MAM
GREY Group merges with Autumn Grey
MUMBAI: GREY, one of India’s leading creative agencies has merged with AutumnGrey – a digital/data companies. The company has announced a new structure and go to market strategy in India. Autumn Grey CEO Anusha Shetty, a digital-first leader & trailblazer, has been appointed as GREY Group India’s chairman & group CEO.
Shetty is known for her relentless passion in developing and driving client business. Under her leadership, Autumn Grey has delivered several ground-breaking and award-winning online and digital campaigns that have firmly established Autumn Grey as one of India’s premier digital agencies. Her leadership and management skills, along with her digital knowledge are second to none.
With more than 20 years of marketing and advertising experience, and a career spanning across India and Silicon Valley, Shetty has co-founded Autumn Worldwide, a hyper-specialised digital marketing firm with offerings such as digital creative outreach, big data listening & insights, business intelligence, online reputation management, command centre management, media planning and buying and technology development.
Prior to this, Shetty has held progressive assignments in agencies like Lowe and Euro RSCG, working on multiple brands including Intel, Titan, Unilever, Honeywell, to name just a few.
Shetty will work closely with Nirvik Singh to ensure a seamless transition of leadership as they combine the creative strength of GREY with data-driven digital solutions from Autumn Grey, to create a future-facing agency model and framework.
Anusha Shetty said, “Convergence as a topic is not new. But to see this in action, driving value for our clients and our end consumers, is a dream for all of us. The breakdown of communication silos is the only way to create a future agency model and I am delighted to lead this journey with Sandipan.”
“Anusha is one of those unique talents who possess a rare combination of digital & social media knowledge along with entrepreneurial flair & business acumen. She is a natural-born leader who along with her team will bring ideal digital, creative and business solutions to clients across various industries. I think with her wealth of experience, she is the right person to take the agency to the next level. This is very much a game-changing moment for GREY India,” said GREY Group global COO and GREY AMEA chairman & CEO Nirvik Singh.
Sandipan Bhattacharyya who has been promoted as the GREY Group India’s managing director (MD) & chief creative officer (CCO), has led the agency to win multiple lions at Cannes, India’s first D&AD Yellow Pencil in Design, a grand prix and over a dozen metals at spikes, Adfest, one show and several Effies. In addition, he has played a major creative role in all of the agency’s big business wins.
The newly created role of the creative leader as MD signals GREY’s vision of putting creative front and centre of its growth story. As MD & CCO of GREY India, Bhattacharyya will be responsible for driving GREY’s mandate of famously effective work to the next level.
GREY’s creative work is rooted in pop culture and under his leadership GREY has launched some of the most iconic campaigns in the last decade.
Bhattacharyya has more than 20 years of experience in advertising, prior to GREY he has worked at BBDO India, Enterprise Nexus and Saatchi & Saatchi.
“Sandipan is extremely talented and has been instrumental in taking GREY’s creativity to a global level. His creative direction & storytelling expertise is a conversation starter and his campaigns are found in the middle of pop culture. With a dual approach of creative and digital working in unison, GREY is in the right place to create more ground-breaking, famously effective work for its clients,” said Nirvik Singh.
Sandipan said, “It’s the perfect blend of creativity, technology and data that’s happening at GREY and I’m lucky to be leading in these exciting times. Anusha and I are both intensely creative beings who think of ideas as a business multiplier, and we’re cooking up a hot new sauce. Watch this space or better still, give us a call”
GREY India current CEO Yashaswini Samat will be relocating to Singapore to take up a senior integrated role for WPP/GREY. She will continue to report to Singh.
MAM
Publicis Groupe acquires sports marketing agency 160over90
Deal strengthens Publicis Sports with global scale and talent partnerships.
MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe has just scored a major goal in the sports marketing arena and this time, it’s not just about fans in the stands, but brands looking to win big. The French advertising giant has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 160over90, a leading global sports and culture-first agency that is part of WME Group. The move builds on Publicis Sports’ recent expansions, including the acquisitions of Adopt and Bespoke in 2025, a partnership with Magic Johnson Enterprises, and the launch of Influential Sports.
The combined Publicis Sports group will be led by Suzy Deering, CEO of Publicis Sports. Robbie Henchman, most recently President of 160over90, will stay with WME Group as Senior Partner and President of its brand representation business while overseeing the strategic partnership between WME Group and Publicis Groupe.
160over90 employs over 670 people across the US, UK, EMEA and APAC. It specialises in creating meaningful connections between brands, sports events, properties and culture. The sports media market is valued at $150 billion globally, while sports sponsorships have crossed $90 billion, yet many marketers still struggle with fragmented and outdated approaches.
With this acquisition, Publicis aims to offer brands a more unified solution through greater scale and reach across key markets, data-first optimisation powered by the Publicis Sports Intelligence platform, activation of the creator economy via Influential, and a new strategic talent and entertainment partnership with WME Group.
Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun described sport as one of the most high-value channels in the age of AI. “This acquisition is the latest demonstration of our ongoing commitment to investing in the channels and capabilities that deliver the highest value for our clients,” he said.
Publicis Connected Media CEO Dave Penski added that sport has become the most powerful intersection of culture, commerce and community.
WME Group president and managing partner Mark Shapiro noted that combining 160over90 with Publicis Sports will create an unmatched offering for brands seeking deeper connections with sports fans.
In a fragmented sports marketing landscape, Publicis has clearly decided that the best way to win is to bring the whole team together turning scattered plays into one powerful, end-to-end strategy that connects brands to fans in meaningful and measurable ways.
