Publicis Groupe has established itself as the clear leader among the global advertising groups when it comes to growth.
But how long can the France-based global business keep this up?
“We have extracted ourselves from the batch … is that sustainable?” CEO Arthur Sadoun told analysts in a briefing on December quarter results.
“Meaning do we have the ability to continue to outperform our industry in the years to come? The answer is clear: Yes.”
The company reported full year organic growth of 6.3% in 2023, above the 5.5% to 6% guidance last upgraded in October. The group in 2023 increased its full year result outlook three times.
The company is well ahead most of its global peers. IPG posted a better than expected rise in organic growth of 1.7% for the December quarter, Omnicom reported 4.4% and dentsu's latest quarter came in at -6.6% and the full year at -4.9%.
And for 2024, Publicis is forecasting organic growth of 4% to 5%.
“We have consistently been ahead for the last four years and we are clearly committed to sustain this momentum in 2024," says Sadoun.
“This actually means we should go twice as fast as the industry average in net revenue.
“We have been outperforming our industry on organic growth for the last four years. Since 2019, we have grown plus 21%.”
He says organic growth for the year could reach 5% assuming an improvement in the global economic conditions in the second half of the year.
Publicis has its eyes on some big pitches for new business.
However, the group has a solid floor with current clients.
“We are in a business where you can always lose an account. And so it could happen tomorrow,” says Sadoun.
“But for the moment and for the year, there is nothing that will have a material impact on our growth in 2024.”
And Publicis is hiring, adding to its 102,000 staff members.
“We can talk about data and technology all day long but we are still a people business," he says.
“And one of the things that makes me super confident for the future is the level of attractivity we have in the industry today.
“We are, hopefully at the moment, a safe place and an exciting place at the same time, which is pretty rare.”
Staff turnover has stabilised.
“The great resignation is done,” he says.
“The big topic is return to the office. As you have seen, we have been pretty clear that we want our people to come back.
“This is absolutely critical for us because we want to preserve the culture. We want the youth to continue to learn. And we want to make sure that by getting together, we can accelerate our growth.
“I do see a challenge for our industry to bring people back, particularly the US. It's not the case in Europe or in Asia.”
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