MAM
WondrLab Network acquires Polish agency Webtalk, Launches European Hub
Mumbai: Wondrlab digital network, announces the acquisition of WebTalk. This strategic milestone marks Wondrlab’s fifth acquisition and its first international venture since its inception in 2020. The company has also announced the appointment of Jarek Ziebinski as chairman of the Supervisory Board of its European Hub in Poland.
Founded in 2010, WebTalk, led by Michal Dunin, is a results-driven B2C digital marketing agency known for delivering outstanding outcomes in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. With a decade of experience, WebTalk, comprising 100 specialists, serves 40 clients including Kia Motors, BNP Paribas, Heinz, Bosch, Volkswagen, Total, and Siemens among others, in Poland, CEE, and central Asia. It offers a comprehensive suite of services including digital strategy, social media management, content creation, paid media oversight, and innovative e-commerce support. Going forward Michal Dunin will be responsible for managing the newly created Wondrlab’s European Hub in Poland.
Jarek Zielinski, a renowned figure in the global advertising market comes with over three decades of experience in marketing, media, and advertising. His illustrious career includes significant roles at Leo Burnett, where he managed the agency’s network in Central and Eastern Europe and served as CEO and chairman of Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific. Jarek’s role as Global CEO of Publicis One at Publicis Groupe further underscores his proficiency in change management and large-scale business transformation.
With the launch of Wondrlab’s European hub, clients gain immediate access to services, products, and platforms across key pillars: Digital Video, Content & Community, Digital Media & Data, and Digital Business Transformation. This strategic move aligns with Wondrlab’s commitment to holistic solutions and global brand offshoring, integrating e-commerce, production, and content management, paving the way for expansion into hubs like Vietnam and the Middle East.
On the acquisition and Jarek’s appointment, Wondrlab Network founder & CEO Saurabh Varma said, “Historically, we have witnessed global companies acquiring Indian companies. The moment has arrived for Indian companies to acquire global companies. This is our time. Today signifies a crucial milestone in our journey towards establishing a world-class network that sets global standards from India. This is our fifth acquisition and in 36-48 months we’ll be looking at 21 more acquisitions. Our journey in Europe is just beginning. This is one of the many acquisitions we’ll be making in Poland. The way we are thinking about our global network is a function of not just products and services but also building strategic hubs based out of India, Poland, the Middle East, and Vietnam. Warsaw is one of the critical pillars toward building our global organization, and we couldn’t have found a better partner in Jarek and Michal to drive our global ambition. The WebTalk team will be deploying a lot of the tech created in India to create magic for clients in Poland, CEE, and across the world. It is an absolute pleasure that Jarek has chosen to be a part of Wondrlab’s growth journey. Jarek has been my mentor, boss, and friend for more than 15
years and I possibly could not find a better guru to supercharge our global ambition. He’s played a key role in helping us kick-start our European hub, based in Warsaw with the acquisition of WebTalk. And we will aggressively follow this with acquisitions across our key verticals – Digital Video Content & Community, Digital Media & Data and Digital Business Transformation.”
Sharing his thoughts on joining Wondrlab, Jarek Ziebinski, said, “I am genuinely thrilled by the dynamic synergy between Poland and India, two innovation hubs that perfectly align with our vision. I am particularly eager to contribute to Saurabh’s ambitious plan of building full-funnel agencies across our pillars. What this synergy offers our clients in Europe is immediate access to an abundance of exceptional talent and readily available technology – a resource that can be utilized instantaneously. This partnership provides us with a strategic advantage, offering our clients ready-made tech solutions that would have otherwise taken us years to develop. With our new partner in India, we have access to scalable resources and expertise in crucial areas of marketing technology. We now possess ready-made products that can be swiftly deployed across our European clients, marking a significant leap forward. I look forward to being an integral part of Wondrlab’s growth story and contributing to its transformative journey in redefining the digital marketing landscape.”
WebTalk founder & managing director Michal Dunin said, “Becoming part of Wondrlab is an exhilarating new chapter for WebTalk. Wondrlab’s focus on platforms, product innovation, and leveraging tech provided by Wondrlab will greatly benefit our clients in the broader CEE region. Our focus remains on delivering exceptional value to our clients ensuring that they have immediate access to the fantastic platforms built by Wondrlab such as Wisr, Hector (a performance marketing tool to win on Amazon), and the Salesforce talent in Cymetrix, from the get-go. My immediate priority is enabling our clients to leverage innovative solutions right from the start, propelling their success in the dynamic digital landscape. I look forward to working with Jarek to identify and acquire companies in Poland which can help us become a compelling hub out of Warsaw.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
