Chief business officer and co-founder Manish Vij said Smile joining forces with WPP would help extend Quasar’s lead in India and facilitate its expansion into other Asia-Pacific markets.
“The market has matured,” said chief executive Harish Bahl, who co-founded Smile with Vij. “It was important to take a strategic partnership to maintain the lead, and WPP Digital is fully focused on digital, so was moving in the right direction.”
“The market has matured,” said chief executive Harish Bahl, who co-founded Smile with Vij. “It was important to take a strategic partnership to maintain the lead, and WPP Digital is fully focused on digital, so was moving in the right direction.”
Explaining WPP’s decision to invest in Quasar, India’s largest digital media and e-business services company, WPP Digital’s chief executive Mark Read said that he was struck by the company’s leadership in an industry he forecast would be worth US$560 million by 2009.
This figure represents seven per cent of the country’s total advertising expenditure.
With the support of WPP’s network, increased access to global research and new technology, Quasar aims to expand its operation into Hong Kong and Singapore, while continuing to grow its client base in India.
The New Delhi-based company currently also has offices in Mumbai and Bangalore. The company’s client list includes heavyweights such as Microsoft, Motorola, LG and Visa.
Bahl expressed optimism that Quasar could develop into a global outsourcing centre for WPP Digital, and explained that the focus - for the time being - would be on strengthening Quasar’s roots in Asia-Pacific and “exploring the universe within WPP”.
He stressed that Quasar would maintain its brand name, management and customers, and that its key values of flexibility and maneuverability would not change.
“Everything’s looking good,” said Bahl. “I can see nothing unmanageable.”
