MxMIndia

Category: Ad Agencies

  • Dentsu Webchutney won the account following a multi-agency pitch after contending against four other agencies that participated in the pitch

    Dentsu Webchutney wins D’Decor’s digital mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has bagged the digital mandate for D’Décor. As part of the mandate, the agency will handle duties for D’Décor across the social and digital media. This includes media planning and buying.

     

    Dentsu Webchutney won the account following a multi-agency pitch after contending against four other agencies that participated in the pitch, notes a communiqué. The account will be handled from the agency’s Mumbai office.

     

    Said Nikita Desai, Vice President – Strategy and New Business, D’Décor: “We are happy to welcome Dentsu Webchutney on board. We areat a juncture where we will write the digital chapter of our business. In this, we have taken strong & conscious steps to remodel the business to see clear ROIs from online sales. Over the next few months, you will see a dramatically expanded digital footprint. Our partner of choice for this endeavour is Dentsu Webchutney”

     

    Said Roopesh Shah, Senior Vice President and Branch Head, Dentsu Webchutney Mumbai: “When we took on the challenge to pitch for D’Décor, we went in knowing fully well that we are pitching for a business that is deeply creative in it’s own right and the world’s largest at that. We pulled all our resources and it is thrilling that we have come out winning. The icing on the cake was the way teams on both sides connected. We found strategic fitments at multiple nodes and levels of our offerings. While this is a fantastic victory for Webchutney, we see it as an opportunity for us to work with D’Décor as One DAN (Dentsu Aegis Network) and really deliver on all those service nodes and levels.”

     

  • The Bengaluru-based agency has now been selected as Titan’s Social Media agency partner for the HR division

    Pink Lemonade ‘elevates’ Titan’s campus recruitment

    By A Correspondent

     

    Creative agency Pink Lemonade has recently conceived and executed an engagement campaign for Titan. The extensive college campus recruitment programme, Titan Elevate, was carried out through both online and offline channels. Pink Lemonade has now been selected as Titan’s Social Media agency partner for the HR division, according to a communiqué.

     

    The recruitment campaign spanned 10 universities all over the country. In line with the campaign theme of Elevate, Pink Lemonade created targeted messaging centered around the concept of scaling to greater heights in one’s career.

     

    Considering the young demographic, Pink Lemonade zeroed in on Social Media (Facebook in particular) as the perfect platform to promote the campaign. Further, a series of interactive contests were conceptualized for the month-long recruitment campaign. Pink Lemonade also targeted students by disseminating content through offline channels (using collaterals such as standees, posters, banners, flyers) across college campuses.

     

    Vasudha, Assistant Manager – Talent Management at Titan Company said, “The engagement campaign was a big success. We were extremely happy with the creative output of the Pink Lemonade team. We especially appreciate their active involvement at every stage of the campaign, making sure it ran as smoothly as possible. We look forward to a long and positive association with Pink Lemonade!”

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Pink Lemonade Founder-CEO Tina Garg said, “Titan Elevate is a campaign we’re extremely proud to showcase. Today, Social Media is the perfect place to tap into the youth segment, and so our marketing effort was geared towards creating and promoting content on Facebook. With a host of engaging contests, we managed to reach out to a wide audience base, ensuring the success of the campaign.”

     

  • The campaign led by Video CVs takes viewers and potential employers to a page that is a one-of-a-kind online Employment Exchange for hiring various acid-attack survivors

    Ogilvy partners MLNS to create video CVs for acid attack survivors

    By A Correspondent

     

    Building on the success of its #EndAcidSale campaign for ‘Make Love Not Scars’ last year, Ogilvy has launched a powerful new campaign to benefit the cause of acid attack survivors.

     

    In the campaign hashtagged #SkillsNotScars, acid attack survivors present their skills to potential employers through a CV with a twist – a Video CV. After stating standard information about themselves and their skills, these women end their Video CV by saying that they could have well emailed a written out CV like any other candidate, but they created a Video CV so that their potential employer could also see their acid-scarred faces, and they hoped that this will not be the barrier for their employers.

     

    Said Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Executive Creative Directors, Ogilvy Mumbai: “Acid attack survivors face the added unfairness of the world cringing at the sight of their scarred faces. A huge part of the fight back against this evil is for society to accept these innocent victims back into the social fold. And there can be no greater support than to look beyond their scars and employ these girls for the skills they bring to the table.”

     

    “A cause as powerful and rich in intent, also deserved an equally powerful communication. That’s where the uniqueness of ‘Video CVs’ as a format will get the world to sit up and take notice, we believe.  We are very glad that after having put the cause of acid-attack survivors on the world stage last year, our team has been able to take this meaningful next step to bring dignity and financial freedom to these brave girls.  We are equally glad to partner Ria Sharma, our MLNS client whose passion for this cause is unmatched.”

     

    Harshik Suraiya, Associate Creative Director, Ogilvy Mumbai added: “More than anything else this has been a journey of learning for me. The courage, the spirit and the smile on the faces of these survivors has taught me that life is what you make of it. I hope the courage they have shown in this campaign is supported by equal courage from the world and they are welcomed with open arms and open minds.”

     

    The campaign led by Video CVs takes viewers and potential employers to a page that is an online Employment Exchange for hiring various acid-attack survivors.

     

  • Confirming the development, a senior company functionary refused to divulge what the future holds for the Indian operations of of the transnational firm

    Top management buys Publicitas from German investor Aurelius

    By A Correspondent

     

    Munich, Germany-based Aurelius Equity Opportunities has sold its subsidiary Publicitas, a leading advertising marketer whose head offices are located in Zurich, Switzerland, to its existing management team headed by CEO Joerg Nuernberg and CFO Dr Carsten Brinkmeier. It was agreed that no information on the financial details of the transaction would be disclosed. Publicitas operates in India from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai. Not much is known on the fate of the Indian operations which is reported to be run in association with leading media sales and marketing firm Mediascope. Confirming the development, a senior company functionary refused to divulge what the future holds for the Indian operations of of the transnational firm.

     

    Publicitas has a cross-media portfolio of over 8,000 promotional offerings in Switzerland and abroad. Advertising clients and agencies can use these to position their messages via media placements in leading daily newspapers, luxury magazines, on outside advertising, in TV and radio stations and on mobile and digital platforms in over 100 countries.

     

    It may be noted that Aurelius took over Publicitas from the Swiss PubliGroupe in July 2014.  The purchasing management team will systematically continue the measures already initiated and will continue to expand digital activities with top priority, according to an Aurelius communiqué.

     

    Support processes such as accounting, order-handling and other administrative processes are to be successively outsourced to the established shared service-centre ad back-office in Bratislava (Slovakia), thereby contributing to further cost-savings and increases in efficiency.

     

  • Jain will be Practice Head – Business Transformation

    Shan Jain quits Mindshare to join Publicis Media

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shan Jain has joined Publicis Media India as Head of it Business transformation Practice earlier this week. Jain’s last stint was with GroupM, as Principal Partner, Client Leadership at Mindshare.

     

    Jain comes with more than 24 years of experience across media, account planning, strategy and account management and has worked with Mindshare, RK Swamy BBDO, The Media Edge, FCB Ulka, Lowe, McCann and Ogilvy. Some of the key clients she has led and contributed to are HUL Personal Care, HUL Foods and beverage, GSK, ITC, Maruti and Gillete.

     

    Said Anupriya Acharya, Publicis Media India CEO: “We all know it – we are right in the beginning of a new industrial revolution.  The fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0, is altering the way in which people live, work, and connect with one another unlike any other revolution before it. More than “We live in interesting times”, today it is more like “we live in exponential times”. Change is occurring in every industry and this is creating a seismic shift in the lives of consumers and businesses alike. Marketers need a new model for success. This is where Business Transformation Practice of Publicis Media fits in. It unlocks growth by re-engineering our client’s customer experience through a combination of talent and technology. Shan was the perfect choice to lead this given her in-depth experience across diverse businesses and consumer segments. We are delighted to have her on board. She will be supported by Gautham Ram Pingali in this area who himself has a great experience around technology and its far-reaching impact on clients businesses. He also continues to lead the Content Practice in PM India.”

     

    Said Jain: “I am most excited to be on board at Publicis Media, in such a meaningful role. The excellent data, analytics and tech support that I can lean on within the group as well as the extended expertise for Publicis.Sapient puts us in a very advantageous position in the market to strike these conversations with clients.”

     

  • Pardiwalla joins Jack in the Box as President

    Kaizad Pardiwalla quits Orchard to join Jack in the Box Worldwide

    By A Correspondent

     

    Integrated communications agency Jack in the Box Worldwide has appointed Kaizad Pardiwalla as President, with the aim to lead its ambitious growth strategy. Pardiwalla, who joins from Orchard Advertising, where he was Chief Operating Officer until last week, will report to Roopak Saluja, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The 120 Media Collective.

     

    Apart from growth and new business acquisition, his key responsibilities will include managing existing clients and ensuring seamless operations and delivery across the agency. As a key member of The 120 Media Collective’s management team, Pardiwalla joins at a juncture where his role will be crucial in the company’s quest to be South & South-East Asia’s premier communications and content company.

     

    Pardiwalla started his career with Lowe Lintas and went on to hold leadership positions with Ogilvy & Mather, where he was National Head of OgilvyOne India, before joining Grey as Branch Head – Mumbai and subsequently moving to Orchard. In his career spanning over two decades, Kaizad has worked with brands such as Amazon, Wipro, Viacom 18, American Express, Cadbury, CISCO, Unilever, The Economist, Fiat, Ferrero and Vodafone, amongst others.

     

    Commenting on the appointment,  Saluja said: “As Jack in the Box enters its next phase of growth as an integrated communications agency for the digital era, there’s a vital need for leadership with experience and stature; someone who can marshal all that we have at our disposal and beyond in terms of talent and technology to provide real business impact for our clients. Kaizad belongs to a rare breed of professionals, who couple a proven track record with the agility that’s integral to success in our business today and tomorrow. And I’m super excited to have him as a key partner in The 120 Media Collective’s quest for impact across the South/South-East Asia region.”

     

    Said Pardiwalla: “Today digital has become crucial for every brand to stay relevant. Jack in the Box Worldwide, with its digital first approach is a leader when it comes to assisting brands strike a chord with their target audience. I’m really excited to lead this extremely creative and talented team at Jack in the Box. We are here to provide business solutions for brands backed by strong ideas and insights into consumer behaviour. The vision is to create path breaking ideas that are media agnostic and which deliver results for our clients in the marketplace. With content and platforms coming into their own, these are very exciting times for us at JITB and there will be a lot to watch out for!”

     

  • Promotes Vivek Bhargava to CEO of DAN Performance Group

    Rubeena Singh is CEO, iProspect India as Vivek Bhargava to helm DAN Performance Group

    By A Correspondent

     

    iProspect India, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Rubeena Singh as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective December. The move coincides with former CEO Vivek Bhargava being elevated to a larger role in the form of CEO of DAN Performance Group, heading and responsible for all the Digital Performance Agencies of Dentsu Aegis Media. In this new arrangement, Singh will report into Bhargava.

     

    Commenting on the new appointment, Bhargava said: “I am delighted to have Rubeena join the iProspect India family and extend a warm welcome to her. The digital performance industry in India has progressed from being used merely for acquisitions to now being a medium for brand communication. Rubeena’s vast experience in all three media formats – broadcast, print and digital will give iProspect India a competitive advantage as the performance industry makes this transition.  Moreover, having Rubeena lead iProspect India will allow me to launch the other performance brands of Dentsu Aegis Media into India.”

     

    Expressing her views on the new role, Singh said: “This is an exciting time for India in general and the Indian marketing and media industry in particular. Digital India is coming of age and the Indian government has clearly demonstrated its firm intent to take the country into the digital era. The Aadhar stack is unique to India and gives over a 1000 million Indians a unique digital identity. The ever increasing internet penetration through smart phones and government push to get people to start transacting digitally through smartphones is a game changer. To me, the macro and micro trends of India becoming a truly digitally interconnected nation of over a billion people are now converging. This will have huge ramifications for businesses and how they connect with their customers. Having spent time in both print as well as TV media, I think the shift in allocation of media spends from traditional to digital will happen faster than thought before.”

     

  • The film chronicles Adhuna's Bollywood journey and depicts how each character in the films that she has styled

    BBLUNT unveils its first-ever Bollywood-inspired music video

    By A Correspondent

     

    Over the last decade-and-a-half, BBLUNT has played an integral part on the increasingly stylised look of stars in Bollywood films. This year BBLUNT took its vision even further with Kareena Kapoor-Khan revealing its salon in a box through the mega launch of its High Shine Crème At-Home Hair Color – Salon Secret.

     

    Now Adhuna Bhabani, Founder and Creative Director, BBLUNT, along with seven of India’s top beauty bloggers star in BBLUNT’s first-ever Bollywood-inspired video. The video, a journey back in time that strings together four of Bollywood’s blockbuster, fan-favourite films, showcases what inspired BBLUNT to create these seven stunning shades.

     

    The film chronicles Adhuna’s Bollywood journey and depicts how each character in the films that she has styled, drove her inspiration and enthusiasm to create the perfect shade accompanied by the perfect shine for the new hair color range. Adhuna recreates some iconic looks designed by BBLUNT on seven of the country’s most leading lifestyle and beauty bloggers like Miss Malini as Kareena Kapoor from Don, Shifa Merchant and Jas Sagu as Preity Zinta and Sonali Kulkarni respectively in Dil Chahta Hai, Juhi Godambe and Aayushi Bhangur as Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin respectively in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Stephanie Timmins and Madhura Bhogale as Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma respectively in Dil Dhadakne Do. The CAG are seamlessly paced and imaginative, offering viewers a peek into the founder’s mind.

     

    Said Harshil Karia, Founder and Creative Director, Schbang and the brain behind this fun short film: “It was such a fantastic experience working on this advert. It isn’t every day that you get to recreate the sets of iconic films and pay homage to them while using their original soundtracks! We tied up with Shaun Kolah once more to direct this for us and got Famous Animation on board for the special effects. From a campaign standpoint, the message doesn’t get any truer than this. Salon Secret High Shine Crème Hair Colour is truly a revolutionary product and it encapsulates the brand’s years of experience on sets and the salon floor to create India’s foremost hair colour with Shine Tonic in a box at an unbelievable price. This campaign is designed to compress that journey, giving consumers a glimpse into the work that’s gone into creating this hair colour.”

     

    Thomas Dawes, Creative Director, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. said, “After the phenomenal success of our recent Dry Shampoo #DirtyLittleSecret we knew we had to do something huge to celebrate the launch of our at home hair colour, Salon Secret. So we decided to create a film that celebrates the thing that most people know BBLUNT for – Bollywood!!! We identified the top bloggers in the country whose personalities were an ideal match to the iconic star they were playing, with Adhuna recreating these iconic looks once more… then we sprinkled a little bit of magic. This is going to blow your socks off!”

     

  • Vats takes charge from Punit Goenka, MD and CEO Zee Entertainment who completed his tenure as BARC India Chairman

    Sudhanshu Vats is new BARC Chairman

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sudhanshu Vats

    The BARC India Board has elected Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom 18 as its new Chairman. Vats takes charge from Punit Goenka, MD and CEO Zee Entertainment who completed his tenure as BARC India Chairman.

     

    Vats has been associated with BARC India since its inception and has been a part of all the developments as a member of the Board of Directors. “It is indeed an honour and a privilege to be elected as the Chairperson of BARC India. In a span of two years, BARC India has been able to build a strong TV viewership measurement system. I’m honoured to have been given the opportunity to take the work being done by the entire team to the next level. I feel privileged because this comes at a time when our industry is about to enter its next growth orbit and a robust, comprehensive measurement system will only accelerate this transition. Finally, measurement and analytics is an area of personal interest and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to learn more about it,” said Vats.

     

    “Being the Chairman of BARC India has been a great experience. It has been a great ride, and indeed an exciting one. We started off with certain ideologies of being transparent, robust and being able to measure “What India Watches”. The team at BARC India has been able to achieve this. We brought in a lot of changes in the TV viewership measurement system in order to make it comparable to global standards and to a great extent have been able to achieve that. I wish Sudhanshu all the best for all the future endeavours,” said Goenka.

     

    “We welcome Sudhanshu as our new Chairman. Being a veteran in the industry, Sudhanshu will bring in his larger perspective in the Media and Entertainment space. Punit has given the team the right thrust and the BARC team thanks him for his whole-hearted support” added Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India

     

  • The changes come into effect from January 1, 2017

    JWT announces senior changes as Sanjeev Bhargava exits

    By A Correspondent

     

    J Walter Thompson India has announced senior management changes. With Sanjeev Bhargava, head of JWT leaving for a career outside advertising, the opportunities opened up.

     

    Tarun Rai

    Commenting on Bhargava, Tarun Rai, CEO, J Walter Thompson Company South Asia said; “Sanjeev has done an excellent job in growing JWT Delhi. He is a fantastic professional and has had a stellar career in advertising. He now leaves to start a new career in media and I am sure he will do a great job. I thank him for all that he has done for us and wish him the very best for the future.”

     

    Commenting on the new roles,  Rai said, “Joy, Babita and Kishore have been performing exceptionally well. They are at a stage in their careers where they have a great balance of experience and youth. I am really happy that, as an organisation, we are able to provide opportunities, at the right time, for people to grow. This is also a reflection on the bench strength of JWT. And a signal to all our employees that whenever there is any opportunity in our company we will first look at internal candidates. I am confident that the three of them will continue to perform at the highest level.”

     

    Joy Chauhan, currently head of JWT Bengaluru, will take over as the head of JWT Delhi operations. Kishore Tadepalli, who has been JWT’s head of Hindustan Unilever business, takes over from Joy as head of JWT Bengaluru.  And Babita Baruah gets independent charge of JWT’s business unit – Power of One (PO1) – that handles a large number of PepsiCo’s flagship brands.  Baruah will now report in to Rai.

     

    The changes come into effect from January 1, 2017.

     

     

  • With the Fractal acquisition, DAN develops a formidable digital force amongst media services networks in India

    Yet another acquisition for Dentsu Aegis Network as it nets UI/UX shop, Fractal

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the acquisition of Fractal Ink Design Studio Pvt Ltd (“Fractal”), a leading experiential design studio which will join the network’s digital agency – Isobar, and be rebranded as “Fractal Ink Design Studio – Linked By Isobar”. The acquisition will add scale to the agency’s expertise in mobility and user experience. In addition, it will bring together a team of a thousand digital experts, one of the largest in India, including the combined Isobar team and the existing network digital brands iProspect, WATConsult and Dentsu Webchutney, notes a communiqué.

     

    Established in 2010, Fractal specialises in user experience and user interface design (UI/UX) and digital design strategy services for major clients including Aditya Birla Group, Raymond, Idea group, MetLife, Times Network and Axis Bank. It is amongst the top three largest design studios in India, boasting 65 digital experts operating from Mumbai and Bengaluru, the communiqué adds.

     

    Post this, Tanay Kumar, CEO, Co-founder and Creative Director of Fractal, will join the Dentsu Aegis leadership team in India and will report to Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia. Co-founders Geeta Suthar, Hemant Suthar and Priyanka Agrawal will also continue in their roles as part of the management team.

     

    Said Ashish Bhasin,Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia on the acquisition: “Fractal is the leading digital design studio in the country that provides not only the mobility and UI/UX designcapability, but also has an ideal combination of technology and creative services. Given the impending explosion of Internet of Things, wearables and mobile, this unique skill set will add to the group’s statusof being digitally ahead in India.

     

    Added Jean Lin, Isobar Global CEO: “To deliver immersive Brand Commerce experiences that close the gap between brand inspiration and transaction,we need passionate talent with strong in-market design capabilities. Fractal is a highly reputable digital design studio in India and having them on board further strengthens our local mobile and experience design capability. We are very excited to welcome the Fractal team on board as part of the Isobar global family.”

     

    Said Tanay Kumar, CEO, Co-founder and Creative Director of Fractal: “We have come a long way in the last six years in establishing ourselves as leaders in the digital design and strategy space. Dentsu Aegis Network is the fastest growing group in the country and has demonstrated a strong momentum not just in terms of growth, but also in their culture and values. Its strong presence around the globe as well as their shared vision towards the digital and connected world will allow us to tap into latest industry best practices and tools as well as scale our operations geographically.”

     

  • He will continue to helm Leo Burnett, South Asia, as Nakul Chopra & Praveen Kenneth will continue reporting to Publicis Comms Global CEO Loris Nold

    Saurabh Varma appointed as Publicis Communications’ India CEO

     

    Publicis Communications has announced the appointment of Saurabh Varma as CEO of Publicis Communications India. Varma’s appointment comes on top of his existing responsibilities as CEO of Leo Burnett’s South Asia operations, and he will be based in Mumbai.

     

    Varma, as well other country leaders Nakul Chopra and Praveen Kenneth, will continue reporting to Loris Nold, global COO of Publicis Communications, incharge of the APAC & MEA region. In the Indian subcontinent, Publicis Communications comprises Leo Burnett, Publicis India, Law & Kenneth | Saatchi & Saatchi, Orchard India, MSLGROUP, Publicis Ambience, Publicis Capital, Indigo iStrat and Publicis Beehive.

     

    “With Saurabh leading our India efforts,” said Nold, “I am very confident that we will drive significant acceleration across Publicis Communications, ultimately for the direct benefit of our clients”  Said Varma on the announcement: “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to help our creative brands fully leverage the strength of our collective expertise around digital, shopper marketing, PR and production platforms. In my mind, Publicis Communications is first and foremost about giving our clients full access to our capabilities, talent and resources across the country, as our aim is to deliver end-to-end solutions to all of our clients.”

     

    It may be recalled that Varma was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Leo Burnett India in 2013, and a year later, was elevated to a South Asia role. He has about 20 years of industry experience, seven of which were spent as Chief Strategy Officer for South Asia, in Singapore.