Why Insight Publicis and Leo Burnett Nigeria May Change Their Brand Names Soon

Based on a report by AdWeek; Publicis Groupe will be engaging in a consolidation of its creative agencies under the portfolio of its Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide agencies, thereby creating one creative network called Leo. This pattern of consolidation is the latest after Omnicom announced a merger with Interpublic in December, 2024.

Whereas, Insight Publicis and Leo Burnett are agencies that fall within the purview of this strategic decision. Will Insight Publicis and Leo Burnett in Nigeria change their brand names and identity to reflect this change?

This consolidation will bring over 15,000 employees- (8,000 from Leo Burnett and 7,000 from Publicis), across 130 agencies from 90 countries under a single leadership team. Leo will therefore be the largest creative network within the Groupe.

Prior to this announcement, Leo Burnett was Publicis biggest creative agency network. However, it is noted that the Publicis name will dissolve worldwide, except in markets such as France, where shops such as Publicis Conseil, Marcel, and Publicis Luxe will be retained.

In Publicis Groupe’s largest market, which is North America; agencies such as Publicis New York and Publicis Chicago will be renamed Leo New York and Leo Chicago.

The report notes that the global Leo team will be led by Marco Venturelli- CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Conseil, Agatha Bousquet; president of Publicis Groupe France, Gareth Goodall- Chief Strategy Officer of Publicis Creative for US and Andrew Bruce- CEO of Publicis Groupe, Canada.

While the consolidation has led to the creation of the biggest creative agency within the Groupe, creative agencies such as Saatchi and Saatchi, LePub, BBH and smaller shops like Fallon and Le Truc are still within the Groupe.

This move according to Carla Serrano- global CSO of Publicis Groupe goes to underscore the Power of One proposition of Publicis Groupe, which seeks to take advantage of differentials in data, technology and creative power to upstage competition. While the public may be tempted to believe that the merger of Omnicom and Interpublic has fueled this development, Publicis has being on the move consolidate its business, though the merger of the latter may have accelerated this development.

The rise of generative AI and artificial intelligence technology has threatened the fundamentals of the advertising and marketing industry, leading to a wave of consolidations, also including WPP’s merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R into VML in January, 2024.

Though, Publicis Groupe has emphasized that it will not implement job cuts, the consolidation surely reflects the need to streamline creative processes in order to reduce costs, as well as prepare a stronger creative proposition, especially considering that the combined revenues of Omnicom and Interpublic (over $25.6billion), based on 2023 numbers exceeds that of Publicis Groupe ($15billion).

Publicis has indicated that the consolidation of both Leo Burnett and Publicis creative teams will work because of compatibility of cultures.

Despite the assurances and certainty given by Publicis management, the fate of affiliates and core agencies in continents like Africa and Asia was not captured in their communication.

For instance, will Insight Publicis in Nigeria change its name to Insight Leo? What about Leo Burnett in Nigeria, will they change their brand name to Leo also? How does this decision affect the business strategy of both organizations?

Insight Publicis is part of the larger Insight Redefini group, which is an integrated marketing communications company, which also features; Leo Burnett, Quadrant, All Seasons Zenith, Starcom Media and The Creative Counsel Nigeria. Apparently, this development affects Leo Burnett and Insight Publicis.

We reached out to an industry veteran who asked not to be named, and he was sure that both Insight Publicis and Leo Burnett will have to change their identity in the light of this development. However, the question is when.