgettable ad and one that sparks a movement. And above all, authenticity is what binds it all together — creating messages that feel genuine, not robotic, and that reflect the brand's true voice and values. Visa's recent 'Walla Visa' campaign in Egypt is a perfect example. Built around the everyday phrase 'cash walla Visa?'—a colloquial way merchants ask customers if they're paying by card — the campaign turned a cultural habit into a platform for empowerment. It resonated because it was rooted in local language, everyday behaviour, and a genuine understanding of how people live and transact. It's a campaign powered not by data alone, but by listening, empathy, and cultural fluency — hallmarks of emotional intelligence in action. AI's role: Assistant, not auteur AI is a powerful tool for generating ideas, refining content, and optimising performance — it can test headlines, suggest visuals, personalise messaging, and even predict emotional responses. But what it gains in efficiency, it lacks in lived experience. The heart of a great ad often lies in vulnerability, humour, or insight — qualities only humans truly bring to the table. Risk of emotionless creativity When brands rely too heavily on AI without human oversight, the results can feel generic or tone-deaf. We've already seen examples of AI-generated ads that miss cultural context or unintentionally offend. In a world saturated with content, blandness is the enemy. Even our interactions with AI reveal how deeply emotional intelligence is wired into human behavior. OpenAI's CEO recently shared that users saying 'please' and 'thank you' to ChatGPT has cost the company tens of millions of dollars in extra processing. It's a quirky but telling reminder: people instinctively bring empathy and etiquette into every exchange—even with machines. That's not just politeness; it's emotional intelligence in action. EQ is the soul of creativity AI may have a high IQ, but in advertising, EQ is the soul. It's what turns a message into a movement, a product into a purpose, and a brand into a beloved part of someone's life. Letting AI take the lead on creativity is a bit like hiring Albert Einstein to run your creative department — undeniably brilliant, but not exactly known for his emotional finesse, collaborative spirit, or brand storytelling chops. Genius? Absolutely. But also famously absent-minded, socially awkward, and not particularly tuned in to the subtleties of human emotion. Creativity, especially in advertising, isn't just about being smart—it's about being felt. And for that, you need more than IQ. You need heart. By Nicolas Geahchan, Senior Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi MEA
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MERGE Continues Growth Trajectory with Strategic Additions to Leadership
CHICAGO, June 11, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MERGE, a leading marketing and technology agency, announces two strategic hires to strengthen and further accelerate its mission of integrated growth and innovation. Heidi West steps into the role of Chief Revenue Officer, and John Bracey joins MERGE as Chief Data and Performance Officer. These accomplished executives bring decades of experience and expertise, fortifying the agency's leadership team as it continues to expand at the intersection of health and wellness. Heidi West, MERGE's new Chief Revenue Officer, offers over 30 years of exceptional sales leadership and a history of delivering impactful technology solutions across healthcare, including at CommonSpirit Health, Englewood Health, Mount Sinai Health System, Stanford Health Care, and other diverse industries. Most recently leading the healthcare team at Zoom, West has held sales and leadership roles at Cisco, Nutanix, and Booz Allen. "I am incredibly excited to join MERGE at such a pivotal time," said West. "I look forward to leveraging my experience in healthcare and technology to help MERGE bridge the gap between health and consumer verticals. By focusing on improving patient engagement and experience, we can deliver trusted, relatable solutions guided by AI and data-driven strategies for our clients and their audiences." West's background in healthcare and executive engagement, combined with her talent for building high-performing sales teams aligned with strategic goals, makes her an invaluable catalyst for strategic growth. Commenting on this significant leadership addition, Stephanie Trunzo, MERGE CEO, remarked, "While leading Oracle Health, I met Heidi in her role driving the health business at Zoom. Her extensive experience in the health industry, coupled with her strategic sales expertise and sincere approach will catalyze the outcome-oriented momentum of our client service and business development teams." Beyond her professional achievements, West is a passionate advocate for women in technology and STE(A)M initiatives. John Bracey, a visionary in data science and analytics, brings an impressive track record of transforming global brands into organizations driven by insight. Formerly EVP at Publicis Groupe, Bracey spearheaded data-driven transformation initiatives across a number of Publicis Groupe's largest consumer and healthcare brands. "My expertise lies where data science and strategy meet. I'm passionate about helping brands maximize the value of their data and media investments, whether by engineering insight or architecting performance," said Bracey. "Across industries, I've seen that an audience-first approach consistently drives better insights and stronger outcomes. At MERGE, I look forward to continuing this work, turning complex data into automated, actionable solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes." "John's ability to harness data to transform businesses will substantively enhance how we deliver personalized, meaningful solutions that unite people and brands. These data-smart offerings will be the electricity that runs through creative and tech implementations to identify, optimize, and predictively model impact. We're incredibly excited about the amplified innovation he will bring to MERGE," said Trunzo. The West and Bracey appointments further accelerate MERGE's strategic leadership expansion, building on the other significant executive announcements this year beginning with Stephanie Trunzo's announcement as CEO, and including Erica Denner (Chief People Officer), Kyle Smith (CTO), Paul Buranosky (CMO), and Chris Esposito (CFO). About MERGE MERGE is a marketing and technology agency built for the intersection of health and wellness. We combine deep expertise in health and consumer behavior with strategy, creativity, experience technology, and digital marketing to design personalized experiences that drive meaningful results. Powered by human insight, creativity, and AI, we weave storytelling through technology to turn complexity into clarity — strengthening relationships between people and brands. With 750+ specialists across Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, and Raleigh, MERGE partners with leading brands like Abbott, GE Healthcare, American Express, T-Mobile, Coach, and Meta to advance health, wellness, and happiness. Learn more at View source version on Contacts Mary Josephmjoseph@
