Publicis has recruited Renato Fernandez from TBWA\Chiat\Day as its first Chief Creative Officer across all its creative agencies in the US. He will report to the CEO of Publicis Creative US, who previously joined from Droga5.

Publicis has recruited Renato Fernandez from TBWA\Chiat\Day as its first Chief Creative Officer across all its creative agencies in the US. He will report to the CEO of Publicis Creative US, who previously joined from Droga5.

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Fernandez expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “What Publicis is building is incredibly exciting. They have consistently been ahead of the curve with initiatives like Marcel, Le Truc, and PXP. What truly sealed the deal for me was the leadership. When you have a leader who isn’t a creative but still believes in creativity above all else, it’s a powerful driving force.”

The CEO remarked, “Our brands have been integral to the industry for so long, spanning across America. Renato’s role is to enhance and sharpen all our creative thinking, making our agencies even stronger.”

Publicis’s US agencies include Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Fallon, Team One, BBH, The Community, Turner Duckworth, and MSL, with Le Truc uniting creatives from all of them.

Major holding companies are striving to re-engineer their creative agencies as legacy Madison Avenue agencies face declining billings and income. The world’s largest advertisers are increasingly holding company-wide pitches, as demonstrated by WPP’s win of the Coca-Cola account with its OpenX agency, led by Ogilvy offshoot David.

Publicis significantly expanded its original assignment with Pfizer from “creative production” to all creative, starting with a Super Bowl ad from Le Truc. This development caused WPP and Interpublic to lower their financial forecasts, signaling a substantial loss of revenue.

While the impact of a single creative leader remains to be seen, focusing on mega-clients appears to be the most effective strategy. Publicis is currently leading in many areas, and Le Truc seems to be a successful initiative. However, the company also maintains its legacy brands, adopting a pragmatic approach to rationalization despite promoting its ‘Power of One’ philosophy. In contrast, WPP has merged VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson into one agency, VML.