MAM
Aegis Q3 revenue growth better than rivals
MUMBAI: Amid slowdown in Asia Pacific and Europe, Aegis Group has posted fiscal-third quarter revenue growth of 14.5 per cent. Even the organic revenue (excluding acquisitions and disposals) growth was at 6.3 per cent for the three-month period ended 30 September, higher than rivals WPP Group, Havas and Publicis Grooupe who ran slower at around two per cent.
Aegis, which houses media agencies such as Carat and Vizeum and digital network Isobar, did not provide revenue figures as it is in the process of being acquired by Dentsu.
By geographical region, Aegis‘ organic revenues in the Asia Pacific region saw a slump to four per cent compared to 14.4 per cent in the trailing quarter. Europe, Middle East and Africa slowed from 3.8 per cent in Q2 to 2.8 per cent in Q3. The Americas grew by 15.2 per cent in the third quarter which is down 18 per cent in the second quarter.
Aegis Media grew at 6.3 per cent while its research arm Aztec grew at 6.7 per cent.
The Group made a number of acquisitions and investments in the third quarter of 2012, including Catch Stone in China, Hablar in Japan, C2 in India, D2D and iSpy in the UK, W Garden in France, Irokeesi in Finland, and IQ Mobile in Austria.
The group‘s total revenue for the first nine months ended 30 September increased by 16.3 per cent while its organic revenue saw an increase of 7.9 per cent. Aegis Media delivered total net new business wins of $2.9 billion during the first nine months of the year as compared to $2.4 billion in 2011.
Aegis Group chief executive officer Jerry Buhlmann said, “Aegis produced another strong performance in the third quarter of 2012, with continued market-outperformance and sector-leading organic growth. Our strong business mix, supported by targeted acquisitions, gives Aegis a unique opportunity to deliver the integrated campaigns our clients require in the convergent media environment.”
Earlier on 12 July Japanese media company Dentsu Inc. and Aegis announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer by Dentsu for Aegis. Shareholders approved the transaction at shareholder meetings on 16 August 2012.
On 6 November, it was announced that all antitrust clearances identified in Part A of Part Three of the Scheme Document have been obtained, with the exception of clearance from the Ministry of Commerce of the People‘s Republic of China (“MOFCOM”) pursuant to the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People‘s Republic of China (the “Anti-Monopoly Law”).
“Dentsu and Aegis remain confident that the Scheme will become effective on or prior to 28 February 2013 (the long stop date referred to in the Scheme Document),” Aegis said.
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.
