Publicis Creates New Entity for Walmart's In-Store Creative and Advertising

Walmart and Publicis Groupe have formed a strategic relationship encompassing the retailer’s U.S. advertising and in-store creative.“The new entity will focus on how Publicis Groupe and Walmart will partner on advertising and marketing efforts as the companies together navigate the future of retail,” the holding company said in a media release.As of July 1, Publicis serves as Walmart’s primary agency of record, initially for in-store creative and advertising in the U.S. The partners’ non-exclusive relationship gives the retailer access to all of the holding group’s agencies. In addition to marketing resources, Walmart gains “capabilities to support corporate reputation and technology that builds relationships with customers," according to the release.“This relationship with Publicis Groupe will help us think and act differently, which will ultimately enable us to serve our customers even better,” president and chief executive officer of Walmart stores Doug McMillon said in the release.The partnership marks the end of Walmart’s nearly decade-long creative relationship with The Martin Agency, though its holding company, IPG, will still retain some of Walmart's business.Publicis' Saatchi & Saatchi, which shared creative duties with Martin, will continue to work on the account, with shopper agency Saatchi X holidng onto in-store and shopper marketing.Publicis’ Mediavest lost Walmart’s $900 million U.S. media account early this year after a 10 year run. (Walmart has been in talks with WPP’s Haworth about the business.) Soon after, however, it gained the creative and media accounts for Walmart’s UK unit, Asda.The agency's redemption of sorts is due to a restructuring around four “solution hubs” to break down silos between individual agency networks, and adoption of a “client-first” model that starts by looking at a client’s needs rather than agencies' capabilities. Publicis Groupe ceo Maurice Levy said in a statement that the new structure was a big factor in the U.S. deal.“This relationship is the direct result of Publicis’ new approach, ‘the Power of One,’ which is designed to deliver end-to-end solutions for our clients,” Levy said in the release. “Walmart is already implementing innovative approaches to reach its customers. Our goal is to leverage all of Publicis’ assets — not just the resources of one agency — to help them in these efforts.”Publicis will pull resources from the various agencies in its portfolio to ensure the right talent is working on each Walmart project. At the head of the relationship is Publicis Communications ceo Arthur Sadoun (pictured). One of the “solution hubs,” Publicis Communications houses all of the holding company’s creative shops, including Publicis Worldwide, MSL, Nurun, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett. It also includes the production hub, Prodigious.

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