Publicis Groupe: Acquisition of Hawkeye

PUBLICIS GROUPE ACQUIRES HAWKEYE, A DATA DRIVEN
INTEGRATED DIGITAL AGENCY
IN THE U.S.

Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577] announces today that it has acquired Hawkeye (Ffwd Ltd and Mosaic LLC), a leading digital marketing services agency based in Dallas, Texas with deeply specialized competencies in data analytics, digital strategy, CRM and experiential marketing, to be aligned with Publicis North America, part of the Publicis Worldwide network.  

Founded in 1999, Hawkeye counts a team of over 160 professionals and has offices in Charlotte, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Denver and Vail, as well as its headquarters in Dallas. Hawkeye services clients such as Cargill, Terminix, Agilent, American Airlines, BASF, Peterbilt, BestBuy, Lockheed Martin, Men's Health and The North Face.

Hawkeye offers a range of integrated digital marketing services including data and analytics, website design and development and social and mobile marketing. The agency has been awarded accolades such as DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) Marketer of the Year, Best in Class by the Interactive Media Awards and Website Excellence by the OMMA Awards.

Hawkeye will be rebranded as Publicis Hawkeye, and will be aligned with the Publicis Dallas agency. The new entity will operate independently; uniquely positioned to deliver data based insight and creativity to clients, across multiple points of engagement. Publicis Hawkeye's headquarters will remain in Dallas and will serve as a specialist center of excellence for all offices across Publicis North America.

Steve Dapper, Founder and Chairman of Hawkeye, was previously the Global Chairman and CEO of both Wunderman and Rapp Collins. He will lead the new entity in the same role while Sally Kennedy, CEO of Publicis Dallas, will become the CEO of Publicis Hawkeye.

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Worldwide, stated, "We are excited to be adding Hawkeye to our agency network in the U.S., strengthening our specialized creative services driven by data in the American market. I believe that Publicis Hawkeye will be a great fit for the needs of our clients, and a very strong asset for Publicis North America and Publicis Worldwide on a global level. We share the same vision for strategy, technology and entrepreneurship."

Susan Gianinno, Chairman of Publicis North America, stated, "Our business is being transformed by data and the insights it can inspire, as well as by new core competencies.  We will be enriched by what Hawkeye brings to our business solutions and our creative power."

Steve Dapper added, "As the consumer's world spins faster and faster, brands and CMOs are challenged daily to maximize the return on their marketing and business expenditures.  Hawkeye is thrilled about the potential of joining Publicis Worldwide to bring an enhanced service offering to our growing list of clients.  The convergence of data, creativity, and technology will spawn ever more powerful and extraordinary ideas that can make a difference in this chaotic brand messaging world we live in."

About Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] is one of the world's leading communications groups. The Groupe offers a full range of services and skills: digital (DigitasLBi, Razorfish, Rosetta, VivaKi), advertising (BBH, Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi), public affairs, corporate communications and events (MSLGROUP), media strategy, planning and buying (Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia), healthcare communications with Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG) and finally, brand asset production with Prodigious. Present in 108 countries, the Groupe employs 62,000 professionals.
www.publicisgroupe.com | Twitter: @PublicisGroupe | Facebook: www.facebook.com/publicisgroupe | LinkedIn: Publicis Groupe |
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About Publicis Worldwide
Present in over 80 countries with 11,000 employees, Publicis Worldwide counts amongst some of its major clients AXA, BNP Paribas, Carrefour, Cartier, Citi, Coca-Cola, Haier, Hilton Honors, HP, L'Oréal, LG, Luxottica, Nestlé, Orange, P&G, Paypal, Pernod Ricard, RATP, Renault, Sanofi, Seb, Siemens, Telefonica, Total and UBS. Publicis North America, a regional operating unit of Publicis Worldwide, is comprised of Publicis USA and Publicis Canada. Publicis USA offices include New York-based Publicis Kaplan Thaler, San Francisco-based Riney, Publicis Hawkeye and Publicis Seattle.  Publicis Canada has offices in Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Windsor.  The Publicis Worldwide mission is 'To Help Our Clients Lead The Change'.

ContactsPublicis GroupePeggy NahmanyCorporate Communications + 33 (0)1 44 43 72 83Martine HueInvestor Relations + 33 (0)1 44 43 65 00Stéphanie ConstandInvestor Relations + 33 (0)1 44 43 74 44Publicis North AmericaSusan GianinnoPresident+1 (212) 279-5518Janice SnookCommunications+1 (650) 400-4448

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Source: Publicis Groupe via Globenewswire
HUG#1766973