AD Agencies
Thought Blurb Communications launches brand Playseum
Mumbai: Thought Blurb Communications, a Mumbai headquartered, full-function advertising and design agency has successfully completed the branding and designing activities for the launch of Playseum. Playseum is a new age kids play area, launched in Mumbai.
In the world of children’s imaginative and interactive play, there are very few players in India, and Playseum has dramatically changed it. Since its inception in June 2023, the venture is billed as an interactive playhouse for children where they can learn as they play.
Thought Blurb Communications has been involved in the entire branding and designing activities. The key challenge was to come up with a brand name. The naming strategy was devised by the agency keeping in mind to combine a place of play and a place to learn. There was conscious efforts to eliminate various words like ‘school’, ‘library’ and ‘academy’, for being too trite or cumbersome, and thus the word ‘museum’ was chosen.
The core idea formed from there – that the place was to be a museum where the exhibits were playable. That had some legs. It also had the advantage of sounding like an immersive experience. For parents, it would manifest as a place of education and worthwhile of a child spending their time there. For the child, it was a place of play, entertainment, and happiness. Thus, the name was formed: Playseum.
The idea of interactivity and imagination comes alive in the space graphics by the design team. The logo, identity and overall design theme had to be warm, friendly, and comforting. The logo typography was designed as a series of curves, symbolizing smiles, carefully placed throughout the letters. The letters were intentionally shaped into soft curves to denote safety and comfort. The colour palette chosen also followed a similar thinking. The soft pastels of the logo were punctuated by complementary colours like yellow. Large fields and backgrounds were kept neutral with white, grey, light blue, and purple.
Every element of the interior has been treated with the same brush as it was with the collaterals, employee uniforms, printed materials and every other customer facing communication.
Playseum founder Meera Sheth noted, “Branding and designing in today’s times plays an highly important role in any business and specially in anything where kids are involved. Kids love colours and visuals which helps calm them and bring our joy and fun. With Thought Blurb onboard we were able to find a way to build the right strategy. Children can learn from a very early age. But structured education fails to provide this. I have always involved myself with my children’s playtime. You learn a lot by being with them and observing them pick up basic knowledge and skills, as long as they are all part of playtime.”
Thought Blurb founder & CCO Vinod Kunj added, “This is a unique brand in a unique space. There were really no precedents or examples leading us where we wanted to go. At Thought Blurb, we have made it a point to use our experience in launching new brands into the market to extensive use on this one. We had to establish guide-rails for the entire team to follow as we went about the task. We are proud to have been part of this brand and happy for another successful launch by our agency.”
The 6,000 sq. ft. facility has over 14 exhibits, and more than 50 activities that help children learn, observe, experience and feel as they absorb the meaning of what their actions are producing.
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.
