Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun has spoken candidly about the ad giant’s acquisition of Sapient.
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference in Barcelona, Sadoun admitted the 2014 acquisition of the tech company, which set Publicis back $3.7 billion euros, was a “nightmare”.
Talking candidly about the move, Sadoun said: “The integration of Sapient has been a nightmare for Publicis and for Sapient.”
He added: “When you bring together creative and tech … it hurts at the beginning because the cultural shock is so big, it took three years (to integrate).”
Sadoun also touched on agency acquisition in the industry more broadly, predicting a slew of consultancy and ad agency mergers in Europe.
For Sadoun, the mergers are a result of the European market attempting to keep up the race with U.S. tech giants.
According to Reuters, the shake-ups will give agencies the ability to offer end-to-end solutions to demanding clients.
Speaking to the audience, Sadoun said: “My prediction, I don’t know when it will come, is that you’ll see a first big move at some point.
“The day it will happen, the market will change,” he added.
