GroupM acquires majority stake in The Glitch in India

WPP has announced that its wholly-owned global media investment group, GroupM, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in The Glitch, a digitally-led creative agency.

The Glitch will continue to operate as an independently positioned brand, while taking advantage of GroupM’s larger infrastructure and agency ecosystem.

The Glitch was founded in 2009 and employs around 200 people in Mumbai and Delhi. The Glitch’s full-service capabilities include digital, video and content strategy, interactive design technology, ecommerce, branding and media planning. Clients include Unilever, Netflix, OYO Rooms, Shutterstock, Tinder and others in the entertainment, beauty and FMCG sectors.

The Glitch’s revenues for the year ending March 31, 2017 were around Rs 21.4 crore with gross assets of around Rs 17.5 crore as at the same date.

This acquisition will continue GroupM’s growth strategy in one of the world’s most dynamic emerging economies, and offer clients access to a wide portfolio of leading-edge digital marketing services and holistic content solutions.

CVL Srinivas

Speaking about the acquisition, CVL Srinivas, Country Manager for WPP India and CEO of GroupM South Asia said, “The communications ecosystem in India has evolved dramatically in the last few years and GroupM continues to lead the market in creating cutting-edge solutions that leverage data, technology and creativity. With The Glitch, we found a partner that brings exciting creative and content skills that can leverage our unique assets to create effective solutions for our clients. The Glitch has done some outstanding work for clients and we eagerly look forward to their coming on board.”

Rohit Raj

Speaking on the announcement, Rohit Raj, Co-Founder & Creative Chief at The Glitch said, “With GroupM, we have found the perfect partner who compliments our skills and shares a similar vision on the future of advertising. We will be able to use their strong expertise in data and analytics to help craft more insightful and effective campaigns for brands and help close the loop with a superior understanding of content and creative strategy to serve today’s economy.”

Varun Duggirala

Varun Duggirala, Co-Founder & Content Chief at The Glitch also added, “With our Right brain core of Creative Strategy and Content and GroupM’s vast Left brain core of Media, Data and Analytics paired with their increasing content focus we truly believe we’re completing the right mix to fuel overall exponential growth and deliver the most value to our clients.”

The investment will also continue WPP's strategy of focusing on three key areas that differentiate the Group's offering to clients: technology, data and content. WPP's digital assets include companies such as Acceleration (marketing technology consultancy), Cognifide (content management technology), Conexance (data cooperative), Deeplocal (innovation studio founded as a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University), Marketplace Ignition (Amazonfocused ecommerce), Medialets (mobile ROI measurement), Salmon (e-commerce), The Cocktail (digital consultancy) and Hogarth (digital production technology). WPP also has investments in a number of innovative technology services companies such as Globant and Mutual Mobile, as well as ad technology companies such as AppNexus, Celtra (creative management platform), comScore (data investment management), mySupermarket, Percolate, ScrollMotion and Within Unlimited (VR/AR).  

The Group has invested in digital content companies like All Def Digital, Fullscreen, Gimlet, Indigenous Media, Imagina (a content rights and media company based in Spain), MRC, Mic, Mitú, Refinery29, Uproxx Media Group and VICE. WPP's roster of wholly owned digital agencies include AKQA, Blue State Digital, Essence, F.biz, Mirum, POSSIBLE, Triad Retail Media, VML and Wunderman.   

WPP's digital revenues were over US$7.5 billion in 2016, representing 39% of the Group's total revenues of US$19.4 billion. WPP has set a target of 40-45% of revenue to be derived from digital in the next four to five years. Digital represented 41% of WPP’s revenues as of June 30, 2017. Collectively WPP companies in India generate revenues of over US$0.6 billion and employ over 19,000 people.

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