Publicis Groupe Acquires Hepmil

Publicis Groupe continues its M&A spree with the acquisition of Singapore-based HEPMIL Media Group.

Here are the highlights, and what it means for the creator economy:

𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞
• Publicis Groupe, a French multinational advertising + PR firm.
• Founded in 1926.
• 37,881 employees per LinkedIn.
• $26B market cap, up 1.3% today on the news.
• 4th influencer marketing acquisition in the past 18 months, following Influential ($380M), BR Media Group (R$550M), and Captiv8 ($175M).

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞
• HEPMIL Media Group, a full-service influencer marketing, content creation, and social media agency.
• Founded in 2015 by Karl Mak and Adrian Ang.
• Started with popular meme page SGAG, the company has expanded into a regional agency group with offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
• 300+ employees.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
• Undisclosed

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞
• Hepmil’s local humor brands and creator connections give Publicis a strong foothold in SEA’s millennial/Gen Z segments.
• This continues Publici's global push into creator marketing to complement its classic advertising roots.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲?

1️⃣ Creators move further into the mainstream marketing stack.

Creator marketing has become an essential element of the marketing playbook. Publicis and others are institutionalizing the creator marketing channel, bringing it closer to the infrastructure that manages paid, owned, and earned media.

2️⃣ Regional creator ecosystems get elevated.

This acquisition highlights the exciting growth opportunity in Southeast Asia. Expect more deals coming out of SEA and other growth markets like MENA and LatAm in the next few years.

3️⃣ The creator ecosystem is rapidly maturing.

Deals like this push the industry toward scale, structure, and accountability. Creator marketing startups are evolving into full-fledged agencies and media businesses with robust brand strategy, campaign execution, and reporting.

Congratulations to the Publicis and Hepmil teams!