Publicis Groupe Acquires Flip Media, Leading Middle Eastern Digital Agency
Publicis Groupe announced today its acquisition of Flip Media, a leading digital agency in the Middle East. The agency will be folded into Leo Burnett Worldwide and will retain its name.
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Dubai (UAE), Flip Media has more than 100 employees across the Middle East and India, and has worked with some of the region’s most well-known brands. The agency provides end-to-end digital solutions, including strategy, design and production, content and delivery, and technology across all platforms. In the years since its inception, Flip has been recognized across the region for its award-winning creative and pioneering technology. Its founders, Martin Diessner and Dinesh Lalvani, will continue to be involved as non-executive directors with Flip and Yousef Tuqan will remain CEO reporting into Leo Burnett’s Middle East North Africa CEO, Raja Trad.
“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,” said Tom Bernardin, CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide.
“This acquisition is the logical next step for Flip,” said Dinesh Lalvani and Martin Diessner, co-founders, Flip Holdings Ltd. “Integrating with a global 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.”
“Leo Burnett’s commitment to all its partners is to deliver a complete communication solution across all channels,” said Raja Trad, CEO of Leo Burnett MENA. “Today’s acquisition of Flip Media not only strengthens our offering but, more importantly, represents an important investment in strengthening our digital offering to 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.”