Publicis Communications has announced the merger of its in-house technology enabled experiential arm, Solutions, with its brand activation and experiential shopper agency, Arc Worldwide.
The newly merged entity is effective immediately and will be called Arc Worldwide. Vandana Verma, EVP and India head at Arc will lead the entity. Solutions’ team and clients will now come under the Arc umbrella.
A statement from Publicis said that Solutions’ digital data-led approach provides Arc with a boost in technological innovations.
Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications India and Leo Burnett, South Asia, said, “By merging the two entities, Arc can leverage their combined expertise in ways that are unprecedented for the industry. The merger of Solutions with Arc will create even more momentum for Arc’s trajectory in India. Arc has deep capabilities across the entire experience landscape. With Solutions, we will create meaningful value exchange straddling the entire shopping experience for greater impact on our clients’ businesses. The merger is in perfectly in line with our ‘Power of One’ strategy.”
Arc Worldwide is present in 40 countries. Solutions is an digital offering serving clients which include HP, ITC, Fitbit, CP Plus, Usha and Sandisk.
Vandana Verma said, “Arc is focused on creating meaningful connected experiences. In India, Arc is a key platform within Publicis Communications. Solutions will add immense value to Arc through its expertise across technology-enabled solutions, paperless retail audits, merchandising and real time consumer feedback, among others. The merger will now help us lead experiential planning, data-driven shopper insights, and mobile-tracking and analytics-led initiatives designed to help our clients reach empowered consumers.”
Virender Sharma, COO, Solutions, added, “Arc’s superb experiential and shopper marketing capabilities, combined with Solutions’ superior technology-led approach will prove valuable for clients in this market. The merger with Arc means unparalleled access to all clients in the Publicis Communications portfolio. I look forward to seamlessly integrating ideas and solutions that will grow our clients’ businesses. We are happy to see the coming together of Arc Worldwide and Solutions at our new Big Apple office in Gurugram.”
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