When French ad man Maurice Levy’s Publicis agency failed in its effort to acquire Chicago’s True North Communications two years ago, some advertising industry observers believed Levy would never be more than a strong regional player.
Since then, Levy has gone on a buying binge that has established Paris-based Publicis as a global powerhouse, one of the top five communications firms.
Levy accomplished this through 37 acquisitions of ad agencies, marketing services and public relations firms in three years, including such premier U.S. shops as Chicago’s Frankel & Co., Fallon McElligott (now Fallon Worldwide) in Minneapolis and DeWitt Media in New York.
His latest conquest: U.K.-based Saatchi & Saatchi, which gives Publicis a second global ad agency network–an important distinction allowing Levy’s firm to service competing clients in the same industries.
What explains the resurgence? “I have a persistent fighting spirit,” Levy said.
During a brief interview in the back of his chauffeured limousine, Levy noted that Publicis is still the largest shareholder in True North, with a 10 percent stake. He expressed disappointment that his partnership with the Chicago firm didn’t work out. Levy thinks True North should be doing better, given the performance of other publicly held agencies such as Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group of Cos.
Levy is charming, a consummate salesman, but his exterior cloaks a tough and effective businessman. Moroccan born and a graduate of the French University of Paris, Levy has been all over the globe in recent months making deals, whether at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, breakfasting with Bud Frankel to complete an acquisition of Frankel’s marketing services firm, or sounding out Saatchi executives about a merger during breakfast in London’s Ritz Hotel.
With Saatchi in its fold, a deal to be concluded by September, the new Publicis Groupe S.A. will have revenues of $2.1 billion (based on 1999 figures), with 49 percent of that in Europe, 38 percent in the U.S. and 13 percent across the rest of the world.
Publicis must now be counted in the same league as industry forces WPP Group (J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, Ogilvy Worldwide and recently acquired Y&R Inc.); Interpublic Group (McCann-Erickson, Lowe Lintas & Partners and Campbell-Ewald Advertising); Omnicom Group (BBDO, DDB and TBWA/Chiat Day); and French rival Havas Advertising. Based on 1999 figures, WPP would be No. 1 in revenues, at $6.7 billion, followed by Omnicom, $5.7 billion; Interpublic, $5.1 billion; Havas, $2.4 billion, and Publicis.
The deal with Saatchi strengthened Publicis’ U.S. presence, bringing in such blue-chip clients as Toyota, Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Johnson & Johnson.
Publicis’ major clients include Nestle, L’Oreal, Renault and Coca-Cola. McDonald’s Corp. generates big volume at Frankel as perhaps the top client there; United Airlines is a major client of Fallon; and work on General Motors’ Saturn account is with Publicis & Hal Riney San Francisco, formed in another Levy deal.
A self-described workaholic, Levy’s day may start at 7 a.m. and not finish until 9 p.m., though in recent weeks, while closing the deal with Saatchi, he worked until midnight some days.
Levy, 58, has two shifts of secretaries: Two work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and two work from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
He subscribes to the theory that attitude–being in the right frame of mind–is essential to success in the business world.
Levy’s particular strength is dealmaking, a reality underscored by his success in convincing two of America’s staunchest agency independents, Pat Fallon and Hal Riney, to sell their agencies to him.
Levy can be demanding, but as one insider says, “He’ll leave you alone as long as you are delivering. That goes for anybody who works here (in Paris) or at firms that have been acquired.”
When asked about his relationship with Publicis, Pat Fallon was quoted last week in the Financial Times as saying, “We love them . . . because we never see them. They’re there when we want them; they coach us, mentor us, guide us and take care of us, but they don’t get in our pants.”
The prospect of further acquisitions appears likely to strengthen Publicis in the U.S. For the time being, however, the firm’s Chicago holdings are so formidable it is likely to target deals elsewhere.
In Chicago, besides the buyout of Frankel this year , the company owns a 49 percent stake in Burrell Communications Group from a prevous acquisition; Publicis & Hal Riney Chicago, an agency renamed following Publicis’ acquisition of San Francisco-based Riney; and Publicis Dialog, the renamed Selz Seabolt Communications, also recently acquired.
Levy has been spending considerable time in New York, eyeing another acquisition or two, though Saatchi has a presence there stemming from an acquisition of the Bloom Agency in the early 1990s.
The Publicis chief has met with Deutsch Inc. and Cliff Freeman & Partners, but Levy said nothing has jelled from those discussions, though they might have laid the groundwork for further talks.
Levy does acknowledge that he wants a stronger profile in New York.
Levy is only the second CEO in the76-year history of Publicis, an agency founded by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, who died in 1996 at age 90.
Publicis’ headquarters is at 133 Champs Elysees in a structure rebuilt following a fire in 1972. The Astoria Hotel, where Gen. Dwight Eisenhower maintained his headquarters after the Allies recaptured Paris during World War II, once stood on the site. The lobby of the Publicis building includes a display of Eisenhower memorabilia.
Outside of Levy’s office is a terrace with an exceptional view of the Arc de Triomphe, only a few blocks away. In his office Levy can relax (if he ever does), plan his next acquisition, think of his next ski trip to the Swiss Alps or play chess, a few of his favorite pursuits.
The entrance to the Publicis building is flanked by a movie theater and a drugstore, both bearing the name of the agency, and both company owned.
This might suggest staffers could catch a flick on a break or hustle downstairs for an aspirin for relief after a frenzied call from a client.
No such luck, because, as an insider says, “Who’s got the time?”
To those who believe Levy was always a man a hurry, Levy likes to tell the story of an opportunity he once passed up. At age 29, Levy was offered the chief executive’s post of a small Parisian agency, but he turned it down in favor of a more modest position at Publicis, a much bigger shop.
“At the time,” Levy recalled, “I thought to myself that if I took the job at that age, who was going to be my mentor and teach me more about the business?”
