Interview: Maurice Lévy, ceo Publicis

Q. Publicis is now the world's fourth largest advertising group. In a recent interview, you said that you would rather be a challenger than the biggest company in the world. What did you mean by that?

A. Talking about goals when we've just reached fourth place is a bit theoretical. First, we have to confirm our position. We started in France as a small French company, and France isn't a leading marketing country. So we must be modest. But at the same time this has made us fighters. We are real challengers - that's our strength.

We're not winning because we have lots of money or lots of important clients, but because we always look ahead. We're trying to catch up with the leaders by trying to be the best. This state of mind is essential. We shouldn't be arrogant and say, 'We're number four, but we won't be for long.' Of course, that doesn't mean we don't want to grow.

Q. Will growth come from new acquisitions?

A. It will initially be a question of winning new clients and finding new budgets for our various units. We are lucky to have great brands in all sectors. With names like Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett; Zenith, Starcom Media and Optimedia in the field of space buying; Medicus or Nelson in the health sector; and several brands in promotion, we have extraordinary potential. We will get stronger when we finish our integration program. We have a consolidation program that will comprise acquisitions.

Q. Why did you get rid of one of your brands?

A. For several reasons. First, today, there isn't a single network or a single group in the world that can allow itself to have four brands. Moreover, all the other groups have three brands. No brand or network has reached a level at which it can do without providing supplementary services. It is thus necessary to supplement on the geographic level or in terms of the penetration of certain markets. We have to consolidate Saatchi, Publicis and Leo Burnett.

Finally, in view of the fact that D'Arcy lost quite a few budgets, I thought it would have been quite difficult for it to set out to conquer. So, all the conditions were there for us to undertake an operation that had never been done in our field: completely dismantling a network to round out three others. To date, it's been successful.

Q. What do you think the future holds for the communications and advertising sectors?

A. Business will change profoundly, contrary to what happens normally. As far as we're concerned, business won't change on the surface because we'll continue with ads, marketing thinking, customer relations operations and distribution. What will change profoundly is the technology - at the level of the media, the Internet and customer relations. There will be significant changes, the extent of which we don't yet know.

Q. There now seems to be a move towards cheaper and cheaper means of distribution. Print and broadcast media are launched via the Internet.

A. It's true that technology will change the media mix considerably. There will be an incredible number of channels - in Europe there are already over 500. There should be profound changes in pay per view and in the ways of consuming the film mix. That said, the effect of cost inertia is significant.

Things won't change overnight. Look at what's happening in France. The television mix has greatly increased but, for the moment, 91 percent of the audience watches terrestrial channels and only nine percent watches satellite and cable.

Q. Why?

A. Simply because, as Goethe said, man is a creature of habit. Look at [French TV channel] TF1. It's now doing extremely well despite its past difficulties, which it has largely overcome. But even when it was having problems - that is, after privatization - it hung onto its customers. So, you have to build up a loyal audience.

On the other hand, there is the extraordinary phenomenon of the Internet. Young people log on for hours every day. We will see television channels being abandoned in favor of the Internet, and we'll be better able to target a much better qualified clientele. But this will take time. The big mistake was to believe that things would move quite quickly. I also believed this.

Q. Do you think it was the technology or the clients that weren't ready? Because, today, thanks to technology, the client can be precisely identified.

A. We do know how to do that very well, and so do the clients. The problem with technology is that you have to know how to manage it. You are only reaching a narrow target. On the other hand, cookies and banners are not enough.

When you have the chance to have a 30-second ad on television or a 45-second ad at the movie theater, you can deliver a message that is far richer than you can via the Internet. Finally, there will be other media. No mistake about it, the media store will play a key role.

Q. What do you mean by 'media store'?

A. The store itself will act as a medium. It's currently thought of as a place for the marketing of products, but above all it's a place for communication and it's used above all as a place for the promotion of products.

We can continue to evolve in this direction because it's the place where people buy and thus represents the moment when they choose a competitor. That's where you have to intercept the consumer to be sure he's going to choose the right brand: the one you're representing.

Q. Is your group ready to make this leap?

A. I think that one of the reasons for the success of Publicis is that we are the leaders of change. We were the first to think in terms of holistic communication. And the first to provide integrated services. Now, all the groups have followed us, and it's amusing to watch them move in this direction - eight years later.

Today, we unquestionably have the most creative spirit, and the closest to that of our clients and our consumers. Publicis is the group that has best understood what is happening on the cultural level. Even though it is French, the group does not belong to the dominant culture, and we have taken onboard the need to respect our cultures. That's a rare thing.

Q. What do you think of the clash of civilizations theory?

A. I'm not sure if we're experiencing a clash of civilizations. We are, though, clearly living through a turning point in our history. When you look at what's going on, whether it's the creation of the European Union, free-trade zones or globalization, what do we see?

The more international business we do, the more we need roots. People want to find themselves, whether it is in the world of music or literature. A region's need to turn in on itself is accompanied by international tensions and sometimes by terrorism - nearby in Europe, with what is happening in Spain, or with the fundamentalists that decided, in the name of higher ideals, to combat Western civilization.

I don't think this means that there is a clash of the Christian world and Islam. There are simply religious fanatics who want to fight a civilization they abhor. That inevitably creates tensions.

Some people fan the flames by saying that the rise in fundamentalism is a clash of civilizations, when it is only a question of hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of people who have resolved to fight a world they hate because they have a hard time tolerating the existence of the Other.

Q. As an adman, how do you communicate to both the West and the Arab world?

A. It's not an advertising problem, but a philosophical problem. There needs to be common values. I think that the most important ideas are the ideas of freedom, human rights and respect for other people. The West shouldn't try to impose its values on the East, and vice versa. Everyone needs respect - it's what should prevail.