LMG launches BPN, IPG Mediabrands' 3rd media agency network

Media veteran Suresh Balakrishna will head the new agency. BPN is being launched first in India, to be followed by 13 other countries

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | June 12, 2012

IPG Mediabrands has rolled out its third media agency network in India – under the Lintas Media Group (LMG) umbrella – called BPN (Brand Programming Network) today. The new agency will be headed by media veteran Suresh Balakrishna, CEO, who recently returned to LMG to incubate the agency and craft its position in India.

The other two media agency networks in IPG Mediabrands, UM and Initiative, are represented in India by Lodestar UM and Lintas Initiative.

BPN, which is being launched first in India, will open in 13 other countries in North America, Scandinavia, Latin America and Europe. It has a start-up billing of over $ 900 million, working with brands such as Heineken, GSK, Staples, Applebee, to name a few.

Besides having access to all the global tools and resources of IPG Mediabrands, BPN will be uniquely positioned to offer highly differentiated services focused on promoting brand health and success in an increasingly social and consumer driven media landscape.

Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO of Lintas Media Group, said, “For media agencies thus far, the starting point has always been the advertiser. Consolidation, portfolio management, aggregation, etc., are all client focused and to some extent consumer data driven. BPN will focus on the brand. The time has come to turn back several chapters and make the brand the hero of all communication effort, and BPN has developed processes to do just that.”

BPN will take on the service mandate of clients like Jyothy-Henkel, Bajaj Auto, Samsonite and several other clients of LMG to start up with a billing volume of over Rs 1,000 crore. It will have operations in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Cochin.

The agency is already pitching for large MNC brands and has recently acquired Henkel in Mumbai, Yepme.com in Delhi, OCL in Kolkata, and Jayalakshmi Silks in Cochin.

Balakrishna, CEO of BPN, said, “The team and I am very excited to be energising an all-new way of approaching media, yet using the best of data, insights and creativity that LMG and IPG Mediabrands have globally and here in India. BPN will focus on promoting brand programming using social media as a key source of information to reach consumers at every touch point. We will work closely with Reprise Media, the digital offer, and Lintas Initiative Outdoor to offer brands complete media solutions.”

Balakrishna further said, “This agency will be characterised by its agility, creativity and understanding of new avenues like the digital medium, branded content, mobile telephony, apart from the conviction to be able to deliver the best media product through astute planning and aggressive buying.”

Created by IPG to manage all of its global media related assets, Mediabrands employs 6,500 communications specialists operating in 90 countries and manages $ 34 billion in global media billings.

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