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French advertising and public relations company Publicis Groupe has acquired Atomic 212°, Australia’s largest independent media agency, expanding its existing "big six" footprint nationally.
The deal follows strong growth across the Australian and New Zealand arm of Publicis Group and builds on the company’s existing portfolio of agencies in the region comprising Spark Foundry, Zenith Australia, Starcom Australia and MBM New Zealand.
The multinational also owns Brisbane-founded Software as a Service (SaaS) platform CitrusAd.
"Our media practice in ANZ has been on an incredible trajectory, experiencing growth and momentum across all metrics,” says Michael Rebelo, the CEO of Publicis Groupe ANZ.
“The acquisition of Atomic 212° presents a unique opportunity to bring Australia's most progressive independent media agency into our fold, further strengthening and scaling our media capabilities.”
Rebelo says Atomic 212° is “globally recognised for its world-class expertise”.
“For over 15 years, it has consistently delivered growth to clients by leveraging marketing technology and data in media,” he says.
“By adding Atomic 212° to our market-leading roster of agency businesses, we solidify our position as the only group in ANZ capable of offering truly comprehensive end-to-end marketing transformation solutions to our clients."
The Sydney-based Atomic 212° was founded in 2014 by Barry O Brien and James Dixon who have grown the business to represent a “who’s who” of major brands from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin.
“We’re joining a group that’s already on a strong trajectory,” says O’Brien, the chairman of Atomic 212°, in a LinkedIn post.
“This isn’t just about getting bigger; it’s about doing better work and pushing boundaries for our clients.”
After more than 30 years in the media sector, including an extended stint with Total Advertising Australia as founding partner, O’Brien established Atomic 212° through the merger of agencies D212 and Atomic Search.
"We have grown Atomic 212° into a world-class media operation, but we recognise that the complexity of marketing requires holistic services for our clients,” says O’Brien.
“By joining the global best in this regard, we are confident that we can offer our staff and clients an even better experience moving into the future."
O’Brien says that the from the first meeting with Publicis Groupe team, their encouragement to help the Atomic 212° business grow was “the compelling factor in making this decision”.
“The way the Groupe’s connected platform proposition flows through the organisation, its leadership, its people and its clients is truly powerful,” he says.
Publicis Group is among the "big six" advertising and PR agencies currently operating in Australia which include Dentsu, GroupM, Havas Media, Mediabrands and OMG.
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