‘Accenture’s acquisition of Droga5 gives it an edge in consultative sales’
Early last week, Accenture announced that New York-based agency Droga5 would become a part of Accenture Interactive, which Accenture calls its experience agency

Accenture Interactive has sure accelerated its mission to bridge the gap between brand promise and customer experience through transformative experiences by acquiring creative agency Droga5. According to experts from both IT and advertising fields, the acquisition would give Accenture an edge in consultative sales.
Talking about the acquisition, Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst, Founder and Chief Executive of IT Research firm Greyhound Research, says that digital acquisitions are the flavour of the season for IT services firms looking to diversify.
“The focus on design thinking is a significant move away from traditional outsourcing deals and models that focus only on infrastructure projects or application-led deals,” remarks Gogia.
Referring to research at Greyhound Research, Gogia says that 50 per cent of the IT budget will lie with a non-CIO (Chief Information Officer) person by 2020.
“So you’re (most likely) talking to a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), or CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) or CFO (Chief Financial Officer) for business. If you have to speak to a CMO, you need to be able to speak experience and immersion, and not just IT,” he explains.
Early last week, Accenture announced that New York-based agency Droga5 would become a part of Accenture Interactive, which Accenture calls its experience agency.
In an official statement released by Accenture, Brian Whipple, Global CEO of Accenture Interactive, said, “We’re excited to work with David Droga and his team of brand strategists and creative minds to further our ambition to improve the full human experience with brands. As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Accenture Interactive, joining forces with Droga5 will be a game-changing milestone for us and the industry as we continue to assemble the right mix of capabilities for the modern-day marketer.”
While the acquisition will give Accenture Interactive a distinct marketplace position, Droga5 and other creative agencies that follow suit would also stand to gain from associations like these.
Harjot Singh Narang, President, Dentsu One Pvt Ltd, feels that for Accenture, this will be an acquisition of a strong right brain thinking prowess that they can apply to the problems of clients that they are addressing.
“If done right, it could be a key differentiator from their competition. Additionally, the first mover advantage will mean that their learning curve on this alignment would be higher than anyone else,” adds Narang.
“For the creative agency, it will open up a whole new world of problems to apply creative thinking to, along with higher exposure and grounding in a deep analytical base of thinking that business consultancy firms have traditionally built for themselves,” Narang says further.
“I think the essence lies in the difference in approach to problems that the two sides bring to the table. A creative agency is tuned to think outside the box and ensure that whatever it creates is beyond others and is still deeply connected to human insights that result in great results. Now imagine this approach being applied beyond brand and communication to other business/process/ efficiency/strategic problems. It could open up a whole new world and way of working for the consulting organisation,” he adds.
Looking at it from another side, George Kovoor, Group Creative Director at Ogilvy, says that consulting firms have never been a threat in a creative pitch, but with the Droga merger, that's going to change for sure.
“Accenture has been looking to take on the advertising industry for quite some time now. Droga joins a slew of design and tech powerhouses like Fjord, Monkey, Adaptly and Karmarama. For Droga this is a new lease of life. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Droga has done what a lot of advertising networks have been trying to do-- become a truly new age advertising agency,” he adds.
According to experts, Droga's substantial creative talent coupled with Accenture's already substantial bouquet of services will make this combination one to lookout for in the future.
But does the move have an impact on the Indian market? The impact on the Indian market will depend on the requirement of clients to apply a combination of logic and creativity to problem solutions.
According to Kovoor, in fact, Indian advertising agencies have been feeling the impact of the changing advertising marketplace for some years now. Clients are no longer looking for traditional advertising and branding solutions. They are looking for experiences that tap their consumers at multiple touch points of their customer journey. In that light, this merger is definitely showing the way our world is moving.
But is India ready for such acquisitions?
“The Indian market is way behind in terms of strategic acquisitions by large consulting firms. Majority of the large current M&A deals in the media and creative space are limited to US, UK and rest of Europe. Indian agencies need to up their game in order to be attractive targets or differentiate convincingly if they choose to remain independent,” says Saurabh Uboweja, Chief Executive Officer at Brands of Desire.
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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