Barry O’Brien and Michael Rebelo.
Publicis Groupe’s merger of independent media agency Atomic 212° was an extensive 12 month process, involving dozens of people and detailed presentations, but it all started through a humble LinkedIn request.
While the agency bosses - Atomic 212° chairman Barry O’Brien and Publicis Groupe ANZ CEO Michael Rebelo - knew of each other over the years, Rebelo first approached O’Brien via LinkedIn.
“Mike reached out to me on LinkedIn [in January 2024], we connected and then I got a message saying ‘Would you like to catch up and have a chat?’” O’Brien told AdNews.
“We went to lunch and had a terrific couple of hours in which he had outlined [Publicis’] vision - and I knew how successful their media was, because I had to compete against them. When you beat Publicis [in a pitch] then you knew that you had really won.
“So it was a great connection and a good cultural fit.
“Their success globally was an attraction, but also it's going to be good for our people, our client list and for our business to continue to grow.”
From there many months of detailed meetings occurred - teams met each other, processes were checked off and information was shared.
Atomic hired M&A people on their side to do a lot of heavy lifting. Publicis’ global mergers and acquisitions team flew to Australia and Publicis local chief financial officer Henri Raymond was also actively involved.
“I also met with them in Cannes last year and had discussions then,” O’Brien said.
“It was a full 12 month period of presentations and conversations which we kept very locked down internally.”
A part of the deal sees O’Brien stay involved with the business, “I’ve got polishing rags in both hands,” O’Brien said.
“We’ve been on a journey, we’re delighted and glad it all came together when it did - it's a process beyond belief.”
Rebelo said by adding Atomic 212° to its agency businesses, Publicis solidifies its position as the only group in ANZ capable of offering truly comprehensive end-to-end marketing transformation solutions to clients.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.