HONG KONG, March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Publicis Groupe (EURONEXT Paris: FR0000130577) announced today the acquisition of two specialty marketing agencies in Asia: King Harvests and Luminous. Both agencies will be integrated into MSLGROUP, the flagship strategic communications network of Publicis Groupe. Founded in 2002, with 360-degree marketing capabilities across Tier-one and Tier-two cities in Mainland China, King Harvests' staff of more than 100 offer particularly strong expertise in both events and experiential marketing to local and international clients including Bosch, Haier, Sanyo and Siemens.
Established in 2005 and with more than 40 employees, Luminous is an award-winning experiential marketing consultancy with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau. Luminous produces live marketing events for clients including Cathay Pacific, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Prudential.
Agency heads Laura Lee and Antony Spanbrook -- founders of King Harvests and Luminous, respectively -- will report to Isabelle Chouvet, the founder of Emotion, MSLGROUP's high-end and luxury events communication agency in Asia. King Harvests' and Luminous' experiential marketing expertise will enrich the scope of Emotion's service offering.
"We have made our development in fast-growing markets in general, and China in particular, a top priority for the Groupe," explained Jean-Yves Naouri, Publicis Groupe COOand Chairman, Publicis Groupe China. "The acquisitions of King Harvests and Luminous are important milestones, and further testimony to our commitment to China. We will continue strengthening our capabilities and footprint in China for the benefit of our clients and employees."
Olivier Fleurot, MSLGROUP CEO, commented "Experiential marketing is today viewed by both agencies and clients as one of the biggest marketing opportunities for the next few years, alongside social/digital. We're therefore very excited to have King Harvests and Luminous join us to expand our Asian offering in this space."
"People today want the chance to experience a brand's promises for themselves," IsabelleChouvet added. "'Experiential' is a huge growth area globally, and by bringing King Harvests and Luminous into the fold we can offer more of what our clients are increasingly asking for in Asia today." Chouvet will now oversee a network of 280 people in Asia, acrossBeijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.
King Harvests and Luminous are the latest in a series of acquisitions in Greater China by Publicis Groupe, including Eastwei Relations, Interactive Communications Ltd (ICL), Dreams, Genedigi, Wangfan, Gomye and most recently UBS. It is in line with Publicis Groupe's strategy to increase its presence in fast growing markets, with China at its core and where Publicis Groupe has set an objective to double its size.
About Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, part of the CAC 40 index] is the third largest communications group in the world, offering the full range of services and skills: digital and traditional advertising, public affairs and events, media buying and specialized communication. Its major networks are Leo Burnett, MSLGROUP, PHCG (Publicis Healthcare Communications Group), Publicis Worldwide, Rosetta and Saatchi & Saatchi. VivaKi, the Groupe's media and digital accelerator, includes Digitas, Razorfish, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia. Present in 104 countries, the Groupe employs 53,000 professionals.
www.publicisgroupe.com | Twitter:@PublicisGroupe | Facebook: www.facebook.com/publicisgroupe
About MSLGROUP
MSLGROUP is Publicis Groupe's PR, speciality communications and engagement group, advisors in all aspects of communication strategy: from consumer PR to financial communications, from public affairs to reputation management and from crisis communications to event management. With more than 3,500 people, its offices span 22 countries. Today the largest PR network in Greater China and India, the group offers strategic planning and counsel, insight-guided thinking and big, compelling ideas -- followed by thorough execution.
www.mslgroup.com | http://blog.mslgroup.com | Twitter: @msl_group | Youtube.com/mslgroupofficial
About King Harvests
King Harvests was founded by Laura Lee in 2002 and today has over 100 employees. With over 10 years of experience in marketing and marketing recruitment for fortune 500 clients, Lee's company today offers 360 degree marketing solutions and has been active in over 40 cities across Mainland China, Hong Kong and the United States.
About Luminous
Luminous Experiential Marketing Communications is one of Asia's leading award-winning boutique event agencies with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau. Founder Antony Spanbrook is a theatrical Event producer with credits that include the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Athens Olympics; UBS' 150th anniversary celebrations and the Grand Opening events of both the Venetian Macau and Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore. Since its inception in 2005, with a talented team of more than 40 people, the agency has created and produced "live marketing" experiences, building relationships between businesses, clients, employees and consumers in the Asia Pacific region. Clients include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prudential, Audi, Cathay Pacific and Deutsche Bank.
