Shopper marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi X comes to India

Saatchi & Saatchi X, the global shopper marketing agency from the Publicis Group, announced its launch in the country at the India Retail Forum on Tuesday. Shopper marketing involves understanding shopper behaviour in a retail environment and helping consumer and retail brands to target buyers accordingly.

''We've always had the ambition to launch in India,'' said Simon Hathaway, chief executive officer for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, at the launch function in Mumbai, adding that the Indian retail market was evolving very quickly.

''Also from our perspective, there are a lot of global clients who want us in India because they see the skills we bring to the table in other markets. Our global clients include P&G, Diageo, Walmart, Carrefour, Pepsico and LG Electronics. e look forward to leveraging our experience and expertise in shopper marketing over the last 14 years to create conversations with Indian shoppers, which will inspire trip traffic and ultimately, make the cash register ring,'' he said.

Diageo is the agency's first client to come on board in India. ''We see a tremendous growth opportunity in the Indian market,'' said Hathaway. The agency plans to invest heavily in training people and in research.

To begin with, there will be nine members in the team, and the agency plans to get more people on-board by the end of this year. The marketing agency is open to servicing the clients of Saatchi & Saatchi India.

The agency already has over 350 associates across offices in Argentina, China, Germany, Italy, Russia, the UAE, the UK and the US.

India general manager Amit Ajwani said, "We are starting off with a great advantage and aim to emerge as knowledge leaders within this field. Our international expertise combined with some of the best professional talent from India makes it a winning combination. The agency's immense practical knowledge, matched with in-depth analysis, makes it a great and relevant advantage for our clients."