Publicis Groupe has opened up a new brand commerce agency called Le Shop in Dublin and London.
The new agency will act as a hub for CRM, brand activation, retail experience, and omnichannel marketing for Publicis Groupe and its subsidiary agencies.
Across its Dublin and London offices, Le Shop will have a staff of over 80. Le Shop will operate as a standalone business in Dublin, independent from other Publicis businesses including creative agency Publicis Dubin and Core, in which Publicis owns a 49% stake.
It is also understood that Ciara Bailey, as managing partner, will lead the Irish business. Prior to this, Bailey worked for the Publicis-owned businesses Hawkeye and Epsilon.
Le Shop will work with 20 brands from launch, including BT/EE, Ovo and Nomad Foods, owner of brands including Goodfella’s Pizza, Birds Eye, Findus and Aunt Bessie’s.
The move follows on from Publicis Groupe’s recent acquisition of the world’s biggest independent brand commerce agency, Mars United, which has offices in the USA, Germany, the UK, Germany, Canada as well as the Asia-Pacific region.
Le Shop is headed up by CEO Amanda Farmer who previously worked as chief client officer with Publicis London while Mark Jenkins, previously of Publicis Groupe UK, joins as chief strategy officer.
“We’re in a new frontier of creativity where commerce isn’t just the transactional end of a traditional marketing funnel; today, everything can be a commerce experience. Our mission with LeShop is to bring creativity to build brands that are not just existing in commerce, but are designed for it,” says Amanda Farmer.
