MxMIndia

Tag: Essence

  • Global CEO Kyoko Matsushita appoints APAC President, Growth and Strategy, T Gangadhar, as APAC CEO

    Essence names T Gangadhar as CEO – APAC

    By A Correspondent

     

    T Gangadhar

    Essence, a global data and measurement-driven media agency which is part of GroupM, has announced the appointment of T Gangadhar (better know as Gangs in the fraternity) as the company’s CEO for APAC. Succeeding Essence’s Global CEO Kyoko Matsushita, who previously served as APAC CEO, Gangadhar will be responsible for driving continued client-centric innovation in data, analytics, and technology, as well as business growth and company culture across the agency’s fastest-growing region. Based out of Mumbai, Gangadhar will work closely with Essence’s global and APAC leadership teams, and will continue to report to Matsushita.

     

    Gangs most recently served as President, Growth and Strategy, APAC for Essence, incharge of the agency’s business strategy, development, and growth. He first joined Essence in 2018 as Chairman, India after having held the role of Managing Director, South Asia at MEC and Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing at Sony Entertainment Television.

     

    Said Matsushita: “Gangs’ extensive experience in the industry, his knowledge of Essence’s culture and our clients, and his vision for our business in the region make him the ideal person to lead us into our next phase of growth and innovation in APAC. As the most senior member of our regional leadership team, Gangs has done an outstanding job in partnering with me to navigate our business through the challenges of 2020 and I am truly excited about what we will be able to achieve with him at the helm in APAC going forward,” .

     

    Added Gangadhar: “I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead this truly special agency in APAC. Essence is pioneering the use of data, analytics, and technology at a time when more and more companies are looking to take advantage of data-driven media and creativity. I am excited about leveraging our best-in-class capabilities to discover new ways to add value for our clients, consumers, and employees – in these current times and in the post-Covid-19 future ahead of us.”

     

     

  • Viewers could scan a QR code and order on Flipkart

    Zee TV, Essence & Flipkart get together to woo customers

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee TV collaborated with Flipkart and media agency Essense and to make TV viewing interactive during Flipkart’s annual sale – Big Billion Days.  Viewers could scan a QR code on screen during the airing of Zee TV’s top-rated primetime dramas Tujhse Hai Raabta and Kundali Bhagya to shop for the look of Kalyani’s smart kitchen and get the same gifts as Srishti (in teh cast) had picked for her family. These featured products were all made available at discounted prices on an exclusive co-branded webpage on Flipkart.

     

    Said Anand Chakravarthy, Managing Director, India, Essence: “Television content has always had a wide-reaching impact on people. It not only shapes perceptions and beliefs, but also consumer fashion trends today. The clothes and accessories worn by TV protagonists can be aspirational for viewers, who want to own similar products. This insight led us to the QR code activation on Zee TV, using simple yet effective technology that allows viewers to immediately gain access to desired products on Flipkart during the Big Billion Days festival. This is a great collaboration between the TV channel, Flipkart and Essence to deliver a first-of-its-kind ecommerce experience to consumers in India,”

     

    Speaking on the initiative, Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer, Zee  said: “In the business of entertainment, one of our key objectives remains making our brands increasingly tangible and accessible to our consumers. Our collaboration with Essence and Flipkart had our flagship channel Zee TV turning Interactive in the course of Flipkart’s Big Billion Days Sale wherein across a couple of shows, not only did we connect with viewers on an emotional level through content but satisfied their impulse purchase desires by connecting them to a Flipkart-Zee platform, thereby bringing point of purchase to consumer right in their living room.”

     

    Added Vikas Gupta- Vice President and Head of Marketing, Flipkart said: “Big Billion Days is India’s biggest and most loved shopping festival and this offered an innovative way to showcase the plethora of shopping options on Flipkart. We showcased top products across Mobiles , Fashion, Electronics, Large, Home & Kitchen while the audience watched their favourite shows on Zee TV. This was a great example of merging online with offline and communication with commerce.”

     

  • The winds of change are blowing across the media agency world, and GroupM has done this to better operational efficiencies

    Business as usual for Maxus & MEC in India. For now…

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    That last bit of the headline is most critical. For now.

    Because the winds of change are blowing across the media agency world. There are huge pressures on operational efficiency – cutting costs and flab wherever necessary, combine forces whenever it’s possible and bracing oneself for a world where technology will drive business.

     

    And for WPP-owned GroupM, one of the world’s largest media agency and services conglomerates and clearly the numerouno in India, the situation is the same. And like for any smart strategy consultancy, the writing on the wall is clear. Only the fittest and smartest will survive.

     

    But the decision to maintain the status quo in India, while effecting changes across the world, means a lot.

     

    Although globally MEC is bigger, Maxus is huge in India. Sibling Mindshare may be way ahead, but Maxus has traditionally been very aggressive in the marketplace. Two years back in fact it beat Mindshare at the Emvies, the annual media agency award conducted by Advertising Club. Recently, it bagged the coveted ITC account which was earlier held by Madison and was fiercely contested that involved multiple agencies.

     

    MEC was founded in January 2002 with WPP buyingout CIA’s parent, Tempus. MEC was formed by the merger of The Media Edge and CIA. In 2010, the agency was rechristened MEC from Mediaedge:cia.

     

    In November last year (2016), MEC announced a new global CEO in Tim Castreereplacing Charles Courtier.

     

    Maxus, on the other hand was formed in 2008, though it did exist in some others before. Lindsay Pattison is Global CEO of Maxus, but last month she was also appointed Chief Transformaton Officer of GroupM. She currently holds both charges.

     

    This is what Pattison today after the announcement of last evenng:

    Transformational news from @Groupmworldwide today exciting for@Maxusglobal@MECideas and @Essencedigital Proud to be part of this

    — Lindsay Pattison (@lindsaymaxus) June 1, 2017

     

     

    Meanwhile, let’s revisit the story that MxMIndia carried on the site last evening:

    GroupM has announced a portfolio restructure which is essentially entails the merging if the global operations and teams of its agencies MEC and Maxus into a new, billion dollar revenue, media, content and technology agency under the leadership of MEC’s CEO Tim Castree.

     

    However, Maxus will continue to operate as an agency brand in India with the support of the newly formed global agency as well as the GroupM network. Ditto with MEC which will continue as is. In the near future, MEC will be rebranded to reflect the new global brand.

     

    GroupM’s portfolio will now comprise three successful global media agency networks — Mindshare, MediaCom, and the new company – each with more than one billion dollars in annual revenues, plus an innovative digital-first agency, Essence. GroupM also plans new investments across all of its agencies and its [m]PLATFORM data and technology capabilities.

     

    “We’re committed to improving our service to clients. These moves will give us greater focus, help us innovate, and improve our speed of delivery,” said Kelly Clark, Global CEO, GroupM in a statement.

     

    Since Clark became global CEO in October 2016, GroupM has made a number of organisational changes. Clark recently appointed Lindsay Pattison as GroupM’s Chief Transformation Officer to lead a range of transformation initiatives.

     

    Meanwhile, in a communique, GroupM said it is committed to the expansion of Essence, its digital-first agency, by adding traditional media capabilities and a larger geographic footprint to the agency’s existing media and creative credentials. In time, Essence will also lead several key GroupM client relationships as part of this restructure, the note added.

     

    GroupM acquired Essence in November 2015. “The leadership team at Essence is excited about the opportunities this creates for our clients and our people,” said Christian Juhl, CEO, Essence. “Our mission is to make advertising more valuable to the world; with this infusion of talent, capabilities and markets, we can do this now on a bigger stage.” Clark named Castree CEO of MEC in November 2016.

     

    “Maxus and MEC share common values and ambitions. Both networks have a strong local market presence and entrepreneurial drive. Together, we believe we can create an exciting new media, content and technology agency which we look forward to introducing soon,” said Castree.

     

    “We’ve clearly signaled our ambition to transform, and we mean business,” said Pattison. “This allows us to more meaningfully invest in each agency’s future – retaining and attracting the best talent with inspiring and rewarding workplaces, creating differentiated cultures and approaches, and sharing in a focus on helping clients win.”

     

    Bottomline:

    It’s business as usual for Maxus and MEC for now in India

    Clients of both agencies needn’t worry. Conflicts, if any, will be ironed out

    There will be rationalisation in teams, with movements from one grouping to the other. This will help populate the team of Essence

     

    The communication teams of GroupM, MEC and Maxus are tightlipped about giving out any more info, but there is indeed worry about what responsibilities some key folks in both agencies will be given once the merger happens fully.

     

    For now, Ajit Varghese, CEO APAC at Maxus will continue in his current role, but it will be interesting to see what his next role will be given that Maxus Indiia will continue as is, though for the rest of the world, things will change

     

  • GroupM’s portfolio will now comprise three media agency networks — Mindshare, MediaCom & the new co

    GroupM merges Maxus & MEC globally. In India both to operate as is

    By A Correspondent

    GroupM has announced a portfolio restructure which is essentially entails the merging if the global operations and teams of its agencies MEC and Maxus into a new, billion dollar revenue, media, content and technology agency under the leadership of MEC’s CEO Tim Castree.

    However, Maxus will continue to operate as an agency brand in India with the support of the newly formed global agency as well as the GroupM network. Ditto with MEC which will continue as is. In the near future, MEC will be rebranded to reflect the new global brand.

    GroupM’s portfolio will now comprise three successful global media agency networks — Mindshare, MediaCom, and the new company – each with more than one billion dollars in annual revenues, plus an innovative digital-first agency, Essence. GroupM also plans new investments across all of its agencies and its [m]PLATFORM data and technology capabilities.

    “We’re committed to improving our service to clients. These moves will give us greater focus, help us innovate, and improve our speed of delivery,” said Kelly Clark, Global CEO, GroupM in a statement.

    Since Clark became global CEO in October 2016, GroupM has made a number of organisational changes. Clark recently appointed Lindsay Pattison as GroupM’s Chief Transformation Officer to lead a range of transformation initiatives.

    Meanwhile, in a communique, GroupM said it is committed to the expansion of Essence, its digital-first agency, by adding traditional media capabilities and a larger geographic footprint to the agency’s existing media and creative credentials. In time, Essence will also lead several key GroupM client relationships as part of this restructure, the note added.

    GroupM acquired Essence in November 2015. “The leadership team at Essence is excited about the opportunities this creates for our clients and our people,” said Christian Juhl, CEO, Essence. “Our mission is to make advertising more valuable to the world; with this infusion of talent, capabilities and markets, we can do this now on a bigger stage.” Clark named Castree CEO of MEC in November 2016.

    “Maxus and MEC share common values and ambitions. Both networks have a strong local market presence and entrepreneurial drive. Together, we believe we can create an exciting new media, content and technology agency which we look forward to introducing soon,” said Castree.

    “We’ve clearly signaled our ambition to transform, and we mean business,” said Pattison. “This allows us to more meaningfully invest in each agency’s future – retaining and attracting the best talent with inspiring and rewarding workplaces, creating differentiated cultures and approaches, and sharing in a focus on helping clients win.”

  • This is Essence's fifth APAC office and the India ops will be supported by Maxus

    GroupM digital agency Essence enters India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Essence, a global digital agency that was acquired by GroupM in November 2015, has announced the kickstart of operations in India with the opening of its office in New Delhi NCR. This will be the agency’s fifth office in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and the third to open its doors this year. Essence, billed as the largest buyer of digital media, is GroupM’s fifth global brand.

     

    To help ease its transition into India, Essence turned to Maxus, a GroupM agency in India.  The unified Essence-Maxus team will be based out of the GroupM Delhi office.  In addition to transferring several existing Essence and Maxus employees to fill relevant positions, the agency is actively recruiting to hire local, outside talent for roles across the account management, strategy and planning, advertising operations, biddable and performance disciplines. Kunal Guha, client partner and head of strategy, APAC, is serving as the Essence office lead, reporting into Kyoko Matsushita, CEO of APAC.

     

    “We are delighted to bring Essence into India at a time when more and more clients are looking at cutting edge digital media solutions for their brands. With their very focussed approach they have built deep client engagements globally. Our digital offering in India is further strengthened by their opening of an office here,” said CVL Srinivas, CEO, South Asia at GroupM.

     

    “Just over three years ago, Essence opened its first APAC office in Singapore,” said Matsushita.  “It’s incredible what we’ve been able to accomplish in such a short period of time.  Working with innovative clients has helped Essence unlock opportunities to bring digital innovation to the region.  We see even more opportunity in India and are excited to align with GroupM as we navigate this crucial market.”