Last week, the Publicis Groupe made yet another acquisition in South Africa in the form of Epic Communications, the country’s leading independent integrated strategic communications agency. The acquisition follows those of BrandsRock (Saatchi & Saatchi), Liquorice (DigitasLBi), MACHINE (Publicis Worldwide), Prima Integrated Marketing (Publicis Worldwide), OwenKessel (Publicis Worldwide) and Lighthouse Digital (Starcom MediaVest Group) in the region last year, which underlines Publicis Groupe's continued expansion of scope in a growing market. Last Month, Publicis also merged two MSLGroup companies, Capital MSL and Communications Network Consulting, into an entity known as CNC. Epic Communications will be aligned with Publicis Groupe’s strategic communications network, MSLGROUP, with the agency operating under the name “Epic MSLGROUP.” Epic CEO Elian Wiener will remain in his role as company leader.
The Publicis Groupe acquired Epic Communications, South Africa's leading independent integrated strategic communications agency
Wiener, who founded the company, said that as the agency has grown, they have seen that the needs of their clients have evolved with them, “Requiring a more extensive range of skills, knowledge and global best practices.” He is “Incredibly excited about the added value” that their clients will derive as a result of this acquisition, and look forward to “Making the full suite of MSLGROUP tools and proprietary processes available to clients.” He believes that “The combination of these global best practices, technologies and services, along with a strong global presence,” will enable them to deliver an even more effective, strategic and integrated communications and public relations solution” to their clients.
Epic MSLGROUP
Anders Kempe, president for the EMEA region at MSLGROUP, added that they are “Delighted to welcome Epic Communications to the MSLGROUP family.” He said they “Chose to acquire Epic because it is one of the leading strategic communication and engagement firms in South Africa and also has a great CEO,” and that they are “A consistently strong player in their market, with a client list that will both strengthen and complement” the group's existing EMEA offering, with many opportunities for collaboration. Kempe is “Convinced that Wiener]is not only going to continue to grow his company in South Africa and support MSLGroup with taking on other markets in Africa,” but he is also going to be a great contributor to MSL's EMEA management team. He adds that “This first step, building upon Publicis Groupe’s open door policy across Africa,” is the “First step of many other steps,” for them to come in Africa, underlining their commitment to the market.
Epic is an established leader in the South African market, with 50 consultants stationed across its offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town
Epic is an established leader in the South African market, with 50 consultants stationed across its offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town and a steadily growing influence throughout the rest of Africa. The agency currently has over 40 clients on retainer, which include blue-chip names such as Samsung, Nedbank, DHL, Cipla and Old Mutual, and it has grown by an average of 40% annually since it was founded. The agency has won numerous awards from some of the industry's most respected events, but their most recent win was being named African Consultancy of the Year at the 2014 EMEA Sabre awards. According to a press release accompanying the announcement, “The success of the agency is fuelled by its ability to offer clients an integrated strategic communications solution across multiple disciplines to aid clients achieve their business objectives, including traditional media and investor relations, reputation management, activations and digital expertise.”
