Publicis Groupe has acquired B2B marketing agency Octopus Group for an undisclosed fee, joining the advertising giant’s UK arm to bring a boost to its B2B offering.

Publicis intends to use Octopus’ strategic, creative, technology, and commercial experience within the B2B space to respond to the market’s transformation at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic – a shift that has seen the lines blurred between B2B and B2C as businesses seek to protect revenue.

“We’ve been looking to acquire the right B2B partner to supercharge our skillset in this area for some time,” said Annette King, Publicis Groupe UK CEO. “Octopus has a proven track record of solving client challenges in ways that transform categories. Bringing them in to Publicis Groupe UK as part of our Power of One model, presents a great opportunity for client and agency growth.”

Octopus, founded in 2001, will sit alongside Publicis’ Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, and Digitas. It currently works with clients including Siemens, Adobe, Logitech, Smartsheet, and ACI Worldwide.

“Key B2B industries are being transformed and disrupted by technology at warp speed and this signposts an exciting time for B2B brands and their marketing teams.  They are relying on agency partners to combine deep commercial insight and creativity to help drive performance,” said Jon Lonsdale, Octopus Group CEO. “We are looking forward to being part of a network that understands the importance of creativity in the B2B space, and will allow us to offer our clients even greater access to expertise and scale, to build brands and drive sales internationally.”