WPP Media loses Rs 750 crore media account to Publics Groupe’s Starcom

MUMBAI: Starcom India has bagged itself a rather handsome prize: Walmart-owned Flipkart’s Rs 750 crore integrated media mandate, one of the plumpest account wins in Indian advertising this year.

The victory gives Publicis Groupe’s media arm control over the entire Flipkart empire—fashion platform Myntra, bargain bazaar Shopsy, travel site Cleartrip and fintech upstart Super.money. EssenceMediacom, part of WPP Media, has been shown the door.

Starcom will now juggle both traditional and digital media duties, crafting what the industry likes to call a “full-funnel strategy”—essentially making sure Flipkart’s ads pop up everywhere consumers look, shop and scroll.

The pitch was a proper scrap. Omnicom Media Group, WPP Media and Madison World all threw their hats in the ring, but Starcom emerged victorious after what insiders describe as a bruising multi-agency evaluation. 
For Publicis Groupe, this is a serious coup in India’s cutthroat media market, particularly as big-spending advertisers hunt for partners with serious digital, data and commerce chops.

Flipkart, locked in an e-commerce death match with Amazon and Reliance Retail, remains one of India’s most prolific advertisers. It splashes cash across television, digital, social and emerging platforms—especially during festive shopping frenzies.

In advertising, as in e-commerce, fortune favours the fleet of foot. And right now, Starcom is sprinting.