SINGAPORE – Cohn & Wolfe, a leading brand communications agency under WPP, will be acquiring full-service public relations agency Six Degrees PR and its content and integrated marketing subsidiary Alphabet Consulting as part of its expansion plans in India.
The deal will lead to the creation of Cohn & Wolfe Six Degrees, beefing up the agency’s Mumbai and Delhi offering. Cohn & Wolfe now has Asia-Pacific presence footprint of 11 offices to respond to regional demands as well as multinational clients looking to expand in India.
Six Degrees’ co-founders Rishi Seth and Zacharia James witll become Group CEOs, leading the Cohn & Wolfe Six Degrees team of 70 professionals across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
The duo will report to Donna Imperato, CEO of Cohn & Wolfe while. Six Degrees CEO Karan Punia will move on as CEO and will report to Seth and Zacharia.
Arriving in India back in 2012, Cohn & Wolfe boasts strengths in its travel and tourism practice. Cohn & Wolfe India doubled revenues in 2014 with key clients including Austrian Airlines, Cleartrip, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, RCI, Ruckus Wireless, Swiss International Air Lines and Wyndham Hotel Group.
Cohn & Wolfe’s existing business will become part of Cohn & Wolfe Six Degrees.
Six Degrees represents clients across multiple sectors, including technology, travel, infrastructure, manufacturing, finance, aviation, hospitality and entertainment. Current clients include regional and multinational companies such as Amadeus, Cushman & Wakefield, Dalmia Bharat Group, Hughes, Ingersoll Rand and Nokia.
“India is a strategic priority for Cohn & Wolfe, and Six Degrees has the entrepreneurial culture, seasoned talent and drive to succeed that will help us capitalize on the tremendous opportunity for growth here,” says Imperato.
“The agency’s presence in Bangalore, the country’s technology hub, and their work in technology, finance and corporate complements the Cohn & Wolfe India team’s extensive lifestyle and consumer experience,” she adds.
“Alignment to a global agency with a strong people orientation and methodologies is the next logical step in our journey,” shares James.
“We believe Cohn & Wolfe will provide us the required impetus to build on our success, stay relevant to our people’s aspirations and become a global partner to our clients with a full service offering.”
