2020 U.S.-Booked Air Volume: $30 million
BTN estimates advertising and PR company Publicis Groupe’s
U.S.-booked air volume fell about 76 percent in 2020 compared with $125 million
in 2019 as a result of travel prohibitions and restrictions during the Covid-19
pandemic. The company drastically reduced certain expenditures during the
Covid-19 lockdown, including those related to travel, recruitment and seminars.
By the end of 2020, Publicis Groupe had made cost reductions of 467 million
euros.
Publicis Groupe has introduced a travel policy under which
countries are classified into three risk categories. Some high-risk countries
are banned while others are only permitted after assessment and verification of
travel conditions and, when appropriate, the implementation of additional
security measures. All travelers are provided with advance information and
advice on the situation in the country to which they are traveling.
The company acquired software-as-a-service retail media
platform CitrusAd in July 2021. Publicis Groupe’s Benelux (Belgium division)
acquired social and digital production agency Boomerang, also in July. In February
2021, the U.K. division acquired Octopus Group, a content marketing agency.
Publicis Groupe’s Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, which
include business air and train travel, were 140,622 metric tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent emissions in 2020. Scope 1 emissions, which include business
travel by car, were 7,531.
The company reported 9.7 billion euros in net revenue in
2020, down only slightly from 9.8 billion euros in 2019. Headcount dipped about
5 percent in 2020 compared to the year prior to 79,051 employees.