Publicis Media unveils global commerce capability

Publicis Media has launched a global commerce practice dedicated to spearheading a comprehensive capability.This spans commerce strategy, media and marketplace investment, as well as content and merchandising.The capability will be part of an end-to-end solution within Publicis Groupe, spanning Publicis.Sapient and Publicis Communications to bring together technology infrastructure, media and creative into a single offering.The new practice will be helmed by former president of commerce and innovation for Publicis Media, EMEA, Ali Nehme (pictured). He takes on the new role of global practice lead, commerce, Publicis Media, and reports to Digitas global brand president, Michael Kahn, who will also serve as executive sponsor of the commerce practice.In this new role, Nehme will be responsible for accelerating the commerce capability and talent, as well as unlocking new client opportunities. He will oversee a team of regional commerce leads in Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas, and also deploy an agency-embedded talent model with commerce leads, directly managing client strategy and implementation.In his previous role, Nehme drove the advancement of the commerce capability across the region with Starcom and Zenith. He also handled key global accounts such as L’Oréal, Nestlé, P&G and Samsung.Through strategy and acceleration, the commerce practice aims to understand shopper needs and the journey to identify and drive the areas of growth. It will help clients manage the complexity of their direct-to-consumers (D2C) sites and e-retailers.The team will also plan and link media to commerce, allowing investment recommendation and management between the brands’ D2C sites and e-retailers.Additionally, the team will also manage and elevate the product presence on the e-retailers through content design, production and optimisation to improve brand visibility and consumer experience.Steve King, CEO, Publicis Media, said commerce is a massive growth opportunity for the business and the industry at large.“Nehme’s deep expertise and experience guiding commerce strategy and capabilities for key agencies and their clients will help us effectively lead and manage the intersection of media and commerce to maximise brand sales online and across marketplaces,” King said.