Publicis Buys MarketGate and its MR Subsidiary

Marcoms network Publicis Groupe has acquired Mumbai-based business and marketing consulting firm MarketGate, which offers market research services through its MarketGate Dimensions subsidiary. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2005 by Shripad Nadkarni and Sharda Agarwal, MarketGate offers a range of services including business growth planning, marketing strategy, brand positioning and marketing skills development.

Its market research division was set up last year by the founders and Amit Adarkar (pictured), who previously held senior roles at Nielsen BASES, Market Probe, Synovate, Nielsen, MARG and IMRB. Through offices in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore the firm offers a range of traditional data collection techniques such as focus groups, quant interviews, ethnography, and hybrid methodologies combining qual/quant techniques. MarketGate Dimensions also runs a panel, Consumer Pulse, offers innovation studies for concept and packaging research, and consumer experience tracking to understand overall brand experience.

Following its acquisition, the firm will retain its name and continue to be led by its founders, who comment: 'Twinning the world-class expertise of Publicis Groupe with our extensive experience of marketing and consultancy across all sectors in India will make for a very powerful combination. We're passionate about our clients, and we know that they will benefit from this move.'

Separately, Publicis has also acquired Delhi-based digital agency iStrat, which provides a full range of digital communications services including e-commerce store fronts, search engine optimization, social media and rich media. The group says the two acquisitions will support its goal to double in size in India between 2010 and 2015.

Web sites: www.publicisgroupe.com , www.market-gate.com , www.marketgate-dimensions.com and www.istrat.in .