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WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe acquires majority stake in Brazil’s Grupo Maquina
MUMBAI: After acquiring a majority stake in India’s Six Degrees PR and Alphabet Consulting in September last year, WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe has made its second recent acquisition. The agency has now acquired a majority stake in Brazil’s public relations agency Grupo Maquina.
Maquina Cohn & Wolfe, with 240 employees across offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, has the combined talent and experience to meet demand for global integrated marketing services from Brazilian companies and multinational companies alike.
Maquina was founded in 1995 by Maristela Mafei. Today, Maquina is known for its digital and integrated communications work across numerous industries, including finance, education, consumer technology, retail, entertainment, government and tourism. The agency has specialty divisions focused on digital, video content, branding, advertising and package design services.
“Latin America has become a very important region for our clients and Brazil is a critical market for Cohn & Wolfe. After working with many good agencies, we were most impressed with Maquina’s excellence in digital and integrated marketing. They have an impressive client base and an equally impressive leadership team. We share values, including creativity, entrepreneurship and focus on client service, which will ensure a strong and long-lasting partnership and joint success,” says Cohn & Wolfe CEO Donna Imperato.
Mafei will remain director-general of Maquina Cohn & Wolfe, reporting to Imperato. Marcelo Diego and Daniella Camargos will continue in their roles as co-CEOs, reporting to Mafei. They will keep their positions as partners with Maquina Cohn & Wolfe.
The agency’s roster of both public and private sector clients includes Credit Suisse, EY, Zara, Xerox, Carrefour, L’Oréal, Nextel, MetLife, Bridgestone, GP Investments, Embratur, BRMalls, Qualicorp, Hypermarcas, Raízen, BRF, Grupo Estacio, Insper and Gafisa.
“We recently celebrated our 20th anniversary and I couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishments of our remarkable teams and the work they have done for our trusted clients,” says Mafei. “What I envision for our next 20 years can be achieved by becoming part of the Cohn & Wolfe family. This partnership will bring unmatched strengths globally that will benefit our current multinational clients and attract many more here and throughout Latin America. We will continue to provide the best of our culture, but will now be associated with one of the largest agencies in the world.”
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Sleepwell unveils nationwide sleep study on World Sleep Day
79 per cent use screens before bed, 36 per cent of 18–25-year-olds sleep ≤5 hours.
MUMBAI: Sleepwell just dropped the pillow truth bomb because when India’s sleeping less and scrolling more, even the mattress wants to stage an intervention. On World Sleep Day 2026, Sleepwell released its nationwide Sleep Study, painting a stark picture of India’s escalating sleep crisis. The findings show that 79% of Indians use screens right before bed, fuelling restless nights and drowsy days. Alarmingly, 36% of young adults aged 18–25 sleep five hours or less making them the country’s most sleep-deprived group.
The study also busts the myth of “catch-up sleep”, 65% of respondents actually sleep even later on weekends, pointing to increasingly irregular patterns that spill fatigue into the working week. Mattress discomfort emerged as a frequently overlooked culprit behind late-night wake-ups and constant leak-anxiety checks.
To drive the message home, Sleepwell’s CMO Puneet Gulati appeared on Zee Business, stressing that quality sleep isn’t a luxury, it’s foundational health. He highlighted how the right mattress can transform restless nights into restorative ones.
The brand doubled down with clever late-night activations, partnering with a quick-commerce platform to serve contextual ads between 11 pm and 3 am, gently nudging bleary-eyed scrollers to consider mattress discomfort as the reason they’re still awake and pointing them to the nearest Sleepwell store. Digital influencers and creators also shared relatable stories of how poor sleep fuels impulsive late-night behaviour.
In a nation that celebrates hustle but quietly pays for it in lost rest, Sleepwell isn’t just selling mattresses, it’s selling the radical idea that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is close your eyes and actually sleep well.
