Publicis Groupe buys Mars United Commerce for undisclosed sum

Publicis Groupe has acquired Mars United Commerce, an independent commerce marketing company, for an undisclosed sum.

Mars United Commerce is a collective of commerce solutions that offers clients capabilities in shopper conversion, retail intelligence and technology. It helps marketers make their products the "top choice for consumers" in online and offline shopping ecosystems. 

Founded 50 years ago, the company has over 1,000 employees across 14 global hubs in the UK, Germany, the US, Canada and across the Asia-Pacific region. It claims to be the “largest independent commerce marketing company in the world”.

Sources have suggested that its annual revenue stands at around $750m, as of July 2024. Publicis Groupe did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

Rob Rivenburgh, global chief executive of Mars United Commerce, will remain in this role and lead the Mars team globally. 

The holding company will gain Mars United Commerce's database of consumer and shopper behaviours, which will be fused with Epsilon’s identity data. Epsilon is Publicis Groupe’s technology and marketing company which it acquired in 2019 in its biggest ever deal.

The purchase adds to Publicis' current commerce capabilities, which were bolstered through acquisitions of Epsilon, Profitero, CitrusAd and other businesses, it said.

By combining Publicis Media with Mars United’s data, the holdco is aiming to provide clients with the "ability to influence the complete commerce journey" both online and offline, with "insight into purchase journeys to motivate shopper behaviour change".

The acquisition follows Publicis Groupe’s purchase of creator marketing agency Influential less than two months ago.

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, said: “With the acquisition of Influential this summer, and now Mars, Publicis is uniquely positioned to help our clients understand both existing consumers and future prospects, and connect that knowledge at an individual level to the new media channels that work hardest for their business: connected TV, commerce and creators. All of this, in clients’ own ecosystems, gives them control over their customer relationships and transparency in their investments and outcomes.” 

The acquisition comes as Publicis Groupe continues to outperform its peers in the market. For Q2, Publicis Groupe reported organic revenue growth of 5.6%, outperforming Omnicom's 5.2% growth, Interpublic Group (1.7%), WPP (0.5%), Dentsu (0.2%) and Havas (-2.3%). Publicis increased its full-year forecast for 2024 from 4% to 5% organic growth to 5% to 6%.

Rivenburgh said: “Joining Publicis Groupe will help Mars realise our vision of being the pre-eminent global commerce company faster and more completely. We’re excited to have the support of Publicis to bring new opportunities to our existing clients and also to share our commerce solution with new clients around the globe. We look forward to writing the next chapter of commerce together.”