Publicis Groupe acquires Flip Media

Publicis Groupe has bought Dubai-headquartered digital agency Flip Media for an undisclosed sum.

The agency will be folded into Leo Burnett Worldwide and will retain its name as part of the 100 per cent buy-out. The agency’s founders, Martin Diessner and Dinesh Lalvani, will continue to be involved with the new entity as non-executive directors, while Yousef Tuqan will remain CEO, reporting into Leo Burnett’s Middle East and North Africa CEO, Raja Trad.

Tom Bernardin, CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide, said: “Flip Media is a strategic and cultural fit for our company, and we believe its service offering of digital strategy, design, production and content delivery will be a perfect complement to the incredibly strong digital presence we have built across the region.”

Founded in 2003, Flip Media has more than 100 employees across the Middle East and India, and both Lalvani and Diessner said the acquisition was the logical next step for Flip. “Integrating with a large network gives us the opportunity to provide a strong foundation for through-the-line communications strategy with digital at its core. We’ve been lucky to have the talent and dedication of a strong management team, which has been integral to the success we’ve had. Being part of Leo Burnett and the larger Publicis Groupe family will bring with it access to more clients, people and resources, all of which are key to take a company like ours to the next level.”

Raja Trad, CEO of Leo Burnett MENA, added: “Leo Burnett’s commitment to all its partners is to deliver a complete communication solution across all communication channels. Today’s acquisition of Flip Media not only strengthens our offering but, more importantly, represents an important investment in strengthening our digital offering for the benefit of our clients’ businesses. Our mission is to ingrain digital thinking into every aspect of Leo Burnett’s work and culture. With Flip Media’s outstanding track record in their space, we are confident that all of our clients will appreciate our strategic plan to be an unquestionable leader in digital communication.”