Publicis.Sapient reveals SapientRazorfish positioning, APAC head

Publicis.Sapient's SapientRazorfish network has a revealed a new logo, a new APAC leader and a list of six core offerings that adds a wee bit more detail to the role the network is intended to play for brands.

Rajdeep Endow, MD of Sapient India up until October last year, has been APAC managing director at SapientRazorfish since late last year, although this was not announced publicly until now.

As it indicated when it announced the combination of SapientNitro and Razorfish in November, Publicis said SapientRazorfish's "new set of integrated offerings" is designed to meet a "digital-­first transformation imperative" brought on by changing consumer expectations and disruptive competitors.

Specifically, SapientRazorfish will focus on six "best-­of-­breed offerings":

• Digital business strategy and innovation
• Customer experience
• Data and artificial intelligence
• Marketing modernization
• IT modernization
• Commerce

Companies need a partner that combines the strengths of consultancies and agencies, with expertise in everything from management consulting and innovation incubators to dynamic creativity, technology and implementation services, the company said. With Sapient Consulting and DigitasLBi, SapientRazorfish is "uniquely poised" to deliver digital transformation across the entire enterprise.

“SapientRazorfish's unique set of digital transformation services combine our deep understanding of the consumer with industry leading expertise in digital technologies," Endow said in a statement provided. "The ability to reimagine the future and help realize it is unmatched by any consultancy or agency in the region."

APAC consumers are ahead of businesses in their expectations, which places pressure on business leaders to embrace a customer-centric digital transformation to maintain relevance and drive future growth, he added.

SapientRazorfish's other leaders across the region are:

• Kim Douglas, MD, Southeast Asia
• Torben Pheiffer, MD, China
• Marcos Kurowski, MD, Australia
• Charulata Ravikumar, MD, India
• Joanna Kalenska, MD, Hong Kong
• Symon Hammacott, COO, Hong Kong

“The market clearly needs a partner that drives real and sustainable business transformation for the
connected age through an obsessive focus on the customer,” Maurice Lévy, chairman and CEO of
Publicis Groupe, said in a release. “Today’s business leaders are realizing that a bifurcated approach of leaning on agencies to transform experiences and on consulting partners to transform business processes no longer works—it’s too slow, too fractured, organizationally unsustainable and most importantly, the focus on the customer gets lost in the complexity.”

SapientRazorfish CEO Alan Wexler said innovation is increasingly important as clients look to "evolve business models and leverage the bundling opportunity of platform effect.” SapientRazorfish stands out in its ability to help clients realize digital business transformation, he said, due to expertise across verticals, alliances and partnerships, and leadership positions in commerce, creativity, customer experience and digital experience delivery.

The IDC MarketScape recently named SapientRazorfish a Leader for Worldwide Digital Strategy and Agency Services: Digital Customer Experience Consulting, Digital Operations and Digital Product Innovation.