Japanese advertising giant Dentsu sees India as vital not just for its revenue potential but also for its contributions to technology and innovation, and to support its growth strategy, the company is considering acquisitions in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) and tech, top executives told ET.
“We have partnerships with Google, Meta and TikTok where we jointly develop AI propositions together so it’s not a side hustle, it’s very integrated into the way that we do business,” said Amanda Morrissey, chief growth officer—media–at Dentsu and global president of iProspect.
India is a big part of Dentsu’s global strategy, and the company is keen to leverage India’s tech and creative talent, she said.
The agency employs between 9,000 and 10,000 people in India across both client-facing and outsourcing businesses.
“We want to make sure that we develop in India and then export that out to the rest of the world, and also bring some of the things that we’re doing globally and adapt it for India,” Morrisey said.
India’s rapidly expanding advertising market, its large youth population under 35 years of age, and significant digital adoption make it a lucrative market for global ad companies like Dentsu.
Morrisey said retail media, commerce and content are some of the big focus areas for Dentsu globally. “We see India as a prime market for us to be able to build out those capabilities and test,” she said.
Dentsu South Asia chief executive officer Harsha Razdan said the company is eyeing acquisition opportunities in areas like AI, MarTech, AdTech, customer relationship management and anything around marketing that is core to its domain.
“Is it going to be blind acquisition or a spree? No. We have a lot of assets, and we are trying to build them up. At the same time, we are open to good ideas and the right evaluation or even picking up teams,” he said, adding that Dentsu in India was built on the back of a spree of acquisitions done between 2014 and 2020.
Apart from creative and media, customer experience management (CXM) has become a big area of focus for Dentsu globally and in India. It is also planning to set up a specialised unit in the sports and entertainment space.
“For India, as we go into the next three years, the CXM space is growing the fastest, but it’s also the smallest. My job is to balance the portfolio,” Razdan said. “Between creative, media and CXM. And the fourth one will be the whole sports and entertainment space.”
Razdan, who has worked with consulting companies like Accenture and KPMG, said the company will double its India revenue in three years. He joined Dentsu over a year ago during a period of turmoil with many senior executives leaving the company.
Dentsu, the only East-based global ad company, competes with major Western ad holding companies like WPP, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic Group, and Omnicom in the country.
