Gozoop Acquires Red Digital

Am very happy to share the news of our first acquisition with fellow RodinHooders. Am sharing the official press release here and I promise to share more on my experience during the entire process.

Gozoop acquires Red Digital; doubles India revenue and grows to 100+ member team

Mumbai: Indian bred multinational digital agency Gozoop, which recently expanded its global presence by setting up operations in Singapore, has today announced the acquisition of Red Digital, one of India’s leading social media agencies. With this business acquisition, clients and employees of Red Digital will be consolidated under the Gozoop brand, thus fortifying the latter’s Indian operations.

The acquisition is in line with Gozoop’s strategy of increasing the revenue contribution from its Indian operations. Over the past few years, Red Digital has worked for several marquee brands such as Mumbai Indians, Dell, PepsiCo, BMW, Parker Pens, Adidas, PVR, Godrej, Berger Paints, Reliance Foundation, Educomp, Citibank, ICC and Discovery Channel.

Gozoop’s growth plan

The acquisition of Red Digital will play a pivotal role in Gozoop’s global expansion in terms of operations and client portfolio. With Red Digital’s rich client base and strong presence in 5 key cities in India, and Gozoop’s international exposure and clientele, the combination will enhance Gozoop’s global presence and cost efficiencies. Currently, 65% of Gozoop’s revenue is attributed to its international operations in UAE & Singapore. Post the acquisition and with a total of 65+ retainer clients, Gozoop aims to double its Indian revenue in the next financial year. Gozoop’s domestic operations will now contribute close to 50% of revenues, an increase of 50% from earlier. The acquisition will also increase the employee strength of the company to about 100 members, making Gozoop one of India’s largest digital agencies in terms of employee strength as well.

Commenting on acquiring Red Digital, Ahmed Naqvi, Managing Director (India) and Co-Founder of Gozoop said, “Gozoop has always aspired to be a market leading digital agency and this deal will exponentially accelerate our ability to realize that ambition by giving us access to newer geographies across India. Red Digital’s world-class brands & top talent, together with Gozoop’s end-end digital service offerings & social products like Zozolo, will help move our collective clients and the industry forward. We expect further consolidation in our industry and look forward to acquiring digital agencies to fuel our growth in India as well as to enter International markets like USA, Australia & Qatar.”

Commenting on the acquisition Rohan Bhansali, CEO and Co-Founder of Gozoop, said, “After our successful international forays into the UAE and South East Asian markets, the acquisition of Red Digital further cements Gozoop as a fundamentally strong company. This move is in line with our vision to be amongst the top 2 digital agencies across all our markets.”

 Implication of the deal for Red Digital 

Given Gozoop’s end-to–end digital solutions and in-house social loyalty & analytics tools such as Zozolo, the agency is well positioned to provide a more holistic and integrated approach to managing the digital presence of Red Digital’s clients. Bhavit Sheth, Co-Founder of Red Digital will be actively involved during the transition period, to ensure a smooth process.

Commenting on the business acquisition, Bhavit Sheth said, “Red Digital’s acquisition ushers in a new and improved era for those who we care about the most: our Clients and Employees. Our clients will now reap the benefits of getting serviced by a much larger agency with more specializations and can avail of Gozoop’s in-house proprietary products such as Zozolo Social Loyalty and Zozolo Social Commerce, which are used by leading brands worldwide. Our employees will now have the chance to further grow their career trajectory and explore many more fields in the digital domain.”

Harsh Jain, Co-Founder of Red Digital said, “Gozoop’s acquisition of Red Digital is a win-win for all parties involved. Red Digital’s clientele will now enjoy international standard best practices in operations, client servicing and processes, while continuing to work with the team they love.”

Gozoop provides digital solutions to brands like Xpress Money, Interglobe, High Street Phoenix, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Tim Hortons, Cold Stone Creamery, Seacod and Mad Over Donuts amongst others. Red Digital currently manages several high-profile clients like Mumbai Indians, Dell, Mirinda, BMW, Parker Pens, Berger Paints, Reliance Foundation, Discovery Channel, etc. and post the acquisition, Gozoop will manage the digital mandate for these brands.

Following the deal, Gozoop will increase its presence to Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata in addition to its current presence in Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore. Over the next three years, Gozoop plans to utilise over $2mn to venture into international markets like USA, Australia & Qatar, in line with its vision of providing a world class digital presence for worldwide brands.

About Gozoop: Gozoop is India’s leading cross function digital agency with a presence in India, Dubai and Singapore. It was incepted in the year 2010 by three friends: Ahmed Naqvi, Rohan Bhansali and Dushyant Bhatia. The business consists of three verticals – Services, Products and Web Properties. Under Gozoop Services, the company provides Social Media Marketing, Online PR, Search Engine Marketing & Optimization, Media Buying, Web Design & Development and Mobile Applications. Under Gozoop Products, two properties, Zozolo Social Loyalty and Zozolo Social Commerce have been launched. Zozolo Social Loyalty is a produc built in-house, which is used by brands to discover, understand, engage and reward loyal users across Facebook, Twitter, websites, apps and games.