Publicis Groupe Acquires Italy's Leading Social Media

PARIS, Sept. 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577]  announces the acquisition of leading social media agency, Ambito5, in Italy.

Founded in 2003 by Max Brondolo, Ambito5 is an innovative agency whose mission is to create, develop and activate social experiences - online and offline that help grow business and brands. With 45 employees, Ambito5 works with some of the world's top brands - such as Costa Cruises, Barilla, DirectLine, L'Oréal, Decathlon, Metzeler and Swatch - helping them create highly effective social communications.

The agency will be fully integrated into Saatchi & Saatchi Italy, consistently ranked as the most awarded creative agency in Italy at the Cannes Lions Festival and The Italian Art Directors Club. Since 2011, Ambito5 has been closely partnering with Saatchi & Saatchi Italy on key clients including Toyota, Lexus, Enel, Procter & Gamble, Intesa Sanpaolo and Ferrarelle.

Current General Manager of Ambito5, Giuseppe Mayer, will maintain his role, while founder Max Brondolo will take on the role of President of the Board of Directors. Saatchi & Saatchi Italy's CEO Giuseppe Caiazza will become Member of the Board of Directors with delegation of powers.

Giuseppe Caiazza, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Italy and Saatchi & Saatchi + Duke France, and Head of Automotive Business for Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA said: "We are very proud that the Groupe has chosen to integrate Ambito5 into Saatchi & Saatchi Italy. We are confident that this addition will further strengthen our creative and digital leadership in Italy, allowing us to develop ideas together with our clients to engage and excite an increasing number of people around the world."

Brondolo added: "We have been looking for a way to bring a global dimension to our vision and services for some years now. Today, becoming part of the Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide network is as exciting as it was when I founded Ambito5 ten years ago. A future of great creative work together in an inspiring and engaging environment is ahead of us."

Justin Billingsley, COO of Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA continued: "We are delighted to be officially bringing Ambito5 into the Saatchi & Saatchi fold in EMEA. Their social expertise combined with the creative brilliance and existing digital capabilities in Italy, make for an extremely powerful combination. This acquisition is the latest marker of our ongoing transformation across a region that has been steadily gaining momentum over the past 18 months."

The acquisition of Ambito5 follows a succession of key digital additions to Saatchi & Saatchi in the last year, including zweimaleins in Germany, Synergize in South Africa, Interactive Solutions in Poland and Outside Line in the UK.

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, Nurun), 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 63,000 professionals.

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About Saatchi & Saatchi Italy

Saatchi & Saatchi Italy is part of the Saatchi & Saatchi Network which has 130 offices with more than 6000 employees. In Italy there are two full-service offices, one in Milan and one in Rome, and more than 170 employees. Creativity is behind Saatchi & Saatchi Italy's success. The Agency has been in fact the most awarded Italian agency at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity ver the last 3 years, with 17 Lions including 9 Gold, and also is the most awarded agency at the Italian Art Directors Club. The successes achieved through creativity are combined with those obtained from a business point of vire, which see in 2014 for Saatchi & Saatchi Italy a growth estimated at +10% compared to 2013. Amongst its major clients: Calzedonia, Club Med, Enel, Fater, Ferrarelle, Fincantieri, Groupama, illy, Intesa Sanpaolo, Lexus, Mutti, Negroni, Novartis, Parmalat, Peroni, Procter & Gamble, Salmoiraghi & Viganò, Sofidel, Toyota, Twinings, Visa e Whirlpool. In 2010 the Saatchi & Saatchi Italian group has created Essense which main clients are  Carrefour and BPM (Banca Popolare Milano).

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