ITV

Category: Media Agencies

  • Dentsu to acquire Polish performance marketing agency

    Dentsu to acquire Polish performance marketing agency

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network has reached an agreement to acquire the Polish performance marketing agency Marketing Wizards.

     

    In Poland, Dentsu provides its clients with services in the digital performance domain through iProspect. Post-acquisition, Marketing Wizards will be integrated with iProspect, further strengthening its capabilities in the digital performance domain and providing even more innovative solutions through collaboration with other Group companies.

     

    Founded in 2010, Marketing Wizards is a full-service digital agency that provides marketing services such as strategic planning, SEM, SEO, digital advertising in the social domain, e-mail marketing & CRM, and creative production in the digital arena.

     

    The agency’s strengths in the digital performance domain include measurement of the causal relationship between digital advertising and consumer purchasing behavior that is linked to actual purchases, and its clients include many e-commerce companies who are focused on their businesses’ return on investment (ROI).

     

    In its March 2015 worldwide advertising expenditure forecasts, the Group’s media communications agency Carat announced that digital advertising expenditures, which are second in scale only to television advertising expenditures in Poland, rose 7.5 per cent in 2014 (2.1 per cent increase in the advertising market overall), and are expected to rise further to nine per cent in 2015 and 11 per cent in 2016.

     

    Marketing Wizards, which is headed by Marcin Pogroszewski as managing director, has 60 employees and its revenue for the year ended December 2014 stood at approximately $2.3 million (PLN 8,750,000). 

  • Publicis Groupe acquires Relaxnews for €15 million

    Publicis Groupe acquires Relaxnews for €15 million

    MUMBAI: The Maurice Levy led Publicis Groupe has acquired the French press agency Relaxnews for a sum of €15 million (€9.58 euros a share).

     

    Earlier this year in February, the agency had entered into exclusive negotiations with shareholders of Relaxnews to buy the company.

     

    Publicise Groupe, which had created a special vehicle – Financi?re Relaxnews – for the purpose of the takeover of Relaxnews – bought 94 per cent of the share capital and voting rights of Relaxnews.

     

    Approximately 30 per cent of the Relaxnews was purchased at a price of 9.58 euro per share from the co-founders Jérôme and Pierre Doncieux. Around 30 per cent of the share capital of Financi?re Relaxnews will be held by the co-founders and the remaining 70 per cent will be owned by Publicis Groupe.

     

    The acquisition of a block of shares representing approximately 34 per cent of the company’s share capital at a price of 9.58 euro per share from other minority shareholders (including investment funds managed by Sigma Gestion and La Française Asset Management).

     

    According to the General Regulations of the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), in the coming days, Financi?re Relaxnews will file a project for a simplified takeover bid on the remaining shares of Relaxnews at a price of 9.58 euro per share. Given that the Relaxnews’ board of directors has made a commitment to tender treasury shares held by Relaxnews to the takeover bid, Financi?re Relaxnews will own more than 95 per cent at the end of the takeover bid.

     

    Consequently, Financi?re Relaxnews will implement a squeeze-out procedure after the closing date of the takeover bid. The terms and conditions of this simplified takeover bid and of the squeeze-out, including financial conditions and timetable, will be disclosed in a separate press release, and will be subject to the approval of the Autorité des marchés financiers.

     

    Publicis chairman Maurice Lévy said, “With the integration of Relaxnews, Publicis Groupe’s clients could not only have access to an extended offer of leisure content but also to consistent measurement tools. I am pleased that Jérôme and Pierre Doncieux with all their team will join us. I am strongly confident in the new growth opportunities the group will be able to assign to its clients.”

     

    ZenithOptimedia France CEO Sébastien Danet added, “I am proud that ZenithOptimedia will be integrating such editorially and technologically valuable assets. With Jérôme and Pierre, we are going to be the Relaxnews incubator to all Publicis Groupe’s marks and clients in France and abroad.”

     

    Jérôme and Pierre Doncieux said, “We are very happy! Happy for the opportunities ahead for our teams. Happy for our clients’ added value. Happy to see the confidence shown by our shareholders and our board members who helped us to finalize the combination project and we thank them for this. Happy to move forward with Habert Dassault Finances and our strategic partner AFP. Happy for all we will learn and create in Publicis Groupe.”

  • ZenithOptimedia’s Performics sets up Centre of Excellence for media technology in B’lore

    ZenithOptimedia’s Performics sets up Centre of Excellence for media technology in B’lore

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia’s Performics has set up a full-fledged digital media technology Centre of Excellence, which is a first of its kind in India. 

     

    The centre will be based in Bangalore and will provide capabilities on real time segmentation and insights, services across marketing automation, attribution, data modelling, content and commerce. The centre will specifically cater to the Indian sub-continent.

     

    Performics India MD Tanmay Mohanty said, “This centre is set up to provide solutions for comprehensive and integrated marketing, that will enable marketers to measure, personalize, and optimize marketing campaigns and digital experiences across screens and platforms. As you would know, globally Publicis has partnered with Adobe for these ‘Always On Solutions’ that will power insights and data fuelled planning globally for Publicis. The preferred partnership between Performics India and Adobe is already gaining traction with customers such as Airtel and Tata AIG already migrating to Adobe Marketing Cloud. Many other organizations are showing similar interest.” 

     

    ZenithOptimedia group CEO Anupriya Acharya elaborated, “This is something that we have been working on for some time and in our assessment, the time is ripe to set up a centre like this. Online video is seeing explosive growth thanks to the explosion of mobile video consumption and the spread of internet-connected devices like desktop computers, tablets and television screens. All key social media platforms are developing their video products; and more online video is being sold by programmatic buying, providing advertisers with more control and better value. We find that currently a lot of clients, especially in the e-commerce and mobile segment have to work with media technology companies that are outside of India and have a hard time getting the time and attention they require. With this centre we want to be able to solve these problems like the understanding of these products and their potential. We have to help our clients make wise marketing decisions based on data and make the most of their marketing campaigns with the technology. Inside India we will be testing multiple technologies against client requirements. Both our teams and clients are excited about it.”

     

    Adobe South Asia director enterprise Kulmeet Bawa added, “Top brands around the world across industry verticals use Adobe Marketing Cloud to reach and engage customers, and our partnerships go a long way in making this possible. We congratulate ZenithOptimedia’s Performics on the establishment of their first centre of excellence for media technologies in India and are certain that customers in India will benefit immensely from this set up.”

  • WPP’s Mirum buys majority stake in Germany’s RSK Group

    WPP’s Mirum buys majority stake in Germany’s RSK Group

    MUMBAI: WPP’s global digital agency Mirum, which is a part of J. Walter Thompson Company, has acquired a majority stake in Germany’s full-service digital marketing agency RSK Group AG.

     

    RSK offers cross-media services including e-Commerce solutions, websites and mobile marketing. Its clients include RCI Banque Germany, Toshiba, 3M and Nestlé.

     

    RSK employs 25 people and is headquartered in Dusseldorf. Post-acquisition, RSK will rebrand as Mirum and will continue to be led by RSK founder and current CEO Christoph Eßer.

     

    RSK’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December, 2014 were approximately EUR 2.3 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately EUR 1 million.

     

    Germany is WPP’s fourth largest market after the US, UK and Greater China.

  • Mindshare bags e-commerce & digital biz worth Rs 700+ crore in 2015

    Mindshare bags e-commerce & digital biz worth Rs 700+ crore in 2015

    MUMBAI: GroupM’s Mindshare India has won several new accounts in the first four months of 2015, predominantly in the ecommerce and digital industries.

     

    The account wins amount to over Rs 700 crore in new business for the agency. The new accounts include the digital mandate for Snapdeal, media mandate for PayU, Saavn, Practo, Housing.com, NewsHunt, Novi Digital Entertainment and TTK Skore to name a few.

     

    Saavn co-founder and executive chairman Paramdeep Singh said, “As a category leader in the music streaming space, Saavn was looking for a befitting partner, who could leverage learnings from their vast portfolio of brands and combine proprietary tools that can help optimize media spends. The Mindshare team has exceptional experience in strategic and dynamic planning which is the need of the hour and we believe this association will help Saavn achieve our business ambitions.”

     

    PayU CEO Nitin Gupta said, “In Mindshare we find a partner that not only understands the emerging digital economy in India, but has the insights, expertise and commitment to help us become a world class brand.”

     

    Speaking on the new account wins, Mindshare South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar, who took on the mantle in March this year, added, “We begin 2015 on a very promising note as Mindshare consolidates its leadership position in the market by adding several blue-chip clients especially in the ecommerce and digital industry. We are channelizing our services and talent towards frameworks and tools that include adaptive and real- time marketing, giving our clients the edge in an ever evolving media market- The Loop at Mindshare is one such example. Mindshare also includes a full service digital and social media agency to ensure seamless planning across all media for brand campaigns.”

  • Havas Worldwide launches new specialist unit

    Havas Worldwide launches new specialist unit

    MUMBAI: Havas Worldwide has launched a specialist practice within the network that is focused on delivering innovation and digital business transformation solutions for brands called Havas Drive.

     

    The team is based at Havas Worldwide Bangkok, and their remit spans all Havas Worldwide Offices in APAC who can draw on their expertise for client engagements.

     

    The specialist unit boasts a team of talents from around the globe who share a vision for a new approach in the brand partnership model. Havas Drive specialists in design, data, strategy, coding/development, innovation and experience design will work with clients on business and digital transformation mandates to help them set a strategy and build new approaches to their customers.

     

    Havas Drive is also tasked to integrate these emergent practices and thinking into the Havas creative agencies across APAC. A series of road shows and events are being planned for the coming months to showcase their approach, thinking, and expertise.

     

    “We have been looking at new ways to incorporate and build meaningful innovation into our agencies for a while now,” said Havas Drive regional director APAC Jeff Lippold.

     

    “With the industry moving against traditional ways of communication to reach consumers, we brought together a team of complimentary talents to build strategies, which will produce tangible approaches for our clients and quickly. We’re excited to have the level of talent joining us at Havas Drive – they are all motivated by the mission and at the top of their craft. This team will provide a seriously competitive advantage to our clients in APAC,” added Lippold.

  • WPP’s Always to acquire Singapore-based marketing company 3ree

    WPP’s Always to acquire Singapore-based marketing company 3ree

    MUMBAI: Sir Martin Sorrell led WPP is on an acquisition spree. The company’s China-based field and shopper marketing unit Always Marketing Services has acquired Singapore based has integrated marketing company 3ree.

     

    Financials of the deal were not disclosed.

     

    Founded in 2010 by Tan Li Li and Isabel Cheong, 3ree offers event management, sourcing and production of marketing premiums, project management for exhibitions and activations, and design and creative services, as well as digital marketing. 

     

    3ree has implemented projects in key Asian markets, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Australia. Clients include Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electronic, Seagate and StarHub.

     

    Always, which is majority-owned by WPP’s J. Walter Thompson, offers trade marketing, including merchandiser management and retail audit; retail marketing, including promoter management, in-store activation and retail environment designs; as well as shopper marketing, including point of sale design, events and road shows, as well as premium design and production. 

     

  • Mindshare to present adaptive marketing at Melt 2015

    Mindshare to present adaptive marketing at Melt 2015

    MUMBAI: This Melt, GroupM’s flagship agency Mindshare will bring alive the concept of real time planning adaptive marketing through The Loop and Purple Box as a part of GroupM FutureReady hall.

     

    Fitting in perfectly with Melt’s theme – a festival of creativity will take participants through an experience of adaptive marketing with a live campaign and contest. The Mindshare zone revolves around their core philosophy of Original Thinking Framework.

     

    The experience will be demonstrated in the loop room in the Mindshare zone. The Loop is not just another technological interface but rather a way of life for all at Mindshare. It will effectively break down all silos and bring all key stakeholders into one single room – creative, media, social, digital, content and production.

     

    Adaptive marketing enables the shift of media spends to leverage opportunities uncovered by real time data and provides actionable insights that can be executed instantly. The Loop is also used to track competitor efforts in paid, owned and earned media, as well as providing intelligence on trending and viral news and content.

     

    The Loop @Melt – Mindshare will integrate live contests and track real time influencers at Melt 2015. Participants will be engaged through the two days by fuelling creative thinking and conversations around Melt through the Loop.

     

    On the other hand, the Purple Box is a creative manifestation of adaptive marketing solutions. Created exclusively for Melt, Mindshare Purple Box will demonstrate various consumer archetypes in an interesting visual format. Participants will be able to choose from a consumer ‘avatar’ and look deeper into some of their passion points, while we convert them into communication opportunities.

     

    Mindshare south Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar said, “Driven with the core values of speed, provocation and teamwork, Mindshare is not only working in an adaptive marketing environment, but also defining this environment. With The Loop philosophy we understand that content and messaging is fluid and continuous, and our frameworks demonstrate the agility and responsiveness of a collaborative decision making process for brands. At Melt, one can see a live demonstration of this framework at the Loop Room, as well as how adaptive marketing looks from a consumer’s perspective with Purple Box.”

     

    The Mindshare experience will be live from 10 am to 5 pm on 21 and 22 May at Zee Melt 2015 in GroupM FutureReady zone at Nehru Centre in Worli, Mumbai.

  • WPP’s Grey Healthcare acquires minority stake in PARx Solutions

    WPP’s Grey Healthcare acquires minority stake in PARx Solutions

    MUMBAI: WPP’s wholly-owned operating company Grey Healthcare Group has acquired a minority stake in US based PARx Solutions, Inc.

     

    PARx has built a platform designed to support physicians and pharmacies as they manage prescription prior authorization requirements that are put in place by payers for an increasing number of branded prescription drugs.

     

    The company’s web-based portal helps physicians and pharmacies manage prior authorization requirement for prescriptions in a streamlined, user-friendly manner, thereby allowing more patients to receive the medications that their physicians have prescribed. The company is headquartered in Burlington, MA, with offices in Louisville, KY, and San Jose, CA, and was founded in 2008.

     

    This investment continues WPP’s strategy of investing in digital and important markets such as the US.

  • Maxus and Metalworks buoyed about inaugural Melt 2015

    Maxus and Metalworks buoyed about inaugural Melt 2015

    MUMBAI: It’s that time of the year when professionals will congregate to celebrate the first edition of Melt 2015, a two day festival of creativity, advertising, media, digital and marketing industry.

     

    Marketing and communications brand Maxus along with Metalworks, (the global R&D division of Maxus Global) is participating at the festival. Media professionals will witness effective and new age sessions by Maxus South Asia head of digital Unny Radhakrishnan, Metalworks strategist Alex Jasper, Provolv CEO Nick Martin and Maxus India director creative technology Harish Shankaran.

     

    At their booth Metalworks will display state of the art technological innovations and products, which would bring about a revolution of change in the field of modern technology.

     

    Some of the products and services include:

     

    Provolv Sens: A batting cage so that people can try it out and compete with others to get a demo of the technology.

     

    Provolv Stumpshot: Demo of the casing and app.

     

    Playground Project: Showcased on screen and table, this is something that Metalworks is trying to achieve.

     

    VR technologies: A showcase of Zeiss VR, Google Cardboard, Samung Gear VR to showcase VR.

     

    Apart from displaying their newest technologies, Maxus India and Metalworks will work closely to conduct sessions and workshops with demos for prospective clients.

     

    Maxus South Asia managing director Kartik Sharmasaid, “It is a fantastic opportunity for Maxus to be a part of this excellent event. With expectations of a large footfall and the presence of marketers, advertisers, students and the fraternity, Maxus will be very successful to create an impact along with Metalworks by showcasing the newest and most innovative products and services that have been developed. We would be showcasing an interesting mix of innovations and new tools that our enablers for brands in India to truly be future ready.”

     

    Shankaran added, “We are excited to be a part Melt and give a glimpse into what we really do. We expect a healthy reaction from the crowd and are looking forward to build a good standing in the industry. With state of the art technologies that we have, we are sure the response will be encouraging. We aim to bring about a tremendous change in how technology is used, perceived and executed and have thus decided on live demos which will help enhance the experience.”