WPP's Grey has bought a majority share in Autumn Worldwide, an independent social media and digital marketing agency. Autumn brings to the Grey fold 165 employees, three offices in India (in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi) and both blue-chip and local clients including PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser Group and Samsonite.
Autumn was founded 13 years ago as a brand consultancy by Abhay Rajankar (creative director) and Anusha Shetty (CEO), before expanding into a full-service social media and digital agency. Shetty, who had previously worked at Lowe Lintas, Euro RSCG and the Silicon Valley startup Euclid, will remain head of Autumn operations under Grey, working alongside Nirvik Singh, chairman and CEO of Grey Group Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
"Grey's famously effective 100-year history in creative thinking combined with Autumn's 13-year ‘young’ fervour to constantly unlearn and learn across data, creativity, and mediums creates a potent agency of the future,” said Shetty.
Autumn will also benefit from access to Grey offerings including RC&M, the company's experiential marketing arm, and the company's international network stretching across 96 countries.
(This article first appeared in Campaign Asia)
