Havas Creative India has announced the appointment of Anirban Mozumdar as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), close on the heels of appointment of Tarun Jha as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Anirban will lead the strategy function of Havas Creative India. Based out of the Gurgaon village, he will work closely with Tarun and Anupama Ramaswamy, CCO, Havas Worldwide India.
Said Bobby Pawar, Chairman, Chief Creative Officer at Havas Group: “At Havas, we believe that the future belongs to brands that make a meaningful difference to people and the societies, and our conviction is supported by the results of our annual global Meaningful Brands study. Anirban has extensive advertising and marketing consulting expertise and a passion for high-impact solutions, which is why we are thrilled to have him lead Havas Creative India’s strategic function.”
Tarun Jha, CEO, Havas Creative India, added: “Havas Creative India has been scripting an incredible growth story over the last few years. From a single-client agency, Havas Creative India has grown to a network of 6 agencies. Our diversified portfolio of offerings are exactly what marketers are looking for in this constantly evolving industry, and we will be bringing in more specialist divisions soon. Anirban’s induction will further strengthen the team, alongside Bobby and Anupama, our two strong creative pillars, to propel us into a new era of growth.”
Havas Group unveils Havas Play, a new global network that will earn consumers’ attention and create enduring business impact through meaningful experiences at the intersection of entertainment, sports, technology, and fandom.
In India, three entities, Havas Sports and Entertainment and Havas Content, both of which are part of Havas Media Group India, and Cake India, which is part of Havas Creative India, will combine and rebrand as Havas Play.
R Venkatasubramanian, President and National Head of Investments, Havas Media Group India, has been given the additional responsibility to lead Havas Play in India. Havas Play will be part of the Havas Media Group India network, which is led by Mohit Joshi as its Chief Executive Officer. Under the new structure, Arun Kumar Rao, Senior VP, Prachi Narayan, Vice President and Rajika Mittra, Managing Partner, will report to Venkat and will manage Sports, Content and Entertainment mandates, respectively.
Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of Havas Group, said: “Only Havas can maximize the real opportunity of Play for brands. The launch of this global network to activate consumer passions is something we are truly best positioned to do through our Villages in bringing together the range of skills, tools and services needed to succeed in activating brands in meaningful ways, and our completely unique position within Vivendi as a global leader in entertainment. Clients of Havas Play will have unparalleled access to create meaningful experiences in collaboration with the cultural influencers that command their consumers’ attention and passion.”
Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, added: “At Havas, we are constantly striving to assist clients in navigating the ever-changing and dynamic advertising and marketing industry by breaking down silos and creating more integrated solutions. The launch of Havas Play is a significant step in that direction. Havas Play will leverage Vivendi and Havas Group resources and has a distinct advantage that shapes core components of the planning process, such as custom data and insight from across Vivendi on fan behaviour, global music, film, gaming, and publisher IP access, and collaboration with top talent from the culture and media sphere. We saw a huge opportunity in sports, culture, and entertainment in India over the years and launched Havas Sports and Entertainment, Havas Content, and Cake India.I am confident that by joining the forces of these three entities, Havas Play becomes a first-ever and one-of-a-kind offering in India.”
Mirum India, a Wunderman Thompson company, launched the 3rd Edition of the ‘Mirum India MarTech Report’ today. The report, powered by WPP, provides an insightful guide to the emerging MarTech landscape in India. The report captures how MarTech solutions are being utilized by brands to effectively communicate their brand messages to the right set of audiences at the right time.
The report highlights that while the global spend on MarTech solutions is around 25% of the total marketing budget, in India, majority organizations spend less than 15%, indicating significant potential for growth. With MarTech spending set to increase across company sizes and sectors, 88% of respondents expect to increase their MarTech spending over the next three years. The report also emphasizes the need for brands and organizations to work with growth partners as preferred by MarTech HEROES, focusing on ROI, and delivering value to the brands.
Data-driven organizations, which make up 15% of the respondents, have a data-driven marketing edge that most other organizations might miss. However, the report cautions that with the advent of Web3, and the shift towards a cookie-less world, rethinking marketing strategies is on the cards for most organizations.
The report aims to provide clarity to the industry, enabling brands and growth partners to understand how the ecosystem can drive value for themselves and their clients.
Speaking on the launch of the report, Hareesh Tibrewala, Joint CEO – Mirum India, said: “The estimated size of the MarTech industry in India is expected to be between $35bn and $50bn by 2026, presenting a sizeable opportunity for businesses. Our latest report highlights how brands are using MarTech solutions to effectively deliver the right brand message to the right customer at the right time, creating fabulous customer experiences and increasing brand loyalty. It is interesting to note that marketers globally spend 25% of their budgets on MarTech solutions, and our report shows the emergence of MarTech EXPLORERS, who are keen to leverage the power of MarTech. This presents an exciting opportunity for businesses to grow and thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.”
CVL Srinivas, Country Manager – WPP India added: “To succeed in the rapidly evolving tech and data driven world, organizations need good marketing automation tools and diverse skill sets. The report highlights the need for growth partners, preferred by MarTech HEROES, to ensure strong ROI for clients. It brings clarity to the ecosystem and presents an exciting opportunity for businesses to create fantastic customer experiences and increase brand loyalty. At WPP, we’ve invested heavily in building our tech and data practices, creating a comprehensive ecosystem where value is delivered at every touchpoint.”
Nabendu Bhattacharyya, Founder of Milestone Brandcom and one of the seniormost OOH professionals in the country, has announced the launch of his new company: Ideacafe.agency.
Notes a communique: “Ideacafe.agency. (written ideacafe.agency.) promises to be a new age independent company that redefines the ‘brewing’ of ideas… Ideacafe’s aspirations are much bigger than being just another out of home agency and revolve around doing OOH the right way that is idea-driven and data-led.”
Joining Bhattacharyya are two co-founders, Hanoz Patel and Abhishek Kabra, both specialists in the space who were part of the Milestone Brandcom journey.
Said Bhattacharyya: “I am super thrilled to announce the setting up of this new age independent company ideacafe.agency. will concentrate on building ideas and content across all spectrums of the brand communication space. I have always believed in creating disruptive, clutter-breaking ideas and bringing them alive to make a difference in a brands growth trajectory and will continue spearheading the same ahead.” The new agency has set up offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
COMvergence an independent research and data consultancy, which analyses media spend investments and produces benchmark studies on new business performances, released its latest New Business Barometer for the FY 2022 for India.
India saw a lower number of account moves and retentions this year of 246 with media spends estimated to be around $1.5BN as compared to a higher number of account moves in 2021 which were 332 with media spends estimated to be around $2.3BN
In 2022, 66% of the total pitches held globally were local in nature ( country specific pitches) India was well above this average with 81% of total pitches being local which is $1286M whereas global and multi- country pitches made up 19% of the pie with $297M in 2022 for India.
Mondelez ,Pepsico, ITC, Nestlé, Meesho, Lenovo, Hyundai-Kia, NPCI, Abbott Nutrition, Rebel foods, Truecaller were among some of the account moves that dominated the Indian market in 2022.
The Media Agency Groups were led by GroupM with a total new business value of +$332M, followed by Publicis Media Group at +$289M new business value and dentsu International with a new business value of +$194M respectively.
Zenith from the Publicis Media Group stable and Wavemaker from the GroupM umbrella led the media agencies’ ranking, interestingly the 3rd rank was tied between Initiative, Havas Media and Spark Foundry ( Publicis Media Group) followed by Madison Media and Carat.
WPP today announced the acquisition of Obviously, a technology-led social influencer marketing agency based in New York, with operations in San Francisco and Paris.
Obviously offers a full stack of end-to-end services, including marketing strategy, influencer identification, content creation, campaign management, and reporting and analysis. Its team of nearly 100 people will join VMLY&R’s network, accelerating the WPP agency’s investment in award-winning data and social media work.
Mae Karwowski, CEO of Obviously, said: “Obviously’s ability to match each client’s unique needs while delivering at a global scale has made us a leader in influencer marketing. Our unique approach to creator-led marketing combined with our proprietary technology has resulted in explosive growth. This acquisition is the best of both worlds; we retain our agile and entrepreneurial culture while benefiting from VMLY&R’s depth of experience and global scale – resulting in accelerated growth for all. We couldn’t be more excited to join the WPP network.”
Jon Cook, CEO of VMLY&R, added: “Bringing Obviously into our VMLY&R family is a clear win as clients demand more intelligent data and results in the influencer space. Obviously’s tech and data capabilities are highly innovative, and its ability to scale creator content quickly and efficiently, and in every language, makes it instantly prepared to be leveraged globally. I’m elated to start working with Mae, Max and the entire Obviously team. We’re excited for what’s to come and the many creative opportunities we’ll unlock together for our client partners.”
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “The creator economy has experienced huge growth in recent years, and it plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer behaviour. The Obviously team brings an exceptional range of global influencer marketing capabilities and a world-class technology platform that will further strengthen our offer to clients.”
DDB Mudra brings onboard Saad Khan as President and Managing Partner – Growth & Strategy. He will lead business and build on strategic capabilities for the West region of the Group.
Commenting on the new appointment, Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group said: “For us, strategic thinking and creativity aren’t departmental functions. We’ve always believed our core to be great creativity built on strong thinking. And Saad embodies the same and will strengthen this belief; not just in the kind of work that we do, but in the conversations we have.”
Cornitos, a healthy snacking brand, has onboarded Crayons Advertising Limited, as an integrated communications partner.
Speaking on the development, Vikram Agarwal, Managing Director, Cornitos, said: “Our vision is to expand our reach and penetrate deeper across all channels pan- India. Our search was for a partner who understands Bharat, provides strategic inputs leading to high-impact marketing, and creates strong communication ideas. Over a few meetings and extensive interactions with Team Crayons, we strongly felt they understood our objectives and aligned with our Vision. We are very excited and look forward to strengthening our brand with Crayons as our integrated communications partner.”
Commenting on the account win, Samir Datar, Chief Strategy Officer, Crayons, added: “Cornitos created a taste for Nachos in India, long before international brands set foot in this market. With growing conversations around healthy snacking, Cornitos, with its expanded portfolio, is poised to capitalise on the opportunity. Their expansion into Baked Extruded Snacks with Crusties offers a unique opportunity to communicate the evolution of its brand identity and messaging in the coming months. We are proud to partner with the brand and delighted to be part of this exciting journey ahead.”
Havas Media Group India has announced the elevation of two of its senior leaders. Uday Mohan, previously President and Chief Client Officer, has been promoted as Managing Director of Havas Media India, while R Venkatasubramanian has been elevated to the position of Managing Director of Havas Play in addition to his current role as President – Investments at Havas Media India. They will report to Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India.
Rana Barua
Commenting on the elevations, Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas India said: “At Havas, we have created a unique and integrated Village ecosystem that fosters the best talent and leaders, enabling us to deliver distinct solutions that are at par with global capabilities. Scaling up our group and promoting home grown leaders has been a natural outcome of this approach. Uday and Venkat have been two very strong pillars of this ecosystem and in their respective new roles, I see them contributing in an even larger capacity to our overall media network and the group business goals.”
Mohit Joshi
Added Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India: “The elevations of Uday and Venkat, two of our key leaders come at a time when Havas Media Group India is on an incredible growth trajectory, having won several new accounts and being recognised for its innovative work. The agency is focused on providing its clients with innovative and effective solutions that help them achieve their business objectives, and with Uday and Venkat at the helm, we are well positioned for exciting times ahead.
Huge congratulations to Uday and Venkat on their well-deserved promotions and we can’t wait to see their continued contributions to the agency’s success in their new roles.”
Lowe Lintas, the creative agency of MullenLowe Lintas Group, has announced the restructure of its creative leadership, with the appointment of Prateek Bhardwaj as CCO and Head of Creative (India).
Under the new structure, PB will now supervise all of Lowe Lintas’ offices, which include Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurugram, and Kolkata, and will partner Subramanyeswar S, the group’s now-not-so-recently appointed CEO. Amongst other changes, Sagar Kapoor takes charge as Chief Creative Officer, Global Brands, and will also oversee the Mumbai creative operations.
In response to the announcement, Subramanyeswar S, Group CEO – India & Chief Strategy Officer – APAC, MullenLowe Group said: “Prateek is a powerhouse of big ideas. He is one of the most celebrated and decorated creative leaders in the country presently and his work sparkles with the personality of a man who knows he is interesting enough on his own. His elevation comes at a time when clients are walking the tightrope between big data and big emotion and I’m sure he will make his idea revelations at this intersection the only (business) metric that will matter. A great quality of his is that he also cares about other people’s creative success as much as his own, maybe more. He’s an artist, explorer, storyteller all rolled into one and his taking charge as the Creative Head of Lowe Lintas India gives me the hope that the best years of big ideas from us are ahead.”
Bhardwaj 24-odd years of industry experience, having won numerous accolades for his work, including the Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and Jay Chiat Awards, and the Black Pencil at D&AD. His notable campaigns include Sprite (Bujhaye only pyaas, baaki all bakwaas), Kinley (Boond boond mein vishwaas), Nescafe (stammering comedian), the launch of tech platform Kaam Wapasi during the pandemic, Vim Black (Vim’s satirical ad campaign), and the recent #TestedBySamsonite series. Prateek has also been a creative entrepreneur who founded and ran Eleven Brandworks out of Mumbai and Gurgaon.
Hi Pratap, the world just lost you today. You were so well-known and I’m sure many will be feeling your loss from now on. I have been feeling a bit depressed for the past few weeks from the time I came to know about your diagnosis. Now since you have bid goodbye to us all, I will try and write a few words about how I knew you and the effect you had on a fellow professional from the industry. Here is my ode to you Pratap. I hope you will agree with the words that I write as you smoke your ubiquitous cigarette and look out of your office window telling me some adventurous things that you did. So here it goes….
Pratap’s entry into DDB-Mudra Group was an epochal event. After he joined Mudra, the grapevine in the industry for sometime began to refer to O&M as Ogilvy & Mudra! And, why not? He had fallen out with the top management at Ogilvy on some financial practices that he wasn’t supportive of and walked in with some 40 professionals from Ogilvy into Mudra. Those were the days!
It was quite exciting and breathtaking for us minions in Mudra for the next few months. So many new faces all around us who had come in to give a major push to make Mudra look and feel more western/contemporary (for want of a better word) in its outlook. In those days, Mudra had created a niche, known as an Indian agency for Indian brands. From the faraway perch that I sat within the Mudra ecosystem, I think he was instrumental in convincing Madhukar to make the merger of Mudra with DDB and Omnicom lock, stock and barrel. Those days, both WPP and Omnicom, were serenading Anil Ambani to join them and he was caught in two minds. This dilly-dallying had continued for quite some years with Sir Martin Sorrell from WPP making it a point of having breakfast with Anil Bhai whenever he stepped into the shores of this country. But I think Pratap had experienced everything that had to be seen and known about WPP and in his mind, he wanted Mudra to join the Omnicom bandwagon. Surprisingly, this happened soon enough just a few months after Pratap came into Mudra! Of course Madhukar was the one who had to convince Anil Ambani but the man who persuaded Madhukar to pick up the gauntlet would have been Pratap.
Pratap was seeped in the Ogilvy culture and he wanted to imprint his style into a more conservative Mudra ecosystem. Pratap would have come in with his brigade (Yes, it an army brigade wanting to change things within Mudra in double quick time) without knowing fully well the cultural disparity that one could expect when one moves from a place like Ogilvy to Mudra those days. For example, when he came to know that the top echelons of Mudra who grew up in the Ambani ecosystem were used to calling Mrs Tina Ambani as bhabhi j, he and his team would have been shell-shocked. I reckon that when they would have heard that this was the norm a war room would have happened to strategise on what needed to be done on this issue. He was expected to follow this norm but he never did.
Another thing that amazed us was that he was the only guy who was allowed to smoke inside Mudra offices. His room used to be filled with cigarette smoke whenever we went in for a meeting. I used to almost choke when I entered his office and therefore dreaded such occasions, but conversations with him while he stood outside with his gang where everyone smoked away as if there were no tomorrow was fun-filled and memorable.
He kind of thought that I was the resident doctor as I was heading the healthcare advertising division then, and whenever he had a niggle or any health issue, he used to conspiratorially discuss with me. In fact I used to take him to Kokilaben Hospital quite regularly along with his wife for his yearly check-ups as that hospital was my client for most of my time in DDB Mudra.
In fact, I remember clearly that his first meeting with the executives in Kokilaben Hospital wasn’t really good. I could sense his discomfort while sitting in a meeting with them. In fact the room had a senior person from the hospital who was a Malayali and spoke in Gujarati only in a manner a Malayali can for one whole hour. All the time a TV was on behind us which was displaying the stockmarket prices on that day. My sixth sense was alive, and I began to scheme our escape from that room as quickly as possible before Pratap let off steam!
Will miss you, Pratap. Feel sorry that we lost touch when you got diagnosed with this disease known as the emperor of all maladies! Be happy wherever you are!
Soumitra Sen worked for DDB Mudra Group and many other agencies like Contract, Havas, Madison etc. These days he runs Storytellers, a behaviour change consultancy in the area of development communication.
Dentsu announces the appointment of Prerna Mehrotra as Chief Client Officer, Dentsu APAC, expanding her current remit as CEO, Media, APAC. In this newly created role for the region, Prerna will focus on designing and delivering an elevated client experience across Dentsu’s services in creative, media, and customer experience management (CXM).
Rob Gilby, CEO APAC, Dentsu, said: “Prerna joined dentsu in 2016 as our Head of Investment and has continued to show her star quality, working across divisions and clients. This appointment is a huge testament to Prerna’s tenacity and growth mindset. She consistently demonstrates outstanding leadership and understanding of the changing client and consumer landscape, innovating products and services to capitalize on new opportunities for growth. I look forward to working closely with her in her new capacity and a critical new role for the APAC region.”
Added Yusuke Kasahara, CEO, Solutions APAC: “Prerna continues to elevate the culture of client-centricity across the network, ensuring we put forward the best of our talent and capabilities to deliver outstanding business solutions for our clients. She brings a strong point of view and critical thought leadership across business and marketing strategy to deliver growth for our clients and I’m delighted she has taken on her next challenge within Dentsu.”
Another thing that amazed us was that he was the only guy who was allowed to smoke inside Mudra offices. His room used to be filled with cigarette smoke whenever we went in for a meeting. I used to almost choke when I entered his office and therefore dreaded such occasions, but conversations with him while he stood outside with his gang where everyone smoked away as if there were no tomorrow was fun-filled and memorable.