The two firms have reached a basic agreement to form the international marketing company in January. It will be called iSe (International Sports and Entertainment).
Dentus already has in place a financial and strategic alliance with Publicis, and the new firm plans to use the sports related content owned by the Japanese giants as a nucleus for the development of its rights business.
It will also develop new sports marketing rights and carry out 'various operations and consulting activities pertaining to sports events'.
The new company will be capitalised at EUR10m ($10.02m), with Dentsu and Publicis Groupe SA each contributing 45 percent and Sports Mondial Inc. the remaining 10 percent.
This new company will be the first joint enterprise to be undertaken by Dentsu and Publicis Groupe since the establishment of the alliance between them.
It will open the way for Dentsu to carry out sports marketing activities on a worldwide scale, and represents the full-scale entry of Publicis Groupe into the field of sports marketing. The two companies will also cooperate to promote the activities of the new company, for the global interest of their clients, with Dentsu contributing its comprehensive sports marketing business expertise, while Publicis Groupe SA will provide its network facilities that is has developed in Europe and the Americas.
iSe will be based in Switzerland. The management will be headed by Haruyuki Takahashi, chairman, Bertrand Siguier, vice-chairman, and George Taylor, CEO.
Said FIFA president Sepp Blatter: "Dentsu has been working very closely with FIFA during the past years. Its co-operation with our marketing arm, FIFA Marketing AG, has been exemplary and has played a major role in assuring the commercial success of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. By joining forces with Publicis Groupe SA, Dentsu will now establish a sports marketing company, iSe, that will extend its expertise and experience to other sports and Federations. We wish iSe the best of success."
Publicis Groupe SA is the world's fourth largest communications group, according to AdAge's ranking of April, 2002m as well as world leader in media counsel and buying, according to RECMA's ranking of June, 2002. Its activities span 109 countries on six continents.
Groupe activities cover advertising, marketing services, media counsel and buying, media sales and specialised communications. These include public relations, corporate and financial communications, ethnic and healthcare communications.
Publicis Groupe SA's services are offered through three autonomous global advertising networks: Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, and Leo Burnett Worldwide, as well as through its two multi-hub networks Fallon Worldwide and Bartle Bogle Hegarty, 49 percent-owned, and two global brands in media counsel and buying, Zenith Optimedia Group and Starcom MediaVest Group.
Sports marketing will form the backbone of next year's key conference - SportAccord.
The four-day event in Madrid (May 12-16) will tackle the issues of broadcast, sponsorship and technology and features a number of the biggest names in the industry.
For full details click on the link below and visit the official website.
