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Tag: GroupM

  • Voltas awards media duties to Havas Media

    MUMBAI: Air conditioner company Voltas has roped in Havas Media as its media planning and buying responsibilities for its room AC and other unitary products business. The multi-agency pitch saw participation from GroupM, Madison, Aegis and IPG.

    Voltas chief operating officer – UBBG Pradeep Bakshi said, “During the multi-agency pitch we were impressed by their capability to look beyond seasonality and traditional media. Their understanding of the category from a regional perspective was also very accurate. We look forward to working closely with them in our next phase of growth in the coming years.”

    Havas Media India and South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar said, “It was a very tough but a ‘well-organized‘ pitch with practically all the leading agencies in the fray. I am delighted that we have been able to demonstrate our capabilities through our insights and category understanding. I believe our extremely focused and well integrated effort made us win the business. While it is a great brand to be associated with, more importantly, they are a wonderful client to work with. This prestigious win is yet another very important milestone in Havas Media India‘s ambitious growth plans.”

  • WPP acquires remaining shares of three Colombian agencies

    MUMBAI: Three of WPP-owned companies – Grey, G2 Worldwide and MediaCom – have acquired the outstanding shares in three agencies in Bogota, Colombia.

    Global advertising agency network Grey has acquired the remaining shares in advertising agency REP/Grey. WPP‘s digital and relationship marketing company G2 Worldwide has acquired the remaining shares in REP/G2 while MediaCom (JV between Indian media group Madison and WPP‘s GroupM) has acquired the remaining shares in media agency Massive.

    After the latest acquisitions, WPP‘s collective revenues (including associates) in Columbia will amount to approximately US $110 million.

    The acquisitions are steps towards furthering strengthening WPP‘s presence in the Colombian communications services industry. Other WPP companies active in Colombia (including affiliates) are JWT, Ogilvy, Young & Rubicam, Wunderman, OgilvyOne, Burson-Marsteller, Live, Energy, TNS, Kantar Worldpanel, Millward Brown and IBOPE.

    In the past month, WPP also announced that it had invested approximately $70 million to take a 20 per cent stake in Buenos Aires-based Globant S.A. and that its wholly owned subsidiary Wunderman acquired Mexico City-based Crossmedia S.A. The Group collectively, (including associates), will have revenues of over $1.6 billion and will employ over 18,000 people in the Latin American region alone in 2013.

  • MediaCom ropes in Sriram Sharma to head South

    MUMBAI: MediaCom, the joint venture entity of GroupM and Madison Media, has appointed Sriram Sharma as its South head.

    Sharma will be based in Bangalore. His last stint was with Starcom where he was vice president and oversaw the Samsung business and the Bangalore office.

    Sharma replaces Anita Mookerjee who has moved to Jakarta to manage MediaCom Indonesia. She has spent over five years at MediaCom Bangalore and was instrumental in building a successful office from scratch.

    MediaCom India MD Debraj Tripathy said, “Anita was one of the most successful and respected managers in MediaCom India. The speed and manner in which she built and managed MediaCom Bangalore is a testament to her skill and maturity as a manager. I wish her, the very best in her new role. Her move is part of our continuous effort to reward our best talent by growing them into larger roles across our global network.”

    GroupM Indonesia head Ed Thesiger said, “I am delighted to welcome Anita to the GroupM Indonesian leadership team. On the back of her tremendous track record in India, I have every confidence that she possesses the necessary skills and leadership characteristics to replicate that success here and continue to drive full throttle our growth agenda for the Mediacom Indonesia business.”

    Sharma has over 15 years of experience across agencies like McCann, Maxus apart from Starcom.

    Tripathy said, “Sriram is a thorough professional and is best suited for the role. His experience in Bangalore and the other markets in the South gives him an added advantage, which I am confident will help our clients‘ and our business grow at a much faster rate.”

    Sharma said, “I am thrilled to be part of the MediaCom family and look forward to adding value to one of the most vibrant agencies in the country.”

  • GroupM acquires majority stake in Aussie experiential marketing agency

    MUMBAI: WPP’s wholly owned operating company, GroupM, the global media investment management network, has acquired a majority stake in Australia’s Play Communication Pty Ltd, an experiential marketing agency based in Sydney.

    Play was founded in 2002 and offers services across activation, sponsorship, digital and branding functions. The company employs around 23 people and clients include Optus, Volkswagen, Qantas, Coty, Tourism Queensland, Charles Darwin University and ASOS.

    Play‘s unaudited revenues for the financial year ended 30 June 2012 were approximately A$4.1 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately A$2.8 million. In Asia Pacific, WPP has revenues (including associates) of around $4.7 billion and employs some 46,000 people (including associates).

  • GroupM agrees to acquire majority stake in Filmworks China

    MUMBAI: WPP has announced that its wholly-owned operating company GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management arm, has agreed to acquire Filmworks China, an entertainment marketing agency in China, subject to regulatory approval.

    Founded in 2010, Filmworks’ service offering includes marketing of entertainment media properties, merchandise licensing, tie-in promotion, product placement and celebrity endorsements. It has a blue-chip client list that includes Electronics Arts, DreamWorks, TCL Television, Li Ning and Yili Group.

    Filmworks’ unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately RMB 12 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately RMB 11 million.

    This investment continues WPP’s strategy of developing its services in fast-growing and important markets and sectors. WPP has been committed to the Greater China region for over 20 years. Greater China remains one of the fastest growth markets for the company and is currently WPP’s third largest market with revenues of $1.3 billion and 14,500 people (including associates).

  • GroupM downgrades 2013 global ad spend

    MUMBAI: Due to the continuing sluggishness in the US and European economies, the global ad spend in 2013 will grow by 4.5 per cent, as per GroupM’s revised forecast.

    The study revealed that the forecast is almost a full percentage point lower than the 5.3 per cent spending hike GroupM predicted in June.

    The 70-country forecast predicted that global ad spending in 2013 will increase 4.5 per cent compared to 2012, representing $531 billion.

    The revised spending forecast was made in GroupM’s biannual worldwide report, “This Year, Next Year,” which also concluded that 2012 ad spending in measured media will hit $508 billion, a 4.6 per cent increase over 2011 spending of $486 billion.

    For the U.S. market, the report said advertising investment in measured media grew 3.5 per cent in 2012 to $152.4 billion, up from $147.2 billion the previous year.

    For 2013, the new report predicted a less optimistic 2.7 per cent increase to $156.5 billion.

    GroupM chief investment officer Rino Scanzoni said, “Ad spending in 2013 won’t enjoy the boost from Olympic and election-year spending we saw in 2012. At the same time, overall economic conditions in the US do not support more than very moderate advertising spending expansion.”

    GroupM Futures Director Adam Smith said ad investment in the Eurozone periphery (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) is expected to fall 15 per cent this year, a 40 per cent contraction from its peak spending year of 2007 and comparable in real terms to 1998 spending levels.

    “Western Europe is the slowest region for ad spending growth, with a 2.6 per cent contraction expected in 2012, the worst year since 2009‘s 11 per cent collapse. Western Europe now accounts for 20 per cent of global advertising, down from 30 per cent in 1999 and heading for 17 per cent in 2017,” Smith added.

    Smith also said that Russia and Turkey continue to lead ad spending growth in central and Eastern Europe, a regional economy that is one-fifth the size of Western Europe but with twice the ad spending growth.

    The study is part of GroupM‘s media and marketing forecasting series drawn from data supplied by parent company WPP‘s worldwide resources in advertising, public relations, market research, and specialist communications.

    The report predicted that investment in digital media would account for 19.5 per cent of measured ad spending globally this year ($99 billion) and 21.4 per cent in 2013 ($114 billion), with respective growth rates of 16 per cent and 15 per cent. Those figures are comparable to the GroupM forecast made earlier this year.

    “Digital ad growth remains strong, sustained and structural, though one or two highly-digitized European markets now look for growth in usage as opposed to new users,” said Smith. “More newsworthy is our rising dependence on digital to support total growth, now furnishing over 60 per cent of new incremental ad dollars in 2012 and 2013. This produces a reciprocal reduction in TV’s contribution, being the only other large growth medium.”

    In other media categories, TV accounted for 43 per cent of measured global media investment in 2012, the same amount recorded for the previous year.

    “We continue to predict TV‘s share of global ad budgets peaking in 2012 at 43 per cent as other screens begin to claim meaningful amounts of consumer time,” Smith added.

  • GroupM China launches mLab

    MUMBAI: GroupM China launched digital experience centre mLab which will provide media agencies and clients augmented online-offline digital support.

    The goal of mLab is to create an interactive setting that enables GroupM agencies and clients to understand and apply the latest digital technology, as well as to foster a more creative and entrepreneurial mindset.

    mLab provides services like tech learning and experience, digital trend watching and innovative solution incubation.

    In the sphere of tech learning and experience, the outfit has come up with a concept called ‘Digital Fridays‘ where every Friday mLab features digital training sessions that cover the latest trends in creative and interactive digital marketing, including technology development directions and real-time encounters to ensure participants from GroupM agencies and client brands understand both the technology and how it can be applied in marketing solutions.

    mLab also conducts analysis on the latest tech trends and new media marketing development directions, and participates in domestic and global tech conferences and exhibitions with the aim to share the latest trends as they unfold with the group and clients. It also creates proprietary products and solutions based on new technology.

    In 2013, mLab will begin incubating technologies that apply to client business and evolve them into GroupM proprietary products and solutions that drive GroupM leadership in digital marketing and innovation.

    GroupM Interaction president Tony Chen said, “GroupM Interaction has always been at the forefront in adapting the latest technologies to meet client needs. MLab and the GroupM Interaction App will ‘digitalize‘ and ‘mobilize‘ GroupM and its clients, helping to close the gap between technology and application, and pushing the frontiers of digital in China.”

    GroupM China CEO Bessie Lee said, “The ‘wave‘ of digital media is entirely transforming traditional media and marketing. As China‘s largest media investment company, GroupM China is constantly learning, experimenting, and moving in new directions. This initiative forms just a small part of our larger strategy to digitalize our offerings. GroupM China is focusing its talent, structure, and investment strategy to ensure continued leadership in the digital era.”

    In addition to the launch of mLab, the beta version of the GroupM Interaction App was also launched. It is a self-developed mobile application running on iOS and Android platforms that delivers content and functionality to GroupM and its clients in key areas, including domestic and international industry news, digital reports, video case studies, a work-related database, Q&A, voting, and a calendar. The app will be powered by an expert team providing regular updates on the most pertinent information in the field, giving GroupM and its clients anytime/anywhere access to the latest news and marketing information in real-time.

  • GroupM agrees to acquire majority stake in Netbooster Asia

    MUMBAI: WPP’s wholly owned operating company, GroupM, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in NB Agency Asia Holding Limited (“Netbooster Asia”), the Hong Kong holding company of digital marketing agencies in the Philippines and Indonesia, subject to regulatory approval.

    Netbooster Asia was founded in 2007 and is based in Manila and Jakarta and is a digital marketing agency offering media, production and creative services. It has an employee strength of 110 people and caters services to clients like Unilever, L’Oreal, Del Monte, Globe, BDO, Wyeth and Intel. Post the acquisition, Netbooster will be rebranded as Movent in the Philippines. In Indonesia, the agency will be consolidated into GroupM’s digital offering.

    Netbooster Asia‘s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately $2.4 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately $2.4 million.

  • Mindshare wins media duties of Merino Group

    MUMBAI: GroupM‘s media agency Mindshare has won the Merino Group‘s mandate for handling their media consulting and deployment duties across all mediums. Mindshare bagged the account without a pitch.

    The Merino account will be handled out of the Mindshare‘s Delhi office.

    Mindshare South Asia leader Ravi Rao said, “The win is the latest in a series of new account appointments for our Delhi office. We are really excited to have the opportunity to serve Merino. They have a great vision for the category and we believe we can do some game-changing work for the brand.”

    The Merino Group, which was started in 1968, deals in building-interior products, such as laminates, plyboards, ready doors, cubicles and acrylic counters for homes, offices, commercial and public areas. The company also owns the FMCG brand Vegit that manufactures and markets dehydrated potato flakes and instant snack mixes. It has also diversified into farming, biotechnology and food processing.

    Merino Group deputy general manager marketing Kamal K Mishra said, “To orchestrate the reach and delivery of our multimedia brand campaign, we were seeking a versatile and seasoned partner for media operations and Mindshare is a much-recommended name in the field.”

    Mindshare partner client leader Saket Sinha said, “We are fully geared to choreograph the journey for the brand to meet its consumer.”

  • Johan Boserup named Global CEO GroupM Trading

    MUMBAI: WPP‘s media agency network GroupM has brought on board Omnicom‘s Johan Boserup to lead the Global Trading discipline as GroupM Trading global CEO. He will join in the first half of 2013, and will be based in London.

    Boresup will report into Juergen Blomenkamp, a member of the global executive committee, and global president Dominic Proctor.

    Blomenkamp said, “I am thrilled that Johan is joining GroupM. We will work together to strengthen the existing strategy and direction for GroupM Trading, and to build on our current success to create even better results for our clients in the future.”

    Boserup has spent 17 years with Omnicom Media Group and was serving as the worldwide chief trading and accountability officer for the past five years. He was responsible for media buying across the group. Alongside his trading experience, he also has a background in digital media.

    “Over the last couple of years we have successfully established robust global trading organizations in each of the agencies. In his new role Johan will be tasked with bringing the media trading discipline even closer together across the group,”Blomenkamp added.

    Boserup will be responsible for accelerating the leverage of GroupM‘s market leading scale to create opportunities across the four agency networks within the group. He will continue to drive new media trading models to generate even more value for our clients.

    Boserup said, “In media trading, scale will always be important and in that respect GroupM can offer its clients something that other agency groups can‘t. As a competitor I have seen GroupM prove again and again to be capable of great things and I am thoroughly looking forward to becoming part of that success. I remain humble to the challenge, but I have already identified areas that I will be working on with the teams and I am confident we will be able to deliver significant incremental value to GroupM‘s clients.”