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Publicis Sapient
FormerlyPublicis.Sapient, SapientRazorfish, Sapient Consulting, SapientNitro, Razorfish, Sapient Global Markets, Sapient Public Sector, Sapient
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry
  • Consumer Products
  • Energy & Commodities
  • Financial Services
  • Health
  • Public Sector
  • Retail
  • Telecommunications, Media & Technology
  • Transportation & Mobility
  • Travel & Hospitality
Founded1990
Services
  • Strategy & Consulting
  • Customer Experience & Design
  • Technology & Engineering
  • Marketing Platforms
  • Data & Artificial Intelligence
  • Innovation & Digital Product Management
  • Digital Business Transformation
Revenue$1.305 billion (2013)[1]
$125.22 million (2013)[1]
Number of employees
20,000+ (February 13, 2019)
ParentPublicis
Websitewww.publicissapient.com

Publicis Sapient is a global digital transformation consulting company and the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe with 20,000 people and over 50 offices worldwide. It was originally established as Sapient in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990.[2][3] In 2015, Sapient became an independent subsidiary of French multinational advertising firm Publicis, following a deal worth US$3.7 billion. It remains headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and as of February 2015, the leadership is retained.[4]

In 2016, the company merged two of its divisions, SapientNitro and Razorfish, to form SapientRazorfish, which was led by Alan Wexler.[5] A few years later, in 2019, SapientRazorfish and Sapient Consulting were consolidated into one brand, Publicis Sapient,[6] under the leadership of CEO Nigel Vaz.[7]

History

The company Sapient was founded on November 6, 1990, by Jerry Greenberg and J. Stuart Moore in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was established as a digital consulting firm and adopted a fixed-term, fixed-price model for IT consulting projects instead of charging on a time and materials basis.

Sapient embraced internet-based technology early on and by 1999, internet-based work accounted for over 70% of its revenue. From 1992 to 2000, the company saw rapid growth, with revenue increasing from $950,000 to $503 million.[8]

Following the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, Sapient looked to expand internationally to drive growth. The company implemented a strategy called "Global Distributed Delivery" which leveraged the rapidly growing tech market in India to grow its software development capabilities.[8]

Throughout its history, Sapient has made several acquisitions, starting with Planning Group International in 2006. Other notable acquisitions include DCG Group in 2008, which enhanced its capital markets offerings, and The Nitro Group in 2009, which added 300 employees.[9][10]

History of acquisitions

Year Name Division Refs
2016 Vertiba Sapient [11]
2014 Campfire SapientNitro [12]
2014 OnPoint Government Services [13]
2014 The Community (aka La Comunidad) SapientNitro [14]
2013 iThink SapientNitro [15]
2013 (m)PHASIZE SapientNitro [16]
2012 SecondStory SapientNitro [17]
2011 DAD SapientNitro [18]
2011 CLANMO SapientNitro [19]
2009 Nitro SapientNitro [10]
2008 Derivatives Consulting Group (DCG) Global Markets [9]
2008 iChameleon Sapient [20]
2006 Planning Group International (PGI) Sapient [21]
2005 Business Information Solutions Sapient
2000 Human Code Sapient [22]
2000 The Launch Group Sapient [23]
1999 Adjacency Sapient [24]
1999 E-Lab Sapient [25]
1998 Studio Archetype Sapient [26]
1997 Exor Sapient [27]

Corporate affairs

In 1996, Sapient made its initial public offering with a share price of $21. In the next four years, the technology sector saw an increase in share prices, leading to an increase in Sapient's shares to a split-adjusted price of $550. However, during the dot-com bust of 2000, Sapient's shares dropped to a low of $0.75 per share.[28] The shares reached a peak of $17.95 in 2014.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b "Annual Report FY13" (PDF). shareholder.com. Sapient. March 14, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  2. ^ "Publicis To Acquire Sapient For $3.7 Billion, Caps 8-Year Roll-Up Of Leading Tech Shops". mediapost.com. MediaPost Publications. November 3, 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  3. ^ "Sapient Corp 2006 Current Report 8-K". SEC.report. SEC. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  4. ^ "Publicis Completes Sapient Acquisition". 2015-02-06.
  5. ^ "Publicis Merges Digital Shops SapientNitro and Razorfish, Creating SapientRazorfish". 17 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Teresa Barreira on Publicis Sapient's rebranding and positioning". consulting.us. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  7. ^ "Nigel Vaz appointed Global CEO of Publicis Sapient". Media-Marketing.com. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  8. ^ a b "Sapient Corporation - Case - Faculty & Research". hbs.edu. Harvard Business School. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  9. ^ a b "Sapient to buy DCG" (Press release). 2014-04-15.
  10. ^ a b "Sapient to Buy Nitro for $50 Mil". Adweek. 2009-06-16.
  11. ^ "Publicis.Sapient Acquires Vertiba, a Salesforce Gold Consulting Partner". Business Wire. 2016-03-02.
  12. ^ "SapientNitro Moves Further into Interactive Film with Addition of Groundbreaking Creative Shop Campfire". sape.client.shareholder.com (Press release). 2014-03-28.
  13. ^ "Sapient Expands Government Services Footprint Through Acquisition of OnPoint". sape.client.shareholder.com (Press release). 2014-02-10. Archived from the original on 2014-05-29.
  14. ^ "Award Winning Creative Agency La Comunidad Joins SapientNitro". sape.client.shareholder.com (Press release). 2014-01-15.
  15. ^ "SapientNitro Expands into Latin America with Acquisition of iThink". sape.client.shareholder.com (Press release). 2013-01-16.
  16. ^ "Sapient Acquires (m)PHASIZE, Providing Marketers with Mix Modeling Expertise to Enable Better Investment Decisions in a Fast-Changing Media Landscape". sape.client.shareholder.com (Press release). 2013-01-10.
  17. ^ "SapientNitro Acquires Second Story, Extends Experience Innovation to Physical Domain". businesswire.com. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  18. ^ "SapientNitro Acquires DAD". sape.client.shareholder.com (Press release). 2011-09-08.
  19. ^ "SapientNitro Acquires CLANMO, a Leading Mobile Agency in Europe". sape.client.shareholder.com (Press release). 2011-07-19.
  20. ^ "Ad Age - IChameleon Founder Will Oversee Digital Campaigns Across Asia". sapient.com. 2010-06-02.
  21. ^ "Sapient Buys Marketing Agency". sape.client.shareholder.com. 2005-12-13.
  22. ^ "Sapient to Buy Human Code, a Media Developer". The New York Times. 10 August 2000.
  23. ^ "Sapient kauft sich in Deutschland ein". Computerwoche.de (in German). 2000-11-17. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  24. ^ "S.F. Net shop deal shatters price record". San Francisco Business Times. 1999-05-16. Retrieved 2011-07-24 – via bizjournals.com.
  25. ^ "Sapient to Acquire Leading Experience-Based Research Firm E-Lab; Combination Sets the Standard for Strategies to Shape Customer Interactions on the Internet". 1999-09-27 – via thefreelibrary.com.
  26. ^ "Sapient Corp. Buys Studio Archetype". AdvertisingAge. 1998-08-26. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  27. ^ "Sapient Corporation to Acquire EXOR Technologies, Inc.; Acquisition Will Accelerate Sapient's Growth in Rapid Delivery of ERP Solutions". prnewsire.com. 1997-12-05. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  28. ^ "Boston's Sapient in $3.7 Billion Takeover". nbcboston.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  29. ^ "SAPE". finance.yahoo.com. 2014-04-15.
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