IPG's BPN enters India; Names Suresh Balakrishna as CEO

IPG Mediabrands has rolled out its third media agency network in India, under the LMG umbrella called BPN (Brand Programming Network). This new agency will be headed by media veteran Suresh Balakrishna, CEO, who recently returned to LMG to incubate the agency and craft its position in India.

 

The other two media agency networks in IPG Mediabrands are UM, represented by Lodestar UM in India, and Initiative, represented by Lintas Initiative in India. BPN will operate in fourteen countries around the world, including North America, Scandinavia, Latin America and Europe besides India and has a start up billing of over USD 900 million, working with brands such as Heineken, GSK, Staples, Applebee etc.

 

Besides having access to all the global tools and resources of IPG Mediabrands, BPN will be uniquely positioned to offer highly differentiated services focused on promoting brand health and success in an increasingly social and consumer driven media landscape.

 

Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO of Lintas Media Group says, “For media agencies thus far, the starting point has always been the advertiser. Consolidation, portfolio management, aggregation etc. are all client focused and to some extent consumer data driven. BPN will focus on the brand. The time has come to turn back several chapters and make the brand the hero of all communication effort, and BPN has developed processes to do just that.”

 

BPN will take on the service mandate of clients like Jyothy-Henkel, Bajaj Auto, Samsonite, and several other clients of LMG to start up with a billing volume of over Rs. 1000 crores, in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad , Kolkatta and Cochin.

 

The agency is already pitching for large MNC brands and has recently acquired Henkel in Mumbai, Yepme.com in Delhi, OCL in Kolkatta, and Jayalakshmi Silks accounts in Cochin.

 

Suresh Balakrishna, CEO of BPN says, “The team and I are very excited to be energizing an all new way of approaching media, yet using the best of data, insights and creativity that LMG and IPG Mediabrands have globally and here in India. BPN will focus on promoting brand programming using social media as a key source of information to reach consumer at every touch point. We will work closely with Reprise Media, the digital offer, and Lintas Initiative Outdoor to offer brands complete media solutions.

 

This agency will be characterized by its agility, creativity and understanding of new avenues like the digital medium, branded content, mobile telephony, apart from the conviction to be able to deliver the best media product through astute planning and aggressive buying.”

 

Created by IPG to manage all of its global media-related assets, Mediabrands employs 6,500 communications specialists operating in 90 countries and manages $34B in global media billings. A proven entity in helping clients maximize the impact of their marketing investment to deliver explosive business results, Mediabrands enhances the communications offering and performance across its network of media agencies including Initiative, UM, MAGNAGLOBAL and a roster of Specialty Service Groups. Mediabrands is part of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies