Publicis Group acquires Atomic212 in major consolidation for media agency sector
Holding company Publicis Group has acquired indie media agency Atomic212 in what is likely to be one of the last major agency deals of its kind.
Atomic will join Publicis Group
Major clients for Atomic212 include Tourism NT, WeightWatchers, Dan Murphy’s, BHP, Bupa and BMW Group. No price has been disclosed for the deal although industry newsletter Mi3 has speculated at $35-50m for the 16-year-old agency. Atomic212 was Australia’s biggest remaining independent media agency.
The move comes at a time when most holding companies are reducing their number of agency brands. Publicis Group media agencies include Zenith, Starcom and Spark Foundry in Australia and MBM in New Zealand.
The deal will result in a payday for Atomic’s leadership
Publicis Group CEO Michael Rebelo said in a statement: “The acquisition of Atomic 212° presents a unique opportunity to bring Australia’s most progressive independent media agency into our fold, further strengthening and scaling our media capabilities.
“By adding Atomic 212° to our market-leading roster of agency businesses, we solidify our position as the only group in ANZ capable of offering truly comprehensive end-to-end marketing transformation solutions to our clients.”
The deal marks the second major payday for Atomic212 chairman Barry O’Brien who previously sold Total Advertising to Omnicom which in turn became the launch base of PHD Media into the market in 2009.
O’Brien said: “From our first meeting, the Publicis Group offering and their continuous encouragement to help our business grow was the compelling factor in making this decision. We have grown Atomic 212 into a world-class media operation, but we recognise that the complexity of marketing requires holistic services for our clients. By joining the global best in this regard, we are confident that we can offer our staff and clients an even better experience moving into the future.”
The leadership trio of O’Brien, chief digital officer James Dixon and CEO Rory Heffernan got Atomic212 back on track after a torrid time when an investigation by Mumbrella into cheating in industry awards by then CEO Jason Dorris saw his exit, followed by a messy legal battle over his exit.
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Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large. He returned to Mumbrella as Publisher in January 2025
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This won’t be the last deal of its kind… Publicis isn’t acquiring another agency; its acquiring media billings. If it’s cheaper to take those billings via pitching, the bigs will go that route… but if it’s cheaper to simply buy the billings then that’s what they’ll do. The “agency” will quickly go from being a company to a sales function (to further grow billings) then disappear altogether. The overall strategy of reducing the number of brands remains intact…
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