MAM
Publicis enters Palestine, buys 20% of Zoom Advertising
MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe has become the first publicly-listed international communications group to enter the Palestinian market space, purchasing 20 per cent equity stake in Massar International‘s subsidiary Zoom Advertising based in Ramallah.
This announcement comes close on the heels of Publicis‘ announcement of the acquisition of Israeli advertising and communications firm BBR.
Post the stake acquisition, Zoom Advertising will be renamed Publicis Zoom and will be aligned with the Publicis Worldwide global network. General manager Firas Awad and managing partner Jane Masri will continue to lead the 23 employee strong company.
Palestine is the latest addition to Publicis Worldwide‘s expanding Middle East presence joining agencies in UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
Founded in 2004, Zoom provides digital and interactive tools, has expertise in multimedia applications, and provides creative and brand strategy services. It has corporate clients across market sectors including Bank of Palestine, the Paltel Group, the Palestine Exchange, Coca-Cola, the European Union, UNICEF, UNRWA, Peugeot, Cairo-Amman Bank and the new Palestinian planned city of Rawabi.
Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Levy said, “This transaction is important on several levels. One key element, of course, is Publicis‘ desire to serve our clients wherever they work.
But the impact of this operation extends much further than that. It is also a call to French and international companies to set up in the region and to contribute to creating the economic development without which there can be no durable peace.”
Publicis Groupe COO Jean-Yves Naouri added, “Zoom Advertising‘s excellent track record in the Palestinian digital and interactive markets made it a natural partner for Publicis Groupe, with its focus on fast growing markets and digital as its two strategic pillars. The Arab world is embracing digital technology at an unprecedented pace, as was demonstrated during the events of the Arab spring, and Palestine is no exception.”
Zoom board chairman Bashar Masri stated, “Today‘s deal is a key step towards the goal of fostering an enabling business environment for private sector growth and development, and I am confident that more investments like this one are on the horizon.
The fact that a Palestinian company passed the rigorous due diligence procedures of a global, publicly-listed company like Publicis Groupe should send a very strong message to the Palestinian private sector. I am particularly proud that Zoom was the company to achieve this milestone for the communications industry in Palestine.”
Brands
IICT partners with Gativedhi to bring studio production tools to students
New MoU lets students explore AI-driven production pipelines for AVGC-XR
MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) has teamed up with Gativedhi Technologies to give students a front-row seat to modern studio production. The collaboration will integrate Gativedhi’s AI-powered production intelligence platform, Shotrack, into academic programmes, letting students experience the workflow systems used by animation, VFX and gaming studios.
Under the MoU, faculty, students and researchers will get hands-on access to Shotrack through beta programmes, pilot deployments and academic evaluations. This will allow them to explore simulated production pipelines, understand asset management, track tasks and monitor schedules, essentially seeing how complex projects come together behind the scenes.
Shotrack is designed to tackle a key industry challenge: when multiple studios work on the same project, differing internal systems often create bottlenecks, slow approvals and complicate version control. The platform provides a unified production environment, enabling smoother collaboration across distributed teams while generating operational insights and predictive analytics to optimise crew allocation, forecast schedule risks and manage costs.
The collaboration also opens doors to Gativedhi’s wider ecosystem. Upcoming tools include StudioTrack, for studio operations management covering budgeting, recruitment and IT infrastructure, and WorkTrack, which measures workflow efficiency and team productivity across industries.
IICT plans to embed these tools into programmes covering animation pipelines, VFX workflows, gaming production and media project management. Students will also benefit from guest lectures, masterclasses, workshops, internships and research projects that connect academic learning with real-world studio practices.
IICT CEO Vishwas Deoskar, said the partnership provides “An environment where production pipeline tools can be explored, tested and refined while students gain insight into how large-scale productions are organised.”
Gativedhi Technologies founder & CEO Senthil Kumar added, “This collaboration introduces students to real-world studio management tools and helps us improve our platform with academic feedback.”
With Shotrack in classrooms, India’s future animators, VFX artists and gaming producers will get a taste of studio life long before they step into one.
