Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
You are reading the second part of the interview with Miša Lukić, one of five CEOs of Publicis One in the world. In this part, Miša talks about the idea of Maurice Levy that led him to the concept of Publicis One, what the benefits of this concept are for agencies and their clients, the excellent results in the first year, and why this was the most challenging year in his professional career.
Media Marketing: What is Publicis One? What does Mr. Levy want to achieve with this reorganization of the holding company?
Miša Lukić: Publicis One is the latest agency model within the Publicis Groupe, but also in the whole world, which brings together all agency brands under one roof. This model primarily changes and upsets the traditional industrial model of silos. Publicis One offers its clients in each country a whole range of expertise, from strategic consulting services, through creative, media, digital, PR, and all other services and specialties within the Publicis Groupe, and all this with the guarantee of optimal global and local coordination, respecting the stringent rules of confidentiality. In this model, all agency brands continue to exist, but share the operational framework, which gives them the strength and expertise of all the combined solutions within the Publicis Groupe, in order to deliver the scale required to compete and win in the new conditions of the new global market.
Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, who is the chief architect of the Publicis One concept, explained why this reorganization at the level of the whole group was made in the first place, and why he believes that Publicis One is the best way forward:
“Our clients are faced with a constantly changing business environment, caused by new technologies, digital transformation, the emergence of new competitors and all the more empowered consumers. Publicis Groupe’s ambition is to provide our customers with seamless access to cutting edge tools and expertise, both in the field of communication, and in the field of technology and strategic consulting, and all this in order to help our clients anticipate and overcome their current business challenges, or proactively create and take advantage of all the opportunities offered to them.
We all know that the golden age in which agencies could operate on the principle of silos is behind us. We grew up in that way over the last 30 years. The system showed some of its limitations in how the client could benefit from it, but it was a different time, and it was tolerated. Today, clients are not willing to pay for duplication of services or people. They want something that is simple, but at the same time unique. A system that is not fully integrated is no longer good enough. A system that is not a modular platform that can be upgraded and changed, is also not good enough.”
Publicis One is an incredible combination and fusion of different teams and cultures, but which together make a strong unity in diversity
It is important to realize that Publicis One does not represent a return to the original model of a full-service agency, which offered integrated services but lacked the expertise of some individual services that the client could get only through specialized agencies back then. Publicis One meets both of these criteria, i.e., both integration and specialization on a single platform. This gives clients the ability to have a wide range of activities in one place, with experts and specialized knowledge at the same time.
Publicis One has an original, interdisciplinary, multi-cultural, media agnostic approach, which is different from all other models of the past. Our global CEO Jarek Ziebinski said Publicis One most resembles New York. Publicis One, just like New York, should be a home for super talented professionals who simultaneously live a multi-disciplinary and a multi-cultural life. Publicis One is an incredible combination and fusion of different teams and cultures, but which together make a strong unity in diversity.
I’d just add that Publicis One is the best proof of our commitment to evolve, in order to initiate profitable growth and create value for our clients in today’s hyper-competitive business environment. This is a strategic reorganization of our best skills and talents around the world into a model that allows us to be creative, flexible and effective, in accordance with the pace of our clients’ business. Recognizing also the need for specialization and integration in marketing today, Publicis One is constructed so that the clients’ interests are placed at the very center.
Media Marketing: Do the agencies that made up the Publicis Groupe lose their name and identity by merging into Publicis One?
Miša Lukić: On the contrary, if New York is a metaphor for Publicis One, it is clear that each brand retains its identity, and all of them gain by being part of something so big and diverse. The aim of the Publicis One concept is to further strengthen and differentiate the brands within its system.
If we were to use a different analogy and look at the brands within Pubicis One as people, as individuals, then the brand is actually the NAME, and Publicis One is the SURNAME or family name. All the brands together share certain values, but they also have clearly expressed individual identities. The family gives them stability, strength, efficiency and support. Everyone in the family wants each of its members to be successful and happy, and we all know that agency brands are most successful and happy when their clients are successful and happy.
One of the important changes is the fact that our best people, who have thus far been in leadership positions, such as CEOs of agency brands, will no longer be focused on the internal organization, control and finance, as this role will be shifted to the leadership of Publicis One, where we will have a single management team for all brands without duplication. The leaders of our agency brands will also be largely relieved of management tasks and will be able to commit to working with clients and their important projects. The best analogy is that of sport. Brand leaders will thus be like team captains, responsible for the team, but at the same time they will be the best players on the field and will actively contribute to the success of the team in their daily work with clients.
The CEE region – for which I am responsible – had more than good results, by all criteria, from a record percentage of annual growth and excellent profitability, to outstanding results in the field of creativity
Media Marketing: How have clients reacted to Publicis One, not only in the countries that you are responsible for, but also globally?
Miša Lukić: After its first year, the success of the Publicis One concept is best described in the words of the President of Publicis Groupe, Maurice Levy:
“We are moving fast and according to plan. The results from the first year, by all measures, have been very promising, which definitely reinforced our belief that this is the right way to move forward. In a recent business review, we have counted examples of business successes from operating as Publicis One in every region. The expanded realm of possibilities for creativity, digital, technology and innovation from collaboration as Publicis One has been particularly exciting for both the talent and clients. We are starting to see some early successes as a result of operating as Publicis One, also reflected in the robust revenue growth and business performance at the end of our first year. This is quite possibly the most concrete positive response we can get.”
The CEE region – for which I am responsible – had more than good results, by all criteria, from a record percentage of annual growth and excellent profitability, to outstanding results in the field of creativity. More specifically, as far as the creative results go, “my” region won six lions in Cannes, and at the Golden Drum, the most important festival of New Europe, our agency Publicis Romania was declared the Agency of the Year, while our creative director of Publicis One Macedonia, Vasilije Ćorluka, was declared the Best Creative Director.
But, what is still most important, our customers are extremely satisfied with the new Publicis One concept, which is best shown by the amount of new business that we won in the past year, mostly from existing clients.
Any duplication in processes and positions, any piled-up bureaucratic activity, any inefficiency and personal protectionism to the detriment of the whole, had to be removed in the shortest possible time
Media Marketing: Last year you were preoccupied with work. You had to get to know the markets and the people who work in them. You had to solve personnel crossword puzzles. On the markets where there were more Publicis Groupe agencies – and therefore more directors – there’s now one agency and one director. You had to thank many people for their previous cooperation on behalf of Publicis. I imagine that it was not easy. What was the most difficult part?
Miša Lukić: This was, if not the most difficult, then certainly the most demanding year of my career. It is to be expected that any serious renovation includes the demolition of something old. Bearing in mind that I’m a builder at heart, not a destroyer, the hardest thing for me in the first year was that I had to destroy a few things, regardless of the fact that it was necessary and justified.
Although the Publicis One concept is based on synergy, cooperation, unity, unselfishness, mutual support, empathy and understanding, the first step in each of the countries for which I am responsible was not at all simple. The first step involved the demolition of the silos and the organizational structures based on them. At the same time it was necessary to change the awareness and attitudes of people who had got used to working like that over decades. This effectively meant that you first have to remove all the factors that do not contribute to unity, efficiency and further progress. Any duplication in processes and positions, any piled-up bureaucratic activity, any inefficiency and personal protectionism to the detriment of the whole, had to be removed in the shortest possible time. This involved significant staff changes and shifts in top management levels. That was the most difficult part. But it was also a precondition for the creation of something new and healthy, which will be the basis for the agency model of the future.
Tomorrow read: Why Miša got the nickname ‘Tito in Paris’