maurice levyPublicis Groupe reported a one percent rise in organic growth to $2.2B during Q3 as "management was too focused on other plans and not enough on the short-term performance and growth," according to CEO Maurice Levy, who adding that organic growth failed to match expectations.

The French ad/PR company's $35B mega-merger with Omnicom collapsed in May.

During his conference call, Levy took responsibility for the Omnicom deal and said Publicis is now paying the price.

He remains positive about the future, buoyed by a nine percent advance in digital revenues, which now accounts for 42 percent of total business, and big wins such as Samsung.

Clients, he noted, will be confronted by the digital transformation of their business models, and Publicis stands ready to guide them to the future.

He expects the rest of the year will play out like the first-nine months.