Publicis Groupe has merged its digital agencies SapientNitro and Razorfish to form SapientRazorfish - a single global entity with 12,000 staff, just two years after buying Sapient for $3.7bn.
The combined entity will be one of the largest digital and technology-focused agencies in the world and will operate under a single global P&L from 2 January.
Publicis Groupe tells AdNews they are not anticipating any layoffs as a result of the merger. A spokesperson said that combining the two sets of clients under one roof has not created any issues with client conflicts aside from "one or two exceptions". Where there are conficts, they will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
The merger is part of Publicis Groupe's Power of One strategy, which aims to better align and leverage capabilities across the group to serve clients more efficiently. IT marks the axing of teh itroname
Earlier this year, Publics Group's media agencies restructured from six media agencies into four.
Publicis Groupe said the merger will help it grow the proportion of digital revenue across the group from 54% to 60% by 2018.
“SapientRazorfish is a powerful new entity in the marketplace uniquely combining customer experience strategy, omni channel commerce, and technology deployment to create a new breed of digital transformation partner pointed at today’s most critical client need – reshaping their businesses for the future,” Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy says.
SapientRazorfish will be led by SapientNitro CEO Alan Wexler while Razorfish CEO Shannon Denton will become chief strategy officer.
Publicis.Sapient – the digital arm of Publicis that includes SapientRazorfish, Sapient Consulting and data, analysis and CRM agency DigitasLBI – will be jointly led by Wexler and Chip Register, the CEO of Sapient Consulting. Meanwhile, Denton will also head global practices across Publicis Sapient.
There will be no immediate changes to Australian management as the two agencies merged operations ealier this year.
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