Last week, Publicis Groupe  and Adobe announced the launch of the Always-On Platform, an end-to-end marketing management platform from Publicis Groupe that automates and connects all components of a client’s marketing efforts. The platform will standardize on Adobe Marketing Cloud, offering all Publicis Groupe agencies access to content creation, marketing intelligence, audience build and identification, campaign delivery, and marketing performance tracking and measurement through a unified technology and data structure.

The platform will be anchored in VivaKi as an open framework so that every agency can deploy and brand it uniquely for use.  Agencies currently slated to access the system include BBH, DigitasLBi, Leo Burnett, MSLGROUP, Publicis Worldwide, Razorfish, Rosetta, Saatchi & Saatchi, Starcom MediaVest Group, VivaKi and ZenithOptimedia. The collaboration “is expected to accelerate Publicis Groupe’s goal to make combined digital and emerging market revenue 75 percent of its multi-billion dollar business by 2018,” says the group in a statement.

“Adobe and Publicis Groupe are a powerful combination and we have been delivering marketing innovation together for more than two decades,” said in the statement Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO at Adobe. “The massive scale of agency services across the Publicis networks, coupled with Adobe’s unique leadership in digital marketing solutions, will enable Publicis clients to develop best-in-class digital marketing capabilities that drive growth.”

“By embarking on this journey with Adobe, a powerhouse in creative and marketing solutions, Publicis Groupe will be the first agency holding company to offer clients an integrated set of digital marketing solutions across all key marketing and creative agencies” added Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe. “We are solving a core marketing dilemma for our clients by enabling them to more personally interact with their customers and tell relevant, powerful stories at scale, while successfully navigating the complex digital landscape.”

“We are essentially creating a new operating model stitching together multi-agency services, technologies and workflows to the benefit of our clients,” added Stephan Beringer, VivaKi’s chief growth officer.  “By converging the forces of marketing technology, data, creativity and strategy, we eliminate silos, optimize delivery and maximize the investments made in ad budgets, talent and consumer engagement.”

Always-On will offer Publicis Groupe’s agencies and clients solutions for current marketing challenges.

1. Multi-touch attribution. “The Always-On platform will move the market beyond “last-click” attribution by providing options for a multi-touch model that identifies and assigns true value to specific marketing components – online and offline – that help spur customer action,” says the statement. As such, Adobe’s Master Marketing Profile and Media Mix Modeling tools will enhance the group’s attribution and planning solutions, while Adobe Analytics will help measure the effectiveness of touchpoints across channels.
2. Audience understanding. Always-On includes a data management platform (DMP) that “will produce a robust set of customer profiles, segmentations and vertical insights.  VivaKi will also develop a data co-op where clients, and ultimately publishers, can opt in and contribute data in exchange for even richer customer profiles, vertical insights and customer intelligence.” Meanwhile,  Adobe Audience Manager and Adobe Media Optimizer will drive optimal targeting and cross-channel campaign performance.
3. Campaign and marketing automation.  Always-On is expected to automate marketing effort across multiple channels. This includes an agreement across the agencies for cross channel campaign management for search and social buy side optimization through Adobe Media Optimizer, and also, the integration of Adobe Campaign with analytics and segmentation tools.
4. Content and experience management. The digital asset management capability within Adobe Experience Manager is expected to enable teams, wherever they sit inside the network, to easily and effectively create, manage, and control digital assets.

Both Adobe and Publicis Groupe will invest in joint sales and marketing, including retaining a dedicated team of strategists and business development specialists to innovate and bring the platform to market.