MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Sengupta holds a degree in economics from St Xavier's College in Kolkata and an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies in New Delhi

    Dentsu India appoints Rahul Sengupta as Chief Creative Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu India has brought in Rahul Sengupta as Chief Creative Officer. He will be located at the agency’s base in Bengaluru.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Simi Sabhaney, CEO, Dentsu India said: “I found all that I was looking for in a creative head for Dentsu India so neatly stacked up in Rahul! He comes with a reputation of creating successful and famous campaigns on brands across different sectors. He has the energy to mentor, create and lead. Now that we are all set to propel, I could not have asked for a better creative partner than Rahul. He will also be a part of the Dentsu Aegis Network India Creative Council.”

     

    About his new role at Dentsu India, Sengupta said: “A new agency, a new problem to crack every day, an old and much-loved profession and a city that is home. That’s a good place to be back in.”

     

     

  • Her appointment is effective October 2017 and she will report to Torie Henderson, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, SEA & India

    Priti Murthy to join OMD India as CEO (from Maxus)

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Omnicom Media Group-owned agency, OMD India has bolstered its leadership strength with the appointment of Priti Murthy to the role of CEO. She joins OMD from Maxus where she has been Chief Strategy Officer. In her new role, Priti will lead OMD across all business functions, with a focus on building and leading future-ready teams, managing client relationships, and securing new business and growth. Her appointment is effective October 2017 and she will report to Torie Henderson, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, SEA & India. OMD India has completed a decade of being in India.. It may be recalled that in April this year, Jasmin Sohrabji who led the Omnicom Media Group (and OMD India specifically) moved to a global role and was replaced by Henderson.

     

    In a career spanning over two decades (of which 13 has been with GroupM’s Maxus) in media planning, insights and strategy, Murthy has led Maxus’s  development of Moribus, a behavioural science lab that attempts to merge the disciplines of behavioural science, sociology, and psychology to solve real-life business problems. She is also a certified coach that value adds to her leadership skills.

     

    “OMD India is marked by an outstanding global and local client roster, a full-fledged national presence and a very talented team committed to taking OMD India to even greater heights. Priti’s appointment will ensure OMD’s accelerated growth that will not only take OMD to the next level, but also stay at the forefront of change. We are delighted that Priti is joining our network and are sure she will contribute to considerable growth of OMD,” said Torie Henderson.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Stephen Li, OMD’s APAC CEO said, “Our success as a network is clearly determined by the strength of our people and leadership. A comprehensive and intense search for the right leader, led us to Priti, who is the perfect candidate to spearhead the next phase of development in a critical market like India. A goals-oriented, industry leader with a proven track record of success especially in the realm of data, digital and content, Priti will ensure we continue to deliver on the OMD promise of championing powerful, creatively-led, insight-driven work for our clients.”

     

    In late 2016, it may be recalled OMD India entered into a partnership with Omnicom-owned DDB Mudra Group in India to consolidate its media services under the OMD brand with Mudra Max.

     

    Added Harish Shriyan, COO, Omnicom Media Group India added, “As the media landscape continues to change at a dramatic pace, technology led innovation is crucial for the future of our business. Priti’s role is not only as a key contributor in shaping and strengthening the value-proposition of our already established team, but also in bringing proven expertise that enhances our overall network. We are delighted to welcome her to OMD India.’’

     

    Speaking about her role, Priti Murthy said, “It’s a great role, with enormous possibilities. OMD is a network that has established itself as a strong agency, leveraging the best of innovation, creativity, and results. It’s going to be an exciting future and I am committed to driving OMD’s continued growth and ambition in India.”

  • Kicking off with bathing bars and hair oil products, the company will extend their product portfolio with shampoo and toothpaste in the months to come

    Dentsu India wins Synthite Group’s personal care venture

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu India has bagged the strategic and creative mandate for Vieda, a newly-launched personal care brand by the Synthite Group.

     

    Ashok Mani

    Said Ashok Mani, MD & CEO, Intergrow Brands, a company of Synthite Group: “At Synthite, we truly believe that everything revolves around the product, and that great brand communication will always entail the same in simple, yet most powerful ways. We don’t look for vendors or agencies but we look for partners who understand our language and share our dreams. At Dentsu, we see a lot of what we want from our partner. Their understanding of how the product intertwines with brand communication will definitely help in setting us apart from the rest as we start on this new journey to build one of the finest personal care brands in the country.”

     

    Simi Sabhaney
    Vidya Sankar

    Commenting on the win, Simi Sabhaney, CEO, Dentsu India said, “We are looking forward to creating effective work for this brand, which has been conceived and created on a wholesome philosophy.”

     

    Added Vidya Sankar, Vice President, Dentsu India: “We were completely overwhelmed by the product differentiation that Vieda had to offer. Dentsu will complement it by out-of-the-box creative and strategic direction that would surely up the game and shake the teeming category.”

     

     

  • He takes charge after Geetanjali Bhattacharji left Spatial as CEO to join Discovery Communications

    Spatial Access appoints Vineet Sodhani as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Vineet Sodhani

    Spatial Access has appointed Vineet Sodhani as CEO. He takes charge after Geetanjali Bhattacharji left Spatial as CEO to join Discovery Communications.

     

    Said Meenakshi Menon, Co-Founder and Chairperson, Spatial Access on the appointment: “As media moves into a new era of complexity, Spatial Access, under its new leadership, will simplify it for its clients with custom solutions, many of which will be first time in the industry! With Vineet’s strong background in research and strategy, we will provide valuable insights, a lot of it in public domain, so that the industry gets more value.”

     

    Sodhani was on a sabbatical since April 2017 before which he worked with Times Television. He has also worked with Starcom Mediavest, Hansa Research. AC Nielsen and ORG-MARG. In 2012 he co-authored Guide to Indian Markets and is presently working on his second book.

     

    “I am excited to join Spatial Access to create an even more dynamic and vibrant organisation,” said  Sodhani, CEO, Spatial Access. “Spatial Access has that rare combination of a great customer and knowledge base. This strength will be used to drive value for every rupee spent on advertising, be it ATL, BTL or digital. We will raise some critical questions, for example, transparency, ROI and wastage. This may raise eyebrows as well as tempers, but if it results in improving benchmarks, we will feel we have delivered value to our clients.”

  • Kyoorius Designyatra is the biggest annual conference on design and innovation

    Kyoorius Designyatra is back in Goa

     

     

    Kyoorius Designyatra will return to Goa with its 12th edition this year, with the theme: “Optimism”. The event will be held over a period of three days – October 12 to October 14, 2017 (note: the Ad Club’s Envies Awards are scheduled for October 13 in Mumbai).

     

    This year the line-up of speakers includes: Andy Chen, Partner, Isometric Studio; Cheryl Heller, Chair, MFA Design for Social Innovation at SVA; Graham Fink, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather, China; Stephen Burks, Principal, Stephen Burks Man Made; Waqas Jawaid, Partner, Isometric Studio; Lord Christopher Laverty,, Author, Clothes on Film; Leeroy New, Artist and Designer, Lab New; Jackson Tan, Creative Director and Co-Founder, BLACK and PHUNK; Prasanna Sankhé, Founder & Creative Head, HYPHEN; Lizzie Mary Cullen, Pen and ink Illustrator and Writer, Lizzie Mary Cullen; Jon Noorlander, Executive Creative Director, Method Studios; Madhav Raman, Partner, Anagram Architects; Morag Myerscough, Founder & Designer, Studio Myerscough; Thomas Widdhershoven, Director and Designer, Thonik; Noriaki Onoe, Creative Director, Dentsu Inc.

     

    Said Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder CEO of Kyoorius in a statement: “The 12th edition of Kyoorius Designyatra is aimed at reflecting the hope people have imbibed in today’s gloomy environment. It is acting as a platform where creativity and design will signify new hope and a better tomorrow. As a platform, Designyatra allows the participants to not only discuss the latest trends in creativity, brand, design and digital but also creates a unique pool of varied creative minds from across the world. The stimulating lectures and workshops encourage the participants to not only think innovatively but also not to be bound by the barriers of age, experience and backgrounds.”

     

     

  • The Relevance Framework released by Golin global CEO Fred Cook throws up some interesting data

    A Matter of Relevance (& Trust)

     

    By A Correspondent

    GolinOpinion, the PR division of PointNine Lintas, released its first marketing product, Relevance India. At an event in Mumbai last week, Fred Cook, Global Chairman, Golin unveiled the Relevance framework which is being rolled out globally. The research was conducted in 13 markets, including India, covering over 13,000 respondents. The first round of data from the study indicates that in the battle for relevance, truth is having a moment of truth. Golin’s global research focused on three categories that touch billions of lives every day: social media, personal banking and automotive.

    After three years of research, in partnership with the USC Annenberg School for Journalism and

    Communications, Golin’s study in four continents including India, uncovered what drives relevance for categories and brands across the globe. The survey population encompassed millennials (18-34), Gen-x (35-54) and boomers (55+).

    The India data, that covered three categories, threw up some interesting aspects:

    People around the world believe that their ideal brand would deliver on being trustworthy (ethical, moral, honest and truthful. However according to the research, study the reality tells a different story. Of the most relevant brands studied, 0% met the ideal when it came to being trustworthy; while people are seeking it, leading brands aren’t seen as relevant. 91% of the most relevant brands studied exceed the expectation when it comes to being popular. This is a part of a major shift.

    Having lost faith in brands and institutions, people are looking to each other, to their trusted tribes – friends, family, advocates and influencers – for validation in the choices they are making. Popularity isn’t a frivolous, fleeting dimension. Talkability means putting a premium on the people who will vouch for and recommend your brand.

    Within the three categories studied it was found that social media category, research found that people don’t need truth; they want to be entertained. People prefer local banking over global – and since all banks are under-delivering on the ideal, unique relevance drivers in this category have emerged. And the automotive category struggles to have a breakout relevance brand leader.

    An ideal banking brand in India is Trustworthy, Effective and Transparent. As with other categories, respondents scored brands very similarly to one another, though SBI scores higher against the ideal and exceeds expectations on Essential and Popular. None other bank in 12 other countries, where the research was done, scored so high on trust.

    The automotive sector which covered global brands, shows Honda as a clear Relevance leader in India, followed by a close competition between Toyota and Ford. Nissan has low relevance, while Fiat is barely known. In India, an “ideal” automotive brand is Trustworthy, Effective, Authentic and Innovative. However, there is little difference in how consumers score each brand.

    Social media is a highly-relevant category overall in India, with Facebook and YouTube ranking at the top in relevance. Local channel Hike is less relevant than global channels.

    Meanwhile, the macro global trends included:

    Screens win out over people

    > Social media (59%) and television (57%) consistently ranked first and second above “word of mouth from friends and family” (45%) as the most relevant sources of news and information

    Word of mouth sees gender differences

    > Word of mouth from friends and family is more relevant to women (50%) than men (39%)

    People are drawn to pragmatic and funny

    > The top characteristics of information people found relevant were useful/practical (54%), informative (53%), and funny (35%), beating out others like inspiring, shocking and exciting

    The one dimension that is currently driving relevance across all categories is popularity: being talked about and recommended by others showing that talkability trumps truth.

    Speaking about the findings at the event, Cook said: “Relevance is what attracts and keeps people paying attention to what brands have to say and moves them to act. This is something that we, as marketers and communicators, can directly impact. We’ve been studying, and perfecting the art of analysing relevance for years because we understand that it is the most important measurement of a brand. Our research indicates that despite people being continually let down by the perceived trustworthiness and truthfulness of brands, they continue to buy their products and services.”

    Speaking of the India launch, Vikas Mehta, CEO, PointNine Lintas, said: “Finding a unified metric that can measure the impact of multiple marketing initiatives is one of the biggest challenges today’s marketers face. In Relevance, I believe GolinOpinion has found a viable choice that replaces data analysis with data analytics. It’s a great way for any brand to find out where they stand vs. competition, locally or globally.”

    Added Ameer Ismail, Chief Growth officer, PointNine Lintas and President GolinOpinion: “As the landscape changes rapidly and as brand managers or communication professionals it is extremely important to have data based insights to decide the interventions that are important for the brand and its agency partners. This is tool is designed to give brands an edge.” Developmental work on the study is being done in Chicago and Mumbai, to further improve functionalities of the tool including real-time data integration.

  • She will also be part of Ipsos India Leadership Team

    Ipsos appoints Geeta Lobo as Head of Bengaluru Business

     

     

    Ipsos has announced the appointment of Geeta Lobo as Executive Director and Head of Ipsos Bengaluru Business. Lobo will be based out of Ipsos Bengaluru office and will report to Amit Adarkar, CEO – Ipsos in India. She will also be part of Ipsos India Leadership Team.

     

    Said Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India: “Geeta will be responsible for building business for Ipsos in Bengaluru which is a clear growth market for Ipsos in India. She will provide strategic leadership to our Bengaluru-based Clients across business and help us in building our presence and equity in Bengaluru.”

     

    Lobo has over 17 years’ consumer research experience. She has handled a range of studies across sectors, covering both qualitative and quantitative techniques. She joined consumer research in 1998 with Mode in Mumbai. Later she was responsible for setting up the Bengaluru office from the scratch and building the business up and making it a significant contributor to Mode and later to GFK.

     

     

  • Chakraborty joins Havas from Contract Advertising

    Sanghamitra Chakraborty to head Havas’ RB biz

     

     

    Sanghamitra Chakraborty has joined the Gurugram operations of Havas India as Senior Vice President and Business Bead. She will lead the integrated Reckitt Benckiser (RB) team at Havas India, which is the creative partner for many of RB India’s brands. It is also a hub responsible for origination of thinking and creative work on three major RB brands – Harpic, Mortein and Veet – for the entire world other than for Europe and North America. Chakraborty joins Havas from Contract Advertising.

     

    Welcoming her aboard, Nirmalya Sen, Chief Executive Officer, Havas India said:”Anyone who has worked with Hong – clients and colleagues alike – will agree that she isn’t just a ‘make-it-happen’ person. She is a ‘make-everyone-happen’ person. Her energy is infectious, as is her ability to pull off the impossible. I am sure our relationship with Reckitt Benckiser will be even stronger with her at the helm.”

     

    Commenting on the development, Chakraborty said:”My decision to join Havas was easy. In an environment where agencies have been trying to redefine themselves to stay relevant, Havas, for me, seems to have found the sweet spot as an agency. It is a whole new experience to work in an environment where the offline and online worlds, as well as the creative and media worlds, have been woven seamlessly into one Village, held together with the brand’s philosophy of ‘Better Together’. My other reason, really, was fairly selfish, Havas and RB gave me the opportunity to be an origin market for some of the biggest brands in the FMCG space, and that to me is challenging and should be rewarding at the same time.”

  • The media investment arm will comprise four specialisations – Investment Management, Global Media Partnerships, Amnet & The Story Lab

    Dentsu Aegis Network to flex its buying muscles with Amplifi

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the India launch of Amplifi, its media investment arm that comprises four specialisations – Investment Management, Global Media Partnerships, Amnet and The Story Lab. Kartik Iyer, President Media Agencies and Amplifi will spearhead the initiative.

     

    Ashish Bhasin

    Speaking on this launch, Ashish Bhasin Chairman & CEO South Asia said: “We are excited to launch Amplifi in India under Kartik’s leadership and bringing together the four key capabilities under one structure. In today’s world, our media partners have much more to bring on table for our clients, than just media inventory.  Amplifi’s is uniquely placed to drive this supply-side convergence by harnessing data, technology, insight and content to help all members of the Dentsu Aegis Network operating model.”

     

    Added Iyer: “Our constant endeavour has been to bring best in class solutions for our clients that enable their business growth. The launch of Amplifi is another step in that direction and I am very excited with this opportunity.”

     

    Sujata Dwibedy

    As part of this launch, Sujata Dwibedy takes over as Group Buying and Trading Head from Harsha Joshi who is moving on. Said Bhasin on Joshi’s exit: “Harsha, with her vast experience, has been a huge contributor in the growth of the media group. We wish her all the very best for her future.”

     

     

    Kartik Iyer

    Speaking on Dwibedy’s appointment, Kartik said, “Sujata, with over 20 years of media trading and strategy experience, has extensively worked across sectors such as FMCG, telecom, airlines, finance, alcohol and beverages and has led teams in the areas of planning, research, buying and strategy. Her holistic perspective will enable a better integration of all buying and trading functions across the group, in both online and offline media. Sujata will be supported by Prashant Nandan who has over 10 years of expertise in strategic digital marketing, media planning, media buying and content marketing across agencies like Isobar, Maxus and Motivator. Over the past three years, he has been leading buying for Isobar and now moves to Amplifi to deliver the digital buying and trading expertise to the group.”

     

    Speaking on her appointment as Group Buying and Trading Head, Dwibedy said, “I am delighted to have been chosen for this responsibility to drive ROI and deliver value to Dentsu Aegis Network clients. In today’s rapidly changing media marketplace, I look forward to working with our agencies and media partners to deliver this value across media to our clients.” The Story Lab, launched in 2015 in India, will continue to operate as part of Amplifi under the leadership of Sunil Kumaran.

     

     

  • McCann also won 3 Golds, 2 Silvers, 2 bronzes and 1 finalist place at the Clio Awards

    McCann wins a Grand Clio for Afghan campaign

    McCann Worldgroup India became the only agency ever to win a Grand Clio from India at the Clio awards presented last night. This was awarded for the campaign titled Immunity Charm done for Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health in the category Product Design. Other than this, McCann also won 3 Golds, 2 Silvers, 2 bronzes and 1 finalist place.

     

    Commenting on the win, Prasoon Joshi Chief Creative Officer McCann India said, “Winning at Clio is always special. This is a great honor to win a GRAND. On behalf of McCann Worldgroup India my Congratulations to the entire team. Specially to Prateek Bhardwaj, Harshit Jain, Soumya Nagabhushan  Dr. Daniel J Carucci, Kamya lawadhi,  Andrew Schirmer, Urvashi Das and Vaibhava Bhatnagar.”

     

    Added Harshit Jain, Marketing Director APAC & Country Head McCann Health India: “It feels so good to see that our work on Immunity Charm is getting recognised with the highest awards at these prestigious award shows. It’s a true testament of our culture of idea centricity and practice of integration for producing extraordinary work”.

  • D&AD and Advertising Week collaboration spotlights ‘creativity for good’ from businesses from around the world

    Winners of second D&AD Impact Awards announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    The second annual D&AD Impact Awards took place at Terminal 5 in New York City yesterday, with key figures from the worlds of business, advertising, design and philanthropy gathering to hear who has won a coveted D&AD Impact Pencil.

     

    The aim of D&AD Impact is to identify and celebrate transformative creative ideas that have had real impact and, ultimately, contribute towards a better and more sustainable future in which purpose is aligned with profit.

     

    In total, 98 D&AD Impact Pencils were handed out on the night, with Graphite and Wood Pencils being awarded to work that the judges considered world-leading across twelve distinct categories, ranging from Environmental Sustainability to Financial Empowerment and Humanitarian Aid. For the second year running, these categories reflect the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with the aim of helping the creative industries address real global issues.

     

    This year, the entries demonstrated renewed focus on issues of health, gender equality and child welfare. 13 brands and companies took home a D&AD Impact White Pencil, the premier accolade for creativity for good. The D&AD Impact Black Pencil, reserved for truly game-changing work, was awarded to three projects:

    • McCann Worldgroup India and The Ministry of Public Health Afghanistan, The Immunity Charm, which encouraged Afghan mothers to vaccinate their children by way of traditional charm bracelet
    • McCann New York and State Street Global Advisors, Fearless Girl, which highlighted that companies with women in leadership perform better, with a statue of a daring young girl standing strong on Wall Street
    • J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam and Free a Girl Movement, School for Justice, an ad campaign to raise awareness of child prostitution in India

     

    The 2017 D&AD Impact Jury includes leaders from BlackRock to Snapchat, The Girl Scouts of America to P&G, and Post Secret to Wieden + Kennedy. Richard Curtis, Founder, Project Everyone and Comic Relief (Red Nose Day); Arianna Huffington, Entrepreneur, Writer, Founder, Thrive Global; Neil Blumenthal, CEO, Warby Parker; Bob Greenberg, Founder, Chairman, CEO, R/GA; Betsy Lack, Head of Global Brand Strategy, Snap Inc.; Haiyan Zhang, Innovation Director, Microsoft, and over 80 industry leaders lent their support to the awards and judging.

     

    The juries awarded D&AD Impact Pencils based on three criteria: an original and innovative idea at its core; clear and measurable impact in its chosen category; and relevance to the business’s commercial needs.

     

     

  • The campaign puts forth the idea of seamless fit that the clothing enables, coupled with a wide versatility in style

    DDB Mudra West crafts ‘All Work, All Play’ for fbb’s latest Chinos Collection

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fbb by Future Group has unveiled a new ad campaign for its Chinos range created by DDB Mudra West.

     

    For this campaign, DDB Mudra West opted for a 360-degree approach with concentration on television, digital, print and outdoor medium. Speak on the campaign, Prachi Mohapatra, Marketing Head, Fbb said: “We identified the huge potential that Chinos has and wanted to bring alive the versatility of this product. Hence the name, All Work, All Play for the campaign.

     

    Added Ashish Phatak, Executive Creative Director, DDB Mudra West: “Every campaign for fbb is an attempt to shake-up the existing communication norms in the category. And with the Fbb Chinos campaign, it was no different. To showcase the versatility of the Fbb Chinos range, our proposition of ‘All work. All Play’ just summed up the product offering perfectly and we unraveled the different roles of Varun Dhawan with a unique inward moving visual treatment through the different chinos he is wearing. All this making for a fun narrative that glorifies the all-rounder character of Fbb’s Chinos and Varun Dhawan.