Publicis Groupe's Razorfish coming to India, finally

Paris-based Publicis Groupe is set to launch its interactive services agency Razorfish in India on April 24. Razorfish, which has a workforce of about 2,000, is a specialised agency, providing technology solutions and services that include web development, media planning and buying, technology & innovation, emerging media, analytics, mobile, advertising, creative, social influence marketing and search.

The agency's entry would mark Publicis Groupe's second launch in the digital services space in India in recent years. A few years ago, Digitas, its digital marketing specialist, was launched in the country.

"We've done all the ground work and all of a sudden, people would realise Razorfish is the biggest player in India. This is because instead of speaking about coming and then doing the ground work, we've already done all our work. Now, we're announcing we are opening shop," said Vincent Digonnet, president (Asia-Pacific), Razorfish. "So, when we launch it, it would already be one of the largest digital agencies in the country," he added.

Though speculation on Razorfish's entry has been rife for about a year, Publicis Groupe has been tight-lipped on the issue. "To be able to deliver the solutions using our processes and tools, we would definitely need a certain scale to start. Else, we would just end up being another marketing services provider," says Digonnet.

Initially, Razorfish is expected to have a team of about 150 in India. It is likely its head office would be in Delhi.

In 2009, Publicis Groupe had acquired Razorfish from Microsoft for $530 million in cash and shares. Microsoft had sold the agency it had acquired only two years earlier (in 2007), saying the business wasn't in line with its operations.

On being owned by a technology major market and then by a communications major, Ray Valez, global chief technology officer of Razorfish, said, "There was an impact on scalability. Being a services provider, we could not have built that kind of scale. With Publicis, we get to be part of a global network that tells us what's different across markets, as well as the best ways in which our technology solutions can help clients."