The Advertising Club and MICA has announced a Leadership Development Programme on ‘Data Science in Strategic Marketing & Management’ is aimed at driving learning and effectiveness in the category. Supporting the communication efforts of this initiative is Dentsu Webchutney, the Dentsu Aegis Network agency which has come on board as Creative Partner.
Speaking about the partnership, Partho Dasgupta, President, The Advertising Club: “The current global landscape has been challenging and every business strategy had to be adapted to the new digital order. In such a scenario it is critical that the young minds in the category upskill and are aligned to meet the changing demands of the advertising and marketing landscape – data analytics being one such important and defining marketing metric. The program curated in association by MICA and delivered by category thought leaders will play a key role in allowing young minds from the industry to develop an appreciation of the applications of big data analytics in marketing. It will aid in learning tools required to solve marketing problems through data science.”
Speaking about the initiative, Dr Preeti Shroff, Dean – MICA, said: “The programme curated together with The Advertising Club is critical in elevating knowledge level and expanding learning experiences of our young and creative advertisers and marketeers. The course will induct these young minds into the world of data mining analytics – now imperative to understand consumer trends, track impact and showcase effectiveness of every marketing effort. Data is the most important global currency at a time when ROI is being constantly measured in a rapidly changing world. This programme will empower young professionals with knowledge required to ensure effectiveness for their campaign and deliver return on every rupee and all other resources invested in marketing”.
Application information to be available soon at www.theadclub.com.
Mcgarrybowen India, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), which was earlier called Happy Mcgarrybowen has named Nishi Kant as its new President.
Prior to this, Kant was EVP and Branch Head, Dentsu Webchutney, Delhi and Mumbai. In his new role, he will spearhead the agency across its three offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. He will continue to report into Sidharth Rao, Chairman, Mcgarrybowen India & Dentsu Webchutney.
Sidharth Rao
Commenting on the elevation, Rao said: “In my 15 years of work experience with Nishi, I have seen him grow into a business leader par excellence from a mighty creative resource. He has successfully led Dentsu Webchutney’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai. Mcgarrybowen holds a great legacy globally and I welcome him to instil his values and lead the team, nationally. I firmly believe his insights will enhance the company’s brand value and empower potential growth.”
Nishi Kant
Added Kant: “I am honoured and energised by the opportunity to assume the leadership of Mcgarrybowen India in the midst of these challenging times. I have deep respect for all the work that has taken place to transform Mcgarrybowen as a global creative powerhouse. I am looking forward to working with our talented team and group leaders over the coming years to create a truly integrated agency. Together, we will capture the next wave of growth for Mcgarrybowen India by remaining laser-focused on serving our clients, crafting efficient creative work and providing best career experiences to our people.”
Dating app OkCupid has launched its digital campaign #AllyOfLove in support of the community during this year’s International Month of Pride. The digital film conceptualised by Dentsu WebChutney, is a 2020 take on the popular game ‘Never have I ever’.
Said Melissa Hobley, CMO, OkCupid: “The most beautiful, meaningful, and rewarding connections are formed when people are able to identify and are celebrated as their authentic selves. OkCupid’s early brand promise still holds true today with 13 sexual orientations, 22 gender options and over 3,000 questions on the platform, to make sure our users are matched with people on the same wavelength as you. Through the app and the campaign, OkCupid empowers millennials to show who they are and reminds us that to be an ally of love, one should just be willing to accept and celebrate love in every shade of the rainbow.”
Added Siddhi Desai, Senior Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney: “At a time when everyone could do with a little extra support, minority communities could do with a whole lot more – and that’s exactly what #AllyOfLove calls for. OkCupid is an ally in itself, and with this campaign, we’re aiming to garner support from people outside the LGBTQIA+ community to join us in standing up for people’s freedom to love whoever they want.”
Asus India celebrated “Mother’s Day” with its #LikeMotherLikeAsus campaign to promote meaningful gestures by motjers. The digital campaign was designed by Dentsu WebChutney in collaboration with Asus India.
Commenting on the campaign, Paramjeet Singh Mehta, Head of Marketing, SYS Business Group, Asus India said: “Being a mother has its moments. Some are heartwarming, others messy, some thrilling, and other’s just overwhelming. Being a mother is full of these ups and downs, a seamless blend of the perfect and not so perfect moments. The #LikeMotherLikeAsus campaign is a perfect embodiment of this thought wherein we encourage our consumers to pause and take a moment to appreciate and be grateful towards this truly divine manifestation on earth.”
Added Harsh Shah, Senior Vice President, Dentsu Webchutney: “We at Dentsu Webchutney, personally have been big fans of Asus laptops. Be it Zenbook Pro Duo or VivoBook, they are our favorites, purely for their multitasking capability. Beauty, display muscle, state of the art technology only adds to it. This makes Asus Laptops so relevant to us as Indians. Multitasking is in our genes, be it roles that we play in our daily life or things we do at work and our homes. Genes that we strongly believe are maternal. There is no bigger multitasker than our Moms in humankind and this reality seamlessly brought us to the biggest multitasker known to the Laptop kind. This Mother’s Day, instead of going conventional with a wish we decided to let people know the biggest inspiration that there is for Asus Laptops – Mothers. And what better way to say it than going with something every Indian relates to ‘Maa pe gaya hai’. Hence, the thought of #LikeMotherLikeAsus.”
A visible bra strap has been long used as a patriarchal tool to shame women into falling in-line with the stigma attached to bra straps. Consequently, MTV India with Dentsu Webchutney decided to launch – ‘Baar Bra Dekho’ – to address this issue. The aim was to normalise the existence of a peeking bra strap.
Speaking on the initiative, Navin Shenoy, Marketing Head, Youth, Music, and English Entertainment, Viacom18 said: “Women are leaping ahead in every field. But instead of talking about their laurels, they are still being judged and questioned about what they wear. Criticising their peeking bra straps in 2020 is shameful and not even worth a consideration. Taking this issue head on, we are proud to present MTV Baar Bra Dekho, a thought-provoking initiative that distinctively questions the regressive stereotypes women are subjected to. It’s imperative to change the narrative. Starting this Women’s Day, we urge the youth of this country to celebrate the spirit of freedom and womanhood, the MTV way.”
Added Aalap Desai, Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney: “Creativity comes in all shapes and forms. When we found this powerful insight in our culture, we wanted to have a strong point-of-view on it. We wanted to go all out and attack this mindset at its very roots. So, we decided to make the bra strap itself our media vehicle to convey our message in the most noticeable way ever. By becoming the voice of the bra strap, we became the voice of millions of Indian women who were refusing to be silent anymore.”
Dentsu Webchutney has bagged the digital and creative duties for dating app, OkCupid India. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be serviced out of the agency’s Bengaluru office.
Prashant Gopalakrishnan
Commenting on the win, Prashant Gopalakrishnan, SVP, Dentsu Webchutney said: “We are excited to partner with yet another industry giant in OkCupid. Innovative ideas can help overcome challenges in the Indian online dating market. It is a phenomenal market opportunity – one that has been covered in-depth in analyst reports. On a lighter note, as the sole married employee on the account, I believe the rest of the team can truly do justice to it!”
Shruti Gupta
Added Shruti Gupta, Brand Manager, OkCupid India: “OkCupid is about meaningful relationships – on, and off the service. This is why the newest one we are forging with Dentsu Webchutney feels like the beginning of a long and productive journey.”
Dating app OkCupid has launched digital campaign #Mismatchmakers using Meme Text Videos (MTVs) to address the frustrations of single millennials thanks to friends, family, and peers constantly trying to set them up.
Talking about the campaign, Melissa Hobley, CMO at OkCupid, said: “#Mismatchmakers is a fun take on the obvious frustration of your loved ones setting you up on bad dates. We love them, but not their taste in our partner! Every single person wants them to stop and doesn’t know how to tell them – so we did! It’s 2020 after all – this is the year to find love on your terms – not theirs.”
Added PG Aditiya, Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney: “Sometimes great advertising doesn’t look or feel like an ad, and that’s part of the secret sauce. The team behind Mismatchmakers represent OkCupid’s core target users as well, so the scripts wrote themselves. The entire campaign was also produced and directed by the core team at Webchutney, making it ridiculously enjoyable to create and, hopefully, consume.”
Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India has announced the launch of DAN Innovation Lab in an attempt to foster, access and accelerate innovative learning. Led by Gurbaksh Singh, earlier chief creative technologist at Dentsu Webchutney, DAN Innovations Lab India will drive solutions for clients keeping creative and tech at its functional core.
Singh will work with teams at Dentsu Webchutney, Isobar India and Posterscope India on emerging technologies to drive tech-led innovations for all the three agencies. However, eventually Dan Innovation Lab will also support all DAN brands and service all DAN clients across India.
Anand Bhadkamkar
Commenting on the launch, Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India said: “I am extremely proud to announce the launch of DAN Innovation Lab. The facility will function as a central faculty between Dentsu Webchutney, Isobar and Posterscope to bring together the network’s expertise in strategy, technology, design and creativity from across the Group. Keeping creativity at its core, DAN Innovation Lab will focus on generating ideas and fresh business tactics to help drive greater efficiencies and deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients.”
Gurbaksh Singh
Commenting on his new role, Singh added: “I am deeply honoured to take up this new role. This has opened a whole bunch of opportunities on a much larger playground. Working with multiple creative teams across agencies will only strengthen the creative output. I believe in embracing new makers and sparking curiosity that can lead to incubating a new culture of innovation in the group. Developing new solutions on this new front will be exciting and equally challenging.”
Dentsu Webchutney has named Gautam Reghunath as its new Chief Executive Officer. The news comes post the elevation of Sidharth Rao as Chairman, Happy mcgarrybowen (HMB) India and Dentsu Webchutney last week.
Prior to this, Reghunath was Executive Vice President (EVP) and Branch Head for Dentsu Webchutney, Bengaluru. In his new role, Reghunath will continue to report into Rao and will now lead the agency, nationwide.
Sidharth Rao
Commenting on Reghunath’s appointment, Rao said: “Gautam’s remarkable and much-deserved rise from within the ranks of Dentsu Webchutney is one of my favourite stories from the agency’s 20-year-old legacy. He started out as a junior servicing executive in 2010 and earned his stripes through sheer hard work and creative brilliance. He is a homegrown leader, someone whose impact on our people and business is unparalleled. Nothing exemplifies this better than our success with Bangalore – an office that he built from ground zero to the stature it commands, now. He understands our history. He cares for our legacy. He has more than an eye on our future. I am so proud to have him lead us on our next journey!”
Gautam Reghunath
Added Reghunath: “In my time at Dentsu Webchutney, I’ve had the opportunity to work with incredible colleagues who inspire me and, for us, to find purpose, success and joy in our work along the way. I’ve grown up here. I’ve had my best years here, and today, I’m so proud to be the leader of this remarkable group of talent. Dentsu Webchutney started the digital advertising market in India as we know it. Our incredible client roster with some of the most globally consequential companies gives us a foundation to continue industry-leading creative work across branches in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurgaon. Sidharth is a tough act to follow. But he remains a keen advisor, well-wisher and a mentor I’m thrilled to have as we take on our biggest years of growth.”
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.”
Vice Media, the youth-centered lifestyle and digital news platform, along with Dentsu Webchutney have launched the first teletext news portal: The 8-Bit Journo. Relevant news stories that Kashmiris had missed out on over the last 110 days were converted into teletext and despatched to Kashmiris through SMS, the moment the service started in Jammu & Kashmir.
Said Sarvesh Jasuja, Senior Growth Manager-APAC, Vice Media: “Vice has always represented the voice of the youth – uncovering and understanding complex situations around the world through the lens of young people on the ground. This project is exactly the kind of thing that motivates us – to be able to share inspiring, meaningful or even just light-hearted irreverent stories, to bring moments of connection into the lives of those who are feeling disconnected.”
Added Aalap Desai, Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney: “Necessity is the mother of invention. In today’s day and age we cannot imagine a world without the internet. We would not just be devoid of information but also the essential human connection that we all need. The purpose of digital is to add back to human lives. So while sometimes you go forward in looking for futuristic tech to work on, you also need to go backwards to solve a problem; and that is what we exactly did.”
Greetings! It’s D-Day all over again. December 20, 2010. The day when we said we would announce the MxMIndia Mediaperson of the Year 2019. Unlike various other awards and presentations, this is done via MxMIndia, not through an event. So we aren’t dictated by the demands (and exigencies) of sponsors and the constraints that venues and budgets put us under. We like to compare it with the Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Just an online announcement. We are sure you will join us in the celebration of who our 2019 Mediaperson of the Year is.
First a quick look at how we are different from various other awards/title presentations:
First, it’s not based on a survey. It’s not based on any industry poll. It is based on a study conducted by us through the year. This makes the decision-making tougher, as we can’t pass the blame on to research. Or the collective view of the industry. Or of a jury.
Second, it’s an A&M industry study. Agreed CEOs of big clients are important, but we are looking at CMOs and not CEOs of well-marketed organisations.
Third, we look at performance through the year, and do not base it on the highs of the last two quarters of a year which tend to influence any voting-based process at the yearend.
Fourth, it’s about performance in the year. The highs and highs achieved in this calendar year.
Fifth, we give you a clear reason why we have chosen the winner
Sixth, we are as sincere and honest about the awards as one can get. A few years back there were suggestions that we should make it an on-ground event. But then that comes with its own set of issues (and compulsions). We even had one large media group expressing its interest four years back. But we think it could’ve influenced our decision-making.
So: the MxMIndia Mediaperson of the Year 2019 is an online presentation. It’s an accolade that’s for the truly well-deserving. And for the True Achiever of 2019 in the Indian Media, Advertising & Marketing arena.
With the backgrounders done, here’s how we went about our task.
We maintain an online notebook that records important developments of the year. It’s also a drill that ensures one can do recaps etc with ease.
For the Mediaperson of the Year, one reviews names, quarter-wise. This ensures the choice of the winner doesn’t suffer from the recency factor.
We looked at various names. We couldn’t miss the achievements of the various media biggies as they went on consolidating operations.
We had also asked our readers for their nominations, and we added these to the come to a shortlist of five.
Ladies and Gentlemen, We have great pride in announcing that the 2019 MxMIndia Mediaperson of the Year Award is:
Sidharth Rao
CEO and Co-Founder, Dentsu Webchutney
Sidharth Rao
He was all of 19 when he started a digital agency called Webchutney. He was its co-founder and CEO. Six years back (in 2013), the agency was acquired by the Dentsu Aegis Network and hasn’t looked back ever since.
Dentsu Webchutney was the most-awarded Indian agency at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2019. And has won numerous awards – at the Goafest Abby, at the Kyoorius Awards and almost everywhere else. The year also saw the release of Rao’s book ‘How I Almost Blew It’
Rao is also an angel investor, was the co-founder of Network Play, which became one of the largest brand ad network in less than three years and was later acquired by European media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG.
So how did we arrive at our decision:
The year 2019 has been pretty horrible for the media, advertising and marketing ecosystem. Achche Din didn’t happen. In fact the line that’s used is: Burre din kab jaayenge.
This state of the economy has had a huge impact on the business of media. Profits are down, work has reduced and the bottomlines have been severely impacted.
So we looked at all the small, medium-sized and large companies that did very well in the year. While there has been a fair amount of great work done despite all the odds, we didn’t find an individual’s achievement striking enough for being a ‘Person of the Year’. There is of course the argument that the very ability to navigate and profit in a tough year is by itself an achievement.
We couldn’t agree more. So to the media and advertising industry and all the professionals who are part of it: kudos. You are all super-achievers.
But in all of this, we found Sidharth Rao’s achievements stand out. Digital has been growing over the years, but one of the reasons why it hasn’t grown enough so far is because it’s always been compartmentalised and hence never considered as mainstream advertising.
Rao’s achievements of the year have changed that. And will do that forever. He’s not your pinstriped suitwallah adperson. He’s not a turtle neck T-shirt wallah techie. He belongs to the breed of industryfolk who have done things quietly and have done it over the years.
A truly deserving winner of the 2019 MxMIndia Mediaperson of the Year title.
A visible bra strap has been long used as a patriarchal tool to shame women into falling in-line with the stigma attached to bra straps. Consequently, MTV India with Dentsu Webchutney decided to launch – ‘Baar Bra Dekho’ – to address this issue. The aim was to normalise the existence of a peeking bra strap.
