Publicis Media poaches Mickey Zhang as China president

Publicis Groupe has appointed Mickey Zhang as president of Publicis Media China, a newly created role.

Zhang, based in Shanghai, brings over two decades of industry experience. She jumps from Chinese cosmetics giant Shanghai Jahwa, where she served as chief marketing officer. Previously, Zhang held senior roles at GroupM China, including chief executive for the programmatic division and chief product and service officer, overseeing a team of over 300 media and tech staff. She also had stints at Baidu and Google. The announcement comes close to the heels of Publicis' full-year results, which tout impressive growth figures in the region while competitor WPP faces headwinds.

In her current mandate, she will continue to be based in Shanghai and report to Publicis Groupe's Asia Pacific CEO, Jane Lin-Baden, to oversee Publicis’ media agencies, Zenith, Starcom, and Spark Foundry, in the China market. 

Publicis' latest financial results reflect a momentum of growth. The agency posted 6.4% organic growth in China for 2024 and 6.3% across APAC, outpacing rivals in a market where global networks have struggled. Omnicom does not report its growth rate from China separately, but its APAC organic growth rate stood at 3.8%.

Meanwhile, WPP, the world’s largest ad network by revenue, reported a steep 20.8% decline in China, citing client losses and ongoing macroeconomic pressures. CEO Mark Read acknowledged that China remains a difficult market. The final quarter of 2024 was particularly tough for WPP, with its creative agencies down 6.5%. The decline was attributable to weaker discretionary client spending. Broader challenges also affected other emerging markets, including Asia Pacific, Latin America, AME, and CEE.

“Our latest earnings report highlights 6.4% growth for China in 2024, outperforming the industry,” said Lin-Baden, CEO of Asia Pacific, Publicis Groupe. “It adds to our impressive five-year track record of leading new business. Mickey’s appointment is a strategic move to strengthen China’s senior leadership and embark on our next chapter of transformation. Her diverse experience across client, agency and technology platforms sets her up to lead our Connected Media proposition, with access to our proprietary, cutting-edge products and solutions.”

“I'm delighted to be part of the Publicis family! It's truly a privilege to have the chance to work with inspiring and passionate colleagues as we continue to innovate and remain at the forefront in the field of media, creativity and communications,” added Zhang. 

Zhang’s appointment follows a series of high-profile account wins for Publicis in China. In June 2024, Groupe won the meaty $400 million Yum China media business, ending a 26-year relationship with GroupM’s Mindshare. The loss came in the wake of a bribery scandal at GroupM, which also saw Dyson and Swatch move their media accounts to Publicis. These account shifts have altered the competitive landscape, pushing Publicis’ Zenith and Starcom up the rankings while GroupM agencies have worked to regain lost ground.

The Nestlé China media account win in July 2024 was another key development. Publicis, which had handled Nestlé’s creative and CRM work for 14 years, now oversees media and ecommerce as well. The creation of a dedicated ‘Nestlé One’ team to manage the account reflects Publicis’ broader push to integrate creative, media, and data-driven marketing.