Executive talks about the moment of the holding, the changes still planned and issues such as AI in the market
Having occupied the unprecedented position of CEO of Publicis Groupe in Brazil for just over six months, Gabriela Onofre speaks in the following interview about the ongoing restructuring of the holding, which saw a change of agency leadership at the end of last year and, according to her , will continue in 2024, with changes from the point of view of the operating model.
These are questions like what capabilities we don’t yet have and need to have. Or the type of leadership we need to deliver a certain functionality. The executive also talks about her experience on the other side of the counter, after a 25-year career with clients. I’m learning a lot, she says.
Furthermore, Gabi, as known in the market, gives her opinion on the transformations that will occur with AI, her vision as a female leader and talks about the power of creativity.
What does Publicis Groupe’s leadership restructuring mean in Brazil? Were you hired for this?
My main mission is to make the Publicis Group not a conglomerate of agencies, but to bring the strength that the group has everywhere. The Power of one is exactly that: bringing the best of each specialty we have in communication to the client and working on it in an increasingly fluid way. Marketing has more and more specialties and what the group can offer is this: the client can have all these specialties within a group without having to manage this complexity within the company. When I was a CMO, I wanted someone to help me solve my problem, but I didn’t want to talk to five agencies. The group is restructuring to make it easier for the customer, so that they can see all the specialties they need in the business. I say that we are able to assemble Lego according to what the customer needs. This transformation in the group has already happened, we are now part of Latin America and this structure has existed in the region for more than five years. We are entering this group operating format, which is a winning format, as shown by the results in the world: growth of 6.3% organically in 2023, with Latin America growing at almost 9% (Publicis Groupe now occupies the second position as the largest communications group in the world, behind only WPP).
Will the changes that started last year continue in 2024?
We still have changes from the point of view of how we are going to operate. These are questions like what capabilities we don’t yet have and need to have. Or the type of leadership we need to deliver a certain functionality. The areas in which the group grew the most globally were data and media. Given a super power that the group has because it purchased, in the United States, Epsilon, which acquired Retargetly, which is a large data company in Latin America. Today I have clients for whom we make five thousand parts in a much more automated way. Part of this change is also to bring this strength that the group has, to bring these differences to Brazil.
And what does creativity look like in this scenario?
The beginning is creativity. We are a communication and creativity business, especially here in Brazil, because our agencies are full service. So, yes, we are investing a lot in creative professionals, in new ways of doing creativity. For example, one of the changes that was made recently was the launch of Le Pub as an independent agency. Before, it was an area within Publicis, which started together with Heineken. Now, it is a separate agency, looking at creativity from a new perspective. It’s not a Heineken agency anymore. We just won the Heinz account and did a wonderful project with New Balance for the So Paulo shirt. And we are prospecting new clients because we are completing the portfolio in a different way of bringing creativity. We have new talents leading the creativity area within the agencies. It is impossible to do one thing without doing the other.
With Claudia Fernandes leaving the CMO position, are you planning a replacement?
We saw that in the area of operations there are many things that are interconnected. strategy, operation, marketing. So, it was a restructuring to put all of this more aligned in the center.
Read the full interview in the edition of propmark of 04 brown of 2024
