MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • The Linus Adventures will assist Promoters and CXOs scale their business and become leader brands

    Post-BARC, it’s Linus and more for Sunil Lulla

    By Our Staff

     

    As CEO Sunil Lulla said his final goodbyes at the BARC India headquarters in Central Mumbai, he was all set to make a switch from an ‘Employee Life’ to a ‘Portfolio Career’.

     

    The entrepreneurial journey includes:

    • The Linus Adventures which will assist Promoters and CXOs scale their business and become leader brands.

    • Being co-founder of a UAE-based EdTech start-up focussed on India and the MENA region

    • An active angel investor in early-stage start-ups across multiple domains.

     

    In addition, he will continue his support to the Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA and hopes to learn a new way of running (known as Maximum Aerobic Function / Low Heart Rate whereby he can breathe smarter to successfully complete many a marathon and staying more refreshed).

     

    An MBA from SP Jain Institute, Lulla has spent long and successful years in advertising, broadcast and digital before he took charge at BARC in October 2019. He spent 11 years in JWT in India, China and Taiwan, three years at HMV (now Saregama), three years at MTV India which he turned around, a year at Diageo, two years at Indya.com, three years at Sony Entertainment and then eight years as CEO and MD of the Times Television Network. Later he spent nearly four years as CMD of Grey Group India before making the switch to Balaji where he was there for a year-and-a-half.

     

    It may be recalled that Lulla had announced his decision to move on from BARC last week. Fellow advertising agency captain Nakul Chopra took charge at the television audience measurement company today (August 25).

     

  • Launches #OwnYourComfort promotion

    Flux – The Glitch films for SleepyCat bed mattresses

    By Our Staff

     

    SleepyCat has launched a new digital campaign titled #OwnYourComfort to create awareness about making comfort a priority. Based in Mumbai, SleepyCat has introduced the concept of a mattress-in-a-box and focused on ‘factory to doorstep’ mattress delivery. The campaign is conceptualised and produced by Flux – The Glitch.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the new campaign, Kabir Siddiq, Founder & CEO, SleepyCat said: “Over the years, we have seen how the hustle culture is leading people to burnout. People aren’t taking breaks as it’s perceived to be unproductive. With the launch of the #OwnYourComfort campaign, we want to break this notion and shout it from the rooftops really. That to pause and take breaks to rest, reflect and relax is non-negotiable. Work and social commitments will always be there, and while you’re giving those aspects your all, who is taking care of you? Owning your comfort and giving time to yourself significantly improves an individual’s overall physical and mental wellbeing. Apart from creating awareness, we are also on a mission to create the most innovative and comfortable sleep products to help people relax, rest, and recharge better.”

     

    Added Tathagata Ray, Creative Director, Flux: “Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve strained the beauty of being at home, thanks to ‘Work From Home’. While collaborating with SleepyCat on this film, we realized how each of us are craving to have conscious breaks in between work hours. The message is quite clear, work hard, but relax harder.”

     

  • Koffeetech Communications, an integrated digital marketing agency

    Koffeetech bags integrated mandate for Engineer’s Circle

    By Our Staff

     

    Koffeetech Communications, an integrated digital marketing agency, has gained the integrated communication mandate for Engineer’s Circle As a part of the mandate, the agency will be solely responsible to undertake the paid media services, social media management, creative output, develop communication strategies and public relations along with designing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for the company.

     

    Speaking on this partnership, Sanjay Gupta, Founder, Engineer’s Circle said: “With an increasing role of digital media in the everyday lives of an individual, it was critical for us to partner with a digital marketing agency who understands and prioritizes the objective of Engineer’s Circle. From traditional to new-age marketing methods, Koffeetech’s team is well-versed with a 360-degree marketing channel; this is exactly what we expect out of our agency partner to help create a robust strategy leading to wider brand awareness and lead generation for the company.”

     

    Added Jay Rathod, Founder, Koffeetech Communications: “Our objective for Engineer’s Circle is to maximise engagement, increase visibility on all digital media platforms and keep the target audience informed about the brand and its services. We aim to make a meaningful difference to the company and further strengthen its legacy in the market.”

     

  • Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO, FCB Group India in a video interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari

    The Road to Being Killer-Diller

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Some five-and-a-half years back, when he had just taken charge as CEO of the FCB Group in India, our editor-in-chief Pradyuman Maheshwari  had asked Rohit Ohri about a general perception of FCB Ulka/India being an efficient, successful but a fuddy-duddy agency. We followed it with a similar question to Global CEO Carter Murray a few months later on the sidelines of Goafest.

     

    As he tells us in this interview, Messrs Murray and Ohri took this comment rather seriously and were determined to purge this perception. Fast and furiously. Which they did. From being considered a servicing- and planning-centric network, creative has gotten centerstage, which is what creative agencies are meant to be.

     

    After having asked this horribly rude question in 2016, Pradyuman Maheshwari interviews Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO, FCB Group India, on the road from to being a, as Ohri calls it, a killer-diller agency. It’s a looooong, 54-minuter, so bring along that cup of chai. Or coffee, if you are a trueblue adperson.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

  • Will provide strategic communications support to the Japanese brand

    Kaizzen bags PR mandate for AIWA electronics

    By Our Staff

     

    Remember Aiwa, the electronics major. Well, it’s planning a comeback to India and has hired Kaizzen for its PR. The mandate encompasses providing strategic communications support to Aiwa, covering corporate reputation management, product publicity, brand visibility and crisis management.

     

    Said Vineet Handa, Founder and CEO, Kaizzen: “We are ecstatic to be working with a company like Aiwa that has built an enviable reputation for quality and trust in the global market. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership for many years to come. Aiwa’s products are comparable to some of the biggest brands in the market, and in most cases better. It is a privilege to be working with them and we see this as a testament of the hard work and passion to be the best in our endeavours.”

     

  • New appointments will add digital expertise as part of ASCI’s vision for the future

    Google, Facebook to strengthen ASCI board

    By Our Staff

     

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has announced two new appointments to add to its digital expertise as part of its vision for the future. Aditya Swamy, Director of Google India, has been appointed to the board of governors of ASCI, while Sandeep Bhushan, Head of India Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook has been appointed as special invitee to the board. The appointments also mark ASCI’s fast-widening focus on digital advertising and platforms, which began last year with a partnership with TAM to monitor 3,000 digital platforms for misleading marketing claims, as well as the launch of the Influencer guidelines and influencer monitoring through an AI platform.

     

    Said Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI: “‘I’m delighted to welcome both Aditya and Sandeep to the board, this is a landmark moment. As we strengthen our roots in the digital space and streamline its functioning, it is extremely important that we collaborate with and learn from the leaders. Google and Facebook are the biggest digital players. We look forward to them helping us become a better conscience keeper of the industry.”

     

    Added Manisha Kapoor, Secretary-General, ASCI: “Having Google and Facebook on our board is a great start to the new journey ASCI is embarking upon. It is vital for us to have a keen understanding of digital operations. We will benefit greatly from the expertise that both these companies bring with them.”

     

  • Ashish Bhasin, CEO, APAC and Chairman India, and Peter Huijboom, Global CEO, Media and Global Clients will assume interim, day-to-day leadership of Dentsu India

    Anand Bhadkamkar quits Dentsu India

    By Our Staff

     

    It’s official. CEO Anand Bhadkamkar has quit Dentsu India. It’s his last day today (August 31).

     

    Ashish Bhasin, CEO, APAC and Chairman India, and Peter Huijboom, Global CEO, Media and Global Clients will assume interim, day-to-day leadership of Dentsu India while the business completes its search for a successor to Bhadkamkar, who leaves Dentsu today (August 31). Bhadkamkar, who had been a longstanding CFO of the network, had been given additional charge of Chief Operating Officer – India in April 2019. He was elevated to the position of CEO in September 2019.

     

    Notes a statement issued by Dentsu:

    “To stay ahead of the growth opportunities and potential we see for our clients and our teams we are moving forward into Dentsu India 2.0.  This is crucial to realising our global ambition of becoming the most integrated network in the world. In the last year, and despite the pandemic, we have started to optimise our portfolio of brands into six global leadership brands, making us more agile and simpler for our clients to access our world-class capabilities and talents. To accelerate this transformation, Ashish Bhasin, CEO, APAC and Chairman India, and Peter Huijboom, Global CEO, Media and Global Clients will assume interim, day-to-day leadership of Dentsu India while the business completes its search for a successor to Anand Bhadkamkar, who leaves Dentsu on August 31.

     

    “With this new structure, we are well positioned to unlock higher levels of business performance, innovation, and solution-led strategies for our people and for our clients. Our ambitions and goals are interconnected, and this is the beginning of dentsu India 2.0’s new and transformed path to success.”

  • Appoints Varun Shah and elevates Akshay Multani

    Publicis Groupe bolsters top team

    By Our Staff

     

    Publicis Groupe has consolidated its content production arm under Varun Shah and appointed him Executive Vice President and Head of Prodigious India and Content Factory India. Further strengthening the team, the group has elevated Akshay Multani to Executive Producer, Prodigious and appointed Deepak Bulchandani as Head of Brand Partnerships at Content Factory.

     

    Anupriya Acharya
    Anupriya Acharya

    Speaking on the appointments Anupriya Acharya, CEO Publicis Groupe, South Asia said: “Varun has been instrumental in growing the Prodigious India capabilities and under his leadership we have witnessed phenomenal growth over the past few years. He is a new age production leader with strong appreciation of international and local creativity and demonstrated experience in quality, reliability and business acumen. I am confident that Varun will take Prodigious and Content factory to newer heights.”

     

    Varun Shah
    Varun Shah

    Added Varun Shah, Executive Vice President and Head of Prodigious India and Content Factory India: “Currently we are one of the country’s leading production houses and our ambition is to bring cutting edge technology and expertise to the market, setting new benchmarks for the industry. The new structure provides a platform to create volume content solutions for our clients across all content types and will help fuel our growth in the platform world. This consolidation will help us streamline our efforts by creating a production model which drives efficiency while delivering world class branded content across media to our partners.”

     

  • To drive marketing and communications function of the Group

    Havas appoints Pritha Dasgupta as CMO

    By Our Staff

     

    Havas Group India has announced the appointment of Pritha Dasgupta as Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. She will be based in Mumbai and report to Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India. Dasgupta, who was earlier with IPG Mediabrands, takes the place of Priyanka Mehra, who moved out of Havas last month as Chief Marketing Officer.

     

    Commenting on Pritha’s appointment, Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, said: “Havas Group has rapidly grown, both in size and in stature, in the last few years. With over 10 companies, 1000+ people, we have extremely ambitious plans of further expansion, acquisitions and creating a meaningful difference in the overall Indian media and advertising ecosystem. As a Group CMO, her vast experience and in-depth knowledge of the media ecosystem will prove to be invaluable to our network. She is a highly accomplished journalist and a professional with effective leadership and people skills. We are all thrilled to have her on board and look forward to a totally new way of marketing and communication in today’s times.”

     

    Added Dasgupta: “It’s hard to define the dynamic transformation the advertising and the marketing industry has gone through in the last decade, especially in the space of martech. This led to a huge transformation in the way networks built their communications strategies.”

     

  • As COO for Unilever, South Asia and Chief Growth Officer

    Lowe Lintas elevates Anaheeta Goenka

    By Our Staff

     

    Anaheeta Goenka
    Anaheeta Goenka

    Lowe Lintas has announced the elevation of Anaheeta Goenka as its Chief Operating Officer for Unilever, South Asia and Chief Growth Officer. Having spent three decades working at the agency network, Goenka has had a role to play in shaping quite a few large multinational, Indian as well as start-up brands and is a name to reckon with in the industry.

     

    Virat Tandon
    Virat Tandon

    Announcing Goenka’s elevation, Virat Tandon, Group CEO at MullenLowe Lintas Group, said: “Ana (as Anaheeta is fondly known) has been a strong management pillar handling several Unilever brands and other business relationships. She has left her mark on so many brands and earned massive respect and love from clients and colleagues alike. Ana has the strategic clarity to steer a brand to success as well as the enthusiasm and fierceness for new business development like no other. I am sure she is the best choice for us to lead the Unilever portfolio as well as the strategic business development efforts of the agency.”

     

    Added Goenka: “It is great to be part of a dynamic ecosystem that operates at a fundamental level with ‘intention’ & ‘attention’ for all its brand work and strategic practice. Here’s to growth emanating from more purposeful work for Lowe Lintas and a healthy dose of disruption along with it.”

     

  • On 'Effectiveness of Email Marketing'

    WatConsult launches latest issue of WatPapers

    By Our Staff

     

    For a change, this isn’t news of a key team member leaving or joining Densu. WatConsult, the hybrid digital agency from the network, has released its latest issue of WatPapers. Titled ‘Effectiveness of Email Marketing’, the report speaks about the importance of tools in a marketing strategy, its effect on purchase decisions, and a consumer’s in-depth perspective towards marketing emails.

     

    Heeru Dingra
    Heeru Dingra

    Said Heeru Dingra, CEO, WatConsult: “Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective and low-cost ways for small to mid-size businesses to convert prospects into customers. This channel has kept up with the times. Hence, although brands are migrating towards omnichannel marketing, email is still the central focus. Advancements in technology have made marketing automation a possibility and have improved many aspects of email planning and management. As per the report, 22% of customers say that these emails are extremely helpful in a purchase decision. I believe, this latest issue of WATPapers will be an invaluable resource for anyone who intends to demystify email marketing.”

     

  • Minister Aaditya Thackeray was chief guest

    IAA presents Olive Crown Awards

    By Our Staff

     

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) hosted the 11th edition of the Olive Crown Awards 2021, last Friday in Mumbai. The

     

    Selecting the awards was a a jury comprising Bobby Pawar, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, Havas India; Josy Paul, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India; Tista Sen, Regional Creative Director, Wunderman Thompson South Asia; Carlton D’silva, Co-founder, House of Awe and Kaushik Roy, Advisor, Reliance Industries Ltd.

     

    The awards were presented across 20 different categories, including the coveted title ‘Green Crusader of the Year’ award, which was presented to Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Environment, Tourism and Protocol, Maharashtra government and the chief guest at the event for his efforts to save the Aarey Forest in Mumbai.

     

    Said Megha Tata, President, International Advertising Association (IAA) – India Chapter and Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery Communications India: “In the last 11 years of Olive Crown we have seen campaigns and brands go from doing ‘something green’ to being vested in sustainability and we are glad that this is a platform to showcase work that can inspire.  One of the things 2020 taught us is that the Nature loved our lockdown! But we need to find this balance and co-exist every single day! And some of the campaigns we have seen this year, have presented this balance beautifully”.

     

    Added Neeraj Roy, Chairperson IAA Olive Crown Awards and Founder & CEO, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment:  “Over the next two decades, your entire customer base and your teams  – the talent you are hoping to attract will largely be millennials and Gen Z and we know that they rate a brand’s ethics and sustainability higher than ever before so it will be impossible and impractical to ignore these trends. Brands, media, advertisers, agencies and marketers, essentially the core of the IAA community, have always played a key role in communication for centuries and it is encouraging to note that brands here in India too are taking note and actions toward sustainability and a greener planet in their product offerings.”

     

    Heartbeat Creative Lab, Taiwan bagge four Gold & two Silver followed by Ogilvy with six Silvers at the Olive Crown Awards 2021. The ‘Green Campaign of the Year’- Gold was presented to Bhamla Foundation for their ‘Dhak Dhak Dharti’ campaign while IIFL Home Finance Ltd took away the ‘Green Brand of the Year’-Gold.