The company, formed from the merger of Portland and Poster Publicity in 2005, will now have a US$130 million-billing foundation in China and a $45 million operation in India. Madhuri Sapru, former head of customer relations for Data Teleservices, will run the operation as Kinetic's managing partner, South Asia.
Jim Liu has joined from Zenith Media China to run the China operation. "There's been lots of consolidation on the sales side, and now 38 per cent of the outdoor space sold globally is by four media owners. Kinetic is a reaction to that from the planning and buying side," said the company's Asia-Pacific CEO Alex Thompson.
"China and India are geographically complicated markets, but are crucial to the success of our business." Poster Publicity, in which WPP acquired a majority stake in 2004, ventured into Asia in 2005, setting up offices in Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Manila.