| Kippreport.com

BPG Media and Maxus in strategic alliance: BPG Maxus

March 23, 2010 12:01 by Aarti Nagraj

Dubai, 22^nd March 2010: BPG Media, a regional leader in media planning and buying services and Maxus, GroupM’s fast-growing global marketing and media services agency, have formed a strategic alliance to offer best in class media solutions. This alliance gives the GroupM agency its first presence in the Middle East and North Africa markets.

The new alliance, called BPG Maxus, will offer existing and new clients best in class media services and solutions including strategic planning, implementation and buying, analytics, and digital communications throughout the Middle East and North Africa regions.

BPG Media is the media planning and buying arm of Dubai-based BPG Group, a leading integrated marketing communications company in the region. Maxus is one of four global media agency networks within GroupM, along with MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia and Mindshare. Both are part of WPP, a world leader in marketing communications.

The Middle East and North Africa are critically important regions for many of our clients, and we need a strong presence there” said Kelly Clark, Maxus Worldwide CEO.  “Both Maxus and BPG Group are committed to creating better value for our clients. This partnership allows us to tap into the considerable demand for more creative and accountable media communications in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Commenting on the new alliance, Avi Bhojani, Group Chief Executive Officer of BPG Group, said: “In the light of tough market conditions, BPG Group made a paradigm shift in the way we engage clients. Now we have gone beyond offering services and focus on providing discipline and medium agnostic solutions. Our affiliation with Maxus will further enhance our integrated marketing communications model.  This collaborative approach is a reflection of BPG Group’s commitment to become a trusted innovation partner for clients”.

Satish Mayya, COO BPG Media, said: “Collaboration with Maxus will assist us in developing the right platform to navigate through the new media era, and help us acquire global know-how in an area of communications that is evolving fast.  By merging our synergies into BPG Maxus, we will be able to deliver exceptional value to clients in the Middle East”.

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ABOUT BPG MEDIA

BPG Media, headquartered in Dubai, UAE, is a regional leader in the media communications industry. BPG media handles a portfolio of local, regional and international brands across diverse business categories. BPG media is the media planning and buying arm of BPG Group, one of the leading integrated marketing communications companies in the Middle East. From its headquarters in Dubai, BPG Group caters to a wide range of international and regional clients in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia region through its wide network of offices and affiliates that are supported by a staff of more than 225 people from over 20 different nationalities. With media billing of over US$ 200 million and a 20+ team of media and research professionals, BPG is ranked among the top media companies in the region. For more information, fvisit www.batespangulf.com

ABOUT MAXUS

Maxus is a global communications consultancy that helps marketers build profitable relationships between consumers and their brands.  We combine the disciplines of communications planning and customer relationship marketing to deliver Relationship Media, a new model powered by creative media thinking and sophisticated, real-time customer data. Our services include communications strategy, digital marketing, direct response media, database management and media planning and buying.  We have more than 1,000 people in 40 agencies worldwide, and we’re part of GroupM, the world’s largest media investment management group that serves as the parent company for all of WPP’s media agencies.  GroupM’s scale creates access to the best media opportunities at the best prices.

ABOUT GROUPM

GroupM is the leading global media investment management operation. It serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Maxus, MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia and Mindshare. Our primary purpose is to maximise the performance of WPP’s media communications agencies on behalf of our clients, our shareholders and our people by operating as a parent and collaborator in performance-enhancing activities such as trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. The agencies that comprise GroupM are all global operations in their own right with leading market positions.  The focus of GroupM is the intelligent application of physical and intellectual scale to benefit trading, innovation, and new communication services, to bring competitive advantage to our clients and our companies.

MEDIA CONTACT:

English Ashutosh Gupta BPG Public Relations Cell: +97155 5088835 Email: [email protected]

Arabic Maya Kheshen BPG Public Relations Cell: +97150 2940472 Email: [email protected]