WPP on the prowl after digital agencies in India
Rating: good hunting
WPP has lost its crown as the world’s largest advertising and marketing company (coming a short head behind Omnicom according to 2006 global revenues), but if it has its way, not for long.
It has already demonstrated its interest in mobile as an emerging channel by making a strategic investment in mobile search company JumpTap and is now showing a great interest in Indian acquisitions.
Although the Indian mobile and digital market is growing phenomenally, it only accounts for a tiny proportion of digital spend. Overall interactive advertising accounts for between 8 and 9% of total advertising expenditure, but in India it only equates to 1 to 2%. This is because the older media such as television and print are still growing in India, although they are in decline globally.
It’s no surprise that pre-media and production work is being outsourced to India from all over the world: PC maker Lenova’s advertising hub for its global activities is in Bangalore.
Also, while digital including mobile might only account for a very small percentage of a huge market, it is most definitely worth having and it should grow rapidly over the next five years.
WPP hasn’t got the field to itself, though. Increasingly it’s finding that the companies it’s interested in are also on venture capitalists’ radar or that they have already invested in them. It’s going to have to look to its laurels to get its hands on the wealth of indigenous talent.
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- ZestADZ India Launches Facebook Mobile Ads
- JumpTap and WPP new strategic investment
- Yahoo! oneSearch Asia with MTNL India, CSL HongKong, Smart Phillipines, Sun Philippines, Vibo Taiwan and ad deals with Idea India and Maxis Malaysia
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