News Broadcasting
GroupM acquires research and sponsorship firm IEG Inc.
MUMBAI: WPP’s GroupM has acquired Chicago-based IEG, Inc., which is a provider of research, analytics, strategic counsel and training on sponsorship, strategic alliances and promotional partnerships.
IEG’s metrics embed predictability and accountability into sponsorship, allowing companies to value, maximise and measure their participation in sports, arts, entertainment, experiential, on line, affinity and cause marketing.
“Sponsorship is tailor made for a world where consumers are in control. It communicates without interrupting and allows brands to build financial and social capital by partnering with the organizations and experiences that their customers love,” said IEG co-founder Lesa Ukman, who will now become IEG’s chairman.
“IEG’s ability to transform sponsorship from an intangible expense to a measurable investment is spot-on with GroupM’s commitment to increasing the productivity of client expenditures through integrated, channel-neutral communications,” said Mediaedge:cia executive chairman Charles Courtier, on behalf of GroupM North America.
“We selected to work with the GroupM agencies over the other bidders because their leadership, capabilities and geographic reach are simply unmatched,” said Laren Ukman, who becomes CEO of IEG. She will report to Courtier. All IEG employees will be retained.
IEG also created the protocol for determining the fair market value of sponsorship. The IEG Valuation Service has valued more than 1,000 opportunities–from televised events like FIFA World Cup and X Games to destinations, associations, websites and causes like Pebble Beach, AARP, Boys Choir of Harlem, Chicago Park District, Sciencebuddies.com and World Wildlife Fund.
The company works with some 5,000 organizations each year, from the NFL, Kennedy Center and the American Heart Association to Credit Suisse, Verizon Wireless and General Motors.
IEG does not sell sponsorship or collect commission. Its objectivity combined with its vast electronic databases, highly specialised staff and work with leading sponsors and rightsholders, provides the company unduplicated access to the newest and best practices from both the buy and sell sides of the market.
IEG also has broken new ground in Strategic Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility, providing both corporations and not-for-profits strategies, tools and training to leverage and maximise community affairs and philanthropic budgets.
DeSilva & Phillips, LLC, a New York investment broker specialising in mergers and acquisitions to the marketing communications, media, interactive and information services industries, represented IEG in the transaction.
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
