Aegis Media, the $20-billion global communications group, is planning an investment of $100-million and more, via organic and inorganic routes in the Indian market. The company, which launched its digital arm ?Isobar? in India on Thursday, is also planning to launch around four global services in the next three to five years.
The group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has four big international independent service agencies that include Carat, Isobar, Posterscope and Vizeum. Out of these, Carat and Isobar have been launched in India and the company has announced to launch its out-of-home (OOH) arm Posterscope by the end of 2008.
Patrick Stahle, CEO, Aegis Media, said, ?We will bring Vizeum to India in around three years’ time.? Ashish Bhasin, executive vice-president, Lowe Worldwide will shortly take over as chairman, India and CEO Southeast Asia for Aegis Media.
Bhasin will spearhead the entire Aegis operation in India as well as Southeast Asia. ?We are planning to launch three to four global services in India by the next three to five years,? added Stahle. Besides digital and OOH, the company will also increase its focus on media and creative services.
In 2008, the group is more focused on digital and OOH services. Besides the launch of Isobar, the company has also made a significant strategic investment in Communicate 2, a search-marketing and contextual advertising firm. Communicate 2 will be under Isobar with a separate profit-and-loss structure. Its clients in the financial, aviation and education sectors include MSN, ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz, Reliance Money, Apna Loan, and Kingfisher Airlines.
Talking about the OOH services, Stahle said, ?We will not only provide conventional OOH solutions, but also create space for the same.?
Stahle said that globally, Europe was the most consolidated OOH market, followed by US. But the US market is more fragmented. In Asia, the most exciting markets are China, Thailand and Malaysia. However, the OOH market in India is still at a very nascent stage.