Japanese Advertising Giant Hakuhodo Takes Majority Stake in India’s MA&TH Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran
·3 min read
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Tokyo-based global advertising giant Hakuhodo Inc. has acquired a majority stake in leading Indian brand and entertainment agency group, MA&TH (Marching Ants & Trigger Happy) Entertainment Network Private Limited.

Headquartered in Mumbai, the Cannes Lions-winning MA&TH group primarily services clients involved in content creation including film producers, studios, streaming platforms, broadcast companies and international brands.

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Theatrically released films that the outfit has worked on include S.S. Rajamouli’s “Baahubali: The Beginning,” Rajkumar Hirani’s “3 idiots” and “PK,” both starring Aamir Khan, and “Sanju,” starring Ranbir Kapoor, “Uri: The Surgical Strike,” produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” Farah Khan’s “Om Shanti Om,” starring Shah Rukh Khan and Zoya Akhtar’s “Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara,” starring Hrithik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar.

The company has also created campaigns for Netflix’s “Delhi Crime” and “AK vs AK,” Amazon Prime Video’s “The Family Man” and “Mirzapur” and Sony’s “Scam 1992,” “Shark Tank India,” “Kaun Banega Crorepati” and “MasterChef.”

MA&TH’s group companies include Marching Ants Advertising Pvt. Ltd. (MA), founded in 2001, and Trigger Happy Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (TH) founded in 2007. MA has expertise in strategic planning, key visual development and activation, while TH specializes in audiovisual promotion, video production, and film marketing strategies.

Hakuhodo is one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. The company, which is the backbone of the Hakuhodo DY Group, has a wide international presence with 150 offices across more than 20 countries. MA&TH has been involved in several collaborative projects with Hakuhodo Group’s digital agency AdGlobal 360 and activation agency PMG, both based in New Delhi.

Ito Shuntaro, senior corporate officer, Hakuhodo, and president and CEO, Hakuhodo International, said: “With MA&TH joining the group, the Hakuhodo India Group will gain a presence in Mumbai, the capital of India’s advertising industry, and be able to provide more Indian clients with effective and wide-ranging marketing solutions based on Hakuhodo’s Sei-katsu-sha insight philosophy. MA&TH, which provides unique services, will develop more comprehensive, seamless services by joining forces with AdGlobal360, which has strengths in marketing technology, and PMG, which has strengths in activation.

“Furthermore, I am confident that MA&TH will lead the growth of the Hakuhodo Group as a whole to the next level by collaborating with our offices beyond India, Japan, and Southeast Asia, especially in the entertainment business area.”

Amit Chandrra, cofounder and CEO of MA&TH, added: “Hakuhodo’s approach towards business, talent, and creativity was something that really fits into our vision for growth – both for our people and our clients. Our focus will be to further consolidate our leadership position in India as well as extend our brand solutions expertise in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Dhritish Ghoshal, cofounder and chief strategy officer of MA&TH, said: “The access to Hakuhodo’s huge pool of resources and knowledge centers – both in India and overseas – will allow us to engage even more meaningfully with our clients and to provide world class services and solutions.”

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