Publicis Launches 'Spine' Data and Analytics Arm

Marcoms group Publicis has launched an initiative called Spine, which brings together its data assets, technology and appropriate talent to help clients turn data into business insight. It will be led by Lisa Donohue, as Chief Executive Officer.

Spine will data match first, second and third-party sources to create unique IDs indicating when, where and how to target consumers and with what message. The initiative also includes a platform called PeopleCloud, combining behavioral and semantic intelligence to identify sources of client growth at the individual level. A team of 3,500 engineers, analysts and strategists from across Publicis will come together into this one, centralized data and analytics team.

Donohue (pictured) most recently served as Starcom Global Brand President. She will be joined by Jason Kodish, currently Global Chief Data Scientist at DigitasLBi, who will serve as Chief Data Officer of Publicis Spine; and Steve Simpson, who currently runs Publicis Media's global Analytics and Insight practice and will serve as President of PeopleCloud. Both will report to Donohue, who in turn reports to Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO of Publicis Groupe and Steve King, CEO, Publicis Media, and Publicis Groupe Directoire member.

The group is also moving its Digital Business Transformation assets within Publicis.Sapient into industry practice verticals; and moving DigitasLBi from Publicis.Sapient to Publicis Media, to provide the former with an 'agency hybrid' of creativity, media, data and technology, with access to additional data and media resources. Commenting on the news, Sadoun said: 'These moves are the natural next steps in the development of our model, further strengthening capability on both the marketing and business transformation fronts and, importantly, closely interconnecting them, fueled by all of our data expertise'.

Web site: www.publicisgroupe.com .