MPG gets Active in the OOH space

Media Planning Group (MPG) India, the media arm of Havas Media, has launched Active, an out of home (OOH) media service agency, in a joint venture with Skyline Outdoor Media. The business is being pegged at around Rs 40 crore annually

MPG Active will offer services in the domain of outdoor, rural and retail activation.

The move forms part of MPG India’s plans to consolidate its position in the fast growing Rs 1,800 crore plus OOH market. MPG Active will have a captive base in MPG’s OOH business.

Radico and VLCC are already in Active’s basket. In addition to this, the agency will also procure business through independent pitches.

Anita Nayyar, chief executive officer, Havas Media India, says, “OOH and activation today play a major role in building media strategies for brands and it was important for Havas Media to be in this space. For a while, we have been evaluating the right partners who would bring that distinctive edge to media solutions for our clients.”

Since MPG is a late entrant in the field, launching with the expertise of an expert was what would give them the right impetus – hence, the decision to go with Skyline Outdoor Media.

Ankur Rastogi will be the managing director of Active. Rastogi is the founder and chief strategist of India’s first portal on OOH advertising, www.allaboutoutdoor.com. He says, “With consumers spending more and more time outside home, OOH advertising formats have become the most important information dissemination medium.”

The objective at Active is to provide distinctive services in the areas of planning, buying and audit.

Raminder Singh and Kamal Kumar, both advisors in Skyline Outdoor Media, bring together a decade of rich experience in the OOH space. Singh owns Greenline, the pioneer in launching the concept of Green Delhi in the environment space. Kumar owns diverse and innovative OOH assets and was the first to introduce solar bus shelters.

MPG Active will commence operations with six full service locations: Delhi (corporate office), Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad.