Ogilvy consolidates outdoor business unit

Advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), and Group M, the media arm of WPP, have consolidated their outdoor out-of-home (OOaH) business to form the largest outdoor planning and buying specialist group in India. Called Kinetic, the new entity comes after WPP's acquisition of Portland in January 2005.

Following WPP's acquisition, the brand Kinetic has been rolled out in all major OOH markets worldwide. The launch in India is part of this global rollout and once this is complete, WPP estimates the start up billings to be in excess of $3 billion.

Speaking on the formation of the new entity, Eric Newnham, global CEO, Kinetic, said, "Since the formation of Kinetic in 2005, we have rapidly extended our global reach.

The launch of Kinetic in India is a significant addition to what is already the world's strongest out-of-home specialist."

Sharing best practices across the network and having resources in all major markets will provide clients with unique skills and insights in order to extract best value from the OOH medium, he said.

In 2006 Kinetic will be rolled out in Latin America, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania, Benelux, Nordics, China and Australia.

In India Kinetic, which will act as WPP's umbrella brand for the OOH business, will have four outdoor specialist operating companies under it - Ogilvy Landscapes, Portland Outdoor, Poster Publicity and Wallstreet David.

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director,O&M said, "Bringing in the expertise of two giants in OOH marketing in India will enable the entity to develop even more fine-tuned communication to the brands that we handle."

Kinetic is expected to play a more dynamic role across all OOH formats ranging from traditional billboards, ambient, digital and mobile environments.

Pratap Bose, who is president of Ogilvy Activation has been named managing director for Kinetic - South Asia.

Bose stated that with this consolidation, Kinetic expects to garner 70 per cent market share of the organised outdoor business in India in the next 18-24 months. The outdoor industry size today is about Rs 800-100 crore.