MUMBAI: Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, a multiservice communications agency, today announced its expansion in India, as it establishes a presence in major cities Delhi and Bangalore. This is in addition to its Mumbai office, which launched a year ago.

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide CEO, president and founder Melissa Waggener Zorkin said, "India is today one of the fastest growing markets globally, across industries. It presents both a challenge and opportunity, to constantly diversify, innovate and create new approaches in engaging as well as influencing audiences. As a company, we have always challenged the conventional formats of communication to ultimately drive real impact and solve business problems. We strongly believe that this is one market that will continue to evolve and shape this."

This continued growth is also supported by a new survey commissioned by the agency. The study interviewed over 50 marketing and communications professionals as well as 200 consumers across India. Conducted by Blackbox Research, it reports on recent shifts in the Indian media and communications landscape, particularly in the wake of growing influence of social media platforms.
 
The study revealed a growing shift away from print as digital media continues to gain influence among businesses - 94 per cent in 2011 versus 87 per cent in 2010. Digital spend is also expected to continue rising over the next 12 months with key areas of investment being corporate websites, social networking platforms and online news media.

At the same time, the study also suggests a significant disconnect between communications professionals and consumers about the power of real-time negative feedback on digital platforms. While consumers and communication and marketing specialists are in close agreement about the impact of positive communication via digital channels, 63 per cent of consumers believed that it has a major impact, while only 46 per cent of communications professionals think the same. It is also interesting to note that although 69 percent of communications and marketing specialists agree that they are now more vulnerable to consumer backlashes because of social media, 60 per cent claim that they are adequately prepared to cope with the potential impact.