As the preferred partners of major digital platforms, Publicis Groupe has also formed technological partnerships with numerous businesses whether established companies or promising start-ups. The aim is to better understand the technical possibilities and work together to find new, intelligent solutions, and to meet client and consumer expectations.
On the basis of their expertise, Groupe entities have also developed different analysis and research methodologies, in particular for consumer behavior and sociological developments, and have developed software tools and specific systems to assist in serving clients.
VivaTech (created by Publicis Groupe and Les Échos group).
In just four years, it has become the number one Start-up and Tech event in Europe and is recognized worldwide as a powerful catalyst for business transformation. Every year, VivaTech brings together the top business leaders, start-ups, investors, researchers and thinkers from all over the world in Paris for a unique experience combining inspiration, networking and the discovery of innovations. In 2019, VivaTech reached 231 million people worldwide, attracting 124,000 on-site visitors including more than 13,000 start-ups, 3,000 venture capital companies and 2,500 journalists from 124 countries. The health situation did not allow the physical event to take place in 2020; however, VivaTech continued its mission by supporting the development of start-ups. The challenges of collaboration between start-ups and large groups were maintained, allowing several hundred start-ups to contact potential clients and partners in June 2020.
Since September 2020, the virtual VivaTech Tour, through a series of meetings in more than 30 global digital capitals, from Shanghai to New York, via London and Paris, has highlighted more than 100 start-ups around the world. From 2021, VivaTech will be enriched with a digital platform to become a hybrid event, which will bring together an even wider community of innovators.
Some of the Groupe’s digital agencies have an internal Lab which aims to create the optimal testing conditions for multi-disciplinary teams, particularly, with regard to augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and everything relating to the Internet of Things (IoT). Technical partners and academics have joined forces for projects to co-develop innovative solutions.
Since 2012, Publicis Groupe has been a partner of the Iris Capital fund. This fund supports 40 or so companies with an overall revenue totaling euro 1.4 billion and a total headcount of 7,300 people. Iris Capital focuses on firms with strong potential to radically transform their sector, specializing in Industry 5.0, the Internet of Things, Cyber Security, 5G networks, as well as Artificial Intelligence, Big data and the Cloud.
In 2020, the Groupe Procurement Department completed a structuring project on the management and control of the Groupe’s purchasing risks, based on the following dimensions in addition to financial elements: the sector of activity, the country where this supplier operates, CSR, social and environmental issues, thus completing the scope of compliance review (due diligence) which is now based on the following four pillars:
In terms of subcontracting, the agencies endeavor to anticipate as best they can their clients’ major constraints, notably concerning the time needed to carry out certain projects during peak activity periods. In all countries, the Groupe ensures that all suppliers are treated fairly and paid promptly. All employees negotiating with suppliers must respect the rules of the Janus Code of Ethics and act in a professional and rigorous manner, free from any conflicts of interest.
