Since 2009, the Groupe has been ranked in third place in the global ranking of communications groups (by revenue, source: companies’ annual reports).
See the table below for the published net revenue and revenue of the top four groups in 2021:
|
(in millions) (1) |
WPP | Omnicom | Publicis | Interpublic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenue in local currency | Net revenue in local currencyWPP GBP 10,397 |
Net revenue in local currencyOmnicom n/d |
Net revenue in local currencyPublicis EUR 10,487 |
Net revenue in local currencyInterpublic USD 9,108 |
| Net revenue in dollars | Net revenue in dollarsWPP USD 14,295 |
Net revenue in dollarsOmnicom n/d |
Net revenue in dollarsPublicis USD 12,385 |
Net revenue in dollarsInterpublic USD 9108 |
| Revenue in local currency | Revenue in local currencyWPP GBP 12,801 |
Revenue in local currencyOmnicom USD 14,289 |
Revenue in local currencyPublicis EUR 11,738 |
Revenue in local currencyInterpublic USD 10,241 |
| Revenue en dollars | Revenue en dollarsWPP USD 17600 |
Revenue en dollarsOmnicom USD 14,289 |
Revenue en dollarsPublicis USD 13,862 |
Revenue en dollarsInterpublic USD 10,241 |
(1) Exchange rate: EUR 1 = USD 1.181; EUR 1 = GBP 0.859.
The reader should note that the figures above are those published by the groups concerned, in the currency and according to the accounting standards used by each of them.
Publicis Groupe also competes with a large number of local, independent advertising agencies in markets around the world, via its Specialized Agencies and Marketing Services. New competitors have emerged in the IT/consulting sectors, such as Accenture, Deloitte and Capgemini, primarily through advertising acquisitions, such as Accenture’s 2019 purchase of Droga5.
Generally speaking, the advertising and communications markets are highly competitive and the Groupe is in constant competition with national and international agencies. The Groupe expects that competition will continue to stiffen as multinational clients increasingly consolidate their budgets among a restricted number of agencies, and the communications sector sees significant changes, reflected in the appearance of new competitors from the consulting or high-tech industries.
Some of the Groupe’s businesses are governed by regulations that may vary from country to country or region to region.
In France, media buying activities are subject to the Sapin Law, a law requiring transparency in media buying transactions. Pursuant to the Sapin Law, an advertising agency may not purchase advertising space from media companies and then resell the space to clients on different terms. Instead, the agency must act exclusively as the agent of its clients when purchasing advertising space. The Sapin Law applies to advertising activities in France when the media company and the client or the advertising agency are French or located in France.
Many countries have strict laws governing the advertising and marketing of certain products, in particular tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs. New regulations or standards imposed on the advertising or marketing of such products could have an adverse impact on the Groupe’s operations.
These regulations can change frequently: their scope can be amended at any time; new regulations can be introduced – including without prior notice; and as the Groupe develops, it may expand into areas covered by regulations that did not previously apply to it. Any new regulations or amendments to how existing laws or regulations are implemented or applied, or if the Groupe becomes subject to new regulations could have a material impact on the Groupe.
Even though the nature and scope of regulations vary between countries, Publicis Groupe is governed by the data protection laws and regulations in the majority of countries it is active in.
The Groupe updated its data privacy policy in line with current regulations and, in particular, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation [EU] 2016/679 of April 27, 2016, GDPR), which came into force in May 2018.
