Arthur Sadoun.
Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun, describing his global advertising group as top dog, has given his staff a briefing on the Omnicom-IPG merger and the "fun" it will bring.
The France-based agency group has the largest market capitalisation among global holding companies and has been posting strong revenue growth numbers, ahead of the largest player WPP.
"Hope you are enjoying being the top dog, but don't get used to it, because it may not last past 2025," he said in a short video message to staff.
He sees competitor moves -- the merger of Omnicom and IPG -- as a positive, resulting in their leadership being distracted as focus internally.
The marriage of rivals brings together the world’s third biggest advertising group, Omnicom, with the fourth, IPG, to form a company with 100,000 people and revenue of $25.6 billion (net revenue of $20 billion), with 57% of that in the US.
This will unseat WPP as the world's largest by revenue.
Sadoun is known for his cheeky video clips, including an annual one in which he often makes fun of himself.
"As you know, Omnicom has decided to go shopping and have plans to buy IPG," he said.
"I know you have a lot of questions about this deal, so I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts. Overall, I think this is positive for the industry at large."
Sadoun sees the merger of two competitors as an opportunity.
"If it does go through, it's going to be a lot of fun," he said.
"First, our industry is clearly being challenged by the financial markets right now. Analysts describe Publicis as a good house, but in a bad neighborhood.
"Well, this neighborhood will start to look a lot better if we move to three main global players.
"Second, this is a big opportunity for us. An acquisition of this size will require every leader to be focused internally on integration if they want to be successful.
"On our side, our transformation is behind us. We have invested in data and technology in the last decade roughly what Omnicom will pay for IPG in one go. Our capabilities are fully integrated with the Power of One.
"Our model has been outperforming for the last five years, so now we can be laser focused on our clients and their needs for tomorrow, today and for tomorrow.
"Third, if this deal goes through, we are definitely going to have a lot of fun in the next two years.
"Omnicom and IPG will consolidate more of the same to become the largest holding company, the top dog.
"We on the other hand, we will continue to create a category of one by further expanding, differentiating and innovating to uniquely partner with our clients in their transformation."
Sadaoun wished the two CEOs - John Wren of Omnicom and IPG’s Philippe Krakowsky -- a happy and healthy marriage.
"I have always respected John and Philippe, not only because one was my boss. Yes, one was my boss 20 years ago, and the other one speaks very good French. I will let you guess which one is which."
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