Publicis works on IQ + EQ + TQ formula: Jean-Yves Naouri, COO

Building digital capabilities is a fundamental part of the Publicis strategy and the India acquisitions are a reflection of that 

Shachi Tapiawala | Mumbai | December 10, 2012

Jean-Yves Naouri

Publicis Groupe has made its intentions for India clear: it aims to rejuvenate brands and power their growth by deploying marketing processes throughout their clients' organisations – and the focus is primarily on the digital route. In keeping with this strategy, it announced on Friday last the acquisition of iStrat, one of India's leading integrated digital agencies, as well as MarketGate, a Mumbai-based strategic business and marketing consulting firm.

Yves Naouri, COO, Publicis Groupe, addressing the media on the acquisitions, said, “We are in the business of brands, our clients look for consulting. This acquisition is compatible with our focus as we understand our clients' expectations. We follow the formulae of Intelligence Quotient + Emotional Quotient + Technical Quotient which equals to Publicis Groupe. As far as the work structure between the three agencies is concerned, I believe it would benefit us as some of our clients also overlap. Publicis and IBN have already built an e-commerce capability outside the USA and we will continue to make other investments.”

Shripad Nadkarni, Founder Director, MarketGate Consulting, said, “There is a dearth of marketing talent in this country and I believe we are capable of filling in this gap.”

Naouri added, “Building digital capabilities is a fundamental part of the Publicis strategy and the acquisition of iStrat and the strengthening of their digital arm in this promising market is a key step towards realising their growth goals.”

Publicis Groupe claims that till date they were targeting 50 per cent of their investment in talent but with the new acquisition they aim to step up investment in talent to a 75 per cent level. Additionally, the company plans to invest on fast growing markets such as South Africa, Mexico, Turkey, China and India.

Present at the media interaction, besides Naouri and Nadkarni, were Nakul Chopra, CEO, Publicis South Asia; Shrada Agarwal, Founder-Director, MarketGate Consulting; Sonya Sahani, Head - Marketing, iStrat Software; and Navneet Singh Sahni, CEO, iStrat Software.

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