- Publicis Groupe has acquired commerce marketing firm Mars United Commerce as a part of its efforts to offer full-funnel marketing services, according to a press release. Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed but The Wall Street Journal reported the deal’s value is around $600 million.
- Mars United Commerce, formerly The Mars Agency, is the world’s largest independent commerce marketing company, providing retail consulting services, commerce media expertise and shopper intelligence to greater than 100 top brands. The 52-year-old agency employs greater than 1,000 people globally.
- The deal extends Publicis’ strategy of expanding its marketing services resources through acquisition. In July, the group purchased Influential, the world’s largest influencer marketing company.
Knowing how to influence consumer behavior in any respect points along the acquisition path is critically essential as media fragmentation and challenges around data management and activation intensify. Through the Mars United acquisition, Publicis Groupe says it should have the ability to improve its end-to-end commerce marketing through higher strategy and insights, more efficient media and superior measurement. Mars United has offices in cities including New York, London and Toronto and has worked with clients including Samsung, Walmart and Conagra Brands.
Publicis plans to mix Mars United’s expertise with its existing resources. For instance, Epsilon’s first-person identity data, when combined with Mars United’s proprietary shopper data, goals to provide a greater view into the acquisition journey and create more opportunities for behavioral change in consumers. Publicis bought data-marketing division Epsilon for nearly $4 billion in 2019 and the unit has turn into a very important piece of its growth narrative.
Similarly, Publicis Media’s scale, combined with Mars United’s understanding of retail organization, will provide richer insights for clients to “win the last mile of purchase,” according to the announcement. Finally, merging the e-commerce sales and operations data collected by Publicis’s Profitero with Mars United’s own information will create deeper understanding of their commerce marketing performance, each online and offline. Software provider Profitero is one other Publicis acquisition, from 2022.
“With the acquisition of Influential this summer, and now Mars, Publicis is uniquely positioned to help our clients understand each existing consumers and future prospects, and connect that knowledge at a person level to the brand new media channels that work hardest for his or her business: connected TV, commerce and creators,” said Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun, in a press release.
In July, Publicis Groupe announced it will purchase Influential, which operates a network of greater than 3.5 million creators (including 90% of the worldwide influencers who’ve 1 million followers or more) for an estimated $500 million. The holding company has also racked up some large media assignments of late, including media duties for The Hershey Company within the U.S. and for The Lego Group globally. Publicis also won more duties from Pfizer, which had been previously split with Interpublic Group.
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