MSL

Germany, Poland

MSL is the lead public relations brand of the Publicis Groupe, one of the big four marketing services holding companies. That has been a mixed blessing in recent years: the upside being that MSL’s various offices around the world have benefited from close links with Publicis-owned advertising agencies, and have been able to draw on the parent company’s formidable resources (most recently, its substantial investments in AI); the downside being that unlike other global brands, each MSL office reports into national Publicis operations and so there is no discernable global (or in EMEA regional) infrastructure, which gives operations a patchwork-quilt feel—although the German and Eastern European offices have been consistently strong performers.

MSL Germany is led by a tight-knit nd long-tenured management team led by CEO Wigan Salazar and managing partners Kirsten Leinert and Birgit Söllner and restructured last year from six practices to three business units focused on corporate communications and public affairs, brand communications and influencer relations, social strategy and content. The operation achieved a very healthy 8% growth last year in what was a challenging economic year for the German market overall, with growth from key clients including P&G, Coty, EON, Bosch Siemens Home Appliances, and new business wins including Redcare Pharmacy, NTT Data Centers.

Poland, meanwhile, is home to a team of 110, led by Sebastian Stępak, who also serves as director of a region that includes more than 200 consultants across Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Greece, the Baltics, North Macedonia, and Croatia. Overall, Eastern Europe grew by about 5% last year, with some impressive new business successes that included Coca Cola, Electronic Arts, P&G Old Spice, P&G Hair Care portfolio, and Ferrari. The firm is noted for the 360-degree work, often conducted in partnership with sister agencies Leo, Publicis and Saatchi, and media brands Starcom, Zenith, and Spark Foundry.

Germany’s thought leadership activities were particularly impressive as the firm took a firm stand internally against the rise of the far right AfD, and also offered its clients a unique Corporate Democratic Responsibility offer to help companies looking to take their own stand against populism and extremism. But there was plenty of more traditional creative work too, from an influencer marketing appliance launch for Robert Bosch to the “Michael Bommer becomes immortal” program for Eternos.Life, an AI-driven legacy preservation company. In Poland, highlights included working with Allegro (the Polish equivalent to Amazon) on an influencer driven content campaign, and a campaign for Polin Museum, providing support for the "Both Sides of the Wall" campaign.—PH