Publicis Groupe : Partners With Microsoft to Power Next Generation Intelligent Cloud Solutions and Accelerate Digital Business Transformation

Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577, CAC40] and Microsoft Corp. today announced a strategic alliance designed to combine its robust marketing and data capabilities with Microsoft Azure and the Cortana Intelligence Suite to help enterprise businesses leverage the power of online and offline data to reimagine their digital operations at scale.

"Microsoft is pleased to partner with Publicis Groupe to create a new class of AI capabilities to help clients succeed in their own marketing transformations. Together, we want to bring the power of artificial intelligence to help brands create new customer experiences and transform digital operations. Our new partnership harnesses the power of predictive analytics, deep learning and natural user interfaces with the scale and security of our enterprise cloud," said Joseph Sirosh, corporate vice president, data group at Microsoft.

The partnership comes on the heels of significant investments made by Publicis Groupe in data and artificial intelligence, and further builds on its Power of One strategy of putting its clients at the center of its business model. Clients will now have access to a new class of Platform-as-a-Service with the expanded launch of COSMOS A.I., SapientRazorfish's marketing intelligence platform, now offering extended reach and activation through the Azure Marketplace. Accessible to all agencies across the global network, clients can now leverage AI to learn, reason and predict the customer journey through timely, relevant brand experiences.

"Our clients recognize that their marketing and business programs can only be effective if they leverage technology and data to become deeply relevant with empowered and highly mobile people. Our partnership with Microsoft is an example of how we combine our unique assets and services with their cutting-edge cloud and AI technology to help transform our Clients business in powerful new ways," said Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer and member of Directoire+, Publicis Groupe.

"By investing in partners who are leading the industry, we are further able to create a new breed of cognitive marketing intelligence," Samih Fadli, chief intelligence officer, SapientRazorfish. "We are thrilled about this alliance with Microsoft, as we together help our clients predict the needs of their customers to ultimately open new streams of revenue."