As organisations and brands worldwide recognise the critical role of online presence and engagement in business, they are seeking out partners with specialist know-how and skills in the field. There are numerous digital agencies presenting themselves as social marketing and digital experts, but few that are specifically focused on the discipline, and even fewer with a foundation in technology. Popimedia, the developer of meedee8, is a South African-born, international ad-tech company that assists brands in optimising digital and social media.

Kevin Tromp, Publicis Africa Group CEO indicated that the acquisition will provide clients across the continent and beyond with tools and skills that provide measurable competitive advantage.

“With this investment in Popimedia, we will increase the breadth of our offering to clients, enabling them to maximise campaign reach and through the line conversion and engagement, via social and digital media.

“We are committed to providing clients with solutions that maximise the value and positive outcomes of their investment, so Popimedia was a natural choice in the search for a partner that could provide measureable results for clients and increase their campaign effectiveness.”

“The acquisition shows that social and digital media is no longer a nice to have, but critical to brand growth in current markets. As such specialist skills such as ours have become a necessity for communication agencies and clients looking to deliver phenomenal results. The fact that we can offer proprietary technology in addition to specialist skills enables us to offer substantial value and a competitive edge for a global network such as Publicis,” says Daniel Levy, CEO of Popimedia.

On the subject of the future vision for Popimedia and Publicis, Tromp explained that Popimedia will continue to operate under its own brand but that it would be included extensively in the broad-based agency group’s current and future offering.

“We’re active in markets throughout Africa, and the Popimedia product has important application across the continent. With this partnership, we can now provide our clients with competitive advantage in the ad-tech space, wherever they choose to do business,” says Tromp.

For more information, visit www.publicisafricagroup.com.