16183: How Decolonizing Design Can Diversify Adland.

Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall is both auto-biographical and anti-racist—a call-to-action for justice, equality, and institutional transformation, as well as a call-out to the colonization that has historically harmed non-Whites and adversely impacted design.

 

Tunstall has served in a range of leadership roles, culminating to her current position as Dean of the Faculty of Design at Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto—and she’s the first Black person to hold such a title in the world. Other professional accomplishments include associate dean and professor at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. In Adland USA, Tunstall has worked for White holding company Publicis Groupe and White advertising and digital firms such as Arc Worldwide and Sapient (although technically, it would be improper to label the latter a White enterprise).

 

The book presents plenty of provocative perspectives—like putting Indigenous demands first in DE&I hiring plans. Hell, Adland USA DE&I hiring plans prioritize White women, White LGBTQI+, White people with disabilities, White people who are neurodivergent, White old people, and numerous other White groups well ahead of non-Whites, with Indigenous communities relegated to the bottom of the proverbial totem pole. In fact, it’s unlikely that the standard White advertising agency even has DE&I hiring plans.

 

Another interesting point involves Tunstall’s success in orchestrating the “cluster hire strategy”—that is, appointing numerous minorities into executive slots at once. Recruiting a group of people together can—in addition to accelerating DE&I efforts—help lessen the pressures that may build up around a single minority appointment, as there will be communal support from the start, which also aids in retention.

 

To be clear, the maneuver happened in Canada, where legal measures (e.g., the Ontario Human Rights Code) allow such group hirings when it can be shown an underrepresented segment has historically faced discrimination. It’s hard to imagine executing the move in the UK or US, where cries of reverse discrimination would likely commence. The ruling majority, of course, has no problem with the Caucasian cluster hiring that created an exclusive industry. In short, Adland would turn minority cluster hires into major clusterfucks.

 

Read Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall. For a primer, check out Tunstall’s thoughts on how to make Adland a safer space for Black people.

14882: Publicis Groupe Is Silent As A Mime On Marcel.

More About Advertising opined on the delayed launch of Publicis Groupe’s messed up marvelous Marcel, an AI project management “platform” allegedly designed to coordinate and connect the countless Caucasian corps comprising the holding company. In 2017, Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun banned award show entries, partly in order to finance the technological toy. It’s bad enough that the organization boasting deep digital departments is apparently struggling to assemble an organizer gizmo. Then again, Publicis Groupe is more comfortable and crafty with digital disorganization.

14863: Fishbowl Good List Is Fishy And Not So Good.

According to the self-hype, “The Fishbowl Good List Celebrates Agency Professionals For Their Goodness.” The “good” White advertising agencies include Publicis Sapient, VMLY&R, Wunderman Thompson, FCB and Digitas. As the old line goes, “Good is the enemy of great.” And Fishbowl should change its name to toilet bowl.

14836: Publicis Sapient CEO Hearts Harriet Tubman—Yet Might Want To Go Underground.

AgencySpy posted that Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz sparked controversy by integrating Harriet Tubman into a companywide conference call. Hey, Vaz is no John Schnatter—and the man insists he spoke of Tubman as a source of inspiration. Perhaps Publicis Sapient staffers will feel compelled to start an Underground Railroad to escape the poopy Publicis plantation posthaste. Hopefully, ignorant coworkers won’t compound the cultural cluelessness by mispronouncing Vaz’s first name.

Publicis Sapient CEO’s Reference to Harriet Tubman on Companywide Call Causes Friction

By Erik Oster

A reference to abolitionist Harriet Tubman by Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz during a company-wide call was perceived by some employees as culturally insensitive.

Vaz made the statements during a global, all-hands call across the company’s offices on Oct. 28. AgencySpy spoke with three sources who took issue with Vaz’s comments about Tubman, who was born into slavery before the Civil War and led others to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

“I shared a personal story about someone that inspired me as a child, and used a quote from her that I found inspirational,” Vaz told AgencySpy.

The quotation he shared with the staff was, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars and to change the world.”

“In no way was Harriet Tubman referenced in any other context,” he added.

However, three sources present on the call expressed the view that it was exactly the context of the conversation they found troubling. In the call, which was described as a regular town hall-style agency update, he included a brief explanation of Tubman’s historical significance for those on the global call who may not have been familiar with her as a lead-in to the quote.

After sharing the quote, Vaz expressed his hopes that it would inspire employees as they look to what the agency can accomplish, sources told AgencySpy.

The three sources who spoke with AgencySpy interpreted this as implicitly connecting Tubman as a source of inspiration to the agency’s goals, recontextualizing her words (and, by extension, accomplishments) for the business world, something they felt was culturally insensitive.

“I can completely understand how equating Harriet Tubman’s story to business would be [insensitive]. However, in the context of the conversation I was having, I was referencing her as a personal inspiration from childhood who shaped how I think about the world around me,” Vaz explained in a statement to Adweek. “If my words were misinterpreted, that was not the intention. I believe the experience of Harriet Tubman and of slavery deserves space, respect and care.”

Ironically, the quote that Vaz shared with his staff can’t be conclusively attributed to Tubman. According to author Kate Clifford Larson, who wrote the 2003 biography Bound For the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero, “This quote was entirely made up in 2007. There is no documentation, nor historical basis for this quote.”

Vaz was named CEO of Publicis Sapientin February as the agency completed a reorganization and officially retired the interactive agency Razorfish. He formerly served as CEO of Publicis Sapient International in the EMEA and APAC regions, and replaced Alan Wexler, who moved into a chairman role.

Publicis Sapient went through a staffing realignment in July, which sources said impacted around 100 employees and was related to financial performance. This year the agency has faced the challenge of a reorganization accompanying Vaz’s arrival, as it retired the Razorfish brand in the wake of its absorption into Publicis Sapient.

14819: Now Publicis Sapient Has Less Talent Than Ever.

AgencySpy posted Publicis Sapient Chief Talent Officer Kristi Erickson bailed out after less than 3 months on the job. Imagine that—more management shifts at a man-made shithole. Not sure why anyone ever thought a chief talent officer was necessary for talentless offices. Oh, wait a minute.

Publicis Sapient Chief Talent Officer Out After Less Than 3 Months

By Erik Oster

Publicis Sapient’s chief talent officer has ended a very brief tenure in the role.

Sources with knowledge of the agency cited an internal memo announcing today as Kristi Erickson’s last at Publicis Sapient and appointing Kameshwari Rao as interim chief talent officer. It’s unclear if the agency is searching for a permanent replacement in the role or if Rao may take on the position permanently. Publicis Sapient declined to comment.

25-year Accenture veteran Kristi Erickson joined Publicis Sapient in September from Mosiac Talent, which she founded and for which she served as managing director. At the time, Nigel Vaz, who was named Publicis Sapient CEO in February, cited her “extensive background and expertise,” as well as her “commitment to inclusion and talent development.”

Publicis Sapient began the year with a fresh identity, after a SapientRazorfish reorganization last year led to over 100 layoffs. A subsequent reorganization this July reportedly related to financial performance impacted around 100 more, including layoffs and reassignments. In May, Publicis Sapient was awarded a $112 million assignment to maintain the Department of Health and Human Services’ IT platform.

14567: Wunderman Thompson Global Chief Talent Officer Is A Wordy Oxymoron.

Adweek reported Wunderman Thompson played musical chairs with its Global Chief Talent Officer position, recruiting Maree Prendergast from Publicis Groupe and shifting Laura Agostini to another role within WPP North America. On the one hand, Agostini offered zany perspectives and technically had been at the helm during the Gustavo Martinez-Erin Johnson debacle, Jo Wallace-Straight White Men fiasco, gender pay gap scandal and more, so maybe it was time to make a switcheroo. But what is the value of swapping her for a clone from Publicis Groupe—who oversaw talent at Publicis.Sapient to boot? The move feels like onboarding a clown from a rival circus. And if WPP executes the plan to execute 2,500 workers, does the White advertising agency need a Global Chief Talent Officer at all? Instead, recent hires have included Global Chief Talent Officer, Global Chief People Officer and Global Head of Culture. If there’s a Chief Diversity Officer too, they represent perhaps the most diverse example of useless talent of any single organisation.

Wunderman Thompson Hires New Global Chief Talent Officer From Rival Holding Company

Laura Agostini will move to a role inside WPP North America

By Erik Oster

Wunderman Thompson attracted its new global chief talent officer from a rival holding company.

Maree Prendergast is joining Wunderman Thompson in the role from Publicis.Sapient, effective as of March 25. Laura Agostini, who previously served as global chief talent officer for the agency, is moving on to a position within WPP North America.

As global chief talent officer, Prendergast will be tasked with overseeing talent strategy and execution, driving agency culture. She will be based out of Wunderman Thompson’s New York office and report directly to global CEO Mel Edwards.

“Talent is the most valuable and important aspect of our business, and Maree’s ability to build and execute against our agency’s strategy will be imperative to the success of Wunderman Thompson,” Edwards said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Maree to the Wunderman Thompson family.”

“I am excited to be part of this global agency at its inception and to guide the growth of its talent across the network,” added Prendergast. “I believe the core offerings that Wunderman Thompson delivers make it an exceptionally unique and exciting place to be a part of.”

Prendergast was named chief talent officer at Publicis.Sapient in August of 2017, following a year and a half in that role for Publicis One. Before that, she spent over two and a half years as chief talent officer, North America for MSL Group.

The move follows WPP naming Judy Jackson to the new role of global head of culture last week and hiring Jacqui Canney from Walmart as global chief people officer the week prior. WPP unveiled the branding for the new Wunderman Thompson at the beginning of February.

14522: Publicis.Sapient Poops Out More Digital Dookie.

AgencySpy posted on the latest shuffling at Publicis.Sapient—the industry’s biggest digital dunghill. There’s even a new website featuring an embarrassingly bad video, demonstrating once again that digital agencies shouldn’t be allowed to handle creative assignments. Plus, the website appears to show off an oh-so-diverse staff—until realizing the tattooed hipster and crew are available for hire via royalty-free stock photography.

Publicis.Sapient Names New CEO as the 28-Year-Old Razorfish Brand Comes to an End

By Patrick Coffee

The reorganization of Publicis.Sapient has finally happened.

As part of its earnings call today, Publicis Groupe announced that Nigel Vaz will become the CEO of Publicis.Sapient, with predecessor Alan Wexler moving into the chairman role.

Vaz was formerly CEO of Publicis Sapient International in the EMEA and APAC regions.

The release goes on to state, “As part of this news, Vaz is also leading a rebranding of Publicis Sapient, which will see the company come together to create a single unified brand laser-focused on combining creatives, technology, research and analysis in order to provide a comprehensive service to clients in the digital business transformation (DBT) space.”

The subtext here confirms Adweek’s July 2018 report regarding Publicis’ plans to fold the 28-year-old Razorfish organization (which had since merged with Sapient) into Publicis.Sapient, which is one of the holding company’s four larger “solutions hubs.” Publicis never confirmed the story despite the fact that the Razorfish Wikipedia page currently reads that it “announced plans to sunset the SapientRazorfish brand and roll the remaining employees under the Publicis.Sapient organization.”

The description continues: “By fusing our experience, capabilities, customer experience and viewpoint, along with innovative engineering, within a culture renowned for problem-solving creativity, Publicis Sapient will be able to leverage its skillsets in management consulting and other emerging areas such as data and AI to deliver an authentic customer-centric approach to its clients, helping them digitally transform in the process. This people-centric approach to digital business transformation will continue to evolve alongside the preferences of clients and their consumers.”

In a statement, Vaz said he is “honored to take on the role of Publicis Sapient CEO at this time” and that he will work to integrate its “consulting, industry expertise, experience and engineering capabilities at scale while enhancing the culture and values, which have made us an integral business transformation partner since our inception”

As the July story noted, this merger has been going on for some time and went through multiple delays, as many such large-scale projects tend to do. Publicis has also made several efforts to streamline the organization—the July story also noted triple-digit layoffs, and multiple parties reached out to us after it went live to state that the ultimate number of U.S. employees affected was around 200.

It should be noted that SapientRazorfish employed more than 12,000 at the time, and the new entity includes 20,000 across 35 offices around the world.

According to sources close to the organization, more cuts came in recent weeks and primarily affected the creative side of the business.

A Publicis.Sapient spokesperson declined to comment beyond the release.

Razorfish came to life in 1990 as one of the original digitally-oriented agencies. Microsoft acquired the company in 2007 and then sold it to Publicis two years later for an estimated $530 million in cash and stock, with Razorfish and Sapient becoming one in late 2017. As of this moment, the RazorfishSapient website still exists, but that will not be the case for much longer.

Publicis missed its earnings goals for the final quarter of 2018, and while Arthur Sadoun said the results were “outstanding” given the “challenging” environment, he acknowledge that this quarter would make for a “bumpy ride.”

14234: SapientRazorfish Fishiness.

Adweek reported on layoffs at SapientRazorfish, revealing potential plans to “retire the Razorfish brand” and dump the remains into the global Publicis.Sapient dung heap. This is not surprising at all.

SapientRazorfish Lays Off 100 in U.S. as Publicis Prepares to Retire the Brand, Sources Say

Agency will reportedly be folded into Publicis.Sapient

By Patrick Coffee

SapientRazorfish, the “digital transformation agency” created by the union of SapientNitro and Razorfish, went through a U.S. restructuring this week.

Sources who spoke to Adweek on condition of anonymity said multiple offices were affected, with one putting the total number of layoffs at approximately 100.

The same sources characterized the move as the beginning of a larger plan to retire the Razorfish brand and fold the organization into Publicis.Sapient, one of Publicis Groupe’s four major “solutions hubs” that currently includes Sapient Consulting. Until late 2017, the Digitas organization was also part of that group.

“As we work to evolve Publicis.Sapient, we have been evaluating our business model to ensure we can be the best digital transformation partner to our clients,” wrote a company spokesperson. “As part of that process, we recently made the difficult decision to part ways with a small number of our people.”

The spokesperson declined to elaborate further and did not directly address or dispute specific claims made by Adweek’s sources.

According to a party with knowledge of the business, the downsizing was intended to correct a revenue imbalance noted in the company’s forecast for the third and fourth quarters of 2018. While the consulting division of SapientRazorfish has reportedly seen double-digit growth so far this year, the digital and creative portions of its practice have not been as successful—and the company may not meet revenue goals for 2018.

Another source told Adweek that Los Angeles and Cleveland were the offices hit hardest by this round of downsizing and that several executive-level leaders within SapientRazorfish were let go.

Publicis acquired Razorfish from Microsoft in 2009 for more than $500 million and spent nearly $4 billion on Sapient in 2015. Since then, the company has struggled to define its goals for the two organizations, eventually combining them to form SapientRazorfish in late 2016 and relaunching the brand early last year as a provider of six key offerings ranging from data management to artificial intelligence.

Beyond its consulting practice, SapientRazorfish’s offshore operation, which employs roughly 10,000 people in India and performed much of the back-end work on the Marcel platform, has been a marked success. Last year, the organization announced plans to double its workforce in the next three to five years.

The last major restructuring occurred in November 2017, when co-CEO Chip Register announced his retirement and SapientRazorfish global CEO Alan Wexler became chief executive of the Publicis.Sapient organization. The company’s stated goal at the time was simplification.

Onetime Sapient CEO and chairman Alan Herrick, the first chief executive of Publicis.Sapient who was once seen as a potential successor to former Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy, also left the organization several months ago.

According to multiple sources, the transition from SapientRazorfish to Publicis.Sapient began earlier this year and already applies to all the agency’s internal operations. Publicis is expected to make further announcements in the coming months.

13955: Why SapientRazorfish Stinks.

Advertising Age reported on another Mad Man Behaving Badly—newly terminated SapientRazorfish Head of North America Business Development Adam Grohs, who allegedly “created a hostile work environment and discriminated against women” who didn’t “suck up to him.” Remember when former Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy opined that Gustavo Martinez presented an isolated incident versus representing the industry in general? And how he gushed about combining SapientNitro and Razorfish, declaring the “market leaders” would revolutionize the planet? And when he green-lighted more management layers at Razorfish to enhance the “world-class talent” running the mediocre mess? And the ways he continued to destroy the digital field via asinine acquisitions and piss-poor planning? The truth is, Lévy is a classic failure, executing common mistakes related to mergers and acquisitions. Building successful enterprises demands defining visions, fostering mutual respect, agreeing on goals, establishing processes for prosperity and empowering leaders with integrity—as opposed to clumsily purchasing companies, dumping bodies into shared office space and expecting unity to magically happen on its own. In the end, Grohs didn’t create a hostile work environment. Lévy did. If anything, Grohs is a symptom—or collateral damage—of a bigger ailment. What’s more, Lévy’s blundering does not represent an isolated incident.

SAPIENTRAZORFISH’S ADAM GROHS OUT AFTER REPORTS OF ‘CREATING HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT’

By Lindsay Stein

Adam Grohs, elevated earlier this year at SapientRazorfish to business development lead for North America, is no longer with the company, following reports that he created a hostile work environment and discriminated against women.

Ad Age spoke to five different women regarding Grohs’ behavior. One female SapientRazorfish executive said she made a formal complaint to human resources in the last few months. But Ad Age has learned of at least one other formal complaint made by a woman executive to the company’s HR department about Grohs, along with other informal complaints alleging he created a hostile work environment. Grohs did not respond to inquiry for comment.

A now-former employee says she made the initial formal complaint to HR in spring of 2016 that she says led to an internal investigation. The woman who filed this complaint alleges that Grohs discriminated against women and created an antagonistic work culture.

“He’s a bully,” the woman who filed the complaint told Ad Age. “I’d walk into rooms and he’d tell me to shush. He’d scream and yell. I literally couldn’t do my job. He was very disrespectful.”

A different female senior leader within SapientRazorfish who has first-hand knowledge of this specific HR complaint and investigation says, “I’ve experienced his hostility toward women. He was a very reluctant to work with any smart woman. He did not like a woman with an opinion.”

This woman told Ad Age Grohs had been “very rude and dismissive” of her as well as other women. “He loved junior women who would suck up to him,” she says.

SapientRazorfish confirmed that Grohs is no longer with the company. Monday was his last day.

“We take all issues presented to HR very seriously and thoughtfully,” a SapientRazorfish representative said in a statement. “The company encourages and promotes a comfortable and conducive work environment for all of our employees. We do not tolerate behavior that in any way disrupts this environment. While we do not discuss internal issues, we can acknowledge that there were concerns raised regarding Adam, and we’ve dealt with those issues.”

Earlier this year, Grohs was promoted from regional business lead to his most recent role of North American business development leader for SapientRazorfish.

During the company’s internal investigation of Grohs’ behavior in 2016, a third person with knowledge of the matter said that both men and women reported having similar issues with Grohs. These people, however, did not lodge formal HR complaints.

“He’s a bully and he can be demeaning toward other people in the workplace,” this person told Ad Age under the promise of anonymity.

According to another former Sapient executive who wishes to remain anonymous, “It’s the inherent bias that he’s shown in the workplace toward females: removing female high performers from projects without justification, yelling and belittling high performers in large meetings in front of male peers.”

13921: Restructuring Bullshit.

Adweek reported Publicis.Sapient is restructuring once more, now streamlining versus adding layers of bureaucratic mediocrity. Why not streamline the name to Pubic.Shit?

Publicis.Sapient to Go Through Another Restructuring as Co-CEO Retires

Co-CEO Alan Wexler will take over as single leader

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

Publicis.Sapient co-CEO and longtime agency executive Chip Register announced today that he will retire at the end of 2017. Co-CEO Alan Wexler will take over as the leader of the digital shop as the holding group looks to further streamline its digital division.

Nigel Vaz, the Publicis Groupe global business transformation lead in charge of overseeing the expansion of such efforts across the holding group’s network, will begin working directly with Wexler. The idea behind the collaboration is to simplify Publicis.Sapient.

“This is the next step in evolving the Publicis.Sapient organization and will accelerate even more our ability to bring to our clients our consulting and technology capabilities in a seamless way [in order to] to become the indispensable partner of their transformation,” said Arthur Sadoun, Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO. “It is a key endeavor to strengthen our Digital Business Transformation offer, and this will be the primary objective for Alan and Nigel in their respective roles.”

Vaz will still report to Wexler, and both will continue to serve on the Publicis Groupe Executive Committee. Wexler is specifically tasked with accelerating integration of digital business transformation across the network.

In his retirement, Register will focus on building his Digital Engagement Center for the Prevention of Violence, the nonprofit he started with his wife, Andrea, to help at-risk people “exposed to belief systems that urge violence as a means to advance a political or social agenda.” Publicis said it will support the nonprofit in producing creative content aimed at violence prevention.

“I want to thank Chip for his many years of leadership and wish him success on the launch of this digital engagement center as it is an important step forward toward the reduction of violence in our society,” Sadoun added. “We are proud to help sponsor this initiative, and Publicis will work as a partner to enable its purpose.”

In November of 2016, Register was appointed co-CEO of Publicis.Sapient alongside Wexler. Around the same time, Publicis Groupe underwent its major restructuring, dividing its creative, media, healthcare and digital properties into four “hubs” including Publicis Communications, Publicis Media, Publicis Healthcare and Publicis.Sapient. In October, the holding group added another unit, Publicis Spine, to handle data assets, tech and talent across its global media network.

Before that, Register served as CEO of Sapient Consulting since 2015 and worked with the larger Sapient Corp. since 2007.

13769: Presenting SapientNitroCho.

Adweek reported on this over a year ago, but it’s definitely worth reviewing. SapientNitro Digital Strategist William Yu sought to spotlight the lack of diversity in Hollywood by replacing White stars in movie posters with John Cho. Nice concept and execution—probably the best thing to ever come out of SapientNitro. As this blog has criticized the digital shop in the past, it’s only fitting to apply Yu’s idea to spotlight the lack of diversity in SapientNitro leadership too.

John Cho Appears in Popular Movie Posters to Address Lack of Diversity in Hollywood

SapientNitro digital strategist’s campaign goes viral

By Katie Richards

Take a look at a handful of movie posters from some of the hottest films, from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Me Before You and Jurassic World. What do you notice?

William Yu, a digital strategist at SapientNitro, noticed a serious lack of diversity. “The lack of representation of Asian-Americans in media is something that’s always been top of mind for me,” Yu told Adweek. Recently, Yu came across a study reporting that movies with more diverse casts actually lead to higher box office numbers and returns on investments. So why, he thought to himself, is Hollywood still not putting Asian actors in starring roles and hiring white actors for Asian roles?

That prompted the 25-year-old Korean American to launch the Starring John Cho campaign on Twitter with Harold & Kumar actor John Cho as the star. Yu took a number of big movies from the past year and a few highly anticipated ones for 2016 and replaced faces of lead characters with Cho’s to address the serious lack of diversity in Hollywood.

Chris Evans as Captain America in Avengers: Age of Ultron suddenly becomes John Cho. Matt Damon in The Martian, Daniel Craig in Spectre, Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys, all replaced with Cho’s face. Yu went with Cho because the actor is one of the most well-known Asian-American actors in Hollywood and, with a starring role in the Harold & Kumar franchise and a role in Star Trek, Cho “has both the presence and the bankable talent to build a tent pole around,” Yu said.

Yu also made sure to pick from a wide range of genres to show that Asian-Americans can play every role from the action star to the romantic lead.

“I really wanted to give people visual and tangible evidence that having an Asian-American star in a leader role wasn’t quite so crazy or outrageous but it was actually quite fitting,” Yu said.

After picking a leading man and a few movie posters, Yu created the hashtag #StarringJohnCho, built a website where people could see all of the posters and read about the project and let the conversation kick off from there. The goal, he said, was always to “spark and ignite a conversation about Asian-Americans and how they are presented in Hollywood.”

The campaign has already gained traction on Twitter and, as Yu hoped, sparked a conversation and even a larger movement with fans of the campaign creating their very own movie posters. Cho has even been in on the action, tweeting a heart at the Starring John Cho Twitter account.

13687: Publicis Groupe’s Financial Follies.

Campaign reported a French magazine claimed Publicis Groupe “incorrectly accounted for a settlement agreed with one of its software and IT services suppliers.” Um, does anyone doubt Publicis Groupe might fuck up the finances regarding any deal connected to a digital enterprise? Hell, whatever happened with the $500 million termination fee stemming from the failed merger with Omnicom? The White holding company’s accountants must be cooking the books with all the skills of world-class French pastry chefs.

Publicis Groupe refutes accounting allegation

By Maisie McCabe

The agency has strongly refuted claims made in a French magazine that it has incorrectly accounted for a settlement agreed with one of its software and IT services suppliers.

Yesterday the weekly news magazine L’Orbs reported on claims made by Fabrice Rémon, founder of the shareholder activist organization Gouvernance en Action, that the way Publicis Groupe had accounted for the settlement inflated its results.

In a statement, Publicis Groupe said the dispute was “arbitrated and resulted in a settled resolution, covered by a confidentiality agreement, whereby Publicis Groupe would be compensated for the costs of the delays and difficulties it sustained.”

The compensation was accounted for through a reduction of the book value of the balance sheet assets relating to the project, in part through the neutralization in the 2014 accounts of the extra costs the delays had caused and in part to cover extra costs in subsequent years as a result of the delays, Publicis Groupe said.

Publicis Groupe did not mention this accounting treatment in the notes to the financial statements for the 2014 or in that year’s annual report as its auditors — who had validated the treatment — deemed it was not necessary to do so.

In its statement, Publicis Groupe said it communicated this information to Rémon and to L’Obs ahead of publication. It said it reserves “all our rights for any damages that such publications may have on our stock price, the company or our shareholders.”

13668: Death Spiral Acceleration.

AgencySpy posted on a memo from SapientRazorfish CEO Alan Wexler explaining the latest C-Suite evictions and structural erections.

Here’s an excerpt:

Effective immediately, we are simplifying the structure of our organization by combining our Practice teams with SapientRazorfish’s Transformation Acceleration Team, which was recently created to identify transformation opportunities and shape digital enterprise capabilities needed to successfully execute against our strategy. This combination will create a tighter connection between our ability to shape the front-end of our business and deliver on the transformational outcomes for our clients at the speed they require by allowing greater access to our offering and digital business transformation experts. Adrian Slobin will lead the Transformation Acceleration Team and Practices that align to it.

Based on this new structure, we have come to a mutual agreement with Shannon Denton and he will be leaving the organization. He has led Razorfish through extraordinary change over the last eighteen years, with his passion for innovation always ensuring his team and organization stayed far in front of the competition. We wish him great success in his next venture.

Well, it’s a safe bet that Denton’s next venture won’t be as fucked-up as the psycho ward he’s leaving. At least he’ll be relieved of all the garbled gobbledygook and looney levels at SapientRazorfish. Let the transformation—and death spiral—acceleration begin!

13602: Translating Transformation.

Adweek reported Publicis Groupe announced SapientRazorfish—the mutant merging of SapientNitro and Razorfish—is designed to help “clients transform their businesses in a connected world.” SapientRazorfish CEO Alan Wexler explained, “Transformation today requires a new type of partner able to combine enterprise-wide connected digital excellence with customer journeys and experiences that drive future business strategies, culture and operating models.” Having a dictionary to interpret corporate jargon and bullshit is useful too. Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy added, “Today’s business leaders are realizing that a bifurcated approach of leaning on agencies to transform experiences and on consulting partners to transform business processes no longer works—it’s too slow, too fractured, organizationally unsustainable and most importantly, the focus on the customer gets lost in the complexity.” Lévy’s gobbledygook undoubtedly sounds more impressive when delivered with a French accent. However, today’s business leaders should think twice before partnering with SapientRazorfish, as the enterprise has not yet solved its own slow, fractured and organizationally unsustainable issues.

Publicis Groupe Reveals What Its Newly Formed Agency SapientRazorfish Will Do

6 key offerings to transform businesses

By Katie Richards

Late last year, Publicis Groupe merged two of its digital agencies, SapientNitro and Razorfish, into one. Today, the network announced some of the core offerings that the newly-formed agency, called SapientRazorfish, will have for clients. The goal, according to the agency, is for SapientRazorfish to help “clients transform their businesses in a connected world.”

“Transformation today requires a new type of partner able to combine enterprise-wide connected digital excellence with customer journeys and experiences that drive future business strategies, culture and operating models,” Alan Wexler, SapientRazorfish CEO, said.

In order to make that transformation tangible for clients, the agency announced six key offerings including digital business strategy and innovation, customer experience, data and artificial intelligence, marketing modernization, IT modernization and commerce.

Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy said in a statement that the market is in need of a “partner that drives real and sustainable business transformation for the connected age through an obsessive focus on the customer.”

SapientRazorfish is part of the network’s digital offerings, Publicis.Sapient. Moving forward the agency will work closely with other brands under the Publicis.Sapient name, including DigitasLBi and Sapient Consulting to fully deliver clients the promised “customer-centric digital transformation.”

Added Lévy: “Today’s business leaders are realizing that a bifurcated approach of leaning on agencies to transform experiences and on consulting partners to transform business processes no longer works—it’s too slow, too fractured, organizationally unsustainable and most importantly, the focus on the customer gets lost in the complexity.”

13436: One Plus One Equals Poo.

Adweek reported Publicis Groupe merged Sapient and Razorfish into a single digital dung heap. It wasn’t too long ago that Razorfish was blended with Rosetta to create a multi-layered mess. The agency site map keeps expanding, but the content isn’t really progressing. Iconic adman Jay Chiat asked, “How big can we get before we get bad?” Um, the digital shops here have been bad for many years. At this point, Publicis Groupe is pushing the bigness of bad.

Publicis Groupe Merges Global Digital Networks Sapient and Razorfish

SapientRazorfish combines assets

By Patrick Coffee

Publicis Groupe confirmed weeks of rumors today, announcing the merger of its SapientNitro and Razorfish networks to create a new global operation it’s calling SapientRazorfish. The goal is to better meet clients’ digital marketing needs within a single organization.

According to a statement from Publicis, the move, which had been in the works for months but still came as news to most of the two units’ 10,000-plus employees around the world, creates a network “designed to better fuse the significant experience and technology capability across the two businesses in response to client needs for digital expertise at scale.”

SapientRazorfish will be part of the Publicis.Sapient “solution hub,” which also includes Sapient Consulting and all DigitasLBi operations. Publicis brand experience network Rosetta will continue to operate as a unit dedicated to the Samsung business.

“By creating SapientRazorfish and by implementing a more integrated management structure, we are combining the very best digital and technology assets in one combined unit,” said newly promoted group chairman Alan Herrick. “SapientNitro and Razorfish have been clear market leaders since the invention of digital. To now bring them together builds on the great success we have seen in many recent collaborations with clients.”

The announcement is also in keeping with the larger Publicis Groupe’s “Power of One” approach, which focuses on consolidation as a selling point for clients eager to cut marketing expenses and streamline related partnerships.

In the abstract, Publicis hopes SapientRazorfish will leave the holding company better prepared to address the complementary challenges of change and speed in order to serve clients’ increasingly digital needs.

There is also a series of leadership changes. Herrick, who had been president and CEO of the larger Publicis.Sapient umbrella group that formed earlier this year, will now be chairman of the new unit. Former Razorfish global CEO Shannon Denton was named global chief strategy officer of SapientRazorfish in addition to global practice lead at Publicis.Sapient.

Alan Wexler and Chip Register, who had been CEO of SapientNitro and Sapient Consulting, respectively, will now serve as co-CEOs of SapientRazorfish. The two will also assume regional leadership of Publicis.Sapient in North America, while global chief strategy officer Nigel Vaz leads the European and Asian operations from his home base in London.

Publicis Groupe framed the announcement as a way to further what it believes to be an advantage over its rival holding companies in the digital sector. It also hopes to retain business by offering clients a more fully integrated resource for digital services.

“For the past 10 years, Publicis Groupe has been leading the way in reshaping our company to be more digital,” said chairman and CEO Maurice Levy in a statement. “SapientRazorfish is a powerful new entity in the marketplace uniquely combining customer experience strategy, omnichannel commerce and technology deployment to create a new breed of digital transformation partner pointed at today’s most critical client need—reshaping their businesses for the future. I am confident that Alan and Chip, together with the new Publicis.Sapient structure and management in place, will continue to drive digital revenue to our goal of 60 percent by 2018.”

In a joint statement, Wexler and Register said, “We are excited to assume responsibility for leading Publicis.Sapient. Now we start this new chapter to further integrate in response to the increasing digital demands of our clients.”

13381: Changing Livers With Diversity.

Campaign published a patronizing and pathetic perspective from SapientNitro Global CCO Donald Chesnut, who presented “real-world solutions” to create inclusive cultures and combat exclusive conventions. Unfortunately, the “real-world solutions” are old-world clichés—including embracing diversity of thought as a business initiative, talking the talk and walking the walk, and empowering others to get involved. SapientNitro demonstrates once again that digital shops are not capable of hatching inspired and original concepts. And a peek at the SapientNitro leadership shows the standard dearth of diversity that Chesnut allegedly strives to change. Hell, Chesnut couldn’t even bother to integrate a proofreader, as he proclaimed, “Because it is through our differences in experience that we have a real opportunity to make our work better and our livers richer.” Yes, but don’t expect to see any diversity in the rich livers at SapientNitro.

Diversity in action: How to create an inclusive culture

By Donald Chesnut

SapientNitro’s global chief creative officer gives real-world solutions for fostering diversity

Leading up to Advertising Week New York, I asked my team what panels and events they were most looking forward to. While many said they planned to attend “Storytelling in the age of Snapchat,” or were excited by the star power of Drew Barrymore, The Roots and Arianna Huffington, far more mentioned a topic that hits a little closer to home: diversity.

In recent months, this issue has been in the spotlight for our industry. Brands like HP and General Mills have challenged their agencies to ensure their workforce is diverse and Advertising Week has an impressive seven diversity-themed panels or events on the docket this year. We all agree that this topic is not only worth talking about, but also taking clear and deliberate action to address.

However, before we try to solve advertising’s diversity challenge, it’s important to clarify just what that terms means. At SapientNitro, and at many other agencies and brands, diversity is not quotas, targets or numbers. It’s not about having more representation of one group or replacing one voice with another. Diversity is about inclusivity. It’s a challenge to each and every member of our industry to make a conscious effort to not only accept our differences, but celebrate them. Because it is through our differences in experience that we have a real opportunity to make our work better and our livers richer.

With that in mind, I offer a few real-world solutions for fostering diversity that I will be discussing tomorrow at Advertising Week:

Approach diversity like a business initiative. Diversity of thought has a powerful impact on our business. Having a vast array of cultural experiences, ages, genders, religions, sexual orientations and lifestyles gives us the insights and the skills to evolve alongside the massive demographic, technological and social shifts that we’ll see in the coming decades. And diversity of thought can help guard against groupthink, increase the scale of new insights, can help organize the right group of people to tackle new and complex problems and leads to better work overall. Given the critical nature of diversity for our business, it’s important for leaders to approach this challenge with the same rigor as we would for client engagements. Efforts should be aligned to a clear and consistent mission and vision, and results should be measurable. This work is important to our future success—and therefore worthy of our investment today.

Do something. Talk is good—but action is better. At SapientNitro we take a multifaceted approach to diversity that allows for grassroots, employee driven initiatives, and a culture and engagement team that focuses on fostering and cultivating our values. We also have a variety of formal programs like Career Returns, to help on-ramp people who have taken an extended break from the workforce, experiential unconscious bias workshops, and high-potential development programs focused on women. While we don’t propose every organization mirror our efforts, we believe it’s important for all members of our industry to help solve this issue. Our impact is stronger—and our progress quicker—when we tackle this challenge together.

Empower others. Diversity does not begin and end with the executive committee. It is a challenge that should be embraced and owned by every member of the organization. But it is the duty of leadership to empower their people to effect change. As the executive sponsor and founder of Potential Realized in Diverse Experiences (PRIDE) at SapientNitro, for example, my approach to work is to encourage people to bring their full, authentic selves to a project—and in turn bring more innovation and technological expertise to our clients. While I’m very proud of my role in this group, I would like to emphasize that I’m merely one representative … there are many more. By empowering others to join me in championing diversity, this issue becomes top of mind for many.

As an industry, we have work to do in this area, and we’re looking at ways to move the needle collectively. But the truth is, real and lasting change is often not just the result of programs, but of a person. We’re challenging ourselves and everyone we touch in our industry, because taken together, these individual commitments can create a huge collective impact.

Donald Chesnut is SapientNitro’s global chief creative officer. His panel, Creative Diversity Hacks: Real-world solutions for diversifying your staff that can be implemented today, was moderated by Campaign US Editor-in-Chief Douglas Quenqua and held on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 4:15 at Nasdaq MarketSite.

13380: Silver & Gold.

Campaign reported JWT NY CEO Lynn Power and SapientNitro Global CCO Donald Chesnut spoke on diversity during an Advertising Week 2016 panel discussion. The duo used phrases like “silver lining” (as in, recent scandals and culturally clueless capers have a silver lining, in that it all inspired much-needed diverted diversity conversations) and “silver bullet” (as in, there is no silver bullet for solving the exclusivity problems; rather, White advertising agencies must execute a variety of tactics, solutions and smokescreens). Sorry, but Power and Chesnut deserve golden showers.

Diversity conversation is “silver lining” of industry scandals, says JWT NY CEO

By I-Hsien Sherwood

JWT NY CEO Lynn Power and SapientNitro Global CCO Donald Chesnut discussed the recruiting repercussions of recent scandals in their agency networks

How do agencies involved in high-profile discrimination scandals address the concerns of diversity candidates—the very people they need to recruit to move past the problem? JWT New York CEO Lynn Power and SapientNitro Global CCO Donald Chesnut addressed the question during a panel on creative diversity programs at Advertising Week on Tuesday.

“People can think for themselves and make up their own mind” after seeing the kind of people who work at JWT, Powers said. “They will decide if they want to be part of that culture,” one that values curiosity, collaboration and courage, she said. In March, JWT’s then-CEO Gustavo Martinez resigned after being accused of sexual harassment and making racist statements by Chief Communications Officer Erin Johnson. A lawsuit between Johnson and JWT parent WPP is still in litigation.

And the conversations and changes sparked by the scandals is a “silver lining,” Power said. “This conversation that needs to happen. It’s a good thing that we’re talking about it.” She noted that JWT has made improvements in hiring women and racial minorities over the last six months and indicated her and her agency’s commitment to continued progress. “Diversity drives business,” she said. “We need to make it a priority.”

Chesnut said potential employees should refrain from painting an entire agency and the people who work there with too broad a brush – stereotyping, if you will. “One person does not necessarily summarize an organization,” he said.

He was critical of the comments of Kevin Roberts, former chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi—which, like Sapient, is part of Publicis Groupe—who resigned in August after dismissing concerns about gender bias and blaming women for their lack of representation in industry leadership. “Diversity is a work in progress,” Chesnut said. “Once you start to say ‘We don’t have a problem in certain areas,’ you lose all credibility.”

But even the perception of bias can undermine efforts to change, he added. “If candidates aren’t seeing or feeling diversity, whatever we say won’t be important,” Chesnut said, likening it to the advice agencies often give brands about needing be authentic and walk the walk.

Both Power and Chesnut stressed that there is no single “silver bullet” that will solve diversity issues in the industry. Rather, it is imperative for agencies to try many different approaches and iterations.

Lincoln Stephens, co-founder and CEO of the Marcus Graham Project and Madeline Di Nonno, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media were also on the panel, moderated by Campaign US editor in chief Douglas Quenqua.

12920: Welcome Back, White Women.

Adweek reported on a SapientNitro program designed to help executives return to the advertising world after extended time away. First of all, why would anyone ever want to return to SapientNitro? Second, the program appears to be catering to women. Third, it’s worth noting that SapientNitro Chief Experience Officer Donald Chesnut said, “Valuing life experience as much as work experience is important. It’s been a blind spot in our culture. We talk the talk about valuing different things, different perspectives. It’s time to walk the walk.” Okay, but why not apply such open-minded thinking to diversity? It’s so typical for White advertising agencies to hatch schemes for returning White women—yet do nothing towards recruiting and retaining minorities.

This ‘Returnship’ Eases People’s Transition Back to Agency Jobs After Years Away

SapientNitro’s program could serve as a model

By David Gianatasio

Sue Vering was an associate creative director at DDB Chicago when she left in 1998, ultimately taking seven years off from the ad business to raise her daughter, get involved in community activities and write freelance features for the Chicago Tribune. By 2005, when circumstances dictated a return to agency life, she found herself at FCB Chicago, on the KFC account, and struggling to fit into a world that had grown unfamiliar during her absence. Many nuances of the business—from technology and workflow to the office jargon—seemed strange. “It was a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be,” said Vering. “Even coming physically to an office every day was disconcerting and disorientating. You put up this front that it’s seamless. It’s not.”

Stacy McIntyre knows that feeling all too well. In 2000, she left her account director position at Boston shop Greenberg Seronick O’Leary & Partners to start her own business and then a family. After a decade away, she re-entered agency life at Boston’s Allen & Gerritsen. “I returned as a very junior coordinator,” she said. “It was a very different world than years’ prior, and I had a lot to learn. It was like having a first job again.”

Vering and McIntyre are among the lucky ones as ad professionals who successfully returned to the industry—in each case, leveraging personal connections to secure jobs—despite huge gaps on their resumes. Both are thriving in the business today. Many such applicants, however, fail to transition back into the agency world. Some never make it past the interview stage. A disproportionate number of these people are women, who often leave the business to start families or care for loved ones. Experts predict that the ranks of the returnees will swell in coming years, and some believe agencies should take steps to ensure that such candidates, with years of valuable knowledge and experience to offer, get a fair shot at being hired, and a chance to thrive when they do.

So far, there has been scant support for such applicants, making returns for people with resume gaps especially tough given the youthful culture often cultivated by today’s agencies and the quick-changing nature of modern media, marketing and technology. Last week, however, taking its cue from initiatives in the financial sector (from firms like Goldman Sachs), SapientNitro debuted a 10-week paid pilot program that could serve as a model for agencies to follow. The program was developed by Sapient in conjunction with Red Cliff Marketing cd Hélène Côté, who leads “returnship” initiatives for The 3% Conference, which champions creative female talent and leadership.

Sapient has accepted its first two returnees, one of whom, Carol Hansen, left the business nine years ago after rising to global creative director and e-marketing strategist at PR Newswire’s parent company. Until Sapient brought her aboard, “there just wasn’t anything out there for me,” she said. Now, after a few weeks of immersive training and mentoring, she’s helping to develop an app for MasterCard. “I’ve really caught up,” she said. “I get it. I understand the process.”

Does Sapient hope to keep Hansen—and its other program participant, Rainy Orteca, who is studying UX on a scholarship at tech school General Assembly before joining the agency—long term? “It’s more than a hope,” said Donald Chesnut, Sapient’s chief experience officer. “It’s an expectation. Valuing life experience as much as work experience is important. It’s been a blind spot in our culture. We talk the talk about valuing different things, different perspectives. It’s time to walk the walk.”

The bottom line, according to experts, is that seasoned returnees, owing to the depth of their experience, intense job focus and drive to succeed often exceed limitations. That’s certainly true for Vering, still at FCB, now leading about 35 staffers as svp, group creative director; and McIntyre, who, after five years at A&G, joined Santander Bank’s internal agency as a senior campaign manager.

12485: Publicis.Sapient Is Live.

Advertising Age reported Publicis Groupe completed its acquisition of Sapient. So let the mindless management layers proceed to execute Publicis CEO Maurice Lévy’s destruction of digital. Fortunately for Sapient employees, there will be no layoffs resulting from the deal. Although would anyone notice if Lévy quietly canned a few hundred Sapient staffers in India?

Publicis Completes Sapient Acquisition

Deal Creates a New Digital Network at Holding Company

By Alexandra Bruell

Publicis Groupe has completed its deal for digital and tech firm Sapient Corp.

The French holding company said in early November that it had inked a deal to acquire the Boston-based digital network for $3.7 billion in an all-cash transaction at $25 per share.

“Our clients are facing many adverse trends: from rising global competition, to new comers born from digital, and new paradigms in communications and marketing,” said Publicis Groupe CEO and Chairman Maurice Levy in a statement. “With our new capabilities, we will be best positioned to help them transform their businesses and navigate the new world. [Sapient CEO Alan Herrick] and his teams will bring tremendous talents to Publicis Groupe. I am extremely happy to have them on board, and very confident for our shared future.”

In the statement, he cited Sapient’s marketing, technology and consulting capabilities, as well as its strength in India.

The deal creates a new “digital platform” called Publicis.Sapient. Sapient CEO Alan Herrick will lead the group and join Publicis Groupe’s Directoire. Jerry A. Greenberg, founder and board co-chairman of Sapient, will join Publicis Groupe’s supervisory board as an independent member.

Sapient Corp is broken into three groups: marketing services firm SapientNitro, Sapient Global Markets and Sapient Government Services. The bulk of the network’s staff is in India.

12435: Publicis.Sapient Delayed.

Nasdaq GlobeNewswire posted a press release announcing Publicis Groupe extended the deadline of its tender offer to purchase Sapient in order to allow for certain required approvals. The deal must now be consummated by February 5, which leaves folks a few weeks to reconsider the $3.7 billion drunken decision by Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Lévy. At least Sapient employees—including the 13,000 staffers in India—can rest assured there will be no layoffs if the acquisition happens. However, they can’t rest assured there will be no organizational changes, as a leadership cluster-fuck has already been plotted.

Publicis Groupe Extends Tender Offer to Acquire Sapient until February 5, 2015

PUBLICIS GROUPE EXTENDS TENDER OFFER TO ACQUIRE SAPIENT

PARIS, Jan. 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577, CAC40] (“Publicis”) today announced that it has extended its previously announced tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Sapient Corporation (NASDAQ: SAPE) (“Sapient”) for $25.00 per share in cash (the “Offer”). The Offer will now expire at the end of the day, immediately after 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on February 5, 2015, unless it is further extended. All other terms and conditions of the Offer remain unchanged.

The completion of the Offer is subject to certain customary terms and conditions. As previously disclosed, the mandatory waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, has expired and the Offer has been cleared unconditionally under the German Act Against Restraints of Competition. The Offer has been extended to allow additional time for the satisfaction of the CFIUS Condition and the FOCI Mitigation Plan Condition, each as defined in the Offer to Purchase dated November 12, 2014, as amended, and other related materials by which the Offer is being made.

Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the depositary for the Offer, has advised Publicis that as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 22, 2015, approximately 113,602,382 shares of common stock of Sapient have been validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the Offer, representing approximately 80.6% of Sapient’s outstanding shares. Shareholders who have already tendered their shares of common stock of Sapient do not have to re-tender their shares or take any other action as a result of the extension of the Offer.

About Publicis Groupe Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] is one of the world’s leading communications groups. The Groupe offers a full range of services and skills: digital (DigitasLBi, Razorfish, Rosetta, VivaKi, Nurun), advertising (BBH, Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi), public affairs, corporate communications and events (MSLGROUP), media strategy, planning and buying (Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia), healthcare communications, with Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG), and finally, brand asset production with Prodigious. Present in 108 countries, the Groupe employs more than 64,000 professionals