Tag: Deepshikha Dharmaraj

  • Deepshikha Dharmaraj to head Burson in India

    Deepshikha Dharmaraj
    Deepshikha Dharmaraj

    Burson, the recently reconfigured communications network of WPP, has announced its leadership for APAC. Deepshikha Dharmaraj to head Burson in India. Dharmaraj has been with Burson (and its various avatars) since over three decades.

    Said HS Chung, North APAC CEO, Burson : “In today’s fast-evolving environment, clients need the best talent and capabilities to solve their most complex challenges. With our extensive footprint and reach across APAC, clients will gain access to a diverse team of specialists with decades of experience building and protecting reputation for multinational businesses in Asia and Asian enterprises overseas.”

    Added Adrian Warr, who will become South APAC CEO, Burson, as of September 16: “Innovation and creativity are at the heart of our commitment to delivering unparalleled value for our clients in APAC.  Our world-class talent will lead through exceptional creative thinking and bring innovation in action to build reputation capital as a competitive advantage for our clients, today and into the future.”

    Other than Dharmaraj, the other leaders are:

    • Tom Horn, Market Leader, Burson Australia & New Zealand
    • Claire Li, CEO, Burson Greater China
    • Marianne Admardatine, CEO, Burson Indonesia
    • Tsuyoshi Takemura, CEO, Burson Japan
    • Justin Then, CEO, Burson Malaysia
    • Rikki Jones, CEO, Burson Group Singapore and President, GCI Health Asia- Pacific
    • Cindy Lim, CEO, Burson Singapore
    • Wachiraporn  Pornpitayalert,  Market  Leader, Burson Thailand

    Chung will continue to lead Burson Korea as CEO in addition to her role as North APAC CEO.

  • Public Affairs Forum announces officebearers for 2024-25

    Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), the association of corporate public affairs practitioners, has announced names of its officebearers for 2024-25. PAFI represents members from over 100 major Indian and global companies. Deepshikha Dharmaraj took over as the President of PAFI for 2024-25 with immediate effect from Vinita Sethi

    “This is a pivotal year as the world turns its attention to India and its influence in geopolitics, climate change, and business uncertainty,” said Dharmaraj, who is CEO of BCW India Group (soon to be Burson India Group). “With the collective experience and guidance of PAFI’s exceptional past presidents, officebearers and the PAFI secretariat, I am looking forward to foster meaningful ideas and facilitate dialogue to support the government, policy and corporate decision makers.”

    Added Sethi, the outgoing President of PAFI and Senior Vice President & Chief Public Affairs at the Apollo Hospitals Group: “Over the last year, we have implemented steps towards increasing member engagement through sectoral councils, hosted a very well- received 10th Annual Forum, and continued our efforts to build capacity among young public policy professionals. We also initiated a focused initiative towards accelerating the participation of women in the workforce and leadership. Looking ahead, I believe PAFI will continue to deepen this work and lead public policy practitioners across more areas.”

    Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President, Public Policy, Amazon India is the new Vice President. Medha Girotra, Vice President- Communications, Asia Pacific, Mastercard is the new Secretary, and Shivnath Thukral, Director and Head Public Policy, Meta India is the new Treasurer.

  • Genesis BCW builds up managerial level with two new hires

    By Our Staff

     

    Genesis BCW has announced two new hires to further strengthen its C-suite counsel. Sanyukta Dutta joins the agency as Senior Director and India Practice Chair for Enterprise Technology, and Shashanka Nanda as Senior Director and India Practice Chair for Corporate & Services.

     

    While Dutta integrates her expertise in marketing and PR with her understanding of the evolving technology space, Nanda combines his experience with corporate as well as government clients and wide sectoral knowledge.

     

    Said Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Chief Executive Officer, BCW India Group: “Both Shashanka and Sanyukta bring with them extensive experience across brand and corporate communication spanning industry verticals. Their expertise in devising data-driven communication strategies will help us deliver on our promise to drive impact through our Earned-Plus offer for our clients. We are delighted to be able to tap into this multi-dimensional perspective for both our clients and our people.”

     

  • Deepshikha Dharmaraj to India Group CEO @ BCW

    By Our Staff

     

    BCW, the global communications agency, has named Deepshikha Dharmaraj as Chief Executive Officer, BCW India Group. Dharmaraj will retain her current role as Chief Executive Officer, Genesis BCW, in addition to managing the overall business interests of BCW in India and implementing its growth strategy encompassing people, clients and partners.

     

    Said Matt Stafford, President, BCW Asia-Pacific: “Under Deepshikha’s impressive leadership in 2021, Genesis BCW has achieved one of its best years of revenue growth in it’s nearly three decades of operation. Six Degrees has also recorded double digit growth this year under Rishi and Vandana. The time is right for Deepshikha to take on a wider role overseeing both of our fantastic teams in India.”

     

    Added Dharmaraj: “It has been a great privilege to be part of Genesis BCW’s eventful and illustrious journey over the past 30 years,”. “Under BCW India Group, we have faced the challenges of the past two years with our combined assets and come out stronger for it. BCW India Group has ambitious plans for 2022 and I am excited to work closely with both the Genesis BCW and Six Degrees BCW leadership teams to take the business to new heights.”

     

  • Arijit De is back at Genesis

    By Our Staff

     

    Arijit De
    Arijit De

    Genesis BCW has announced the appointment of Arijit De as Chief Client Officer. In this role, De will provide clients with strategic communications counsel across messaging, stakeholder insights, organisational change, and issues and crises.

     

    “Arijit brings back to Genesis BCW a unique insider’s view across the worlds of corporate, media and agency,” said Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Chief Executive Officer, Genesis BCW. “Our clients and employees will benefit greatly from his deep understanding of strategic decision-making and the nuances of today’s communications ecosystem at a local, regional and global level. We are delighted to be able to tap into this multi-dimensional perspective for our clients and people as we strengthen our Earned-Plus offering.”

     

  • Indian Steel Association mandate Genesis BCW

    By Our Staff

     

    Genesis BCW has been appointed communications partner by Indian Steel Association (ISA). The agency will work with ISA to build awareness about steel as a sustainable material and its contribution towards India’s socio-economic growth. The agency will also build resonance for ISA’s position as a consortium that is working towards a vision to transform the Indian steel industry.

     

    Speaking on the announcement, Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, Secretary-General and Executive Head, Indian Steel Association, said: “As an association, we are the voice of the industry. Our focus is on making sure that people understand steel and the people behind it better, as well as showcasing the central role it plays in nation-building. We are confident that Genesis BCW, with its vast experience spanning infrastructure companies and associations, and overall expertise in communications will be able to partner with us in creating a lasting impact.”

     

    Added Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Chief Executive Officer, Genesis BCW: “Steel is literally the backbone of our country and that story needs to be told effectively, engagingly and creatively. We are excited to be chosen to partner with Indian Steel Association to use our earned-plus approach to move ISA’s many stakeholders.”

     

  • Genesis BCW to look at PR for new Noida airport

    By A Correspondent

     

    Genesis BCW has been appointed as communications partner for the Delhi Noida International Airport at Jewar that’s coming up in 2024. The airport management is by Zurich Airport International AG. The business was won in September 2020 following a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Said Daniel Bircher, Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Airport International (Asia): “We are pleased to partner with Genesis BCW for our upcoming and one of the most coveted projects to build and maintain the Delhi Noida International Airport at Jewar. The Genesis team’s expertise and understanding of the aviation space in India will be instrumental in communicating our vision to build a user-friendly, efficient and sustainable airport in Delhi NCR. We look forward to working with the team and leveraging their expertise in conveying our story as we make progress on this project.”

     

    Added Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Chief Executive Officer, Genesis BCW: “It is an absolute privilege to partner with the Delhi Noida International Airport team on what is going to be an innovative new landmark for India. We are excited to embark on the integrated communications journey for this project, showcasing its strengths and benefits through a multi-stakeholder approach.”

     

     

  • Jaslok Hospital hires Genesis BCW for PR & Comms

    By A Correspondent

     

    Genesis BCW has announced its appointment as communications partner for Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre. The business was won following a multi-agency pitch in April.

     

    Said George Alex COO, Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre: “The ongoing pandemic has created a huge burden on the healthcare infrastructure in India. We remain firm in our commitment to provide patients with the best-in-class medical facilities and healthcare services required to diagnose and treat the most complex and challenging illnesses. We are excited to work with our new communications partner, Genesis BCW, to leverage their expertise to achieve our goals.”

     

    Added Deepshikha Dharmaraj, CEO, Genesis BCW: “At a time when the pressure on India’s healthcare system is at an all-time high, we are honored to be chosen as Jaslok Hospital’s PR & communications partner,”. “It is with much pride that we take on this opportunity to support our frontline health workers by using our creative and strategic approach to communications to deliver results that have real and lasting impact.”

     

     

  • Genesis Burson-Marsteller rebrands as Genesis BCW

    By A Correspondent

     

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller in India has announced its formal rebranding as Genesis BCW, effective immediately. The rebranding follows the February 2018 merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe to form BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe).

     

    Said Prema Sagar, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Genesis BCW: “We are excited to take on the BCW brand proposition as part of our new identity. The respect, credibility and leadership that brand Genesis has established in India will only grow further with the vision, energy and fresh offerings of BCW. We are incredibly excited for this next chapter.”

     

    Genesis BCW will continue to be led by Sagar along with newly appointed Managing Director Deepshikha Dharmaraj.

     

    Added Matt Stafford, President, Asia-Pacific, BCW, to whom Sagar reports: “In India, the Genesis brand is synonymous with PR excellence and as an employer of choice for up and coming communicators. The brand will continue to thrive and resonate in our industry as Genesis BCW. Our India team is on a roll. The end of year financial results for 2018 have just been finalised and Genesis BCW achieved its highest annual revenue growth in its 26 years of existence.”

     

     

  • Genesis Burson-Marsteller names Deepshikha Dharmaraj as MD

    By A Correspondent

     

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller (GBM) has named Deepshikha Dharmaraj as Managing Director. She will work closely with Chief Executive Officer and Founder Prema Sagar to oversee the organisation and implement its growth strategy for 2019. In January 2019, the firm will announce its new leadership structure to set the future growth path for its clients and people. Recently, longstanding senior executive Nikhil Dey quite the agency to join Weber Shandwick India as vice chair.

     

    Dharmaraj joined GBM 24 years ago and has held a number of different leadership roles during that time including Chief Talent Officer and most recently, Chief Business Growth Officer, where she oversaw the development of the agency’s client portfolio, talent and partnerships as well as innovation around new services to deliver on the firm’s promise of integrated communications for global and Indian brands.

     

    Said Sagar: “Deepshikha has been an integral part of our journey almost from the beginning. In all of her avatars, she has lived the Genesis ethos and it is her pursuit of excellence in making the firm a truly integrated communications business that has helped us grow stronger with each year. “That, in turn, has helped everyone at the firm push the boundaries of communications for our clients and enabled us do more for our people, industry and community. I wish her even more success in her new role.”

     

    Added Dharmaraj: “It has been a great privilege to be part of Genesis Burson-Marsteller’s eventful and illustrious journey so far. Our plans for growth in 2019 will take the firm to greater heights and I am looking forward to this next phase in my new role with much excitement.”

     

     

  • Will Data be the Annadata of the future?

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    We all know that data is the future of the marketing services business. The immediate future at least. And those who want to maximise on things now, even the present.

     

    Marketing services conglomerate WPP organised its first ever ‘Date with Data’ Summit on Tuesday with a galaxy of marketing gods and its own star-studded network.

     

    The idea was to exchange ideas and insights on data-driven marketing and the use of technology across marketing solutions. Keynote speakers and masterclass presenters emphasised the evolving role of data and its profound influence on the industry across all sectors. And thereby of course underscore its expertise with all things data.

    Speaking on the relevance of Audience Planning: A Journey or a Destination, Gauravjeet Singh, Head of Media South Asia, Hindustan Unilever, said, “It is a great experience to attend industry forums like this which really discuss the cutting-edge work that is happening around data. It is important to validate what one believes which helps during discussions with panellists and eventually leads to the right direction.”

     

    Addressing the growing need for marketeers and thought leaders in the industry to efficiently utilise the power of data, CVL Srinivas, Country Manager WPP India, said: “WPP strongly believes in driving collaboration amongst various stakeholders of the industry and this event is our attempt to create a platform for sharing different perspectives on how data is helping reshape marketing and businesses. As responsible users of data, we strive to enable thought-provoking discussions around important themes. We witnessed great participation from our clients, partners and colleagues.”

     

    The Summit opened with masterclasses on Data Visualisation-To Drive Data Adoption and Data Driven Thinking; Building A Data Driven Organisation; Unlocking the True Potential of Mobile Data; Data Privacy and Responsibility and Connecting Data (Data Integration) and Generating Targeted Insights (Data Analysis). These sessions were conducted by experts from Google Cloud, InMobi, Kantar and Data Alliance.

     

    The afternoon saw panel discussions on topics such as Decoding The Consumer: Fundamentals to Future, that addressed advancements in insights, research and analytics; Connected Commerce: Decoding The Last Mile, which highlighted how data and analytics are being leveraged to bridge the gaps in commerce. Audience Planning: A Journey Or A Destination touched upon innovative approaches of using data whilst Data As A Source of Creative Inspiration explored how data can be used to inspire creative content and communication planning.

     

    Speakers and participants from companies such as Vodafone, ITC, Pepperfry, Hindustan Unilever, Ford India, Google, InMobi and Nykaa were amongst those that delivered key presentations and business insights.

     

    And here are pointers from what the various panellists said:

     

    Panel 1: Decoding the Consumer: Fundamentals to Future

     

    Siddharth Banerjee – Executive Vice President of Brand and Marketing, Vodafone

    Data signals help to pick up on consumer behaviour. Data collection can be harnessed in days and weeks rather than months and years. Facebook analytics is used to understand consumer behaviour, it is important for marketeers to harness the information. Future models will have evolve. I would rather use two or three word acronyms over artificial intelligence. Some fundamentals don’t change.

     

    Tushar Vyas- Chief Strategy Officer, GroupM South Asia

    Miniscule part that buys ITC product will be open to understand consumer behaviour

    Machine and data is augmenting the human mind to make the decision.

     

    Shuvadip Banerjee – Vice President of Marketing Services, ITC limited

    Data is being collected, curated mined on a daily basis. Bringing this data together is a challenge. End-to-end perspective gives a richer view. Quantum has increased.

    Data will help us predict consumer behaviour. Data is supplementing something critical. Never loose contact with your consumers.

     

    Panel 2: Connected Commerce: Decoding the last mile.

     

    Vikas Agnihotri – Country Director, India Sales, Google India.

    Certain weather conditions leads to how the food ordering habits change

    Helped a client on-board payments identified catchments areas where merchants will come on board. Omnichannels is going to stay it is a big part. Eg: Maruti has more than 700 dealers in the country. 9-10 customers watch a video before buying a car. It is a yearly study done by Google. There is a very strong correlation that shows customers are able to see and buy products from the store. The customers are now more informed about the car before they purchase it.

     

    Kashyap Vadapalli – Chief Marketing’s Officer Pepperfry

    Control marketplace, partly how we sell it to our merchants. Data what we use is consumer behaviour. What kind of patterns lead to a completion.

    Buying behaviour is important. Life time value. Then we know category of consumers we have to tap on. Browsing behaviour, gives us an idea of what to do

     

    Sanjay Suri, Chief Technology Officer, Nykaa

    We save all data (click, search) earlier we used to do base level analysis. Ability to look at the cohorts who have come on week by week.

    Use different Market strategy. Breaking the cohort into a granulated level, figuring each segment and personalising it.

     

    Panel 3: Audience Planning: A Journey or a Destination.

     

    Gaurav Jeet Singh – Head of Media South Asia Unilever

    It is all sophisticated marketing. Purchase decision is important.

    Performance marketing is confused with Audience marketing

    Looking at large data structure which don’t talk to each other.

    How does our data marry 2nd party data and how does 2nd party marry 3rd and complement the other.

    You need to go after data that is most recent or refreshed every month. A lot of data set ups are not recent.

     

    Vasuta Agarwal- VP and GM, South Asia InMobi

    Becomes critical with partners and shares. No one solution to fit different markets.

    Define relevant signal and sources

    In the non-economic world you don’t have a single view of their customers which is a problem. Sometimes we take data we take at face value. We don’t know how many times it is refreshed and how recent it is. Another challenge is authentic data. And needing teams to check the data.

     

    Rahul Gautam- VP of Marketing Ford India

    Small share in the Indian context of 5%. People are going against others opinions to buy Ford cars. Taking those signals to target my audience that’s success. It will help all advertisers to be sharp on the money.

     

    Kartik Sharma – CEO South Asia, Wavemaker

    Cohorts of people are being able to identified through audience planning. Initially audience planning was more like demographic planning, now it has become sharper. Look at the consumer take signals and build something of it.

    Recency of data is important. How do you make meaning out of signals is difficult. If you don’t have the resources and people it is task to do.

    Audience planning is a Process

     

    Panel 4: Data As A Source of Creative Inspiration

    Aditya Swamy – Head of Agency Partnership Google

    Looked at data from audience POV. A strong idea laid across the tool, you are sure to win the market. Mass brands can bunch users by their spending techniques and their behaviour. 2015, YouTube had two YouTubers who had million subscribers now in 2018 there 400 solo native Youtubers who have a million subscribers. These people have looked at data analyst and constantly reading comments.

    Looking for tickets while traveling is something MakeMyTrip would tap onto but Samsonite is tapping on those queries.

     

    Kainaz Karmakar – Group Creative Director, Ogilvy

    Campaign creativity for awareness – Savlon Swast campaign.

    Target audience children. By simple data point of washing hands, we have reached 2.3million children. We carried out a project where children in villages were given chalk to write with and once done it was used as handwash under water. This data point has made a difference.

     

    Deepshikha Dharmaraj – Chief Business Growth Officer, Genesis Burson-Marsteller

    It is the biggest challenge to combine data and creativity. Data is pure info unless you can create a story with it. A great campaign is built when it starts with your assumption, thought and then with the data and add a layer of how it work with the audience. Data+ creativity= Magic. It is about storytelling. Influencers are what driving the storytelling technique. Some people don’t want to engage with influencers because of payment. But engaging with them creates a better story telling method. And it also reaches the audience faster.

     

     

  • TR:OUTH 2015 uncovers various facets of youth behaviour

    By A Correspondent

     

    Youth is India’s firepower and they are making sure everyone stands up and takes notice. They exercise a powerful influence on our culture, are not afraid to take a stand, crave social interaction, continue to love selfies, are tech savvy, aspire for self-improvement. These are some of the patterns of youth behaviour uncovered by TR:OUTH 2015, Trends for Indian Youth study by Genesis Burson-Marsteller, which forecasts the trends our youngsters are likely to follow in 2015.

     

    TR:OUTH is a result of a benchmark study first conducted in 2013 when it revealed trends ranging from fashion, media consumption habits, music, branding and more. This year’s forecast is a result of extensive pan-India brainstorming sessions that were conducted with a cross section of participants from millennial and Gen X age groups across different industry sectors. The consultancy used a specially adapted version of the Consumer Trend Canvas with the permission of trendwatching.com and in collaboration with Elaine Cameron, Head of Burson-Marsteller’s Future Perspective Trend Analysis Group.

     

    Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, Genesis Burson-Marsteller said, “The TR:OUTH: Trends for Indian Youth study has become representative of the constant changes that society and the Indian youth in particular, is undergoing. Times are changing at a pace faster than brands can keep up with. And this rapid change is being brought about by the exuberance that the youth of the current generation demonstrates. They no longer limit themselves to impressive and lofty platitudes, they act in a manner that leaves a deep impression among the public at large. Through our collaboration with Elaine, we have identified trends in the youth demographic to help brands target their products and services better.”

     

    Elaine Cameron has provided the guidance and methodology to make the brainstorming sessions more structured and the findings more robust. She shared, “TR:OUTH is a truly cross border innovative collaboration as it involved a trendwatching.com consultant based in Austria, me in the UK and the Genesis BM team across India. We adapted the trendwatching Consumer Trends Canvas to provide the team in India with an evidence-based framework for the trends.”

     

    Providing an overview of the trends, Elaine said, “Expanding global markets, greater connectivity, rich cultural urban environments are making the Indian youth increasingly driven, committed to improving themselves, and impatient about experiencing life. They no longer believe in the static way of life. Instead they have fun, they allow themselves to be surprised, embrace excitement. One key trend though has been that youth have become change champions – brands that give voice to the concerns of the masses will win in the long run.”

     

    Top 10 TRENDS that reflect the mind-set of the INDIAN YOUTH

    I. STATEMENTAL: Mind set to make a statement; look better and stand higher

    India’s emerging affluent middle class is eager to try the latest and best. Indian youth derive much of their social status through the goods, services and experiences they consume. Indeed, with so many choices available, consuming becomes as much a statement about who you are, as what you have.

    II. NEW-YOUer: Constant need to be a better version of ourselves

    Show us a consumer who doesn’t aspire for self-improvement. The drive to improve oneself can manifest itself in a number of ways, such as the desire for better health, for greater knowledge, and the development of new skills. Brands and products that satisfy these needs will therefore simply appear ‘better’ than those that don’t.

    III. MYOPIUM: Being intoxicated with yourself

    MYOPIUM is each person’s consumption realm, where his/ her preferences and tastes reign. Cater to an individual’s MYOPIUM with brilliantly customized products, by enabling and encouraging personal expression, or by offering protection from harm.

    Our online experience is fueling this: profiles (that make it all about the individual) are ubiquitous, personalisation is rampant and effortless, and the expression of one’s likes, dislikes and everything in-between is easy and constant.

    IV. DESI COOL: Being Indian and buying Indian continues to be cool

    Despite globalisation, despite online connectivity; being desi continues to be cool. Whether driven by a sense of pride, authenticity, convenience and/or eco-concerns, consumers will continue to embrace Indian products, services and knowledge.

    V. CHILLS-UMERS: How do you bring some much-needed fun to your daily life?

    Surprise. Entertainment. Amusement. People relish brands that bring some much-needed fun to the consumer arena. Introducing competitive and participatory games, embracing humor, or celebrating the unexpected makes life – and consumption – less boring and simply more enjoyable.

    VI. NOWians: Indians want it right here, right NOW

    Whether to satisfy their ever-shorter attention spans, their lust for the ‘now’, their craving for real, physical interaction, or to free themselves from the hassle of ownership, Indian youth are moving beyond the fixed or static, and rushing instead to collect as many experiences and stories as possible. That’s why ‘time’, and its many dimensions, should be brands’ next innovation frontier.

    VII. CHANGE CHAMPIONS: With great power, comes great responsibility and therefore, greater involvement

    Younger generation of Indians lead busy, busy lives, yet they are now more involved in driving change. They will not blindly accept the status quo. Instead, empowered by digital technologies and democratised access to information, they’ll collaborate their enthusiasm and knowledge to create new solutions to shared problems. Naturally, therefore, many will be happy to advocate for brands that are socially responsible and produce responsible products and services.

    VIII. CONNECTIFY: The eternal desire for connection, and the many (new) ways it can be satisfied

    Indians are social beings, and will forever enjoy coming together, making connections, collaborating and sharing experiences. The good news? There have never been more opportunities to cater to, benefit from or facilitate this basic desire. All together now…

    IX. OMNI-TECH: The ever-greater pervasiveness of technology

    We all love staying connected to technology, round the clock. Well, technology will become ubiquitous, universal and impossible to live without. Why? Quite simply because Indian youth will continue to crave (and build their lives around) the unparalleled ‘superpowers’ that technology offers them: perfect and instant information, absolute transparency, limitless choice and more.

    X. INFO-BURST: Why consumers’ voracious appetite for (even more) information will only grow

    Forget information overload: Indians’ desire for relevant, useful, timely information is insatiable. Youth will continue to lap up products, tools and services that bring them the right information, at the right time, in an understandable, intuitive and actionable way.