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Tag: Atul Sharma

  • It is the first accreditation programme for Public Relations Professionals

    PRCAI accredits 18 public relations professionals

    By Our Staff

     

    The Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) has announced results of India’s first Accreditation Programme in Indian Public Relations (AIPR) for public relations professionals – including young professionals and emerging leaders.

     

    Announcing the list of 18 public relations professionals who qualified for the first-ever batch of AIPR, PRCAI conferred each one of them with the prestigious AIPR pin. These young professionals will be the torchbearers of the industry as they strive to maintain strong professional and ethical standards, leading the industry.

     

    Said Atul Sharma, President, PRCAI: “At PRCAI, we celebrate, honour and work everyday to forward the vision of our industry – to be more professional, ethical and prosperous. AIPR is our endeavour in that direction, and this is just the beginning. I am very happy for our first batch of accredited professionals, who I am sure will help in this pursuit as they lead this industry into the future. Heartiest congratulations to each one of them. ”

     

    Added Deeptie Sethi, CEO, PRCAI: “The communications industry has an invaluable pool of subject matter experts who are incredible thinkers, strategists, planners, writers and are extremely committed to their profession. AIPR is a platform to recognize such talent and motivate them to continue to upskill to remain relevant in the evolving world of communications and aspire to be the best. PRCAI appreciates the efforts of seasoned veterans who formed the jury and believed in the program and its merits and are supportive mentors to help shape them as effective practitioners.”

     

  • First communication agency to mint its own NFT

    Ruder Finn wins WazirX NFT Marketplace mandate

    By Our Staff

     

    Ruder Finn, an integrated communications consultancy, has been entrusted with the communications mandate for WazirX NFT Marketplace- non-fungible tokens (NFTs) marketplace. Cementing this win, Ruder Finn India has jumped on the NFT bandwagon by minting its own NFT.

     

    Vishakha Singh
    Vishakha Singh

    Said Vishakha Singh, VP, WazirX NFT Marketplace: “With Ruder Finn India, we aim to drive communication for the growing scope of NFTs in India. Pioneering the NFT segment in India and South Asia, WazirX NFT Marketplace provides unique opportunities to our native creators and artists to sell their digital works and boost their incomes.  Building on Ruder Finn’s diversified knowledge and experience, we want to educate end-users about the scope of NFTs as we expand our footprint in the NFT business.”

     

    Atul Sharma
    Atul Sharma

    Commenting on the partnership, Atul Sharma, Managing Director India, Ruder Finn added: “Being the first agency to use technology as a disruptor, at Ruder Finn, we have always believed that the potential of technology is unparalleled. From our latest offerings in voice, data, predictive analytics to media training for crisis management, tech is fundamental to everything we do. Leveraging our partnership with WazirX NFT Marketplace, the pioneers in the NFT space in India, we aim to steer impactful conversations about the scope of NFT in India and create awareness. Given the boom in NFT space, we at Ruder Finn India are also dropping our very own NFT, being the first communication agency to do so.”

     

  • She will be working closely with the Managing Committee to drive PRCAI's vision

    PRCAI gets Deeptie Sethi as CEO

    By Our Staff

     

    Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) has announced the appointment of Deeptie Sethi as CEO. This is the first time the association has appointed a CEO in its two-decade history.

     

    Said Atul Sharma, President, PRCAI shared: “At PRCAI, we believe in leadership that inspires, drives results and encourages our members and communities. We are happy to have Deeptie as the first CEO of PRCAI, as we look forward to expand our footprint, and scale PRCAI to newer heights. Moreover, as the role of public relations takes centerstage in all facets of business, we are excited to have an experienced communications professional like Deeptie to build the future roadmap for PRCAI.”

     

    Added Sethi on her appointment: “The scope and reach of public relations have seen exponential growth in the last few years. Today, effective communication is integral to every business. These are exciting times for the industry and I am honoured and thrilled to take up this opportunity to build, grow and serve our community. I am equally optimistic about the prospect and look forward to adding value for PRCAI members and the larger communication fraternity.”

     

    Well, we are sure Sethi will have her hands full. But first the objective would be do some PR for PRCAI. And help rid it of the perception that it’s a Delhi agencies’ club. Also, ensure it’s inclusive. Not just a club of PR agency folk. How about the next president being a corporate/marketing communications professional? Sethie should know what the view is. She has spent a lifetime in corp comm, many of which were at Ford, and we interacted with her around the time of the Ford Figo ad controversy.

     

    Also, the PRCAI should work towards having its members as well knit as those of the Advertising Club (the Mumbai-based one, not the Delhi Ad Club). Where despite the egos of the adfolk being 100x larger than that of PR professionals, they speak in one voice, whenever needed.

     

    Well, we think she needn’t go too far to start with. Perhaps speak with a certain Mr Dilip Cherian and ask him for his views. And then ask the big Bombay-based folk. Rajesh Chaturvedi, Madan Bahal, Sunil Gautam. Jaideep Shergill, Valerie Pinto… that list is not too long.

     

  • By creating "realistic" multimedia environment of social media, print and broadcast news

    Ruder Finn Group launches social media crisis tool

    By Our Staff

     

    Ruder Finn Group has introduced its crisis simulation tool Sonar to India.

     

    Said Charles Lankester, Executive Vice President of Ruder Finn’s Global Reputation Management Practice, said: “Over the past five years, Sonar has been an indispensable training tool for many of the world’s largest and most iconic companies in the finance, consumer, technology and luxury space. We are humbled by the consistently high satisfaction ratings from these multinational brands and have continued to improve the Sonar experience, adding deep fake videos for example, that train clients on emerging threats. Whether it’s cyber security, political instability, consumer flare-ups or salacious scandal, we equip companies with the tools and knowledge they need to mitigate the latest reputational threats of today.”

     

    Atul Sharma
    Atul Sharma

    Speaking about the announcement, Atul Sharma, Managing Director, Ruder Finn Group, added: “At Ruder Finn Group, technology is at the core of everything we do. We continue to develop forward-looking and futuristic advancements that revolutionize the world of communication. Misinformation, increased access to publishing content, and demanding customers have fostered a crisis-rich environment for brands. With Sonar, we are offering the best-in-business technology for risk management; we are preparing clients for a potential risk and training them to react swiftly – a need of the hour in today’s hyperconnected world. The training is authentic and the tool highly customizable – it can operate in any language, including regional languages, ensuring clients receive a true-to-life understanding of the ecosystem.”

     

  • Atul Sharma, MD – Ruder Finn India, will be President for the two-year term

    PRCA elects its new execom for 2020-22

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) has announced its new executive committee for the period 2020-22.

     

    The elected members are:

    President, PRCAI : Atul Sharma, MD – Ruder Finn India

    Vice President, PRCAI :  Kunal Kishore Sinha, Co-founder- Value 360

    Secretary, PRCAI : Sunayna Malik, MD -India & Senior VP, APAC, Archetype

    The elected regional chapter chairpersons are:

    Chairperson North: Vineet Handa, Founder & CEO – Kaizzen PR Services

    Chairperson South :  Prasad Karat, Associate VP  -The PRactice

    Chairperson West :  Girish Huria, Executive VP – Avian WE

    Chairperson East :  Rakesh Ranjan, Founder & Director, Imagicaa Ventures

    Two of the positions, Secretary, PRCAI and Chairperson South were elected unopposed.

     

    On behalf of the newly appointed executive committee, President, PRCAI, Atul Sharma said: “We would like to thank each of the members for placing their trust and confidence in us.  We hope to continue with the momentum that PRCAI has built over the years, as we work towards bringing the PR fraternity closer.”

     

     

  • Atul, based in New Delhi, will report directly to Elan Shou, Executive Vice President, Asia Director of Ruder Finn Asia

    Ruder Finn hires Atul Sharma as Managing Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    Atul Sharma

    Atul Sharma has joined Ruder Finn Asia as Managing Director, Vice President of Ruder Finn India, responsible for overall management and operations, and establishing Ruder Finn as a major player in the India market. His role also includes Ruder Finn India positioning, business development, team development, network expansion, new offerings development and further enhancing Ruder Finn’s global network collaboration.

     

    Sharma will report to Elan Shou, Executive Vice President, Asia Director of Ruder Finn Asia. Said Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn: “We are thrilled to have Atul leading Ruder Finn India, an incredibly important growth region for us in Asia. With our continued emphasis on digital, analytics and technology, Atul’s background will help us further expand our client base, offerings and intelligence in some of the most important industries in India – and the world – today.”

     

     

  • Atul Sharma, Love Guglani and Swati Jha have joined Zenith as Senior VPs

    Zenith hires SVPs in Delhi, Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zenith, part of Publicis Media India, has strengthened its organisational structure and announced three senior-level hires.

     

    Atul Sharma has joined Zenith as Senior Vice President in New Delhi and will be the business head for SBU that includes Nestle, Truecaller, Yatra, Hotels.com and others. Love Guglani has come on board as Senior Vice President for Zenith, based again in New Delhi, to lead the other SBU for Cargill, LVMH, Jabong, Micromax, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), Aviva amongst others. And the third hire is Swati Jha. She has joined Zenith as Senior Vice President to head the agency’s West India operations and will be based in Mumbai.

     

    Tanmay Mohanty

    Said Tanmay Mohanty, Group CEO, Zenith India: “Our best-in-class data, tools, insights and strategy have led to a high pitch win rate and great performance on existing businesses. We are pleased to announce these three senior-level hires for Zenith who will help us upscale our operations, in line with our accelerated growth and momentum. I look forward to our new appointees bringing in fresh vigour, enthusiasm and passion to the organisation and embracing Zenith’s unique and highly differentiated offering.”

     

    About Zenith:

    Zenith is The ROI Agency. The first agency to apply a rigorous and objective approach to improving the effectiveness of marketing spend, Zenith transforms businesses and brands through evidence-led thinking. Zenith is part of Publicis Media, one of four solution hubs within Publicis Groupe  [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC40], and has offices within Publicis One. As a leading global media services network, Zenith has over 5000 people working across 95 markets. Supported by Publicis Media’s Global Practices, Zenith offers its clients a full range of integrated skills across communications planning, value optimisation, performance media, content creation and data & analytics. We work with some of the world’s leading global brands including Aviva, Coty, Kering, Lactalis, L’Oréal, LVMH, Nestlé, Nomad Foods, Oracle, RB, SCA, Sanofi, Toyota and 21st Century Fox.

    In India, Zenith’s key clients include Nestle, Parle Products,   Micromax, LVMH Group, Toyota, Bombay Dyeing, H&M , Singapore Tourism Board, Fox Networks, BASF and Singapore Airlines among others. Through Peformics.Resultrix, we handle digital duties on Airtel, ICICI Bank, Star India, Birla Sun Life Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance, AirVistara among others.

     

  • Nikhil Dey will continue to play a key role overseeing the firm’s client growth strategy in addition to scaling up the recently launched Centres of Expertise

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller announces leadership appointments for 2016

    By A Correspondent

     

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller has announced senior leadership appointments, which will be effective from January 1, 2016.

     

    Nikhil Dey is now President, Public Relations & Public Affairs. He will continue to play a key role overseeing the firm’s client growth strategy in addition to scaling up the recently launched Centres of Expertise and will now also focus on mentoring the public affairs business.

     

    Atul Sharma has been promoted as Chief Operating Officer and will now be a part of the India Management Team at Genesis Burson-Marsteller. Having spent over twelve years at Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Atul has counseled diverse businesses, Indian and multinational, on corporate reputation and brand reputation programmes. In his new role, Atul will focus on improving the operational excellence of the firm while continuing to serve as India Practice Chair, Telecom & Technology.

     

    Vandana Sandhir, currently India Practice Chair, Corporate & Financial, is moving to a new leadership role in the WPP network after ten years with the firm. Sanjay Arora, who has been with the firm for over six years, will take on the India Practice Chair role from Vandana. With a total of sixteen years of experience, Sanjay has led corporate reputation management campaigns for many of the firm’s Fortune 500 companies. As the India Practice Chair, Sanjay will be responsible for ensuring business growth of the Corporate & Financial business in line with the firm’s strategy, providing leadership and guidance to the teams to ensure high quality of service delivery and customer satisfaction.

     

    Former journalist Ajit Sahi, who joined the firm last year as Director, Thought Leadership will now take on the mandate of Public Affair. With nearly three decades of in-depth and extensive experience in journalism, ranging from being an investigative reporter to heading newsrooms at TV news stations, newsmagazines, news agencies and newspapers, Ajit brings with him a thorough understanding of the Indian and international political environment. This experience is crucial as the requirements of clients pertaining to government relations, advocacy and stakeholder outreach continue to grow with the maturing of the regulatory and compliance environment in India.

     

    As the firm is strengthening its focus on the Technology domain, it will now have two separate leaders driving Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) Technology domains in 2016. Piyal Banerjee and Shivaram Lakshminarayan have been appointed as the new domain leads.

     

    Piyal will be Managing Partner with a focus on B2C Telecom & Technology Practice, nationally, as it is a fast-growing area. In addition, she also takes on the mantle of Business Leader, Step Up, a unique offering focused towards helping start-ups to take the next leap by narrating their story through creative communication campaigns. With over twelve years of experience, Piyal has brand and corporate communications experience across top Asian markets including India, China, Malaysia and Singapore. She brings strong leadership skills to this new position given her credentials in the Consumer Technology space. Piyal will continue to co-anchor the Corporate & Financial Practice for West.

     

    An old Genesis Burson-Marsteller hand, Shivaram has been with the firm in Bengaluru for over a decade and has served as the technology lead in the southern markets. Shivaram will now be the Head of the B2B vertical of the Telecom & Technology Practice, nationally, given his strong credentials in the IT & ITeS space. In addition, Shivaram is also taking over the stewardship of the Corporate & Financial Practice for South and will be working closely with Sanjay Arora.

     

    Prema Sagar, Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller, Asia Pacific & Principal/Founder said, “Over the last twelve months, the consultancy has reinvented itself into a new-age communications firm to meet the growing requirements of our clients. As the year draws to a close, I am happy about the great leaps we have taken in 2015 and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. To support the continuing growth of our firm in 2016, we are promoting our talented and experienced leaders who have demonstrated that they make a difference to our clients business. I am confident that these leaders will further strengthen our India leadership team.”

     

  • The initiative is designed to provide affordable and relevant service offerings spanning traditional as well as new digital formats

    Genesis delivers a Step Up

    By a correspondent

     

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller has announced the launch of a new initiative, Step Up that seeks to cater to the communication needs of two important stakeholders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem; the start-ups and investor networks.

     

    Designed to provide affordable and relevant service offerings spanning traditional as well as new digital formats, Step Up will help young companies and SMBs take the next leap in their journey to success, by not only narrating their story creatively but also by communicating on what impacts their business.

     

    Prema Sagar

    Prema Sagar, Principal and Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller said, “Step Up is our endeavour to go back to our roots. We know, feel and understand the challenges having been a start-up ourselves. With Step Up, we have already begun to partner with new and upcoming brands in their journey so as to take it to the next big thing. What differentiates Step Up from the rest is our strong understanding of the ecosystem and the changing media scape, the right talent and the ability to provide affordable services.”

     

    Step Up offers customised services from branding and partnerships to media engagement. The offering to start-ups have been created keeping in mind various challenges faced by early-stage ventures. These offerings aim to develop and device a compelling and effective communication strategy to narrate the story of the ventures in the most innnovative manner.

     

    Commenting on this new initiative, Atul Sharma, India Lead, Step Up said, “In the last few years, the Indian start-up environment has made a mark on the global entrepreneurial map by producing unique and globally relevant propositions. Being noticed by the right audience can make a great difference to a young company’s journey. This unique initiative by Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Step Up, aims at empowering these innovative start-ups to create a space for themselves in an otherwise cluttered market. We are looking to create the next ‘whatsapp’ story in India!”

     

  • Mr Sharma will oversee the Dabur business and report to Sulina Menon, Executive Director, SMG

    Mediavest appoints Atul Sharma as GM

    By A Correspondent

     

    MediaVest Worldwide, a Starcom MediaVest Group agency has appointed Atul Sharma from Madison Media as GM in their Delhi office. Mr Sharma, who joined on June 20, will oversee the Dabur business and report to Sulina Menon, Executive Director, SMG.

     

    Mr Sharma is a postgraduate in marketing with specialization in research and consumer behaviour. He has more than 11 years experience in Strategy, Procurement and Implementation. He started career with NDTV in research and marketing. He worked extensively on audience segmentation models, business development and marketing plans.

     

    Mr Sharma had stints at Initiative Media and MPG, working with clients such as LG, Nestle, ITC, Maruti and Reckitt Benkiser.  He spent the last four years at Madison where he worked on Coca Cola amongst other clients.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Sulina Menon said: “We are happy to have Atul on board for Dabur. With his extensive FMCG experience and the research background we are looking at him to drive strategy led solutions to the Dabur brands.”

     

    On his reason for joining SMG, Mr Sharma said: “SMG is a future ready organization and I am excited to work with the new age tools like Tardiis and optimize plans across TV and Web in one go.”