Publicis Groupe, the third-largest advertising and PR company in the world, has announced the purchase of Chinese social media network Net@lk, continuing in its five-year strategy to spend $4bn on digital companies in emerging markets.

The French media monolith, who parents high-profile digital agencies such as Starcom MediaVest, ZenithOptimedia, DigitasLBi and Razorfish, has already added multiple overseas firms to its roster in 2013, including Indian technology-service provider Neev, e-commerce marketing company Longtuo in Bejing, and U-Link Business Solutions, a Chinese healthcare communications agency. CEO Maurice Levy announced the acquisitions directive back in April.


 Net@lk, whose clients include Coca-Cola and Adidas (amongst many others) implements social media strategies across multiple Chinese social platforms. Founded in 2007, the company currently has 350 employees and six offices in cities across China, including Shanghai and Beijing.


“We committed to grow our digital marketing capabilities in China on the dual strategic pillars of ecommerce and social media,” said Vincent Digonnet, executive chairman of Razorfish and DigitasLBi networks in the APAC territories.

“The acquisition of Longtuo in May 2012 enhanced Razorfish’s e-commerce development capability and the acquisition of Net@lk completes our two-pronged strategy making DigitasLBi the leading socially-led digital marketing network in China.”