MxMIndia

Category: Ad Agencies

  • Dasgupta, an award-winning creative professional comes with more than 12 years of experience

    Hakuhodo Percept appoints Saurav Dasgupta as Creative Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hakuhodo Percept has announced the appointment of Saurav Dasgupta as Creative Director.

     

    Dasgupta, an award-winning creative professional comes with more than 12 years of experience and his repertoire includes aviation, automobiles, insurance, food & beverage, music, technology & telecom, among others.

     

    Elvis Sequeira

    Confirming the appointment, Elvis Sequeira, COO, Hakuhodo Percept said, “Hakuhodo is growing exponentially and over the past few months, there’s been a steady build up of a new kind of energy. We are building and strengthening our next level of leadership under the ECDs. Saurav is a wonderful addition to team Hakuhodo.”

     

     

    Saurav Dasgupta

    Commenting on his joining, Saurav Dasgupta, Creative Director Hakuhodo Percept said, ““It’s a great time to be a part of Hakuhodo Percept which is growing at a rapid pace. I do hope to provide momentum to this growth and give creative inputs to make it one of India’s top agencies.”

     

    Dasgupta, moves from Rediffusion Y&R. Prior to this, in a career spanning over a decade, he has worked with leading agencies like Ogilvy, DDB Mudra, Havas Worldwide and Mccann Worldgroup TAG. Over the years he has handled some leading brands, across verticals including Virgin Atlantic, Unilever Beverages, Vodafone, Maruti Suzuki Zen, Del Monte, Gaana.com, Dish TV, Max New York Life Insurance among others.

     

    Dasgupta is Graduate in Physics from Delhi University, and holds a Masters in Advertising & Communication from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management. His other passions include travelling and macro-photography. He also loves graphic novels and is currently in the process of making one.

     

  • The company is famous for being the creators of India's highest selling edible oil, Gemini Oil which was sold to Cargil Foods in 2007

    Grey wins creative duties of Parakh Agro

    By A Correspondent

     

    Parakh Agro Industries Limited, (formerly known as Parakh Foods) has assigned GREY group India to handle its creative duties, across advertising, digital solutions, retail design and activation. The agency won the business in a multi-agency pitch process which involved participation of leading advertising agencies.

     

    Parakh Agro Industries Limited which was formerly known as Parakh Foods, manufactures a range of staples such as atta, besan, maida, rawa, and sooji under the Samrat brand name. The company is famous for being the creators of India’s highest selling edible oil, Gemini Oil which was sold to Cargil Foods in 2007.

     

    While they are strongest with high tech plants located in Central and Western States, they are looking at expanding its distribution and taking the brand national. Commenting on the development, Mayank Parakh, Joint Director at Parakh Agro says “At Parakh Agro we are passionate about providing goodness from traditionally consumed staples to the colossal Indian market through the most advanced hygienic processes. Looking for the right strategic and creative partner was a challenge as we had to filter down to the agency that understands our vision and hence build ideas from its core. The team at GREY has worked hard to win this role and with them on board, we are excited and confident about winning hearts for our brand SAMRAT around the nation”.

     

    As the company is headquartered in Pune, the agency’s Mumbai office will handle the account. Vineet Singh, Vice President – Client Services Director said, “GREY is privileged to work with one of India’s finest , “ Made In India ‘ brands. Staples are a hugely challenging category. Branded staples consist of just 2% of the entire universe. The challenge for us is to wean people away from traditional chakkiwallas and unbranded staples sold by neighbourhood kiranas. GREYs communication will target just doing that in its ‘famously effective’ way.

     

  • The move will strengthen the Activation, OOH & Media team at the Gurgaon office of DDB MudraMax

    DDB MudraMax makes three senior appointments

    By A Correspondent

     

    DDB MudraMax have announced the appointment of three senior members to strengthen the Activation, OOH & Media team at the Gurgaon office of DDB MudraMax.

     

    Puspendra Singh

    Puspendra Singh (Pushpi) who comes in as Senior VP, DDB MudraMax-OOH & Experiential will be responsible for Client delight, while Arijit Chakrabarti, General Manager will be responsible for Data, Insights & Strategy for entire DDB MudraMax including their Media/Digital offerings. Bhuwan Pandey, General Manager, will focus on driving efficiencies and partner relationships.

     

    Pushpi, an erstwhile Consulting Advisor with Street Talk Connect brings home over 23 years of vast experience in New Business Development, OOH Planning and Brand solutions, Events.  His experience spans over prestigious clientele like Airtel, Pepsi, Maruti, LG, Samsung to FMCG giant Unilever. Over the years, Pushpi has served organizations like Kinetic, Posterscope and Aeren Initiative.

     

    Arijit Chakrabarti

    Arijit brings on the table an exhaustive knowledge bank from both the client and the agencies’ end. With more than a decade of experience of being associated with companies like Moms Outdoor Solution, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., Tata Docomo and Greenlam Industries, Arijit has a reputation in strategic planning and delivering customized solutions. Arijit has also been recognized thrice by e4m-OOH Awards for innovative campaigns.

     

     

    Bhuwan Pandey

    Bhuwan joins DDB MudraMax with over a decade of experience of working across brands in various sectors. Known for his ruthless negotiation skills and partner management, his earlier stints includes organizations like Tata Motors, Jagran Engage and Kinetic OOH.

     

     

     

    Sathyamurthy Namakkal

    Quoting on the appointments, Sathyamurthy Namakkal, Executive Director, DDB Mudra Group & President DDB MudraMax (Sathya) says, “The impact of this new team is already being felt at the market place. This leadership team will certainly add a lot of rigor, vigor and positive aggression to our integrated offering.”

     

  • Truecaller is transforming the phonebook to make it more intelligent and useful

    ZenithOptimedia wins media mandate of Truecaller

    By A Correspondent

     

    ZenithOptimedia has won the media mandate for Truecaller after a selection process that involved multiple agencies. This mandate covers all aspects of the company’s media planning & buying, and will include Digital and OOH duties as well.

     

    Truecaller is transforming the phonebook to make it more intelligent and useful. The app allows users to know who is calling them even if the person has not been listed in their contacts. Truecaller has grown phenomenally in India. Currently, at 80 million users in the country, the Indian user base comprises more than half the total global users.

     

    Kari Krishnamurthy, Vice President, Growth and Partnerships, Asia & Country Manager, India, said, “Truecaller has witnessed an accelerated growth in India, especially in the tier I markets. We were looking for media partners who have a deep understanding of the Consumer Internet space to help us establish strong media touchpoints in the tier II and III markets. ZenithOptimedia impressed us with their strategic framework and ability to execute with speed and accuracy.”

     

    Commenting on the win Hari Krishnan, Managing Director, ZenithOptimedia, said “This is a significant win for ZO in a sector that is fast growing and future facing. It is indeed a matter of pride for us to be partnering with Truecaller.”

     

  • Harsh began his career with Tata Infomedia about two decades ago

    Mullen Lowe Lintas Group hires Sriharsh Grandhe to head LinEngage

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sriharsh Grandhe

    LinEngage, the experiential marketing & activation arm of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group has announced the appointment of Sriharsh Grandhe (Harsh) as Executive Vice President based in Mumbai. He would be reporting to Vikas Mehta, CMO | President – Group Marketing Services, Mullen Lowe Lintas Group.

     

    Prior to joining LinEngage, Harsh was with the WPP firm, POSSIBLE Worldwide Singapore as the Engagement Director. At POSSIBLE, Harsh was managing the global rollout of Standard Chartered’s Responsive Website, a first in the Banking domain across 55 countries in APAC, EMEA & Americas. Prior to POSSIBLE, Harsh was an AVP & Practice Head at Wipro where he was responsible for rolling out Marketing as a Process for several global businesses from Europe, US & Australia.

     

    Harsh began his career with Tata Infomedia about two decades ago and has navigated an illustrious journey spanning Advertising, Consumer Engagement, Publishing& Retail. Harsh is an experienced professional across the marketing continuum with a pronounced focus on digital and activation. Throughout his professional journey, he has driven various marketing programs for Standard Chartered, P&G, J&J, a global major in Big Data & Cloud Computing, Large Australian Telco, a Financial Services Major in US and more such global businesses across the markets of US, APAC and Europe.

     

    Speaking of his appointment, Vikas Mehta said, “Our ambition for LinEngage is to make consumer engagement an essential part of a brand’s narrative. A lot more innovation is possible in the area of creating meaningful consumer experiences. Under Harsh’s leadership, we are keen to make strides in strengthening this practice in an industry that’s largely driven by tactical activations.”

     

    LinEngage offers specialist brand engagement expertise to a host of clients in India. Apart from its focus on the urban pockets, LinEngage boasts of a bespoke rural offering – LinTerland. The motive is to help clients capitalize on the consumer-engagement opportunities in heartland India. Both the urban and rural offerings of LinEngage have been growing steadily over the past few months with host of new business wins. Notable clients include Johnson & Johnson, Franke Faber, Bayer, UltraTech, Castrol, ICICI Prudential and Byju’s  to name a few. Harsh’s remit will be to evangelise the experiential marketing practice for the group and further expand the portfolio.

     

    Commenting on his role at LinEngage, Harsh said, “The strong lineage of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group is no secret. India is at an exciting phase of development and the agency is experiencing both momentum and growth. LinEngage is in a sweet spot right now with only one direction to go – upwards”

     

    Harsh has been the recipient of awards at DMA for world-class marketing & activation programs for brands like Visa, Madura Garments etc. A familiar face in advertising he has also worked in agencies such as iContract, Rediffusion Y&R and JWT.

     

  • The account will be managed by the agency's North team

    DDB MudraMax wins the media mandate for Modi Naturals

    By A Correspondent

     

    Following a multi-agency pitch, DDB MudraMax has bagged the media mandate for Modi Naturals, one of India’s fastest growing FMCG companies, with innovative products in the edible oil category. The account will be managed by the agency’s North team.

     

    The company’s flagship brand ‘Oleev’ has been launched in four variants. One of the variants- Oleev Active is a healthy blend of Olive and Rice Bran Oil, specially created to fulfill the demands of modern lifestyle. The product competes in the value added health oil segment with brands such as Saffola and Sundrop. The three other variants are Oleev Extra Virgin, Oleev Extra Light and Oleev Pomace.

     

    Touted as a multi-crore account, Modi Naturals has been built by the young scion Akshay Modi in the last 5 years and has aggressive future plans.

     

    Talking about the product, Akshay Modi, Director, Modi Naturals, “Oleev is already giving stiff competition to market leaders across retail channels in the country.”

     

    Commenting on the association with DDB MudraMax, he further added, “We were impressed with DDB MudraMax’s thinking, passion and ability to seamlessly integrate all initiatives under one roof.”

     

    Commenting on the account win, AmitaKarwal, EVP, DDB MudraMax- Media quoted, “We are delighted to be associated with Modi Naturals which shares the same entrepreneurial values as us. I along with my team look forward to building a formidable brand.”

     

  • Ishrath has spent about 14 years in advertising, having worked across Saatchi & Saatchi, Rediffusion DYR, Network Advertising and Draft FCB+Ulka

    Ishrath Nawaz appointed CD at Soho Square

    By A Correspondent

     

    Soho Square Mumbai has announced the appointment of Ishrath Nawaz as Creative Director, Soho Square Mumbai.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Soho Square Executive Creative Directors, Anuraag Khandelwal and Satish Desa, had this to say, “Our young, and dynamic team is a constantly evolving one. Our focus is to continuously adapt to new age ideas and ideals, with growth that is not just exponential but organic as well. Ishrath brings with him a unique mix of talents and a crisp understanding of different brand segments. We believe he has what it takes to strengthen our vision.”

     

    Ishrath Nawaz

    Ishrath has spent about 14 years in advertising, having worked across Saatchi & Saatchi, Rediffusion DYR, Network Advertising and Draft FCB+Ulka. He has worked on the successful launches of several top brands including Indigo Manza, Tata Docomo, Jaguar, Skoda Rapid, Ariel, head&shoulders and Bajaj LED.

     

  • Vandana Verma named Executive Vice President

    Leo Burnett launches Leo Burnett Experience

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Leo Burnett Group India announced the launch of Leo Burnett Experience, a specialist unit that will focus on rural marketing, activation, events and exhibitions across metros and 5,000 small towns and cities.

     

    Leo Burnett Experience has a pan-India presence with a team of 40 professionals working on some iconic brands in the country such as Dabur, Vodafone, Uninor, McDonald’s, ITC Foods, OnePlus, Amazon, P&G, Fiat, Axis Bank, Ruchi Group, and Bajaj Discover.

     

    Leo Burnett Experience offers a unique solution for brands and operates under its global philosophy of PLAY, BUY, SHARE. Vandana Verma, Executive Vice President, Leo Burnett Experience, will oversee the division’s operations. She will report to Group CEO Saurabh Varma and will be based out of Leo Burnett India’s Mumbai office.

     

    Apart from Vandana, the leadership team of Leo Burnett Experience includes Nishith Sharma (National Creative Director), Ankit Grower (Head of North and East), Pratik Maitra (Head of South), Sandesh Shetty (Head of National Operations) and Kiran Dodiya (Head of West).

     

    Commenting on the occasion, Saurabh Varma, CEO, The Leo Burnett Group India, says, “One of our key HumanKind pillars is participation. It is my belief that the future is in creating experiential platforms. Our unique methodology of PLAY, BUY, SHARE gives Leo Burnett Experience a truly differentiated offering. Already it is the fastest growing part our business. And our ambition is to add technology to create immersive experiences for consumers.”

     

    Vandana Verma, Head of Leo Burnett Experience throws some light on the division’s unique offering, “ROI is the biggest black hole in India’s experiential industry. None of the existing agencies seem to effectively manage crisis and identify likely risks that affect ROI. At Leo Burnett Experience we give foremost importance to foreseeing risks and managing real time crisis to maximize the output for clients. Our revenue growth has been significant in the last 18 months. Going forward we will build on this momentum and surpass the industry average growth of 25%. We define our objectives clearly and develop strategies based on HumanKind’s philosophy of building brands and changing human behavior using creativity. As for the most exciting opportunity – it is the rural markets, where brands are increasingly demanding strategy based experiential services – a big gap in the industry which we will address. These are surely exciting times at Leo Burnett Experience.”

     

  • Tool to help advertisers effectively reach out to over 2500 towns every month in India

    Posterscope unveils Ambit Analyser

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a bid to attract well-thought-through investments into the growing out-of-home category of ambient media, Ambient OOH has designed and launched a new path breaking research tool to drive away the advertisers’ woes. Ambient OOH, the ambient media agency under Dentsu Aegis Network’s Posterscope umbrella, has invested a substantial amount toward the crafting and development of this new research matrix.

     

    Ambient media is all about capturing captive audiences who spend considerable amount of their leisure time at various active locations such as gyms, coffee shops, multiplexes, clubs, salons and shopping malls. Therefore, in a bid to develop the new tool, Ambient OOH took the help of Dentsu Aegis Network’s proprietary research study – the Outdoor Consumer Survey (OCS) that aided in analysing the target audience touch-points.

     

    Ambit Analyser, the new tool, is India’s only fool proof ambient media planning mechanism that helps craft a rationalized multi touch-point plan across more than 24 dwell time locations that house captive audiences. Also, given Ambit Analyser’s system design, the plans can be fashioned within much lesser time and with more accuracy.

     

    As part of the development process of Ambit Analyser, Ambient OOH graded each property across the various touch points on multiple factors including footfalls, trade density, ticket pricing and thus, arrived at a visibility index. It is important to note here that the tool has been linked to the OCS, which has a sample size of 12,000 respondents. It has also incorporated the data for 24 touch-points across metros, mini metros and tier 2 cities.

     

    Ashish Bhasin, ‎Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network, Chairman Posterscope and psLive – Asia Pacific said, “Posterscope’s Ambient OOH has done pioneering work in developing Ambient Analyser. Ambient media is becoming extremely important and has very little research and tools available. So, in keeping with Dentsu Aegis Network’s leadership status in OOH, we felt that the time was right to make this large investment in a proprietary tool, the only one of its kind in India.”

     

    Haresh Nayak, ‎Regional Director, Posterscope Asia Pacific. & Managing Director, Posterscope Group India said, “Ambient OOH is the future and, with the growth of digital and technology in this space, it will lead to accountable and engaging communication with the consumer in a relaxed mind frame. Ambit Analyser is one such initiative to give our clients a first of its kind, accountable and impactful campaign, leading to physical and digital engagement.”

     

    Deepak Kumar, Vice President, Ambient OOH, “Currently, ambient media in India is extremely fragmented and diverse in nature. And with no comparative data to fall back on, each media owner claims to be the best. Simultaneously, advertisers are constantly pressing on media effectiveness and efficient ROI. Hence, there was a need for transparency and accountability for advertisers to have trust on the ambient media touch-points.”

     

  • Finance brands are highest risers in the BrandZ India Top 50 with HDFC Bank being the most valuable brand for second year

    HDFC, other finance brands dominate WPP’s BrandZ

    By A Correspondent

     

    Finance brands are highest risers in the BrandZ India Top 50 with HDFC Bank being the most valuable brand for second year. The total value of India’s strongest brands has risen by a third (33%) over the last year, according to the second annual BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands ranking announced on Wednesday by WPP and Millward Brown. This is the highest rate of growth achieved by any BrandZ ranking in the 10 years since valuations began, exceeding that of the Global Top 100 as well as the rankings forChina, Latin America and Indonesia.   India’s Top 50 brands are now worth $92.2bn (up from just under $70bn in 2014). The record-setting value increase has been driven by brands’ successful response to the rising sense of empowermentamong Indian consumers, and the government’s efforts to create a more conducive business environment.

     

    Brands in the financial sector (+49% growth) made the largest contribution to the overall increase in value, but significant lifts were also seen across most other sectors, indicating the broad strength of India’s economy and Indian brands. Home and personal care brands achieved a combined increase of 32%, followed by the auto aftermarket sector (28%), automobile brands(27%) and telecom providers (21%).

     

    Private companies, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and brands owned by multinational corporations that are publicly traded in Indiaall experienced growth, illustrating how receptive the market is to brands of all kinds. 52% of the brands in the Top 50 are privately-owned, evidence of India’s entrepreneurial energy. 30%of the brands are owned by multinationals, which have successfullyadapted to the needs of Indian consumers, becoming so embedded in their lives that they are perceived as ‘local’.

     

    The BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2015

    Rank 2015

    Brand

    Category

    Brand value 2015 ($m)

    Brand value change

    Rank 2014

    1

    		 HDFC Bank Banks

    12,577

    		 33% 1

    2

    		 Airtel Telecoms

    11,039

    		 34% 2

    3

    		 State Bank of India Banks

    9,374

    		 37% 3

    4

    		 ICICI Bank Banks

    5,122

    		 45% 4

    5

    		 Asian Paints Paints

    3,867

    		 38% 6

    6

    		 Bajaj Auto Automobiles

    3,345

    		 10% 5

    7

    		 Hero Automobiles

    2,907

    		 34% 7

    8

    		 Axis Bank Banks

    2,494

    		  New New

    9

    		 Kotak Mahindra Bank Banks

    2,394

    		 39% 9

    10

    		 Maruti Suzuki Automobiles

    2,318

    		 54% 11

    11

    		 Idea Telecoms

    1,981

    		 5% 8

    12

    		 Castrol Lubricants

    1,773

    		 40% 15

    13

    		 IndusInd Bank Banks

    1,542

    		 46% 19

    14

    		 McDowell’s Alcohol

    1,516

    		 9% 13

    15

    		 Nestlé Food/dairy

    1,498

    		 22% 16

    Key highlights of the 2015 BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands study include:

    • Financial brands continue to dominate.With 13 brands in the Top 50, accounting for 41% of its value ($38.1bn), the financial sector has built brand strength by making a consistent effort to serve consumers better. Biggest risers: Union Bank of India (no.46, +72%), Punjab National Bank (no.22, +61%) and IndusInd Bank (no.13, +46%).
    • Home and personal care brands grew 32%, driven byincreased disposable income and spending on premium products, and investment by marketers across traditional and new media. These 12 brandshold 15% ($13.4bn) of the ranking’s total brand value. Fastest risers: Lakme (no.44, +69%), Lifebuoy (no.31, +49%) and Colgate (no.26, +44%).
    • Purpose is power. Indian consumers expect brands to actively participate in building a better society, and those that do have a higher brand value. Lifebuoy (no.31) has a social mission to change consumers’ hygiene behaviour, while Asian Paints (no.5) aspires to rejuvenate people’s living spaces and bring joy to their lives.
    • Indian consumers trust brands.In stark contrast with other markets, trust in brands is growing steadily. Consumers in Indiaappreciate brands, and 33% say they trust them. Among the most trusted are jeweller Tanishq (no.21), part of the respected Tata conglomerate, and Colgate, which is part of Indian folklore, and has been instrumental in organising dental check-up camps to raise dental hygiene awareness.
    • All four new entrants are of Indian origin – Axis Bank, Canara Bank, MRF (tyres) and Royal Enfield. Three are privately owned, and one is an SOE.
    • Disruption is on the horizon – from e-commerce and mobile brands that are building scale and connecting with consumers at a frenetic pace. These are not yet eligible to be ranked in theTop 50because they are not publicly traded.

    David Roth, CEO of WPP’s The Store commented: “The 2015 study shows that India is a market of great opportunities where consumers are feelingempowered, and this is increasingly reflected in their brand choices. The new Modi government is committed to creating an environment in which brands can flourish. India is distinct in many ways from other fast-growing markets, however, so simply applying strategies that have proved successful elsewhere will not work in India. Any brand intending to compete in India must gain deep insights into its nuances – such as the need to modernise while respecting the past, and the desire to remain fundamentally Indian.”

     

    Added Prasun Basu, Millward Brown’s Managing Director, South Asia:“India’s top brands are strong, and getting stronger – but there is no room for complacence. The top four had to grow their value by 37% on average to hold on to the same positions as last year, and close to 10% of the brands that made the Top 50 in 2014 have dropped out. To benefit from the continuing rise in consumer confidence and optimism brands need to understand the changing consumer, respond with innovative products and breakthrough communication, and experiment and invest in new media that reflect the spirit of the country today.”

     

    Said Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, WPP India: “Building a successful brand in India also means helping to build India itself. Consumers are trustful of brands, but trust can crumbleovernight. Brands must work hard to sustain trust by connecting with thecountry’s communal sense of responsibility. Brands need to find ways to support the national agenda, and help to develop a more modern, prosperous and equitable society.”

     

    The BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2015 report, charts and photography, can be downloaded from www.brandz.com.

  • Ajit has over 18 years of work experience in the fields of media, brand management and marketing

    Ajit Gurnani appointed Managing Partner at ZenithOptimedia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ajit Gurnani

    ZenithOptimedia India has announced the appointment of Ajit Gurnani as Managing Partner and Branch Head, ZO West.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Hari Krishnan, Managing Director, ZenithOptimedia India, says “We are delighted to announce this appointment. ZenithOptimedia is making rapid progress in Mumbai especially with its expanding new-age client list such as Faaso’s, Ziffy, TImesaverz and many others yet to be announced. We needed somebody with rich experience and robust background spanning both agency and client side experience. Ajit, with his experience across markets, clients and verticals was best suited for the role. It helps us to strengthen our offer to all our businesses and prospective clients.”

     

    Ajit has over 18 years of work experience in the fields of media, brand management and marketing. His media exposure has been with advertising agencies like HTA (now Mindshare / JWT), Rediffusion DY&R (TME), Mindshare and MEC on clients like Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Aditya Birla Group (including Idea Cellular, Birla Sun Life, Ultratech etc), Mercedes Benz, Nivea, Zee TV & CarTrade. His client side exposure includes Marico Ltd as Media Manager, handling the company’s brands’ media strategy and investment as well as Head of Marketing (Beverages) for IFFCO in UAE where the role entailed demand generation, consumer and trade marketing and new product development acrosss the markets of UAE, GCC, Africa, Levant and other Middle East geographies and the ethnic Indian population in Canada and USA.

     

  • Srinivasan K. Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director, R.K. Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd., was elected Vice-Chairman; and Shashidhar Sinha, CEO, Media Brands Pvt. Ltd. was re-appointed the Honorary Treasurer

    Benoy Roychowdhury elected ASCI chairman

    By A Correspondent

     

    Benoy Roychowdhury

    At the Board Meeting of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), Benoy Roychowdhury, Executive Director at HT Media Ltd. and Whole time Director of Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., was unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of ASCI. As a member of the Board of Governors for four years, he has represented print media and provided active support to Self-Regulation.

     

    Srinivasan K. Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director, R.K. Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd., was elected Vice-Chairman; and Shashidhar Sinha, CEO, Media Brands Pvt. Ltd. was re-appointed the Honorary Treasurer.

     

    Other members of the Board of Governors are Abanti Sankanarayan (Vice President, CIABC), Al Rajwani (Managing Director & Chief Executive, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Healthcare Ltd), Arunab Das Sharma (President, Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), D. Shivakumar (Chairman & CEO, Pepsico India), I Venkat ( Director, Eanadu), Narendra Ambwani (Director, Agrotech Foods Ltd), Paritosh Joshi (Director, Provacateur), Prema Sagar (Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller, Asia Pacific & Principal/Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller), Rajan Anandan (Managing Director, Google India Pvt Ltd), Sameer Singh (Executive Director Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Ltd), SK Palekar (Management Educationist, S.P. Jain Institute), Subhash Kamath (Managing Partner, BBH Comms India Pvt Ltd) and Sunil Lulla (Chairman & Managing Director, Grey Group).

     

    Narendra Ambwani, the outgoing chairman of ASCI said “It has been quite an eventful year for ASCI. We had set four key priorities for the year i.e. Collaboration with the regulators, easier consumer access to ASCI services, inculcate self-discipline among creators of advertising and be seen as fair adjudicator by all stakeholders. Not only were we able to deliver on all four priorities; but we also received recognition for all the good work ASCI has been doing. The Department of Consumer Affair (DCA) engaged ASCI as their “Executive Arm” to curb misleading advertisements and has entrusted ASCI to process complaints received on DCA’s portal “Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements (gama.gov.in)”. Recent launch of our mobile app ASCIonline is a major milestone and an example of how technology is helping bridge the gap between ASCI and consumers. The app brought home The Maddies Mobile Bronze Award in the “Social / Not for Profit Mobile App” category.  Launch of E-Learning Program to educate the creators of advertisements and our Mega Event titled “Creativity for Goodness’ Sake” have been our other significant accomplishments.

     

    The incoming Chairman, Benoy Roychowdhury said, “There has been a remarkable transition in the last couple of years of how newer sectors like e-commerce and media such as digital advertising have changed the game. Over 90% of consumers send in their complaints to ASCI online or via e: mail versus letters or phone calls. ASCI has also evolved to match the pace by significantly improving the efficiency and speed in ASCI’s consumer redressal process. These continuous efforts are now being backed by regulatory agencies such as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as the DCA, and more and more Government organizations are approaching ASCI to seek help in adjudicating on various complaints related to advertisements. Responsibility for the success of self-regulation rests with every player – Advertisers should advertise with a conscience, media which carry the ads should be more responsible and regulators should back self-regulation by lending their support.”

     

    During the year 2014-15, the CCC met 47 times and deliberated on complaints against a total of 1877 advertisements. Of these, complaints against 1389 ads were upheld, while 486 were not upheld and 2 were outside ASCI’s purview.   ASCI has been able to achieve close to 90% compliance, which is certainly a healthy figure for a Self-Regulatory Organization.