AD Agencies
Do IT talent venture has big plans for the unorganised sector
MUMBAI: Two of India’s creative mentors, in a unique collaboration, have launched an integrated multi-disciplinary talent management firm called Do IT Talent Ventures. Darshana Bhalla and Radha Kapoor Khanna’s new talent venture firm aims at broadening the horizon of talent management and development across genres.
Darshana Bhalla, who was the former CEO of Mates – the entertainment unit of Madison Communication and Radha Kapoor Khanna, the founder and executive director of Do IT Creations – a flagship holding company of The Three Sisters: Institutional Office (TTS:IO) focused on establishing new age creative businesses, formed in Do IT Talent Ventures in April 2018.
In a span of three months, the brand has already signed a number of personalities across films, TV and sports namely Farhan Akhtar, John Abraham, Lara Dutta, Kajal Aggarwal, Neeraj Pandey Samir Kochhar in entertainment and Vicky Ratnani in culinary. While in sports, the brand has tied up with Virender Sehwag, Mahesh Bhupathi, Geeta Phogat, Ashwini Ponnappa, Robin Singh, Viren Rasquinha and Aparna Popat.
With a staff of trained professionals, mentors and promoters, the team possesses a cumulative experience of over 500 deals in the celebrity management business.
Darshana Bhalla says that the company’s primary vision is collective progress, focussing on talent from various genres of the creative industries and enabling constant optimisation of their time and resources.
Radha Kapoor mentions that under the holding company Do IT Creations, with a presence in entertainment, sports, media, retail amidst other consumer focused businesses, the group saw an opportunity to establish a presence in the talent ecosystem wherein they had the unique advantage of unlocking synergies by leveraging their portfolio of new age creative ventures.
Do IT wants to aim at having all creative people under their umbrella including culinary, technicians, artists, writers, TV actors, Bollywood celebrities, musicians, directors and sports mentors.
The talent venture will not look at only having celebrity talent. Radha Kapoor says, “Tomorrow we could also have writers, artists and designers. We are looking at it from a 360 degree approach wherein we can start catching these talents at a much younger age. the idea is on how do we find the right talent and create solutions for them.”
She figured that the DNA of their institution was to invest in entrepreneurs. And while the talent business in India has been primitively handled in sectors, Do IT is aiming at becoming an aggressive venture unlike the rest of them. They believe in having collective success and collaborations where there will be talent across creative industry.
The two describe it as a challenging business, but are excited about make their mark. “It is challenging to make them understand that it’s not about managing their existing work but also about optimising their talent.”
For now, the company’s client list only includes popular celebrities and other personalities. “We are not after having quantitative list of clients but want every client that we have on board is well thought of and ask ourselves, ‘if we can add value to them?’ We won’t take anybody on board if we are not sure and we don’t want to mess with anyone’s career,” they say collectively.
Doing business with celebrities and influencers isn’t all fun and games. Bhalla says, “The process is just business while the starting process and the outcome is always glamorous. But it is a lot of hard work as managing people has its own issues. There are some cultural disparities and functional disparities but you just deal with it.”
AD Agencies
Publicis posts €4.19bn Q1 revenue, 6.4 per cent growth; backs FY outlook
Ad giant signals Q2 acceleration as AI and new deals power momentum
PARIS: Publicis Groupe continues to outperform the industry, delivering a strong start to 2026 under Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun. Despite a volatile global macro environment, the company has now outpaced the industry for nearly 20 consecutive quarters.
For Q1 2026, total revenue reached €4,191 million, up from €4,161 million last year, with organic growth of 6.4 per cent. Net revenue, which excludes pass-through costs, stood at €3,460 million, reflecting organic growth of 4.5 per cent.
Exchange rates had a negative impact of €268 million, mainly due to a weaker US dollar and pound sterling. Acquisitions, including Adge.AI and 160over90, contributed an additional €46 million.
Performance across regions was largely positive, with some variation:
- North America, accounting for 59 per cent of net revenue, grew 4.7 per cent
- Europe recorded growth of 3.9 per cent, led by the UK at 6.2 per cent, while France grew 1.6 per cent
- Asia Pacific posted 5.9 per cent growth, driven by China at 11.7 per cent
- Latin America grew 13.3 per cent
- Middle East and Africa declined 5.1 per cent due to geopolitical challenges
AI-powered marketing services, which now make up 86 per cent of the business, grew 5.6 per cent. However, the technology segment, representing 14 per cent of revenue, declined slightly as clients reduced spending on large-scale transformation projects.
Sharing his outlook, Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun said, “Publicis had a very strong start to the year, outperforming the industry for almost 20 quarters in a row despite the volatile macro environment. Organic revenue growth reached 6.4%, leading to 4.5% in net and further increasing the gap with our peers.” He added that the company remains confident of delivering industry-leading performance. “We are confirming our industry-leading organic growth guidance of 4 to 5%, with the 4% rock solid, and a sequential organic growth acceleration in Q2 despite a higher comparable.”
Publicis continued its expansion with the acquisition of Adge.AI in March, followed by 160over90 in April to strengthen its sports and culture marketing capabilities.
Net financial debt stood at €1,156 million at the end of March, reflecting a seasonal shift from the net cash position at the end of 2025. Average net debt over the past twelve months was €1,035 million.
The company has reaffirmed its full-year guidance, expecting net revenue organic growth of 4 to 5 per cent in 2026. It also anticipates an operating margin slightly above 18.2 per cent and free cash flow of approximately €2.1 billion.
With expectations of stronger performance in the second quarter, Publicis remains well positioned to sustain its growth momentum.
