MAM
Quasar consolidates under GroupM
MUMBAI: GroupM has joined hands with Quasar to build an integrated digital media agency network.
As per the deal, Quasar will align its media units, Quasar BMS and Blazar, under GroupM Interactions management.
The consolidated agency network will now include the existing brands of both the businesses – Mindshare, Motivator, Maxus, MEC, Quasar BMS and Blazar.
There will not be any change of leadership for Quasar and Blazar. The two agency brands will continue to run independently, but will report to GroupM Interactions head Tushar Vyas.
They will also report to an operating board constituting senior leadership from both Quasar & GroupM.
The alignment will control a major share of India’s digital marketing spends with capability in Social, Creative, Search and Mobile.
Quasar BMS and Blazar are the digital media business units within Quasar. Recently, Quasar TWS, which is the Technology and web solutions unit, was aligned to Possible Worldwide.
The International Business Group (IBG), which is the global digital production unit, has been re-christened as Quasar Primo and will continue to focus on creative and technology development for international clients in partnership with different networks of WPP and direct clients.
GroupM CEO South Asia Vikram Sakhuja said, “For GroupM consolidation and leverage are our two mantras. We have been successfully managing several independent media agencies for some years. As the world goes more digital we see tremendous synergies by now aligning Quasar BMS and Blazar into the rest of our digital business. Together we will bring best of class end to end capability in Paid, Owned and Earned parts of Digital Media.”
Brands
Thomas Cook India, SOTC and Booking.com team up for smarter corporate stays
Global hotel choices meet Indian corporate controls for seamless business travel
MUMBAI: Business travel just got a major upgrade. Thomas Cook (India) and its group company SOTC Travel have joined forces with Booking.com to offer Indian corporates world-class accommodation options with a side of convenience.
The collaboration brings Booking.com’s vast global inventory, more than 31 million listings across 220 countries, straight into Thomas Cook and SOTC’s corporate booking platforms. From luxury hotels and resorts to homes and apartments, business travellers now have an unprecedented range of choices, all while staying within company travel policies.
Thomas Cook and SOTC president & group head of global business travel Indiver Rastogi said, “Today’s business travellers want more choice, flexibility and transparency. By linking Booking.com’s extensive inventory with our managed corporate tools, we’re delivering exactly that: policy control, price clarity and service support that businesses can trust.”
The offering is designed with the Indian corporate traveller in mind. Key features include transparent pricing with GST-compliant invoices, curated hotel options for SMEs to large enterprises, coverage across 2,500 plus Indian cities, verified traveller reviews, essential business amenities, and integrated policy control for approvals, budgets and credit limits.
Booking.com VP partnerships Mark van der Linden added, “Corporate travellers in India want the same seamless experience they enjoy in personal trips, with the right corporate guardrails. This partnership makes our global accommodation inventory enterprise-ready, combining choice, flexibility and localised support.”
With real-time booking access on desktop and mobile, enterprise-specific rates, loyalty benefits, and future integrations into Thomas Cook’s TravelOne platform, the partnership promises to make corporate travel smoother, safer and smarter than ever.
