Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide Merge to Form Leo

Publicis Groupe is kicking off 2025 with a union of a more creative kind, combining two networks to create one constellation through the Power of One. The company is merging Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide to create Leo, a creative unit that will boast over 15,000 employees in 90 countries. 

“At a time when global brands and challenges require outsized creativity to drive scaled transformation, personalized content and connected brand experiences, Leo is designed to deliver solutions for the world today, by uniting Leo Burnett, the brand of Humankind, and Publicis Worldwide, the network that stands for transformation, leading the change and the Power of One,” the company declared in a statement.

Here is the launch film released this week…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R7f9tlxBlk

Leo Burnett’s regional offices will now simply go by Leo. Leo Burnett Chicago, for example, will now be known as Leo Chicago. The same goes for Publicis Worldwide offices, except Publicis Conseil, which will retain its name, according to a spokesperson. Leo’s logo includes both the “Leo” name and Publicis lion, a staple of the agency group’s branding.

An expansion and redesign of the Leo Burnett logo, Leo unites the firepower of one of the most iconic first names in advertising with the roar of a lion to form a formidable global creative force of 8,000 creative minds from Leo Burnett and 7,000 from PWW, with 8 agencies of the year across 90 countries, and over 400 major creative awards.

Leo is led by the team that made Publicis Conseil the Cannes Lions 2024 Agency of the Year, Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet who will act as co-presidents, and Chief Strategy Officer Gareth Goodall. Together they are responsible for Leo’s global creative community and culture, that will be activated at the country level through the Power of One, ensuring the constellation’s creative thinkers and makers have direct access to the Groupe’s data, tech and media assets. Andrew Bruce, CEO Publicis Groupe Canada, will also take on the additional role of Chairman, Leo North America.

The Leo constellation joins Publicis Groupe’s creative roster, alongside Saatchi & Saatchi, LePub and BBH, and creative hot shops like Fallon and The Community, as well as Le Truc, the only creative collective operating at holding company level.

Carla Serrano, Global CSO Publicis Groupe said :“Through Leo we are doubling down on our strategy of strong creative brands, connected to the industry’s only data, media and tech ecosystem. With Publicis as the global group brand we all rally to, we are now accelerating on the Power of One, turning two networks into one constellation.”
 
“At Publicis, we have demonstrated time and again the power of the Power of One. Leo’s global spirit will live and breathe at the local level, with outstanding creative and strategic talent turbocharged by best-in-class data and technology through our country model, to create truly bespoke models for its clients.” added Agathe Bousquet, co-President of Leo and President of Publicis France.

Marco Venturelli, co-President and Chief Creative Officer of Leo commented: “We’ve never had so many tools to better understand people and connect with them. Nevertheless creativity still is, and forever will be a messy human process. Leo will be a true global community of creative and strategic talents, connected together for a more human way of creating at scale.”

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe commented: “I have had the privilege of leading both Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Since then, other iconic names have disappeared, but I have never believed that creative efficiency should mean fewer brands and fewer operations. It is about big ideas from creative minds that are nurtured by strong agency culture, to have an impact on our clients’ business. In today’s world it is also about more collaboration and more access to capabilities. That’s exactly what Leo stands for. By unifying the spirit and talent of these global creative communities, Leo will be bigger, stronger and on more doors than ever.”  

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