Dentsu Aegis Network last week announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Grant Group.
The acquisition of the 59-year-old integrated agency, is Dentsu Aegis Network’s first foray into the island nation and one of the largest agency groups to enter the market in nearly two decades.
CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network APAC, Nick Waters said: “With social and economic stability in the country, Sri Lanka is set to reap the peace dividend. Significant foreign investment is already flowing into the country, and with strong historical ties to Japan, there is a natural opportunity for Dentsu Aegis Network clients to grow. Grant represents a unique opportunity as a top quality advertising and communications group to get into a strong position in a fast-growing market.”
Established in 1958 by Reggie Candappa – fondly known as the godfather of advertising in Sri Lanka, the Grant Group was the country’s first-ever international advertising agency. Today, the Grant Group is an award winning agency with 150 people spread across seven entities under two main groups: Grant Advertising – which comprises Grant Advertising and Grant Media, and Grant Agencies which is made up of Response Marketing a second internationally-renowned creative agency, RN Media a pioneering OOH agency, Grant Public Relations a leader in reputation management, Juice Productions content creation studios and Magnetic a growing digital business.
Post-acquisition, Grant Advertising will be known as Dentsu Grant and align with Dentsu creative agencies across the network, while Grant Media will join Dentsu Aegis’ global media network brand, Carat. The other companies within the Group will operate as Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) and will align with their global counterparts within the network.
Key alignments already on the cards include the Group’s outdoor branding company - RN Media joining Posterscope, its digital arm Magnetic Digital aligning with iProspect and Isobar while catalyst agency Response Marketing will align with Dentsu creative agencies.
Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia, Ashish Bhasin said: “The acquisition of Grant Group is a key step in the Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia strategy and will launch our business in a market with significant potential. Through the Grant Group, we have a unique opportunity to enter the market with a bang and will be amongst the largest integrated groups in the country.”
“Grant is a well-established family-owned business with solid heritage and legacy, and Neela is a highly recognized personality in the corporate sector for her deep insight in the marketing communications arena and also for her work across women’s empowerment, conservation and sustainability,” Ashish added.
The group represents a list of over 60 local and international clients including some of Sri Lanka’s largest advertisers Ceylon Biscuits, Sampath Bank, Dialog Axiata, Fonterra and Sri Lanka Tea Board.
Steering the Sri Lankan leadership team is Neela Marikkar, Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dentsu Aegis Network Grant Group. She will work with Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia.
Chairperson of Grant Group, Neela Marikkar said: “Given our long heritage in this market continuously staying ahead of the game, Dentsu Aegis Network’s cultural fit and best-in-class operating model are the right facets of a multinational partner to take our group and most importantly our clients and staff into a very dynamic future.”