• Source:JND
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A merger of two businesses working in the same industry can go either way, as it can quickly increase growth multiple times or cause trust issues among clients. But Essencemediacom, a powerpack agency came into existence on January 31, 2023, after the amalgamation of two pioneers -Essence and Mediacom- within GroupM, and emerged as a robust leader in the media service space within just 15 months.

In an interview with Live Mint, EssenceMediacom's APAC CEO Rupert McPetire said that the merger of these two robust businesses was an extraordinary moment for them, as each had a stellar client list and a wealth of talent. He further said that they did not just combine the firms, they aimed to forge something fresh. So, they created a new proposition focused on success for brands. We struck a delicate balance of taking care of existing clients while moving forward with building our new agency, Rupert added.

On a question as to how the merger played out from India's perspective, Navin Khemka, the Company's South Asia CEO said that before the merger, India's track record had seen consistent growth, adding $80-100 million of new business annually. Despite this, they could not be included among the top 10 agencies in the country.

However, after the merger, they quickly rose to the top three. Overnight, the merger increased their benchmark from $80-100 million to $120 million in the last year alone, Khemka added.

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If the growth in new businesses comes at the expense of cannibalising GroupM clients, Navin said that they have robust relations with their sister firms within GroupM and follow a non-compete policy. He emphasised that if EssenceMedia is approaching a client, then others refrain from pitching to the same client. He also said that they have a 99 per cent client retention rate and their pitch conversion rate stands around 90 percent.

Answering the question on how they navigated the thinking style of two agencies, Rupert said that the amalgamation of the two firms brought an opportunity to tackle complementary skills. He further added that their vision for EssenceMediacom is to provide comprehensive guidance to clients and help them to activate across the entire journey of consumers.

Reacting to the query, about increasing trends on performance marketing diminishing the role of CMOs, Rupert said the CMO's relevance is not limited as it varies across sectors, with boardrooms increasingly demanding accountability for marketing investments and their impact on business outcomes. He added that while some businesses prioritise lower-funnel performance marketing, many continue to focus on brand-building initiatives. The evolving role of the CMO extends beyond marketing execution to strategic business contributions.

On the question of where does India fit into EssenceMediacom's overall business strategy, Rupert said, "India stands as a shining beacon of excellence within our APAC operations." He informed that the country is ranking third after China and Australia in EssenceMediacom's APAC operations and it is also the fastest growing market. The company's APAC head further said the EssenceMediacom's vision is to fortify its business to withstand the shifts in the Indian media landscape, which is on the brink of a significant change.

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