Japanese major agency, ADK, today announces the acquisition of Rage Communications, an independent agency that specialises in digital experience design and eCommerce solutions. The partnership will combine both organisations’ capabilities in digital marketing, web design and development, analytics, data-driven insights, and content narratives to drive integrated end-to-end performance and brand campaigns for clients.
Headquartered in Chennai, Rage is a digital pioneer that offers a full stack of solutions across CX, CRM, UI/UX and performance marketing solutions for clients around the world. Through its offices in India, Australia (Sydney) and Singapore, Rage provides services to marquee brands and companies such as AMP, Citibank, IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad, JLL, Mastercard, Sephora, Sterling Holidays, Tata Motors, Tata Croma and Unilever. These will join ADK’s global roster of clients.
The acquisition will see ADK becoming the major shareholder, while Rage’s founders, JRK Rao and Karthik Kumar remain as minority shareholders. As part of the agreement, Rage will be rebranded as ADK Rage. JRK will continue to lead as Chief Executive Officer of ADK Rage; and he, along with Kumar, will be working closely with ADK global team to offer integrated solutions to clients.
“This partnership marks our milestone entry into the India and Australia markets – two of the fastest-growing digital markets in the APAC region” said Yasuyuki Katagi, Chief Executive Officer, ADK Global Operations. “With Rage, we will immediately gain traction at a brand consultancy level, providing a strong starting point for the further growth in these key markets. We are also extremely excited at the collaboration opportunities to supercharge growth for our clients together. The new ADK Rage will offer clients with differentiated industry expertise, unparalleled partnerships, unique intellectual property, a full-service digital innovation offering and compelling scale.”
The founders of Rage, JRK Rao and Karthik Kumar said, “This partnership with ADK is a significant moment in the growth of Rage as it opens new horizons in a rapidly changing global economy. Our two companies share the same vision in the digital transformation of businesses and their interactions with consumers. It is our hope that our combined strengths will add greater value to our existing clients and reach out to the larger marketing community around the world. This also represents substantial opportunities for our respective staffs to work together in an increasingly technology led multicultural world.”
ADK’s acquisition of Rage follows strategic investments by the agency to bolster its position as a leading digital consultancy. The company recently launched its Integrated Performance Platform (IPP), a data-driven marketing intelligence technology for brands and agencies in October. The IPP is designed to centralise the connection of all ad accounts for Ad Platforms and demand side platforms (DSPs) in one place, enabling advertisers to scale their campaigns across multiple platforms efficiently, while gaining complete control and transparency of all digital media channels and regional teams at the same time.
