LONDON — Publicis Groupe EMEA has renamed B2B agency Octopus Group as Publicis Pro, as it expands its B2B offer for clients across the region.

Publicis bought Octopus Group in February 2021 to expand its B2B capabilities. Since then, the agency has won new clients across technology and telecoms, financial services, logistics and manufacturing, including Sharp Europe, Smartsheet, Rolls Royce and Twilio.

The new Publicis Pro offer will span strategy, creative, influence and commerce. A core team of 60 in the UK will work with 400 B2B specialists from across the global Publicis network, with a particular focus on the UK, Germany and France.

Publicis Pro will be led by Octopus Group co-founders Jon Lonsdale (pictured, left) as CEO, and Pete Hendrick (right) as managing director.

Lonsdale said: “This is the natural next step in Octopus’ journey and will allow us to offer clients more access to talent, tech and data as we scale and supercharge our existing offering across Publicis Groupe. Publicis Pro brings an exciting opportunity to launch new services, including AI tools, that are specifically designed for complex B2B audiences.”

Publicis Groupe EMEA CEO Demet Ikiler added: “We want to make Publicis Groupe a centre of excellence for B2B clients, and to better serve our existing B2C clients who require B2B expertise. By building out Publicis Pro across our key markets in the region, we are already uncovering exciting new growth opportunities.”