Publicis Groupe revenue up in third quarter

Publicis Groupe reported $1.9 billion in revenue in the third quarter, a 6.4% increase compared with the previous year. The holding company's North American business, which accounted for 49% of Publicis' overall revenue, generated $947 million, up 5.5% year-over-year, according to an earnings report released Oct. 20.

Specialized agencies and marketing services, including digital services, were responsible for 50% of Publicis Groupe's revenue, while advertising generated 31% and media the remaining 19%.

Publicis' revenue grew 6.9% to $5.7 billion in the first nine months of 2011. North America revenue in the first nine months of the year reached $2.6 billion, a 6.3% year-over-year increase.

Digital accounted for 30.2% of total revenue for the first nine months of 2011, up from 28.7% during the same period in 2010.

New business wins during the first nine months of the year brought in $5.7 billion in net new business for the period. In the U.S. Starcom MediaVest Group won the Burger King account, Leo Burnett Worldwide won the Esurance account and ZenithOptimedia won the Pizza Hut account.

Publicis-owned agencies include Digitas and Razorfish. The holding company launched a CRM agency, CRM365, on Oct. 11.