Fountainhead and psLIVE India merged to form Fountainhead-MKTG

Dentsu Aegis Network acquired Fountainhead Entertainment in October last year; the recent merger marks MKTG's foray into India.

Following the acquisition of Fountainhead Entertainment by Dentsu Aegis Network in October last year, the latter has now announced the merger of Fountainhead and psLIVE India to form Fountainhead-MKTG.

For the record, MKTG is a global lifestyle-marketing agency with its headquarters in New York. This merger also marks MKTG's entry into India. Fountainhead Entertainment is a 20-year-old experiential marketing and events agency with over 200 employees and offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.

Commenting on the development, Ashish Bhasin, chairman and CEO - South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network, says, "In India, the lifestyle marketing solutions market is growing at twice the rate of the ATL market. With Fountainhead and MKTG, we will now have the best offering of global standards through Fountainhead MKTG."

Bhasin further adds, "The merger is yet another big step forward to help Dentsu achieve its mission of being the second largest agency group in India by the end of 2017, overturning for the first time the existing ranking which has historically been in place for over 80 years in the country."

Brian Tellis, CEO, Fountainhead-MKTG, says, "While officially we are a full-service marketing agency, in reality we are a creative group of people who come to work every day to create unique, disruptive and innovative projects for our clients."

The first phase of this merger will focus on knowledge transfer, import of technology, and training, while simultaneously equipping the Group to deliver more effective service. With this influx of international expertise, safety standards, design and technology, Fountainhead MKTG will aim to raise the bar when it comes to producing events within the country.

Another high emphasis area will be the creation of intellectual properties for brands that will be supported by the entire Dentsu Aegis Network. While Fountainhead-MKTG is already present in this space through its brand Oranjuice Entertainment, new plans are afloat to create further offerings in the market place. These products will be innovative consumer engagement spaces, designed to attract audiences through entertainment, while exposing them to the core attributes of partnering brands.

In India, Dentsu Aegis Network is supported through its seven global network brands namely Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum, psLIVE, Amnet, and the Dentsu-branded agencies -- Dentsu Creative Impact, Dentsu Marcom, Dentsu Communications, Dentsu Media, Taproot Dentsu and Dentsu Webchutney. Also, newly added to the Group are the recently acquired local brands of Milestone Brandcom, WATConsult and Fountainhead.