Leo Burnett announces merger of Publicis iStrat and Indigo Consulting

The new entity will be called Indigo iStrat, a digital agency.

Leo Burnett India recently announced the merger of Publicis iStrat with Indigo Consulting. The Delhi-headquartered digital agency iStrat will be re-branded as Indigo iStrat, and will continue to operate out of the capital city.

Established in the year 2000, Indigo Consulting became a part of Leo Burnett (Publicis Groupe) in 2012. It specialises in providing innovative and result-oriented digital solutions for brands around the world to engage with the new-age consumer. Indigo Consulting was the first agency to have a dedicated user experience division, UX Labs, which was set up in 2009. Its independent mobile marketing division Thmbstrk was introduced in 2011.

Indigo Consulting has expertise in areas such as web-builds, platforms, and apps. It has a clientele that covers a large business spectrum, including banking and finance, telecom, hospitality, entertainment, consumer goods, and B2B.

Based in New Delhi and Gurgaon, iStrat was co-founded by Navneet Sahni and Sonya Sahni in 2003, and provides solutions across all digital touch points.

The merged entity Indigo iStrat will encompass a combined strength of over 300 employees across India and will have capabilities across user experience, technology, creative, and strategy. Indigo iStrat will partner with all Publicis' communications companies in India including Leo Burnett, Publicis Ambience, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, MSLGROUP, Orchard Advertising, and Publicis Capital.

Harshad Hardikar, chief operating officer at Indigo Consulting, will lead Indigo iStrat. The Sahnis will work closely with Hardikar to grow the business in Delhi.

Commenting on the merger, Saurabh Varma, chief executive officer, Leo Burnett South Asia, says in a press release, "We wanted to create a digital powerhouse in India. Indigo Consulting is already a centre of excellence for us across the region and the merged entity will give clients access to the finest digital offering in the country."

He further adds, "Our focus remains building deep expertise across disciplines and integrating our services to solve our clients' problems. (Harshad) Hardikar will lead this combined entity and (Navneet) Sahni and (Sonya) Sahni will partner him in growing our business in Delhi. The combined entity, with more than 300 specialists, makes Indigo Consulting a compelling proposition for our clients."