French advertising holding company Publicis Groupe SA said it has acquired Profitero, an e-commerce software company that offers digital-commerce software and services for brands, including offerings that help clients compare prices with competitors, monitor product availability, and track customer ratings and reviews. Publicis is reported to have paid around $200 million to acquire the company, which has 300 employees, and says it has more than 4,000 brand clients.
This acquisition is very strategic for Publicis and illustrates how the scope of marketing is broadening in the digital realm as companies are looking for more marketing support.
Profitero helps brands show up on a retailer’s “digital shelf” when consumers search for terms that can be as generic as “chocolate bar,” said Sarah Hofstetter, president at Profitero. “Search results are going to vary both by retailer and the levers that brands can pull to ensure that they get to the top…” Ms. Hofstetter said. “There’s anything from ratings and reviews, to price adjustments, to promotional activity to supply-chain fulfillment, to which pictures and videos and text you use, how many bullets—there are hundreds of levers that you can pull, just to make sure that you show up more for the term chocolate bar.”
Today’s CMOs are expected to not only drive product awareness and be the voice of the brand, but also to make a direct revenue contribution to company sales. Technology platforms like Publicis/Profitero can comprise a bigger part of the funnel as they not only drive awareness, but do so at a critical part of the consumer’s shopping journey at a time and place where a purchase decision is being made.
Overview by Don Apgar, Director, Merchant Services Advisory Practice at Mercator Advisory Group
