During the first day of Advertising Week Europe in London yesterday (March 23), Publicis Groupe head honcho Maurice Lévy spoke about his longstanding rivalry with WPP boss Martin Sorrell and dropped some not-so-subtle hints about his succession plan. During the session, which took place inside St. James Church in Piccadilly, Levy inferred that he will not be succeeded by a single person when he retires in May 2017, but by a team, joking that there are two plans; one for if he gets “Hit by a bus,” and a more long-term vision for how the company will be run once he steps down.
Maurice Lévy spoke about his rivalry with Martin Sorrell and talked about his succession plan at the first day of Advertising Week Europe
Lévy, who began by joking about the location (“Brothers and sisters I am coming to confession, I'm Jewish.”) was asked about his strained relationship with Sorrell, to which he replied “We can have a lot of personal competition without a nasty, small, naughty way of dealing with the press,” and stated that he hates personal fights. He compared himself and Sorrell, who delighted in the collapse of the Publicis/Omnicon merger last year, to “The frog and the scorpion.” He explained that “It is in the nature of some people to pinch and this is what my competitor is doing. What can I do? I cannot teach him to be elegant.” Burn!
Maurice Levy
The Publicis CEO, who turned 73 last month, then went on to discuss the issue of succession planning at Publicis, revealing that “It will not be one person,” but a “Team solution.” He added that they are currently working on it, and he is “Confident it will happen in due course with no hurdles.” He elaborated that there are two teams being built; “A supervisory board and director management board with five member,” but as for the names of those members he joked, “If you were interested I would tell you the names, but you are not.”
David Guetta will be joining Lévy on stage at the Publicis Groupe annual innovation and creativity seminar at this year's Cannes Lions festival
In related news, it was announced yesterday that the world renowned French DJ David Guetta will be joining Lévy on stage at the Publicis Groupe annual innovation and creativity seminar at this year's Cannes Lions festival. The seminar will be titled “Making the Brand: Authenticity and Influence through Celebrity Endorsements,” and will take place in the Grand Auditorium on Thursday June 25 at 4:00 PM, CET, at the Palais des Festivals. Lévy and Guetta, who is arguably the most famous DJ in the world, will be discussing how celebrity endorsements have evolved from simple hype plays to become a transformational creative moves in the business of marketing, advertising, and branding.
David Guetta
Guetta will also give the audience an inside look at just how pivotal social media is in building relationships between artists and their audiences, something he is well equipped to comment on given that he is the most followed DJ on social media in the world. As well as being a world famous DJ who commands millions for a performance, Guetta is a marketing mastermind who has done his share of celebrity endorsements. From partnerships with brands like MUMM, Renault and most recently, TAG Heuer, to co-designing a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre, and co-founding a specialised agency for celebrity marketing, My Love Affair.
Guetta give the audience an inside look at just how pivotal social media is in building relationships between artists and their audiences
A press release for the seminar states: “As consumers become ever more empowered, celebrities have locked down their role as key influencers with nearly unlimited access to the very same audiences marketers want. With their finger on the pop culture trigger, we'll find out why brands are embracing celebrities, using their insights to inform and guide what they do, and anticipate cultural movements.” As last year's seminar, Lévy invited SY Lau, senior EVP of Tencent Holdings and president of its Online Media Group on stage to discuss digital innovation in China, and the year prior, Heineken's CEO Jean-François Van Boxmeer, and CMO Alexis Nasard looked inside the legendary lager company's branding and growth in emerging markets. This year, both Lau and Nasard will be honoured by the Festival as Media Personality of the Year and Creative Marketer of the Year, respectively.
