Digital marketing agency LS Digital to raise Rs 200 crore at a valuation Rs 1000 crore

LS Digital, initially known as Logicserve Digital is on a bullish growth trajectory.

The company recently raised Rs 80 crore from Florintree Advisors and also acquired a major stake in Langoor, a digital-first creative agency.

The digital marketing agency is now looking to raise another Rs 200 crore in series B funding at a valuation of Rs 1,000 crore.

BestMediaInfo.com spoke to Prasad Shejale, Founder and CEO of LS Digital, to get insights into their plans for the days ahead and the long-term.

According to him, the company’s vision is to go global and empower clients through digital transformation framework that includes components like media, UI/UX, creative, data and insights, customer experience and technology solutions.

Speaking about the decision to acquire a stake in Langoor, Shejale said that apart from many other business-driven reasons, the agency’s Co-founder Venugopal Ganganna is also a great friend. “Langoor is very good at customer experience. They are also very good at marketing automation which includes implementation as well as marketing campaigns. They are also very good at Web3.0 and have 7-8 meta stores and successful case studies. 80% of their business comes from export markets so that became a great matching point and that is why we got Langoor onboard.”

He further said that another company in the UI/UX category that is export-focused will also come under their umbrella by the end of August.

“There are a few more companies we are in talks with and by the end of the year, we will have them. We are also in discussion for a series B funding- with that we plan to pick up around Rs 200 crore at a valuation of Rs 1,000 crore. These funds will be used for inorganic growth in the specific areas that I have mentioned,” said Shejale.

The need to rebrand

Speaking about the need for rebranding, he said, “Our customers were anyways calling it LS Digital. So, it’s not a change for them. However, we rebranded because we are transforming into a group and that should be easier to pronounce, recollect and remember. This is a natural progression that has happened to some of the biggest brands in the world like IBM.”

Targets for LS Digital

“We are trying to grow faster than the industry and that was anyway happening for the past few years for us. We are trying to see how we can grow at least 3 times faster than the pace at which the market is growing,” he said.

“With Langoor onboard, we will be around 800 people and with the new acquisition, we will be around 1000+. This is a massive size for an Indian company, so imagine what we can get to the table for our brands and customers,” he added.

Shejale is further focusing on integrating all the companies coming onboard to reflect a great customer value to the clients. He also revealed that he is working on a book in which he plans to talk about the Digital Transformation Framework to educate people about the topic.

Challenges in the digital marketing space today

According to Shejale, a lot of brands are focusing on integrated digital solutions and companies with integrated services will win. Asked if brands trying to get different kinds of work done from different agencies is a challenge, he said that although it is very early stages, they have seen clients keen on consolidating their solutions.

“Independent/non-independent are just titles but companies that have 360-degree offerings and competencies, the right skillsets, and methodology will win accounts and help brands to grow.”  

Further enquired if the business is becoming a challenge with the number of agencies increasing and eating into the ad spends share, he said, it all depends on what the client is looking for. “Brands are looking for companies that actually have great skills. It is not about who will work for at a cheaper rate but about who will do it properly. Building yourself for all these offerings is difficult but we have the size, resources, and good market presence to build it.”

Shejale also spoke about the attrition situation in the industry. “Talent management was and has been a challenge. Yes, the industry is going through a lot of attrition problems but we are no different from anyone else.”

However, he revealed that they have a strong 45-day programme for freshers where they pick students through a unique selection process. “By the time they come out of it, they are groomed into strategizing digital transformation. This is why they stay longer with us. Having said that attrition is definitely there for everyone but I suppose our numbers are less in that area.”

“We have an open and strong training and development infrastructure in place. We are known for how we train people and encourage them. This is a differentiating factor. Now with all the platforms getting in one place, there is a lot of excitement. We are looking forward to learning a lot of stuff from the companies that are coming on board. There is a lot of excitement about being a part of the big dream,” he added.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com