Publicis Groupe unveils Marcel; what is it and will it replace creatives?

"Marcel is a journey to shift Publicis Groupe from a holding company to a platform and give creative minds the freedom to progress and thrive in this ever-changing industry," said Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of the Publicis Groupe.

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In June last year, Publicis Groupe announced its decision to redirect its promotional budget away from industry events and awards shows to invest in developing Marcel, to connect its 80,000 employees and completely reinvent the way the agency and industry works as a whole.

Publicis Groupe shifts spend on award shows, other events to AI initiative

Jessica Tennant  21 Jun 2017

“Tying the development of Marcel to our one-year industry event hiatus was a controversial decision, but a necessary one. It drew a line in the sand and left no doubt that we are determined to do whatever it takes to reinvent an industry that has struggled to evolve over the past 40 years,” said Sadoun, grateful for the support and solidarity during this period, which will end in July 2018.

Following this announcement, Sadoun has faced a deluge of questions from staff and clients, perhaps the most pressing being whether or not they’ll be using Marcel to build out creative campaigns and replace creative, as reported by Campaign. In response, Sadoun said:

Our only value, true value, lies in our ability to bring emotion to justify price. The creativity we have in us is the only thing that will protect us. So, of course, AI won't replace creative. But I do feel, and I think that, AI and technology can make creative better. Way better.

For more:

• Here's how Publicis Groupe's AI-powered solution Marcel will look and work - Campaign
  
• Publicis unveils long-awaited details on new AI platform Marcel – Fast Company
  
• Publicis Finally Answers the Ad Industry’s Most Pressing Question: What Is Marcel? – Adweek
  
• Publicis and Microsoft have launched an ambitious AI platform called Marcel – Business Insider
  
• Microsoft and Publicis unveil Marcel, an AI-based productivity platform for the ad giant – TechCrunch