MAM
Publicis strengthens digital with capabilities merger of LBi and Digitas
MUMBAI: France-based media communications agency network Publicis Groupe will be merging the newly acquired digital agency LBi with its existing digital network Digitas. The merger is an effort towards forming a fully integrated global digital agency network, with digital marketing and technology capabilities at the core.
The new network will be named DigitasLBi and be led by LBi chief executive Luke Taylor, who has been appointed DigitasLBi global CEO. He will report directly to Publicis Groupe Digital Technology Division CEO Bob Lord. Colin Kinsella will continue in his role as Digitas North America chief executive while Ewen Sturgeon remains LBi, Europe, Middle East and Asia chief executive.
Along with sister Publicis Groupe digital brands Razorfish and Rosetta, DigitasLBi cements Publicis Groupe‘s ambitions in the area of digital for its clients and the future of the communications sector. Publicis Groupe‘s share of revenue derived from digital operations is now over 35 per cent, enhancing its ability to deliver innovative and best-in-class services to clients.
DigitasLBi will be a complete digital agency network leveraging the longstanding dominance of Digitas in the USA – where it is the largest digital agency – with LBi‘s strong position in Europe and the leading position enjoyed by both agencies in Asia Pacific. DigitasLBi will comprise 5,700 best-in-class digital and technology experts in 25 countries around the world. DigitasLBi clients include American Express, Coca-Cola, Delta, eBay, L‘Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, Mondelez P&G, Nissan, Sprint and Starbucks.
Digitas and LBi share strong grounding in digital, including data, direct, social, search and platform delivery. Pooling these skill sets, DigitasLBi‘s service offering will provide clients with unique depth and breadth of expertise across a wide range of digital disciplines, including strategy and analytics, performance marketing, service design, e-commerce, brand strategy, content development, mobile, market research, CRM, search and social media.
The new digital network‘s “end-to-end” proprietary technology suite will include LBi‘s Audience Engagement Platform as well as Digitas‘ CRM365 Intelligence Platform and award-winning BrandLIVE. The combination of these technologies and surrounding services will allow DigitasLBi to form a uniquely perceptive view of the customer and distribute creative content efficiently across earned, owned and paid media channels, driving marketing effectiveness and delivering better value to brands.
Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy said, “Advertisers need a truly integrated and global digital network that can anticipate trends, forecast the ‘next‘, while constantly innovating in our ever-changing world. The combination of Digitas and LBi will create the world‘s leading concentration of digital skills and competencies in the world, capable of delivering solutions to all clients, everywhere. The formation of DigitasLBi is an essential landmark. It will certainly be the most competitive, attractive network in the market for both clients and talent.”
A team of senior LBi, Digitas and Publicis Groupe executives will oversee the merger process under the leadership of Digitas and Razorfish International CEO Stephan Beringer, ensuring flawless delivery of the newly enhanced service offering to clients in every geography.
Lord said, “One of the key strategic tenets of the combined DigitasLBi offering is the scalable, flexible technology and product suite that will help meet the full spectrum of marketer needs from audience engagement, to sense-and-respond content development and publishing, to real-time relationship marketing. This is an exciting union between two powerful brands, with complementary strengths in product and service that will redefine the role of an agency.”
Taylor said, “DigitasLBi represents for the first time that insight, content and distribution has been brought together in one agency, providing clients with a truly integrated, best-in-class, global offering.”
The creation of DigitasLBi will not affect MRY, which will remain a standalone entity under the leadership of founder and Chief Executive Matt Britton. With an enhanced headcount and service offering, MRY will continue to operate as an integrated agency with a social center of gravity.
Brands
Astrotalk sees 50 per cent rise in career, relocation queries amid global tensions
Parents lead surge as families rethink overseas plans in uncertain times
NEW DELHI: Astrotalk has reported a sharp 50 per cent rise in queries related to education, careers and relocation, as geopolitical uncertainties prompt Indian families to rethink their future plans.
The spike, compared to March 2025, reflects a noticeable shift in how decisions are being made. What was once driven by ambition is now increasingly shaped by caution. These queries now account for nearly 40 per cent of all consultations on the platform, signalling a growing appetite for guidance in uncertain times.
Parents are leading this trend, contributing 73 per cent of the increase. Much of the focus is on children at key life stages, particularly those aged 16, 18 and 21. Questions around overseas education and travel feasibility are becoming more frequent, especially among parents of 18-year-olds weighing global opportunities against rising instability.
About 35 per cent of the queries centre on education and relocation, while another 27 per cent come from parents planning early for younger students. These include decisions around subject choices and coaching pathways, aimed at staying competitive in what many perceive as a tightening global economy.
The concern is not limited to students. Around 25 per cent of queries are from working professionals with four to five years of experience who had earlier planned to move abroad but are now reassessing timelines and destinations. Another 13 per cent come from soon-to-be graduates reconsidering international study plans and long-term settlement goals.
Commenting on the trend, Astrotalk founder and ceo Puneet Gupta said, “This is the first time we’re seeing global mobility being questioned at scale by Indian families. Parents today are not just planning for opportunity, they are planning against disruption. Whether it’s visas, job markets, or geopolitical shifts, there’s a visible anxiety around stability, and that’s driving earlier, more cautious decision-making for their children.”
As uncertainty continues to shape global narratives, platforms like Astrotalk are finding themselves at the intersection of decision-making and reassurance. For many families, the future is no longer just about where to go next, but whether to go at all.
