Publicis Groupe ANZ launches Le Truc creative collective

Publicis has launched Le Truc across its Australia and New Zealand network, introducing a creative collective model designed to work across its agency network in Australia and New Zealand.

Rather than operating as a standalone agency, Le Truc will function as a cross-disciplinary team deployed onto briefs that require integrated capabilities spanning creativity, strategy, media, data and technology. The model, originally established in New York, is designed to support projects that sit outside traditional agency structures or demand specialist expertise drawn from multiple disciplines.

Publicis Groupe ANZ CEO Michael Rebelo said the collective adds another operating layer to the Groupe’s regional offering.

“The shape of this collective will help Publicis Groupe ANZ unlock exponential creative opportunities for our clients and agency brands, giving us another format to bring creativity to our clients’ business challenges,” Rebelo said.

Le Truc is positioned as a flexible resource that can plug into Publicis Groupe agencies rather than compete with them. Publicis Groupe ANZ chief creative officer Dave Bowman said the collective is intended to complement existing agency teams.

“Le Truc is a shapeshifting creative collective that brings different thinkers together to solve problems requiring a new kind of approach,” Bowman said. “It adds firepower without stepping on toes and opens the door to new types of work.”

The launch reflects growing demand from clients for solutions that combine brand, media, data and technology thinking within a single engagement.

Le Truc ANZ will be led by Bowman alongside executive creative directors Katrina Alvarez-Jarratt and Iain Nealie. Alvarez-Jarratt joins the collective with experience across innovation, behaviour change and digital craft. 

“Clients want partners who can help them make category-defining moves. Le Truc is built to deliver that without the usual constraints,” Alvarez-Jarratt said.

Nealie returns to Publicis Groupe after more than a decade at Google APAC, where he led regional innovation initiatives and developed new creative products and prototyping frameworks.

“Le Truc offers the kind of opportunity creatives dream about. The speed of a startup, but with the talent and capabilities of the entire Groupe behind you,” Nealie said.

Le Truc was first developed in the US as an internal creative and innovation collective designed to break down silos between creative, media, strategy and technology.

The ANZ rollout brings that structure into the local market, with teams drawn from across Publicis Groupe’s regional agencies. Publicis said Le Truc will collaborate across its agencies, which include Leo, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Worldwide, Zenith, Spark Foundry, Digitas, Razorfish and Epsilon among others.