MAM
Acquisitions help Publicis report robust revenue growth
MUMBAI: Paris-based global media communications group, Publicis Groupe, has reported a 19 per cent rise in profit to 275 million euro in the six months ended June 30, 2012 from 231 million a year earlier.
Publicis‘ revenue grew by 14.3 per cent to 3.08 billion euro in the first half of 2012 from 2.69 billion euro a year earlier. The robust growth in revenues was despite the impact of the slowing down of the global economy, especially in the second quarter.
The growth in organic revenues (excluding revenues from businesses acquired during the six months) was just 2.8 per cent, which was also lower than in the first half of 2011.
During the first six months of 2012, digital services accounted for 33 per cent of total revenues (up from 29 per cent in 2011), while advertising contributed 30 per cent (31 per cent in 2011), 19 per cent came from the SAMS (20 per cent in 2011) and 18 per cent from media (20 per cent in 2011).
Publicis Groupe saw the highest organic growth in the BRIC+MISSAT countries at 8.9 per cent, where India grew by 15.1 per cent, second only to South Africa where organic revenue grew by 20.8 per cent. Organic revenue in Brazil grew by 12.5 per cent, in Russia by 5.9 per cent, in China 7.8 per cent and in Mexico 8.9 per cent.
In the European region, the growth in organic revenue in the UK was 4.1 per cent, while the growth was flat at 0.9 per cent in France. The other western European countries (Germany, Italy and Spain) too slowed down resulting in the overall growth in the region falling to 0.6 per cent.
North America recorded an aggregate growth of 2.6 per cent in organic revenue, thus continuing to show resilience despite the loss of the GM Media and Search account and the sluggishness in the healthcare sector. Organic revenue in the the rest of the world, which includes Australia and Japan, grew by 3.9 per cent, Publicis said.
The group‘s inorganic growth was fueled by a spate of acquisitions around the world including full-service Indian agency Indigo Consulting. Another notable acquisition by Publicis was that of Britain based global independent BBH and Brazilian agency Neogama/BBH. Other agencies/entities acquired by the French communications giant include BBR Group in Israel, Beijing based Longtuo, Flip Media in the Middle East and the Creative Factory in Russia.
For the second quarter of 2012 ended 30 June 2012, the Publicis Groupe reported revenue of 1.63 billion euro, a 15.5 per cent rise from 1.41 billion euro a year earlier. As in the case with the half yearly revenues, the BRIC+MISSAT economies witnessed maximum organic growth at 7.8 per cent. Organic revenue in Europe on the other hand shrunk by 1.7 per cent. In North America, the organic revenue growth was 1.8 per cent in the first six months. The rest of the world organic revenue grew by 3.9 per cent.
In a statement, Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy said, “Just as we announced in our February forecast, organic growth has leveled off in the second quarter. This standstill results essentially from non-recurring events. Our third quarter should see a return to much higher growth, at rates far closer to our usual performance.”
At 13,5 per cent, Publicis‘ margin is the same as last year‘s, notwithstanding weak growth in the second quarter. “This performance confirms our forecast for the year. The world economic situation is both volatile and uncertain. We need to maintain the greatest possible vigilance regarding our costs and investments,” said Levy.
MAM
Nielsen launches co-viewing pilot to sharpen TV measurement
Super Bowl pilot to refine how shared TV audiences are counted
MUMBAI: Nielsen is taking a fresh stab at one of television’s oldest blind spots: how many people are actually watching the same screen. The audience-measurement giant on February 4 unveiled a co-viewing pilot that uses wearable devices to better capture shared viewing, starting with America’s biggest broadcast stage.
The trial begins with Super Bowl LX on NBC on February 8, 2026, before extending to other high-profile live sports and entertainment events in the first half of the year. The goal is simple but commercially potent: count viewers more accurately, especially during live spectacles that pull families and friends to one screen.
The new approach leans on Nielsen’s proprietary wearable meters, wrist-worn devices that resemble smartwatches. These passively capture audio signatures from TV content, logging exposure to shows, films and live events without requiring viewers to sign in or self-report. In theory, fewer clicks, fewer lapses, better data.
Karthik Rao, Nielsen’s ceo, cast the move as part of a broader measurement push. He said the company’s task is to keep pushing accuracy as clients invest heavily in live programming that draws mass audiences. The co-viewing pilot, he added, builds on upgrades such as Big Data + Panel measurement, out-of-home expansion, live-streaming metrics and wearable-based tracking.
Co-viewing is not new territory for Nielsen, which has long tried to estimate how many people sit before a single set. What is new is the heavier integration of wearables and passive detection to reduce reliance on active inputs from panel homes.
For now, the pilot comes with caveats. Co-viewing estimates from the trial will not be folded into Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings, which remain the industry’s trading currency. Instead, pilot findings will be shared with clients a few weeks after final Big Data + Panel ratings are delivered. Clients may disclose those findings publicly.
More impact data will follow later this year. Full integration into Nielsen’s marketing-intelligence suite is slated as a longer-term play, with a target of bringing co-viewing into currency measurement for the 2026–2027 season. This is only phase one, with further co-viewing enhancements planned beyond 2026 and additional timelines to be announced.
The push fits a wider pattern. Nielsen has in recent years expanded big-data integration, adopted first-party data for live-streaming measurement and broadened out-of-home tracking. It also positions itself as the reference point for streaming metrics through products such as The Gauge and the Nielsen Streaming Top 10.
In a market where billions of ad dollars hinge on decimal points, counting who is in the room matters. If Nielsen can pin down shared viewing, the humble sofa could become prime measurement real estate. The race to count every eyeball just found a new wrist to watch.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
MAM
Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships
At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.
Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.
Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.
-
News Broadcasting3 days agoMukesh Ambani, Larry Fink come together for CNBC-TV18 exclusive
-
iWorld7 days agoNetflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film
-
MAM3 months agoHoABL soars high with dazzling Nagpur sebut
-
MAM3 days agoNielsen launches co-viewing pilot to sharpen TV measurement
-
iWorld12 months agoBSNL rings in a revival with Rs 4,969 crore revenue
-
I&B Ministry3 months agoIndia steps up fight against digital piracy
-
iWorld3 months agoTips Music turns up the heat with Tamil party anthem Mayangiren
-
News Broadcasting3 months agoCNN-News18 dominates Bihar election coverage with record viewership

