MxMIndia

Tag: Anand Bhadkamkar

  • Digital media is expected to cross the Rs 50k crore mark by end-2025

    10 Takeaways from DAN Digital Report 2020

     

    The headline was digital media is expected to cross the Rs 50k crore mark by end-2025. But, then, there was a lot more in the report. Here are key highlights and takeaways:

     

     

    Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India: “2019 was a challenging year for the Indian advertising industry as well. With the economic slowdown, advertisers decided to cut back on spends, consumers decided to wait-and-watch, market sentiments reached a new low and India’s Ad Expenditure (AdEx) witnessed a consequential fall. But even in the midst of it all, digital continued to grow. Digital is a masterstroke in advertising and Dentsu Aegis Network recognizes this strength. We also recognize the need for an industry level report that can give directions toward which this industry is moving. While with every new edition, the DAN Digital report has been upping its rank in quality, range and comprehensiveness, we welcome sincere feedback and inputs from the entire industry to help establish a robust eco-system for this fast growing and increasingly important industry channel, so that all of us can progress together!”

    Ashish Bhasin, CEO, APAC and Chairman, India – Dentsu Aegis Network: “The Media and Advertising industry is shifting at a rapid speed and Digital is certainly taking charge. Consumers are leaving behind huge digital footprints and there is a lot more emphasis on managing data and developing martech capabilities, now. 2020 is expected to witness a major change in advertising in India, with digital becoming a bigger medium. In fact, by 2021, it’s growth should surpass that of print. Yet, despite this progressive swing, the industry has failed to come together to agree upon a common measurement metric for digital. As leaders in digital, Dentsu Aegis Network today stands at the forefront of this evolution and understands the need to have more information on Digital. The DAN Digital report, now in its fourth edition, is exhaustive, systematic, thorough and meets this need gap brilliantly. The report has now become the most credible source of information when it comes to digital in India.”

     

    1. The Indian advertising industry has grown at a rate of 9.4% over 2018 to reach Rs. 68,475 Crore by the end of 2019. The industry will grow by 10.9% to reach Rs. 75,952 Crore by the end of 2020. It is expected to grow at 11.83% CAGR to reach a market size of Rs. 1,33,921 Crore by 2025.

    2. By the end of 2019 the digital advertising industry stands at Rs. 13,683 Crore, up at a rate of 26% from Rs. 10,859 Crore in 2018. It is expected to grow at 27% to reach Rs. 17,377 Crore by the end of 2020.

    3. Advertising spends on Digital media is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27.42% to cross the Rs. 50,000 Crore mark and reach an industry size of Rs. 58,550 Crore by the end of 2025. This sustained growth can be attributed to the technological advancements, improvements in data science & analytics, introduction of policies & regulations among others.

    4. Television takes the largest share of media spends at 39% (Rs. 26,869 Crore) followed by print media (29%, Rs. 20,110 Crore) and Digital Media (20%, Rs. 13,683 Crore). In the year 2020, spends on Television media is expected to grow at 10% and its share will remain steady while that on Print media is expected to grow at 3% with this share declining to 27%.

    5. Across various industry verticals, FMCG sector spends the highest by contributing 30% (Rs. 20,182 Crore) to the advertising industry. Next to FMCG stands with 10% contribution by E-commerce (Rs. 6,915 Crore) followed by Automotive sector (8%, Rs. 5,797 Crore).

    6. Among the various industry segments, FMCG has the highest expenditure on advertising i.e. 30% (Rs. 20,182 Crore) followed by E-commerce (10%) and Automotive segment. FMCG spends a large majority of their advertising budget on television (61%) while Retail, Automotive and Retail spend a large share of their advertising budget on Print. The biggest spenders on digital media are BFSI (42%), Consumer Durables (38%) and E-commerce (37%).

    7. Advertising spends on Digital Media is led by Social media with the highest share of 28%, contributing Rs. 3,835 Crore to the Indian digital advertising pie. This is followed by spends on Paid search (23%), Online Video (22%) and Display media (21%). Display media, online video and social media are expected to have the fastest growth in 2020. The share of paid search is expected to reduce from 25% to 23% by the end of 2020.

    8. FMCG segment spends a large share of their digital media budget on online video (36%), while E-commerce, consumer durables spend a mostly on paid search and social media.

    9. By 2020, advertising spends on Mobile devices is expected to grow by 41% to have a share of 52% to the digital advertising market, overtaking spends share on Desktop. Furthermore, the expected spends on mobile devices will reach a share of 64% by 2022.

    10. Advancements in marketing technologies and subsequent fusion with marketing creativity, along with the advent of 5G technology and increased adoption of E-commerce advertising will lead to the evolution of content for the next 500 million Internet users, thereby catapulting the digital media industry towards the Rs. 50,000 Crore milestone by the year 2025.

     

     

  • Rao will continue to report into Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, DAN India

    DAN elevates Sidharth Rao to Chairman, Happy Mcgarrybowen and Dentsu Webchutney

    By  A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India has announced the elevation of Sidharth Rao as Chairman, Happy mcgarrybowen (HMB) India and Chairman, Dentsu Webchutney.

     

    With this, Rao, earlier CEO, Dentsu Webchutney, has expanded his role and responsibilities within the network. Notes a communique: The announcement also reinforces DAN’s legacy to retain all its agency founders who chose to partner and participate with the network through various strategic acquisitions.

     

    Rao will continue to report into Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, DAN India. He will work with Samarjit Choudhry, President, HMB India to accentuate the agency’s brand legacy in India even as he continues to oversee Dentsu Webchutney’s consistent performance and expansion across the country and beyond.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Bhadkamkar said: “Sidharth’s journey with Dentsu Webchutney is one of the most iconic stories of modern Indian advertising. It has been a joy to watch Dentsu Webchutney grow the way it has in the last six years. Considered to be one of the best digital agencies of the country today, Dentsu Webchutney is now also one of the finest creative agencies in the business. Sidharth is already an integral part of DAN India’s key leadership team and, as we strengthen our digital and creative credentials, I am delighted to have him take up this additional new mandate with Happy mcgarrybowen.”

    Added Rao: “I am extremely honoured to take up this new responsibility. My first 20 years in advertising has been a ride; and now I’m looking forward to the next 20 with our wonderful teams at Dentsu Webchutney, HMB and the rest of the DAN family. HMB is a fantastic brand that comes with a great legacy. With the support of DAN, the Happy team in India and mcgarrybowen internationally, I am certain that our golden days are ahead of us.”

  • In her new role, she will report to CEO Anand Bhadkamkar and David Neal, CFO Greater South – Dentsu Aegis Network

    GroupM’s Asha Suvarna joins DAN as CFO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Asha Suvarna

    Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), the global media & marketing communications conglomerate, has appointed Asha Suvarna as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), India. Prior to this, the role was held by erstwhile COO and CFO Anand Bhadkamkar who was promoted to lead the country operations as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) last month.

     

    Armed with more than 20 years of experience in media and advertising, Suvarana is also a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA). She joins DAN India from GroupM where she held numerous roles over two decades, the last being Finance Director.

     

    Suvarna take charge of her new office today (October 16). In her new role, she will report to Bhadkamkar and David Neal, CFO Greater South – Dentsu Aegis Network.

     

    Anand Bhadkamkar

    Commenting on Asha’s appointment, Bhadkamkar said: “I am pleased to announce Asha’s appointment as CFO of the Group in India. Asha brings with her considerable experience in our industry as well as a very strong understanding of our business. With her financial acumen and leadership capabilities, I am sure Asha will be a great addition to the DAN India executive team and a critical strategic business partner in these transformational times.”

     

    Commenting on her new role, Suvarna added: “Home to 23 super-successful agency brands of the country, Dentsu Aegis Network today is undoubtedly the fastest growing network in India. I am extremely honoured and happy to take up this new role and now ready to embark upon this new challenge under DAN’s strong One P&L philosophy.”

     

     

  • The new office will house DAN brands

    Dentsu Aegis moves into new office in Kochi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network has expanded its footprint in Kochi with a new office in Jawahar Nagar. The new office will house DAN brands like Dentsu India, Carat, Posterscope, Perfect Relations, Vizeum, Fountainhead MKTG and Milestone.

     

    Commenting on the move, Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India said: “This is a great move for us considering we are rapidly growing our client roster in southern markets. The advertising potential in Southern markets has seen exponential growth over the last few years. This move is in line with our strategy of collocating our brands and employees in a single premises. With various DAN brands now in the same office space in Kochi as well, we are ready to offer holistic solutions to our existing and prospective clients.”

     

     

  • He will continue as Chairman of India operations even as Anand Bhadkamkar takes charge as CEO, DAN India

    Meet Ashish Bhasin, CEO of Denstu Aegis Network APAC

     

    At mid-afternoon on Thursday, in a cool, rainy climes of Khandala near Mumbai, the top deck of the Dentsu Aegis Network had gathered. While they had seen the rise of the Network in India, the announcement was perhaps the best recognition of their work in the last decade-odd. Their leader – Ashish Bhasin – had been appointed CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network APAC. And APAC included the key markets of China, Australia and New Zealand. He will will join big boss Tim Andree’s Global Executive Team, the first and only Indian to occupy the chair. Bhasin will continue to maintain his role as Chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network India. Meanwhile, Anand Bhadkamkar, COO India and CFO South Asia, has been promoted to CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India. He will report to Bhasin, as earlier.

    Bhasin, who was MxMIndia Mediaperson of the Year in 2016, spoke with us over the phone from Khandala. While the clouds were out there in the Western Ghats as also in Mumbai where we are located, the sun was shining very brightly for Bhasin and the Indian advertising industry.

    Read on…

     

    Congratulations. Your elevation as CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific is huge. Your sentiment as you move on to Singapore to take on the role?

    Thank you. If the company trusts you with a bigger responsibility, it obviously makes you feel good. First off, I feel it is actually credit to the fantastic team we’ve had pan-India. This has been a dream run of sorts. We started with 40-50 people and today we are almost 3700-3800 people. At a time when everybody is struggling, the markets have slowed down, etc, we have continuously been the fastest growing group in India for maybe five years in a row. It feels good because all of that is in some way recognising India’s performance and from India’s point of view, I think it is a nice reflection on the team and on the country.

     

    If you have to look back, what would you say would be the single biggest achievement since you helmed DAN in India?

    I think two things: One is that I was very lucky that I was able to build and retain a fantastic leadership team. If you look at the senior leadership of Dentsu Aegis Network, while the turnover rate is very high in India, in the last 11 years ever since we started this journey, not one single leader at the senior level has left us. Everybody who has been with us, and who we wanted in our team, was in our team 11 years ago and is today in our team too. In fact more got added as time went by. I think building that cohesive world class leadership team is something that I will always be proud of and I will always rate it as one of the best things that we managed to do.

    The other thing was taking this call on digital – to invest in digital in a big way. In India, no one else was looking at it and in many ways because of that we got a huge head-start over our competition. Of course eventually everybody is trying to play catch up and will do so over a period of time but that gave us market leadership. Digital was the fastest growing part in the advertising industry…

     

    Acquisitions have been a significant feature of your tenure, right?

    Yes, of course. That has been an integral part of my strategy. I’ve always said 50% of my growth should be organic and 50% should come from acquisitions because acquisitions are only about money. They also bring in fresh talent. Some of the best talent in the country whom we would never have been able to hire as employees, but we were able to bring into our group thanks to the acquisitions.

     

    And you have been able to retain them..

    People like Vivek Bhargava as an example.

     

    Right.

    So these are all very senior leaders and have finished their earnouts and have done very well in life, and they still continue to run their companies  many years after that exactly the way they used to right from the first day when they started,

     

    And Aggie (Agnello Dias) and Paddy (Santosh Padhi)

    Yes, and Aggie and Paddy. We managed to create an environment where we give our leaders enough space, One thing that people forget is that for an entrepreneur, it’s more than just money. Money is very important but it is your baby… it’s your life, right? Nobody can run Taproot better than Aggie and Paddy, nobody can run Communicate 2 better than Vivek, nobody can run Sokrati better than…

    True.

    And so on and so forth. So, we allowed them that, but the challenge is the need to align people as a group because we are now 23 different agencies all moving in same direction. I think we achieved that pretty well and I am very proud of the fact that even after their earnouts are over, all these fantastic leaders continue to run their businesses even more successfully than they did when they were standalone entrepreneurs.

     

    Is there something that you would’ve possibly liked to have happened differently?

    Yes, I think, it is quite clear to me now that we were significantly better than our competition. We were way ahead because even though our competition was well-established, very big, etc, we still managed to beat the hell out of them and gain huge marketshare. I think I could have been a lot more aggressive…  I should have been even more aggressive because we were really faced by very weak competitors who were still caught in a legacy world and who missed this digital revolution. We grew very fast, maybe we should have grown even faster.

     

    Since your move as APAC head requires a relocation to Singapore even though you continue to be chairman of India, how much time will spend here in India?

    I am doing the Greater South role already and I am travelling a helluva lot.

     

    But this has a bigger footprint.

    So, there won’t be any significant change in the number of days that I am spending in India. I do intend to spend at least a week every month here. I will be retaining my office in India and I will be actively involved in India. But I will be much less involved in the running of day-to-day operations which now we have a new CEO in the form of Anand (Bhadkamkar) who has been involved in this journey from Day 1.

    So I am not going away. I am not leaving, in fact I will probably spend as much time in India as I am currently. I am travelling 15-20 days in a month. Given that it’s a region as large as APAC with countries from Australia, New Zealand on one end, and China to Taiwan, Korea, South East Asia, etc. and because our regional center is there, Singapore is the most appropriate place to do that.

     

    Anything that you hope to achieve immediately as Densu APAC CEO?

    There are some inherent advantages we have as a group. We can bring all market communication services to the client, so one P/L which was very instrumental in our success in India. And then there is our approach to be digitally ahead. I see no reason why we can’t do this very, very well in every single country.

     

    Back home, you’ve just taken charge of your second year as President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). Are you going to continue with that?

    Well, coincidentally we also have our Board meet on Friday. So I will definitely inform my EC (Executive Committee) about the change. And I will go by whatever they decide – whether they would want me to continue my term or not.

     

    The Announcement:

    Dentsu Aegis Network today announces the appointment of Ashish Bhasin, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Greater South into the newly created role of CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network, APAC, effective immediately. Based in Singapore, he joins the Dentsu Aegis Network Global Executive team and will report into Takaki Hibino, Executive Chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC. Takaki’s role as Executive Chairman, APAC remains the same.

    This move further cements the recently announced Cluster Structure; Greater North, Greater South and ANZ in APAC, giving the markets and their leadership teams greater focus on identifying and moving into key growth opportunities. Ashish will focus on accelerating this growth while delivering greater operational rigor and leadership excellence across the region. These changes reflect evolving market dynamics across the region, mitigating the disruption that new entrants, shifting consumer demands and technological evolution creates by focusing on delivering long-term, sustainable growth for our clients. Ashish will maintain his role as Chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network India.

    Commenting on Ashish’s elevation, Takaki Hibino, Executive Chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC said: “Ashish’s appointment is critical for the region; enabling the markets to focus on client needs and growth opportunities while delivering operational rigor for the business. He was a clear candidate from the start with a proven track record of delivering long-term and consistent growth. Under his leadership, the business in India is now the second largest Advertising & Media organisation by revenue in the market. His long-term vision coupled with his acumen for identifying an opportunity is one of the best in the business, and I am delighted he will join me in leading the business in APAC.”

    Ashish Bhasin, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC commented: “I am thrilled to be taking on this new role within the APAC region. There is never a more exciting time to be in this business; our competitive landscape is becoming more complex and fragmented while our clients are crying out for long-term vision and simplicity. We have to keep their needs as our North Star whilst delivering long-term, sustainable growth for our business. We are in a unique position to build propositions around our client needs, and I look forward to this next chapter in the transformation journey of this region.”

    Anand Bhadkamkar

    In India, Anand Bhadkamkar, erstwhile COO India & CFO South Asia, has now been promoted to CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India. Anand will continue to report to Ashish Bhasin in his new role.

    Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India commented: “I am extremely excited and honoured to take on this new responsibility. I look forward to embarking upon a new chapter in my career and work with Ashish as the Chairman of India to continue building DAN into the country’s most innovative, future-proofed market-leading network. Our One P&L philosophy and our leadership status in Digital sets us up in the best position versus our competitors.”

    In addition, Masaya Nakamura, Deputy Chairman & Chief Growth Officer, APAC has taken a new role as CEO, Global Solutions, Dentsu Aegis Network, based in Tokyo. Prakash Kamdar, CEO, Isobar Singapore has been promoted to CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Singapore.

  • The announcement was made at the AAAI Annual General Body Meeting

    Ashish Bhasin re-elected President of AAAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ashish Bhasin

    Ashish Bhasin, CEO – Greater South, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman & CEO India, has been re-elected as President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2019-20. The announcement was made at the AAAI Annual General Body Meeting held last week.  Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India, has been re-elected as Vice-President of the Association.

     

    Other elected members of the Executive Committee include: Anand Bhadkamkar, Dentsu Aegis Network; Kalyan Sarkar, Standard Publicity; Kunal Lalani, Crayons Advertising, Prasanth Kumar, Group M Media India, Srinivasan K Swamy; RK Swamy BBDO; Vivek Srivastava, Innocean Worldwide Communication. Immediate Past President, Nakul Chopra will be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI Executive Committee.

     

    Said Bhasin: “I thank the members of the AAAI for reposing their faith in me by electing me for another term as the president of this illustrious organisation.  Along with my colleagues in the Executive Committee, I had set out on a mission to make the association more inclusive, diverse and future-ready. While we have made significant progress in some areas, there are many areas which require more work to be done.  I am honoured to be selected for the second term, which will allow the Executive Committee and me to complete the unfinished tasks. The tremendous support and unity that the members of AAAI have shown, makes me proud of our association!”

     

     

  • Bhadkamkar will now also be responsible for driving operational excellence in business and oversee support functions including HR and IT in India.  He will continue to report to Ashish Bhasin

    Dentsu Aegis Network expands Anand Bhadkamkar’s role to CFO & COO South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anand Bhadkamkar, CFO, Dentsu Aegis Network – South Asia, has been given additional charge of Chief Operating Officer India. This follows Dentsu Aegis Network’s (DAN) announcement to promote Ashish Bhasin to the expanded role of CEO Greater South, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman and CEO India. With this announcement, Bhadkamkar will now also be responsible for driving operational excellence in business and oversee support functions including HR and IT in India.  He will continue to report to Ashish Bhasin.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Bhasin said: “Anand is exceptionally dependable, comes with strong leadership capabilities and has a very strong understanding of our markets, clients and services. Dentsu Aegis Network India is currently standing amid enormous market opportunities and with my expanded role and new geographies to look after, it was imperative for Anand to take up the operational responsibilities. Anand has always been integral to DAN operations and, in some ways, this is a formalisation of this duty. I strongly believe that Anand will successfully implement and integrate our strategies to take this growth forward.”

     

    Commenting on his new role, Bhadkamkar said: “I am extremely excited and honoured to take on this additional responsibility. I look forward to embarking upon a new chapter in my career, having been part of the company’s journey over the past 10 years now. Dentsu Aegis Network India is very well-positioned in today’s digital and transformational environment. I look forward to supporting the Group in its next growth phase and continue driving operational excellence across the organisation in South Asia.”