It’s done: Publicis picks up 51% in Capital Advertising

Post this acquisition, Capital will continue to function independently, but will be aligned with the Asia operations of the Publicis Worldwide network. The founding directors of Capital, Sunil Sachdeva and Prasad Subramaniam, will report to Matthew Godfrey, CEO, Publicis Asia

Word has been around for quite some time now that Capital Advertising, the Delhi-headquartered advertising agency, was in dialogue with a number of agencies that were looking forward to acquiring a stake in the agency. It’s official now – Publicis Groupe has announced the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in the agency.

Sunil Sachdeva, director, Capital Advertising, says, “We have been an independent agency for 15 years now, and not only we, as people who run the agency, but even our clients are extremely proud of the fact. Publicis is one of the fastest-growing agencies and, looking at the scale of our company, it was very important for us to be a part of the global learning system, which would allow us to leverage the best of the global practices for our clients such as Maruti Suzuki, LG and the rest.”

It’s done: Publicis picks up 51% in Capital Advertising

Nakul Chopra

Expressing his views on the acquisition, Nakul Chopra, MD and CEO, Publicis India, says, “Capital has a strong legacy in the advertising business in Delhi. Delhi being one of the fastest growing markets of the country for advertising, it only made sense for the group to invest in the strengths of an agency like Capital. With a hike in the number of acquisitions and mergers today, if we were to look at a list of the top 20 agencies of the country, there would hardly be a few – probably one or two – independent agencies left.”

Founded in 1992 by Sachdeva and Subramaniam, Capital, which has its offices in Delhi and Mumbai, has clients such as Maruti Suzuki, LG, CitiFinancial, Apollo Tyres, DLF, Hero Group, LML and Spice Telecom, in its basket.

Prasad Subramaniam (l) and
Sunil Sachdeva (r) of Capital Advertising

So, what is it that makes independent agencies feel that it is essential to have the backing of groups like Publicis and WPP? Says Sachdeva, “It was not like we were selling lock, stock and barrel off to any agency, like it was reported by a publication! An agency finds it an important platform to add value to the talent that it attracts and needs to retain, as well as to deliver the best to its clients. Global exposure for our talent and brands is extremely significant, looking at the speed at which brands are going global, with launches taking place in various countries simultaneously. Entrepreneurial passion, which stems from being independent and competing against the biggies, is what we get to the table.”

In a statement, Olivier Fleurot, executive chairman, Publicis Worldwide, says, “India is a fast-growing and an important market for the group. This acquisition not only permits us to increase our presence in the speeding market, but helps us strengthen our abilities in the capital of the country, which, with a population of 14 million, is the advertising industry’s fastest-growing zones in the country.”

Publicis Groupe, the fourth-largest communications group and the second-largest media counsel and buying group in the world, has activities spanning 104 countries across five continents. The group has established its foothold in India with agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett and Publicis, which includes Publicis Ambience in Mumbai and Publicis India in Delhi. It has its media networks here as well – Starcom and Zenith Optimedia – and the recently-created India Media Exchange, which combines the media buying operations of its two media entities in the country. In 2005, it also cornered 60 per cent stake in Solutions, an Indian integrated marketing services agency.

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