MxMIndia

Tag: Anupriya Acharya

  • Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India, was elected Vice-President of the Association

    Ashish Bhasin elected President of AAAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network Media India Pvt Ltd has been elected as the President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2018-2019 at its Annual General Body Meeting held yesterday.

     

    Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India, was elected Vice-President of the Association.

     

    Other members of the Executive Committee are CVL Srinivas, Group M; Kalyan Sarkar, Standard Publicity Pvt Ltd; Kunal Lalani, Crayons Advertising Ltd; Pranav Premnarayen, Prem Associates Advertising & Marketing. Immediate Past President, Nakul Chopra will be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI Executive Committee.

     

    Said Bhasin: “It is an honour and privilege for me to be elected as the President of AAAI, a position that has been occupied in the past by some of the biggest stalwarts of our industry. I will endeavour to promote the interests of the advertising industry to the best of my abilities and make AAAI a stronger Association. We will also endeavour to ensure that the Association continues to successfully represent the interest of Advertising Agencies in this era of rapidly changing times. I take this opportunity to thank Nakul Chopra, from whom I have learnt a lot. He maintained such high standards as President that it will be a tough act to follow.”

     

    Added outgoing President Nakul Chopra: “I have been privileged to lead AAAI for two years – my sincere thanks to all my fellow members for their support. Hearty congratulations to Ashish on his election as President. He is not only a key influencer in our industry but also a AAAI veteran. I am sure that AAAI will only grow from strength to strength under his tutelage.”

     

     

  • There will be no single head of the Publicis Group in India, as per the announcment

    Publicis Groupe appoints leadership team to lead Indian market

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Publicis Group has announced the appointment of a Group Leadership Team  to strengthen and accelerate the groupe’s capabilities at a national level across India & Sri Lanka.

     

    Anupriya Acharya
    Saurabh Varma
    Surbhi Gupta
    Pankaj Vasani

    The team comprises executive leaders in India and Sri Lanka, including: Anupriya Acharya, CEO of Publicis Media India; Saurabh Varma, CEO of Publicis Communications South Asia; Surbhi Gupta, in the newly created role of Chief Talent Officer, Publicis Groupe South Asia; along with Pankaj Vasani, who is joining to take the new role of Chief Financial Officer, Publicis Groupe South Asia. There will be no single head of the Publicis Group in India, as per this announcement.

     

    Vasani joins from Vodafone where  he served for around five-and-a-half years and was holding various pivotal positions of responsibilities in Finance and Tax.

     

    Driving greater integration across Publicis Group’s range of services, the Group Leadership Team’s focus is targeted on helping brands to accelerate their transformation, enhance collaboration, and achieve cumulative growth for clients. The Solution hub leaders who make up the Group Leadership Team in the Indian market will maintain their existing responsibilities and continue to cultivate collaborative opportunities and new business initiatives.

     

    Appointed CEO of Publicis Group APAC in February 2018, Loris Nold will work closely with the Group Leadership Team, supporting Publicis Group as it strengthens its relationship with existing clients, wins the trust of new ones, in addition to cultivating and attracting the brightest talent across its agencies and disciplines in the South Asia region.

     

    Loris Nold

    Said Nold: “South Asia is a critical region of outmost strategic importance to us. With the appointment of such a strong leadership team, we are in a unique position to continue driving The Power of One philosophy at the country level in this key market. Together with our recent appointments in Australia, this is a very important move as it allows us to continue driving and accelerating the exciting potential for transforming the way we work with our clients, as well as the opportunity it presents for developing and challenging our own talents. Having partnered with Anupriya, Saurabh, Surbhi and Pankaj, I am convinced that they’re uniquely positioned to successfully drive the Group forward on our behalf.”

     

     

  • Talwar was last with Neo@Ogilvy where he was VP and Head of Analytics and Insights

    Publicis Media onboards Ankush Talwar as Head, Data Science

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Media has appointed AnkushTalwar as Head, Data Sciences.An analytics and technology expert with 13 years of experience in data analytics, problem solving and providing effective business solutions across multiple domains including Retail, Ecommerce and Online Media, Financial Services, Telecom and Tech, Talwar has joined Publicis Media from Neo@Ogilvy where he was VP and Head of Analytics and

     

    Said Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India:  “Data science is a core expertise in Publicis Media and given our unmatched expertise in Data, Digital and Performance media, it is also a competitive advantage. In fact, PM India has been successfully running the global Data and Analytics Centre Of Excellence for many years now and the team has won multiple global accolades too. Ankush, with his strong and diverse background, has been handpicked to further enhance our capability building on Data Strategy and Insights that includes overseeing Platforms, Advanced Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data engineering. He joins us at an important time and will work closely with our global network, clients and Brand teams.”

     

    Added Talwar:  “I am very excited to join Publicis Media, especially at a time when Data Science Practice is gaining phenomenal traction with domestic and international clients alike. I look forward to working closely with Starcom, Performics. Convonix, Zenith, Performics. Resultrix and bringing disruptive solutions that enable strong business results for Publicis Media clients.”

     

     

  • The deal will enable Publicis Media take a significant into the OOH segment that is expected to grow steadily as per various adspend forecast

    Publicis Media acquires Ecosys OOH

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Media has announced its acquisition of digital Out-of-Home agency Ecosys OOH. Notes a communique: “the agency comes power-packed with robust data and analytics capabilities and is the only agency in the country to provide measurable ROI in the out of home and ambient media space”. We haven’t verified this claim.

     

    The deal will enable Publicis Media take a significant into the OOH segment that is expected to grow steadily as per various adspend forecasts. OOH is expected to grow from INR 37.1 billion  in 2018 to INR 42.5 billion in 2021. The out of home business is likely to see exponential growth given the impetus on infrastructure projects, smart cities and growth in tier 3 & 4 cities in India

     

    Anupriya Acharya

    Said Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India: “Data and technology is going to be the future of OOH agencies and what is unique about Ecosys is that it was set up with a future facing mindset. And in line with that vision they have made intelligent investments into data and technology – be it in the form of proprietary primary research on traffic count or representing media plans in form of heat maps integrating touchpoint and modal data from various social media platforms.  Their strong data-driven culture and their ROI focused approach made them the apt partner for us. We have had a very significant growth in OOH in the last few years and Ecosys’ s differentiated expertise will greatly benefit our clients and further fuel growth for us.”

     

    Sujit Banerjee

    Added Sujit Banerjee, Director & CEO Ecosys OOH: “We are pleased to be joining forces with Publicis Media, a world leading network with a roster of very strong, highly reputed and diverse set of clients. Their leadership in digital, data and new tech coupled with massive growth momentum made them our most attractive choice. This union with Publicis Media will fulfil our expansion plans and will help us consolidate, innovate and scale up on next level of opportunities. It’s been an incredibly rewarding journey so far and we are sure that the new chapter will unfold new and exciting possibilities.”

     

     

  • Gangappa’s last role was as COO at MediaCom, where she was in charge of day to day operations

    Rathi Gangappa named CEO, Starcom India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rathi Gangappa

    Starcom has appointed Rathi Gangappa as Chief Executive Officer in India. Gangappa comes with over 20 years experience in media and brand communications. She was until recently COO at MediaCom, where she was in charge of day-to-day operations and managing key client relationships across Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Her past stints also include Vodafone, Onmobile Global Ltd, Maxus and Lowe Lintas.

     

    Anupriya Acharya

    Said Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India on the appointment:  “We’re delighted to have Rathi join us. Her immense experience across agency, client and publisher eco-systems and demonstrated capabilities across the entire gamut of marketing and crand communications is exemplary. She shares our view on the consumer journey being ever-evolving and the challenges it poses to brands and is passionate about Starcom’s Human Experience approach. She will no doubt be an asset and will add value to our clients and people alike.”

     

    Added Gangappa: “I am very excited to join Starcom, especially at a time when the agency has gained so much momentum. Starcom’s Human Experience focus connects human values with brand objectives, delivering seamless integrated communications. I look forward to driving business results for clients and adding to the Starcom culture of innovation and collaboration. It has a wonderful set of clients both locally and globally and a really strong backing of Publicis Media.”

     

     

  • Malli, as Das is known in the fraternity, joined Starcom India is 2011

    Starcom bids adieu to Mallikarjun Das

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mallikarjun Das

    Starcom CEO Mallikarjun Das (Malli) has decided to move on from the organisation.  Malli, as he is known in the fraternity, joined Starcom India as CEO in 2011.   Said Malli:“Working at Starcom over the last seven years has been a peak experience – it has left an indelible impression on me and shaped me as a professional and individual. Wisdom of hindsight is a dangerous thing, but I count myself lucky to have had large, complex business challenges come my way in this stint. I have had the full support of my team, Anupriya and my previous bosses in facing up to these challenges. Our results speak for themselves – Starcom India has grown four times the last four years; our India operations ended 2017 as Starcom’s Global Office of the year. I wish everyone at Starcom and Publicis Media all the best for the future.”

     

    Anupriya Acharya

    Added Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO, Publicis Media India: “We are going to miss Malli. His tenure at Starcom has been exemplary and working with him has been a wonderful experience. Starcom has had a phenomenal journey under his leadership and he has made a tremendous contribution to giving a strong foundation to Publicis Media too. Our best wishes are with him for his next assignment.”

     

    The agency will be making an announcement shortly on new leadership for Starcom India.

     

     

  • The objective is to drive transformation through fresh perspectives on shared goals

    Publicis Media creates future-focused nextgen Board

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Media has created a next generation board which will work with the company’s global executive group to address opportunities and drive transformation across the company.

     

    Notes a communique: Board members have the full support from local and global leadership, providing a real opportunity to influence the direction of all brands and practices within Publicis Media, challenge the status quo and implement global initiatives and projects

     

    Launched across 14 markets  other than India – US, UK, Nordics, MENA, Singapore, DACH, Italy, Mexico, Australia, Poland, China, Russia, UK, Spain and France – the aim is to foster a spirit of collaboration across a group of high-performing individuals from around the world.

     

    Each local board comprises 8 -15 employees identified as future leaders and representing diverse skillsets. They will work together to architect and activate medium to long-term deliverables that increase employee engagement and advance Publicis Media’s Trust, Talent and Transformation vision.

     

    Said Steve King, CEO, Publicis Media:  “Our next generation of leaders are the future of this company. It is vital that they play a significant role in creating Publicis Media’s future, from both a talent and client perspective. The launch of the next generation board is about challenging and disrupting how we currently do things, to the benefit of all stakeholders. We had our first global board meeting earlier this month, which ran in parallel with the global Publicis Media board, and we were incredibly impressed with the proposals that were presented, some of which we have already started to adopt.  The energy and new perspectives that they bring are fundamental to our ongoing transformation and success.”

     

    Added Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India: “The next generation board infuses fresh thinking into the organisation and brings forward proposals and opportunities that are truly creative, innovative, collaborative and path-breaking.  The Publicis premise of ‘Power Of One.’ resonates through this landmark initiative which cuts through regions, markets and boundaries”

     

    Representatives from each of the local boards will meet four times a year to work on delivering specific global initiatives.  The first of these meetings took place in May and the company is already acting on the proposal by next generation board to harmonise communication across all global talent through the use of innovative new mobile technologies.

     

    The executives who are on the India NGB are the following:

     

    Name Brand Designation
    Kunal Shah Performics.Convonix Vice President
    Sushant Mishra Starcom Digital Sr. Vice President
    Gurpreet Singh Performics.Resultrix Vice President
    TanushreeRadhakrishnan Performics.Resultrix Managing Partner
    VibhorMehrotra Performics.Resultrix Vice President
    AjitGurnani Zenith Managing Partner
    GautamSurath Starcom Sr. Vice President
    AartiBharadwaj Publicis Media Sr. Vice President

     

    Said Tanushree Radhakrishnan, Managing Partner, Performics. Resultrix in India who is on the Board and also attended the quarterly meet last month: “It was an absolutely brilliant and enriching experience to collaborate with the sharpest minds from 15 countries and work on the organisational challenges. It was exciting that I could actually present my thoughts to the Global Executive Group and work towards bringing a real change at a local and global level. I am honoured to be a part of the very first Next Generation Board and I am really looking forward to the implementation of our proposal.”

     

  • There were a total of 1128 entries from 94 entrants. There were 53 awards given away, of which 10 were golds and 26 silvers. There was no Grand Prix given away

    Mindshare tops Media Abby again. Maxus & Madison in Top 3

    By A Correspondent

     

    It was Mindshare yet again on top of the winning entrants at the Media Abby awards presented on Day 1 of Goafest 2017. Mindshare India (as against the team from Bangladesh which also bagged a silver and two bronzes) bagged 10 metals in all – two golds, five silvers and three bronzes. Sibling Maxus bagged seven metals – a gold, four silvers, and two bronze. Madison bagged five silvers and three bronze metals. Mediacom bagged just a gold and silver, Lodestar had a gold and bronze, but #4 in the pecking order would be The Social Street with a gold and three silvers.

     

    Prasanth Kumar

    Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO Mindshare South Asia on Goafest Abby’s 2017:”Topping at Goafest is definitely a great achievement. We are delighted that the series of good work across our clients are witnessing recognition. We as always get motivated when we win and we thank all our clients and partners for being the force behind our performance. For us, it is a constant that we keep evolving and redefining ourselves as well as challenging ourselves every year to ensure we deliver the best to our clients. We promise to keep this momentum continuous.”

     

    Mindshare had bagged 17 metals in last year’s Media Abby. In this year’s edition of the Media Abby, there were a total of 1128 entries from 94 entrants. As many as 112 industry professionals were part of the jury process. On being asked about the awards process, Publicis Media CEO Anupriya Acharya, who chaired the Media Abby jury, told MxMIndia that she was pretty happy with the number of entries, given that the submissions happened post-demonetisation.  “The number of entries and the participating organisations grew. This year we had many independent, small and specialist organisations.”

     

  • Publicis Media also won multi-agency pitches to retain its two key accounts, Micromax and Sun Pharma

    Publicis Media wins over Rs 100 cr biz over 9 months

    By A Correspondent

     

    The last nine months have been action-packed for Publicis Media India which has added over Rs1000 crore in billings, according to a communique. Publicis Media India through its brands Starcom, Zenith, Performics.Resultrix and Performics.Convonix will now handle a number of new accounts which includes Parle Products, Mars, Fiat Chrysler, Citibank, OnePlus, Singapore Tourism Board, Fox Media amongst others. Publicis Media also won multi-agency pitches to retain its two key accounts, Micromax and Sun Pharma. Sun Pharma has in fact, added to the mandate, digital duties as well.

     

    Said Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO of Publicis Media India: “It‘s a great beginning for the Publicis Media proposition in India.  Under the new structure, we have a great team of very energetic and highly talented leaders that run very motivated teams. We have been able to also focus our product and services to better serve our clients’ requirements and priorities. Our refreshed narrative on scale and added synergies on best in class data, tools and insights have all been well received by our clients. And I believe that these account wins are also a testimony tothe same. As we move ahead in 2017, our focus will be on scale, and future ready services like Performance marketing, Data and Analytics, Content, that provide business transforming solutions. We are already some of these services to markets like the US and the UK and this international hub helps us to scale up talent in these areas quite quickly.”

     

  • Jain will be Practice Head – Business Transformation

    Shan Jain quits Mindshare to join Publicis Media

    By A Correspondent

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

  • Mallikarjun Das & Tanmay Mohanty to be Group CEOs of Starcom India & Zenith. Hari Krishnan quits, Hanley King moves to global position

    Publicis Media restructures ops, top deck

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Media has announced the appointments of Group CEOs for its two key constituents in operation in India: Zenith and Starcom. Mallikarjun Das will head Starcom India and Tanmay Mohanty will head Zenith.

     

    Meanwhile, Starcom Chairman Hanley King has moved to a global role within Publicis Media. His role is taken over by Das. Zenith Managing Director Hari Krishnan is moving on from the organisation.

     

    Announcing the new structure and leadership announcements, Publicis Media CEO Anupriya Acharya said:  “One of the greatest strengths of our new organisation in India is its team of leaders, all of whom have proven track record within our system, ” adding: “The new structure is a fresh opportunity to simplify our organisation, invent more modern approaches to gain effectiveness and efficiency, introduce structures for greater collaboration, and drive new levels of client value and delight”.

     

    Publicis Media India will consolidate its agency brands: Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Optimedia, Equinox, Performics, Convonix, Resultrix, Ninah, Newcast into four agency brands that are in line with the global structure, namely: Starcom, Zenith, Mediavest | Spark and Optimedia | Blue 449.

     

    In this new model, the agency network names of Starcom Mediavest Group and ZenithOptimedia Group are retired to better enable a flatter organisational structure. VivaKi capabilities will be fully integrated into Publicis Media’s Global Practice model. Performics will remain Publicis Media’s global performance marketing brand and scale within all agency brands.

     

    The key appointments announced are:

    Reporting to Das are Sarfaraz Khimani and Pallav Jain, Co-CEO Performics.Convonix and Basabdatta Chowdhuri who takes on the role of National COO, Starcom India.  Mayoori Kango will be MD Performics.Resultrix, reporting to Mohanty.

     

    Meanwhile, some centralised functions have been outlined: Dnyanada Chaudhari will lead Publicis Media Exchange,  Santosh Ghosh will lead Data, Technology and Innovation, Aarti Bharadwaj will lead Analytics, Research and Insight, Gautham Pingali will lead Business Transformation and Content Communications will be led by Anushree Chandran.

     

    At a Publicis Media India level, Rajesh Viswanathan is appointed Chief Financial Officer, Saswati Sinha is appointed Chief Talent Officer.

     

  • The attempt is to offer integrated solutions and thereby bridge the gap between large companies and tech startups through the Drugstore India initiative

    Publicis Groupe opens Drugstore in India… no, it’s selling medicines or legalising you-know-what

    By  A Correspondent

     

    Over the last ninety years, Publicis Groupe has worked closely with its clients to build some of the most iconic brands around the world.  Today as we enter the era of the fourth industrial revolution wherein the lines between physical, digital and biological spheres are narrowing, it is imperative for large companies to avoid the ‘Kodak moment’.  Our goal is to help Publicis Groupe clients brace for this change by helping them innovate and stay ahead of disruption. We intend to do this by bringing together some of the sharpest minds from within the tech startup ecosystem in India and  the Publicis Groupe brand builders to ‘hack’ solutions  on the various brands that we work with across the Groupe.

     

    Uff, did all of the above mean anything to you. But then that’s communication conglomerates are masters at doing. Foreplay.

     

    So read further:

     

    The Publicis Groupe has always strived to help their clients constantly stay ahead of the game. In the late 50s Publicis Groupe founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet started the  Drugstore near Arc de Triomphe in Paris to bring multiple brands physically under one roof, with the express idea of getting ‘consumers to experience brands and for brands to get to experiment with them in return’. Today, we invoke our founder’s vision to bring this concept of disruptive innovation thinking & prototyping to our clients and help them ‘thrive at scale’.

     

    Okay, okay, let’s get on with it.

    Drugstore India is an innovation facility (oh, thank heavens, it’s not been called a lab!) that fosters relationships between large companies and early stage startups for mutual benefit.  This innovation thinking will be mentored by the best of minds across Publicis Groupe companies such as L&K | Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis India, Leo-Burnett, MSLGROUP and Razorfish. True to the spirit of today’s startup ecosystem, where collaboration matters more than competition, the idea for a platform such as Drugstore is just right and timely.

     

    The idea of the Drugstore is fundamentally based on the spirit of identifying and harnessing these innovations and innovators and bridging the gap between needs and resources. Drugstore India will collaborate with leading players in the Indian startup ecosystem like Zone Startups amongst others to bring some of the proven and agile innovation programmes such as Minibar, Meet the Makers, Demo Days, Supper Club, Rapid Prototyping and Incubator Accelerator to capitalise on inventions and have radical outcomes in the process, products and services.

     

    Besides helping successful client brands stay successful, Drugstore will add strategic marketing value to the emerging startup fraternity through both physical and cloud-based access to brand building resources across the Publicis Groupe and by collaborating with them to help them acquire scale expertise and by mentoring and immersing them on turning any business into a successful brand.

     

    Publicis Groupe has successfully launched the Drugstore in London, Sydney, Johannesburg and Zurich and the first Drugstore edition in Asia is now officially starting in India and will be based in Mumbai.

     

    The Drugstore India team will be led by Anil K. Nair (CEO, Digital L&K | Saatchi & Saatchi) along with a core team comprising Sreeraman Thiagarajan (Publicis), Parth Nagar & Aarti Samant (L&K Saatchi & Saatchi), Sanju Menon (Leo-Burnett), Suryasen Kundu (MSL Group), & Swapnil Puranik (Razorfish) and  under the overall  mentorship of Praveen Kenneth, Chairman & Managing Director, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

    Phew!

    So that was the communiqué we received from the Publicis Group this morning (Tue, June 14). Now, basically this is what it’s all about: Publicis Groupe has set up (no, we didn’t saying waking up to!) the increasing demands of the start-up community and setting up a pan-group(e) initiative. We are sure this doesn’t mean Anil K Nair and Co will give up their rest of their commitments and embrace this alone.

     

    Now, here’s a thought that was expressed by an insider?  Does the fact that Praveen Kenneth has been entrusted with the responsibility mean that if this is a success he could be given greater responsibilities within the group? Like overseeing the umbrella company of the communications business of Publicis? India is one of the few countries that doesn’t have a head for Pubicis Communications though Publicis Media did name Anupriya Acharya as CEO for the group’s media businesses. Or is it that it’s a sop to Kenneth and someone else may be made the big(g) boss?

     

    We’ll know it soon. A CEO of one of the Publicis Comm firms told us that India may not have that such a position.

     

    PostScript: Why name it Drugstore? We know it’s advertising and it helps in being disruptive etc etc, but Drugstore? Next is what? Well, as long as what’s dished out are good solutions and not placebos. Right?