Publicis Commerce launches in APAC with Ken Mandel leading operations

Publicis Media Asia Pacific has launched Publicis Commerce in partnership with Interactive Solutions which will be headed up by Ken Mandel (pictured), Starcom’s president of global network solutions Asia Pacific.In his new capacity, Mandel is responsible for building and leading the new business capability around commerce and innovation at Publicis Media Asia Pacific. He has extensive digital experience in the region. Mandel will report into Gerry Boyle, CEO Publicis Media Asia Pacific. He will be leading an initial core regional team of five with supplemental teams from existing Public Media business.Interactive Solutions will be known as Publicis Commerce only in APAC and it will retain its name globally in the other markets.According to a release by the agency, by combing Publicis Media’s media buying, planning and analytic capabilities with Interactive Solutions experience, Publicis Commerce aims to position itself to provide clients a unique service offer that holistically blends demand generation and eMerchandising services.The agency added that Asia Pacific’s global share of retail e-commerce is forecasted to be about 60% in 2017 and is showing no signs of slowing down.  On average ecommerce makes up about 14% of retail sales in Asia Pacific but influences a majority of physical store purchases.The path to purchase for consumers often begins within an e-retailing site as they research and get ideas of what to purchase; and while they may not always end up purchasing directly from the e-retailer these sites have a significant impact on consumer buying behavior.“e-retailers are the publishers of the future and given how much time consumers spend on these sites they will play an increasingly influential role as marketing and commerce continues to blend into a seamless consumer experience,” said Mandel, president Innovation and Commerce, Publicis Media Asia Pacific.“The linear marketing funnel of awareness, consideration and purchase will be flattened by end-to-end eCommerce experiences and marketers will continue to shift spend to more accountable and frictionless media,” commented Mandel. “Our new offer positions us exactly where we can most help our clients; at the intersection of media & commerce.”“We will be the first to offer comprehensive support of the eCommerce and digital purchasing ecosystem, combining visibility and conversion tools, with precisely targeted traffic,” said Piotr Morkowski CEO of Interactive Solutions“With over 150 end-to-end eCommerce projects implemented globally for clients such as P&G, Microsoft, Duracell, Mattel and more this is the right time to increase our penetration in the APAC region.”“We may start to see a shift from what we have traditionally considered to be ‘media dollars’ towards ‘commerce dollars’, as advertisers continue to search for a more direct and measurable relationship between their marketing and sales efforts,” said Gerry Boyle, CEO, Publicis Media Asia Pacific.