Swatch hands China media duties to Publicis

Following Dyson China, Swatch China has become the latest agency to switch its media agency to Publicis, after ending its two-decades long partnership with GroupM, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE understands.

This came shortly after the Chinese authorities raided GroupM’s Shanghai office and detained a senior executive and two former employees over alleged bribery in October last year. GroupM China’s country manager and CEO Patrick Xu also stepped down from his role after 10 years.

In terms of its financial status, at constant exchange rates, Swatch Group sales for 2023 were 12.6% above the previous year. The hugely negative currency impact was HK$4bn (CHF 554 million) or 7.4%, which weighed on profitability accordingly.

Despite the challenging currency environment and the deliberate increased investments in marketing, the Watches & Jewelry segment (including Production) maintained the same strong operating margin as in the previous year, at 17.2%.

In Asia, double-digit growth was achieved in Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, India, Japan, and China. Further afield, Swatch’s retail presence grew in Hong Kong as it welcomed the K11 pop-up and store as well as a new point of sale at ifc mall.

On the other hand, Publicis has recorded a +6.3% net revenue organic growth for 2023, coming after a stronger-than-expected end to the year at +5.7% in Q4, according to Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe:

With a reported revenue of close to US$16bn in 2023, up 35% versus 2019, Publicis has firmly established itself as our industry’s second-largest player and the first in terms of market capitalisation.

Entering 2024, Sadoun said the agency feels confident in sustaining this momentum, just as it’s done for the last four years with a +4.7% CAGR, twice the industry average.

Related articles:

Dyson China hands media duties to Publicis
Publicis Groupe hands SEA CEO Nicolas Menat APAC client chief role