Publicis Group is launching a new service through Epsilon which offers brand owners a full refund of their fees and media spend if their marketing activity fails to deliver against agreed targets.
The scheme, dubbed The Pact, will initially be launched in the US market and is designed to persuade mid-size firms to spend through the Covid-19 crisis and to set the foundation for them to be “recovery ready”.
The group insists that all spend invested in The Pact will be guaranteed to drive real business outcomes, such as sales, new customer acquisitions, return-on-advertising spend, registrations, or other agreed KPIs. If results are not delivered, 100% of The Pact investment will be refunded.
The system combines Epsilon’s Core ID and AI platform – claimed to be the most accurate identity management platform in the US with details of over 200 million people backed by an artificial intelligence engine – with Publicis Media, which claims to be the largest media buying operation in the States.
Publicis insists these capabilities will drive timely, relevant messaging by tapping into the rapidly changing consumer behaviours, driven by the coronavirus, such as increased streaming, evolving TV viewership and online shopping.
It is claimed that The Pact AI models can self-learn and rewrite themselves every second to optimise to targeted KPIs and then the system “harnesses the power of billions of digital contextual signals to deliver rich audiences, dynamic creative and one-to-one personalisation at scale”.
Publicis Group chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun said that the driving force behind its $4.4bn (£3.4bn) acquisition of Epsilon was always to create data-led packages using AI technology, to guarantee outcomes, but the coronavirus pandemic had brought forward the launch of this scheme from the summer.
He added: “We’re starting with the clients that need it most: mid-sized companies. While they may be focused on cutting costs to weather the current storm, they are also well aware that driving sales is critical both now and when recovery returns. They need to move immediately and create measurable business impact with scarce resources. Every dollar invested will have to deliver.
“This is why we have created this unique product that is available now and allows clients to make investments backed by guarantees against targeted outcomes. If we don’t deliver, they get a total refund. The Pact is the living proof of our commitment to help our clients get through the crisis today and transform for the world of tomorrow.”
The agency did not say if – or when – The Pact will be launched in Europe.
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