By A Correspondent

In a consolidation of its experiential marketing play, Publicis Communications has announced the merger of its in-house technology-enabled experiential arm, Solutions, with its brand activation and experiential shopper agency, Arc Worldwide. The merger is effective immediately.

The entire Solutions team and its roster of clients will now come under the Arc umbrella. The newly merged entity will be called Arc Worldwide, and will be headed by Vandana Verma, Executive Vice President and India Head at Arc.

The merged entity can now create deep impact in over 100 Indian towns and metros, further delivering on Arc’s ‘Irresistible Commerce’ philosophy, notes a communique.

Saurabh Varma

Speaking about the merger, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications India and Leo Burnett, South Asia said: “By merging the two entities, Arc can leverage their combined expertise in ways that are unprecedented for the industry. The merger of Solutions with Arc will create even more momentum for Arc’s trajectory in India. Arc has deep capabilities across the entire experience landscape. With Solutions, we will create meaningful value exchange straddling the entire shopping experience for greater impact on our clients’ businesses. The merger is in perfectly in line with our ‘Power of One’ strategy.”

Vandana Verma

Speaking about her vision for Arc Worldwide, Vandana Verma, Executive Vice President and India Head, Arc Worldwide said: “Arc is focused on creating meaningful connected experiences. In India, Arc is a key platform within Publicis Communications. Solutions will add immense value to Arc through its expertise across technology-enabled solutions, paperless retail audits, merchandising and real time consumer feedback, among others. The merger will now help us lead experiential planning, data-driven shopper insights, and mobile-tracking and analytics-led initiatives designed to help our clients reach empowered consumers.”

Virender Sharma

Added Virender Sharma, COO – Solutions: “Arc’s superb experiential and shopper marketing capabilities, combined with Solutions’ superior technology-led approach will prove valuable for clients in this market. The merger with Arc means unparalleled access to all clients in the Publicis Communications portfolio. I look forward to seamlessly integrating ideas and solutions that will grow our clients’ businesses. We are happy to see the coming together of Arc Worldwide and Solutions at our new Big Apple office in Gurugram.”

Arc Worldwide is the shopper marketing agency within the Publicis Groupe and is headquartered in Chicago. It works with some of the brands including Procter & Gamble, MillerCoors, Intel, Bridgestone, Kraft-Heinz, Alcon, Coca-Cola and Walmart.