Publicis Groupe Announces Advertise BG Acquisition in Bulgaria

Further strengthening its local end-to-end Marketing Solutions offering for Clients

Leveraging Global Capabilities and Know-How

Sofia, January 10, 2023 – Publicis Groupe today announced the acquisition of Advertise BG, one of the leading performance marketing agencies in Bulgaria. The strategic acquisition will further reinforce Publicis Groupe Bulgaria’s competencies in digital transformation, adding firepower to its existing offering across digital strategy, data, social media, and digital content creation.

Advertise BG currently handles more than 100 local and international clients across different business verticals offering expertise and services including performance marketing, branding and awareness, social media marketing, digital design, analytics and­­ conversion rate optimization as well as training and consulting.

This acquisition will see Advertise BG merge into and become a part of Digitas Sofia, the connected digital marketing agency within Publicis Groupe Bulgaria.

Established in 2007 by Alexander Georgiev as a digital marketing agency offering services to small and medium-sized businesses in the United Kingdom, the company shifted its operations to the Bulgarian market and applied its know-how to attract larger local clients including 8888, Mebeli Videnov and Sport Depot. As Google Ads’ Premier Partner, they are also the only agency in Bulgaria to be recognized twice in a row by Google with an award from the competition “Ready to Rock”.

 “In the last few years, a lot of our efforts have been invested in developing our digital capabilities and partnerships aiming to support our clients in their digital transformation. Our north star has been finding the connection between building ideal customer digital experiences and right business outcomes. This acquisition will further enhance Publicis Groupe Bulgaria’s capabilities in digital transformation to complete our existing, established specializations in digital strategy, data, social media, and digital content creation. Advertise BG team’s vision and ability to drive growth for their clients through digital performance and e-commerce channels coincides with our ambition to be the leading and preferred partner for our clients in their digital transformation journey.” says Vessela Apostolova, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Groupe Bulgaria.

“This strategic acquisition in Bulgaria will complete our digital performance, commerce, data and technology offering for the benefit of our clients by bringing additional value and speed they currently need. At the same time, Advertise BG market-leading talent will be able to help Publicis Groupe to further strengthen its current leadership role in Digital Marketing Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe,” comments Tomas Lauko, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Groupe Central & Eastern Europe.

“Having worked with Publicis Groupe Bulgaria over the years across multiple projects, this partnership is a natural next step and of strategic significance for us. This union opens the door for us to tap into the vast global Groupe expertise much more effectively and apply the available proprietary technologies and platforms to gain a competitive edge on the local market and beyond.” – adds Alexander Georgiev.

Alexander Georgiev will assume the role of Digital Transformation Director and become a member of Publicis Groupe Bulgaria’s Executive Board – while working closely with Dessislava Stoyanova, COO and Managing Director of the Media Business, Vanya Duncheva, Digitas Managing Director and Boryana Atanasova, Media Director Digitas. The new role will see Georgiev report directly to Vessela Apostolova, CEO, Publicis Groupe Bulgaria.

About Publicis Groupe – The Power of One

Publicis Groupe is a global leader in communication. The Groupe is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation. Publicis Groupe is a privileged partner in its clients’ transformation to enhance personalization at scale. The Groupe relies on ten expertise concentrated within four main activities: Communication, Media, Data and Technology. Through a unified and fluid organization, its clients have a facilitated access to all its expertise in every market. Present in over 100 countries, Publicis Groupe employs around 96,000 professionals.