Mumbai, Maharashtra, India:  Kantar, WPP’s data investment management division, today announced the launch of a new global analytics practice that unlocks deeper insights to fuel business growth. Integrating analytical capabilities from across the company, Kantar Analytics Practice will combine the world’s most in-depth understanding of consumers with a deep analytics toolkit developed over four decades of solving the most difficult sales, brand, media and marketing problems. In India, WPP has combined the Analytics teams from Kantar and GroupM to form one combined practice.
 
Kantar Analytics Practice unifies a global network of over 1500 data scientists, analytics consultants, technologists and data designers from across Kantar. It will encompass existing highly regarded businesses such as MaPS, Analytics Quotient, GroupM’s analytics team in India and connect them with specialist analysts from Kantar’s operating brands in sales, retail and shopper, media, health and public affairs. The new practice integrates Kantar’s unique consumer insights, based on the world’s largest first party data sets, with clients’ own customer data and a broad range of 3^rd party sources. By combining behavioral and attitudinal data, the outcome is actionable customer analysis to inform every brand, marketing and sales decision.
 
Kantar Analytics Practice offers capabilities across five areas of expertise:

• Brand and Media ROI: Maximising value creation from brand and media investments, by balancing short-term sales performance with long-term brand valuation and profitability.
• Customer Analytics: Making the right operational and strategic investment decisions in customer experience and loyalty marketing, to maximise the value of each and every customer relationship.
• Segmentation and Activation: Targeting your highest potential customers and prospects with personalised content, to drive profitable growth with maximum efficiency.
• Innovation Analytics: Optimising your customer-led innovation lifecycle for long-term growth, from spotting new trends before your competitors, to optimising the profitability of your product launches.
• Retail and Shopper Analytics: Maximising the commercial return from your investments in sales, retail and e-commerce via optimising decision-making in channel choice, assortment, promotions and pricing.

Discussing the launch, Eric Salama, CEO, Kantar, commented, “Less than half (44%) of advertisers believe they have the right, actionable data. Clients feel data rich but insights poor and impact short. Kantar is unique in having the most complete view of consumers across the entire demand cycle: the way they live, feel, shop, watch and post. Combining our insights with data from across any client’s organisation can unlock deeper insights that fuel growth.”
 
Outlining the development, CVL Srinivas, Country Manager, WPP India & CEO GroupM South Asia said, “The new practice addresses the clients’ ask for data-driven transformation for better ROI from marketing investments in the digital era. GroupM and Kantar have been working closely together in India, co-creating services for our clients. The launch of the Kantar Analytics practice is another step in this direction and demonstrates the ability of our group to come together to provide enhanced value for clients.”
 
Preeti Reddy, CEO, Kantar South Asia, commented, “The practice formalises the connected journey with GroupM in bringing data-driven products to the markets like Campaign Watch (for during campaign ROI management) and consulting services on TV audience measurement data. Proprietary assets like SAAS platform ‘Athena’ (built in India) will offer marketers a predictive and near real time opportunity to add up to 20% improvement in ROI from marketing investments including those in e-commerce. And, in Sunder Muthuraman, who will take over as CEO APAC & Global Chief Client Officer, we have a great leader for the practice.​​”