Publicis Groupe S.A: ZenithOptimedia Acquires FirstClick Consulting in Australia

Regulatory News:

ZenithOptimedia, part of Publicis Groupe (Paris:PUB) [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40], announced today the acquisition of FirstClick Consulting, Australia's leading independent performance marketing agency.

FirstClick will become part of Performics Worldwide, ZenithOptimedia’s global performance marketing network. The agency will rebrand to Performics Australia and will retain its current management team, led by CEO Grace Chu, who will join the Performics Global Executive Leadership Team.

Investing in performance marketing solutions through the development of the Performics network is a key growth strategy for the ZenithOptimedia Group. Performance media includes measurable, ‘biddable’ channels such as paid search, programmatic display and paid social. Performance media has seen considerable global growth in recent years, with expected growth of 19.1% globally for 2015 (eMarketer).

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Sydney, FirstClick provides clients across Australia with a full range of digital performance marketing services including search engine marketing, search engine optimisation, programmatic buying, social marketing, marketing analytics and conversion rate optimisation. Over the past 10 years, FirstClick has established itself as a market leader and has built up an impressive list of blue chip clients.

Grace Chu, CEO of FirstClick, said: "We are very excited about becoming part of Performics Worldwide and the ZenithOptimedia Group. Our clients and our people will benefit from the global perspectives, best practices and capabilities that come with being part of this award winning international network. It’s a testament to the FirstClick team to be recognised as leaders within an international context."

Michael Kahn, CEO of Performics Worldwide, said: "We have been very impressed with the quality of FirstClick's offering and the results it is delivering to its clients are truly exceptional by global standards. The combination of Performics, a global leader in performance marketing with FirstClick, a market leader in Australia will provide clients with a combination of global best practice and strong local knowledge. We are confident that together we will be very well positioned to service the growing digital opportunity in Australia.”

Ian Perrin, CEO of ZenithOptimedia Australia, said: "We have been unequivocal in our pursuit of delivering the very best performance offering in Australia, and bringing FirstClick into the group represents a massive step in this direction. Grace and her team are world class and arguably the most talented digital performance thinkers in the country. The team will make an enormous contribution to our organisation and we look forward to welcoming them into the family.”

About ZenithOptimedia

ZenithOptimedia - www.zenithoptimedia.com - is a leading global media services network with over 7,500 people working in 262 offices across 74 countries. We are part of Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40], the world’s third largest communications group, and the world’s second largest media agency group. As the first agency to apply a rigorous and objective approach to improving the effectiveness of marketing spend, ZenithOptimedia delivers to clients the best possible return on their communications investment. This philosophy is supported by a unique approach to strategy development and implementation across the full spectrum of paid, owned and earned contact points – the Live ROI planning process. The ZenithOptimedia Group of companies equips our clients with a full range of integrated skills across communications planning, value optimisation, performance media and content creation. Our key clients include Aviva, Clarins, Coty, Kering, Lactalis, L’Oréal, LVMH, Nestlé, Oracle, RB, Richemont Groupe, SCA, Sanofi, Toyota and 21^st Century Fox.

About Performics

Performics is a global performance marketing agency for the world’s most respected brands. The agency activates data to motivate participation, drive performance and optimize for action across paid, earned and owned digital channels. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Chicago, the Performics network is active across 40 countries. Performics is a ZenithOptimedia company and the performance marketing specialist within Publicis Groupe. www.performics.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151006005833/en/