AD Agencies
DDB announces acquisition of 22feet in India
In a move to lead the development of the digital marketing solutions space in India,DDB Group Asia Pacific and Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC),today announced it has acquired 22feet.
One of the most dynamic and leading digital marketing firms in India, 22feet will merge with Tribal Worldwide India creating a new entity known as 22feet Tribal Worldwide, and part of theDDB Mudra Group.
Effective immediately, 22feet Tribal Worldwide will be spearheaded by Vineet Gupta, Managing Director,Brijesh Jacob, Joint Managing Director, and Deepak Nair, Chief Operating Officer. All three, originally from 22feet, will report directly to MadhukarKamath, Group CEO & Managing Director, DDB Mudra Group. They will alsowork closely withPatrick Rona, President, Chief Digital Officer, DDB APAC & President, Tribal Worldwide APAC Tribal Worldwide,and the rest of the Tribal World Wide network across 42 countries to deliver relevant International learnings to the local market
John Zeigler, Chairman & CEO, DDB Group Asia Pacific, India and Japan, said, “We see this as a strategic move to continue evolving our capabilities in the fast-moving Indian market. DDB Group has accelerated its capabilities to offer clients the best-in-class local digital expertise at 22feet, coupled with best-in-class global knowledge of the Tribal Worldwide network. I believe this is a game-changing event for DDB Mudra Group in India.”
22feet has become India’s benchmark company working with iconic brands such as Café Coffee Day, Fastrack, Lenovo, Heineken, Kingfisher, Red Bull and Axe.
22feet Tribal Worldwide will offer its clients end-to-end digital and mobile branding and marketing solutions including strategy and consulting, web designing, web development, media planning, search engine marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing solutions, mobile application development, mobile couponing and mobile UI.
MadhukarKamath, Group CEO & Managing Director, DDB Mudra Group, said, “With digital at the heart of DDB Mudra Group’s agenda, we are extremely happy about joining forces with 22feet. I have tremendous respect for Vineet, Brijesh and Deepak, who are focused and determined in what they do. This energy flows into the organization’stalent pool and their work. Under their leadership, in just five years, 22feet has grown leaps and bounds. With this energy and Tribal Worldwide’s global reputation and reach, I’m excited to see what this magic of mergers can create.”
Vineet Gupta, Managing Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide said,“We are extremely excited to be a part of the DDB Group family. At 22feet, we share DDB’s passion for innovation and technology and look forward to delivering best in class digital solutions to our clients across markets, as 22feet Tribal Worldwide.”
Brijesh Jacob, Joint Managing Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide said, “The agencies I have often been in awe of are generally not part of the network(s) I admire. In this case both the agency and the network get double thumbs up from me. Tribal, purely as a name along with its body of work, over the years and across the globe, is truly inspirational. The mix of technology and creativity, which they practice is in line with the thinking we have at 22feet and therefore I think exciting times are in store in terms of the work, the learning and the exposure.”
Deepak Nair, COO, 22feet Tribal Worldwide said, “22feet with its immense talent pool and client base is today at an inflection point and strategically very well positioned to leverage the shift towards digital. We are extremely happy with this opportunity to operate on a global canvas, and we look forward to very exciting times ahead, as 22feet Tribal Worldwide.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
