Global marketing and communications group Publicis announced the signing of a strategic partnership with internet giant Tencent earlier this week at the Viva Technology Paris, a leading event devoted to start-ups and innovation.

Tencent, operates popular social and media platforms in China, and this partnership is claimed to be the first of its kind between a global advertising group and China’s largest Internet company.

“China continues to lead the world in advertising growth, especially in digital and mobile, and we increasingly see new ideas and technology that leapfrog the West. Tencent is a company that embodies this strive for growth and innovation and we are honoured to be their first-ever global partner and look forward to everything we will achieve together for the ultimate benefit of our clients,” Maurice Lévy, Publicis Groupe Chairman & CEO said.

“Today we are at Viva Technology Paris, the leading event devoted to start-ups and innovation, and I am very proud to have Mr SY Lau and his team, among other brands [of Chinese] origin, to share more on the Chinese Digital Revolution,” Lévy added.

Through the partnership, Publicis Groupe and Tencent will launch a “Drugstore” incubation facility to curate and cultivate start-ups, providing new offerings to Publicis’ clients in data and ad tech.

Tencent, as per the agreement, will give Publicis access to its online behavioural data, consequently benefitting clients through improved programmatic offerings, cross-screen integrated planning capabilities and conversion performance.

Moreover, the companies will jointly invest in and create native web content to drive up opportunities by creating new content models for key clients.

“This bold new partnership with Publicis Groupe, the first of its kind across all of our assets, will lead the global trends and deliver new ways to meet the needs of our clients and business partners. In parallel, this collaboration will give brands and organisations around the world a better understanding of China’s unique and dynamic mobile Internet development, while creating huge business opportunities associated with this new market,” SY Lau, senior executive vice-president of Tencent and president of Online Media Group, said.

“Tencent is one of the world’s most influential digital media platforms and Publicis Groupe is one of the global leaders in marketing and communications; together, we will define the new era for the media industry and unveil a new partnership model,” Lau added.