MxMIndia

Tag: JWT South Asia

  • JWT group has many specialised companies and divisions in the group driven by a single P&L

    Tarun Rai elevated to Chairman & Group CEO of JWT South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    J Walter Thompson has elevated Tarun Rai as Chairman and Group CEO of J Walter Thompson South Asia.

     

    Said Tamara Ingram, Global CEO, JWT: “Tarun’s new title accurately reflects his responsibilities. He oversees multiple countries with full-service agencies and digital companies including specialised divisions such as Shopper, Rural, Events, Design, Production and Social. Over the last three years, Tarun has ensured that all of these companies and divisions are integrated seamlessly to deliver the best communication solutions to our clients.”

     

    Addedsaid Tarun Rai, Chairman & Group CEO, J Walter Thompson South Asia: “Our clients are increasingly asking for integrating their brand communication across various touchpoints and platforms. What puts the JWT group at an advantage is that we have many specialised companies and divisions in the group but a single P&L. This makes us platform agnostic and allows us to focus on only the client and brand communication needs. I am lucky to have extremely talented and capable leaders of our various group companies, divisions and functions,”

     

     

  • Barua will help the transition by staying on till June 30 as Ramaswamy takes charge on July 3

    Rana Barua quits Contract, Raji Ramaswamy takes over as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Raji Ramaswamy

    Contract Advertising CEO Rana Barua has quit, and replacing him will be Raji Ramaswamy. Barua will help the transition by staying on till June 30 as Ramaswamy takes charge on July 3.

     

    Commenting on Rana Barua, Tarun Rai, CEO, JWT South Asia said; “Over the last four years Rana has built an excellent team of professionals, helped in developing new capabilities, built business and reputation. As a result of his efforts, Contract continues to be counted as one of the best agencies in the country. He will be missed and I am sure he will make a success of whatever he choses to do next. We wish him all the very best. “

     

    Rana Barua

    Speaking about his movement, Barua said; “It’s been an outstanding and fulfilling four-and-a -half years for me at Contract and I have enjoyed every moment of this journey. Contract is now clearly among the top few agencies of the country and poised only to get bigger & better.”

     

    Barua is tightlipped about his what he’s onto next when MxMIndia spoke with him on Friday, but according to the grapevine, it could well be a switch to another sector. While Barua has spent most of his career in advertising, he has spent six years leading Radio City and Red FM.

     

    Tarun Rai

    Speaking of Ramaswamy’s appointment, Tarun Rai, CEO, JWT South Asia said: “I have known Raji for over a decade. She is a consummate advertising professional. Her passion and energy are infectious. She leads from the front and is totally committed to her work and to her clients. She understands the power of collaboration, is a team player and an excellent leader. I am very confident that she will do exceptionally well in her new role and help in meeting our clients’ business objectives and in taking Contract to greater heights.”

     

    On her new assignment, Ramaswamy who is currently heading the JWT Kolkata operations as Senior VP and Managing Partner, said: “Contract Advertising has always been an iconic brand and respected for its commitment to building great brands. With this opportunity, I hope to leverage my vast experience in brand building across categories by creating meaningful communication that will deliver on brand objectives and create campaigns that will work for our clients and the agency”

     

  • The awards acknowledged work and individuals for driving the message of sustainability or 'green advertising'

    JWT wings big at Olive Crown

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    J Walter Thompson bagged four Golds at the Olive Crown Awards 2017 leading the pack of advertising agencies at the seventh edition of the Olive Crown Awards held in Mumbai on Wednesday (March 15). The awards acknowledged the remarkable work and individuals for driving the message of sustainability or ‘green advertising’.

     

    Ajury comprising senior professionals such as K V Sridhar, Founder &Chief Creative Officer of HyperCollective, SonalDabral, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer of DDB Mudra Group, India, Carlton Disilva, CEO & CCO of Hungama Digital Services, MalvikaMehra, ​Founder & Creative Director of Tomorrow Creative Lab and Raj Nair, CEO & Chief Creative Officer of Madison BMB, selected the winning work. The jury for the Corporate Crusader award included Shernaz Vakil, Chairman & MD of Dai-ichiKarkaria Ltd, Suresh L. Goklaney, CEO of Eureka Forbes Ltd, Sachin Kalbag, Resident Editor of The Hindu, Mumbai and K Anandasagar, MD & Chief Compliance Officer of Citibank, following a similar procedure in shortlisting the winners.

     

    (L-R) Carlton D'Silva, Sonal Dabral, Raj Nair, Neeraj Roy, Suresh L. Goklaney, Shernaz Vakil & KV Shridhar – Jury of Olive Crown Awards 2017

     

    The awards were presented across 20 different categories, including the coveted title  ‘Green Crusader of the Year’ award, which was presented to actress Dia Mirza for her contribution towards the welfare of the society by associating with NGOs, in addition to  her constant efforts towards the green initiative. The award was presented by BTVi COO Megha Monica Tata, along with the Guest of ​Honour and actor VivekOberoi. The’ Campaign of the Year’ and the ‘Brand of the Year’ awards was presented to The Hindu for its #spiritofBengaluru campaign, ideated by J Walter Thompson.

     

    (L-R) Srinivas Swamy, Dia Mirza (winner of Green Crusader of the Year Award), Vivek Oberoi, Pradeep Guha and Monica Tata at Olive Crown Awards 2017

     

    Commenting on the occasion, President, IAA India Chapter, Neeraj Roy said, “It is really heartening to see the message of a ‘Green Earth’ reach millions of people with the effective apparatus of mass media. We are extremely honoured to host yet another successful edition of the awards, and we look forward to replicating the same success in the coming years with more captivating entries that are contributing in making the world a better place to live in.”

     

    Srinivas Swami, Representative of Matrubhumi (winner of Corp Crusader of the Year Award) and Pradeep Guha at Olive Crown Awards

     

    Commenting on the wins, Tarun Rai, CEO, JWT South Asia said: “Very proud of Senthil and team. To create compelling communication for a compelling cause and then to be recognised at such an impressive event is really gratifying. This campaign is also special because it’s a fantastic combination of technology and creativity. I am sure this campaign will win many more awards. I would also like to to congratulate The Hindu for the campaign and for promoting the initiative for Bengaluru.” – said Tarun Rai, CEO, JWT South Asia

     

    Said Dia Mirza on her award: “It is a honour to receive the award for Green Crusader of the Year at Olive Crown Awards 2017. It is crucial and extremely difficult to make people realize this umbilical link we have towards the environment. We should emerge as inspirations and I believe that parenting can make the next generation take steps towards a green future. Thanks to Olive Crown and its jury, our work is recognised and appreciated, I hope that the green initiative is taken forward with the next generation as well.”

     

    Click to view LIST OF WINNERS Olive Crown Awards 2017

     

  • Entries leapfrog, but few Golds and no Grand Prix, as Publicis' 'Khali' ad wins new 'Best in Category' award

    JWT India, Mindshare top Abby 2016 tally

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    “It’s a hat-trick and we are proud of it,” said Senthil Kumar, Chief Creative Officer, JWT South Asia when he learnt that his agency had bagged the maximum number of metals. Santosh Padhi, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Taproot Dentsu, was elated by his team’s showing. Though a not-so-distant first runner-up, Paddy, as Padhi is known in the industry, accepted the kudos and then said: “We are a small organisation with just 40 people and have won 40 awards. Imagine if we had a 2,000-member staff.” For Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Mindshare South Asia, a rich haul of 17 metals at the Media Abby is a continuation of the agency’s winning ways after last year’s Emvies Awards.

     

    Although the knowledge sessions are big draws in every edition of Goafest, the buzz-creator is always the Abby Awards. This year has been the best ever for the Abby in terms of the number of entries. There were 4,460 entries sent in by 299 organisations for the Creative and Media Abby Awards. In 2015, this number was 3,475. But while the number of Silver metals in the Creative categories have increased from 107 last year to 134 this year, and 180 Bronzes last year to 245 this year, there has been a sharp fall in the number of Gold Abbys given out. There were 71 Gold Metals given out last year and in 2016, the number is just 38. Also, last year, there was one Grand Prix winner, but this year there have been none.

     

    So are we saying that in a country of a billion-plus people where we pride ourselves on creative output and storytelling skills, the standards of creative work have fallen? Ajay Chandwani, a member of the Awards Governing Council, said it’s possibly not correct to say that. But added that the jury was indeed tough on what should be winning awards. “Grand Prix indicates a significant change in paradigm in a category,” he said.

     

    A new award was instituted this year which can loosely be defined as falling between a Gold and a Grand Prix. It’s called the Best in Medium or Category, and the Ambuja Cements ad, starring WWE star Khali and created by Publicis Communication, bagged the award. There was only one Best in Category award given away this year.

     

    Two new categories were introduced this year, one in keeping with the growing awareness that ads need to be gender-sensitive, and the other was called the Young Abby where the winners received an all-expenses paid trip to the Cannes Lions.

     

    Interestingly, and even though all the agencies entered the awards separately, Goafest 2017 saw the emergence of Dentsu Aegis Network as a serious contender on the awards circuit with 6 Golds, 32 Silvers and 45 Bronze metals aggregating a total of 83 metals.

     

    On Day 2 of the Abby Awards, Piyush Pandey, Ogilvy India Executive Chairman and Creative Director and Times of India group Managing Director Vineet Jain were felicitated.

     

  • Tarun Rai formally assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer J. Walter Thompson South Asia today (March 2, 2015)

    Homecoming for Tarun Rai as he takes charge as CEO, JWT South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tarun Rai

    Tarun Rai formally assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer J. Walter Thompson South Asia today. He will be based out of the agency’s Mumbai office. He succeeds Colvyn Harris who will assume the role of Executive Director, Global Growth and Client Development.

     

    In his new role as CEO, Mr Rai will lead J. Walter Thompson South Asia, which includes India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, as well as J. Walter Thompson’s Indian companies, including Contract Advertising, Hungama Digital Services, J. Walter Thompson Mindset, Encompass and Social Wavelength.

     

    “I am delighted to take charge of J. Walter Thompson’s South Asia operations and look forward to connecting with each of our offices and clients across the region. It’s a great homecoming for me and I am very excited to kick start this new inning,” Mr Rai said.

     

    Mr Rai joins J. Walter Thompson from Worldwide Media, where he held the role of CEO since 2008. During his previous tenure at J. Walter Thompson, he helped build some of the world’s most reputed brands; his clients included Hindustan Unilever, Diageo, GlaxoSmithKline, Pizza Hut, De Beers, ITC, Tata Steel, Nestlé, Hero, Godrej and Kellogg’s.

     

  • In a communiqué issued this morning, JWT South Asia CEO Colvyn Harris announced leadership changes across the creative agency's key offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Sri Lanka

    Rajesh Gangwani, Himanshu Saxena, Joy Chauhan new heads of JWT Mumbai, Bengaluru & Colombo offices

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colvyn Harris

    JWT South Asia CEO Colvyn Harris announced leadership changes across his key offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Sri Lanka. Rajesh Gangwani, head of JWT South, is being appointed as Senior Vice President and Managing Partner, JWT Mumbai effective immediately. Himanshu Saxena, currently President, JWT group companies, Colombo will succeed Rajesh Gangwani as Senior Vice President and Managing Partner, JWT South. Joy Chauhan will be taking over from Himanshu Saxena as President, JWT group of companies, Colombo. Announcing their appointment, Mr Harris said, “Rajesh and Himanshu are both dynamic leaders with strong connections to the markets, the consumers and the clients. By leveraging their strengths and strategic insights, JWT is uniquely positioned to maximize growth in these critical markets.”

     

    Rajesh Gangwani
    Himanshu Saxena
    Joy Chauhan

    “Having successfully established brands like Pepsi foods, Nestle’ and more recently Airtel, Joy’s move to Sri Lanka will help develop his career further. He has managed large teams and big brands and that experience will hold him good stead. JWT Colombo is one of the most admired agencies in Sri Lanka and that will continue under Joy’s leadership,” he added.

     

    Tista Sen, National Creative Director, JWT India, will be Rajesh’s creative partner and together they complete the leadership team at JWT Mumbai.

     

    “I look forward to my second innings in Mumbai and to the opportunity of leading our flagship office. Having been part of some amazing journeys on brands like Nike, Levi’s, Madura, Lifestyle and others, it’s going to be exciting times ahead.  Mumbai has a great portfolio of brands, a fabulous client mix and a fantastic talent pool,” said Mr Gangwani on his appointment.

     

    It’s a homecoming for Mr Gangwani, who joined JWT Mumbai as a Management Trainee in 1991 and worked on Hindustan Unilever, and other Mumbai clients. He was later transferred to Bengaluru in 2002 and has been leading the office since Jan 2008 and later as Head of South, since 2011.

     

    With 22 years of experience in Advertising, Branding, Consumer Research and Sales, Himanshu Saxena comes in with diverse experience of leading brands, offices and cross functional teams. As Head of the JWT Group in Sri Lanka, Himanshu was overseeing JWT and the recently set up Contract advertising.

     

    “In our 150th year JWT India has reached great heights of achievement.  It is both an honour as well as a huge responsibility to lead a region as dynamic as JWT South. I look forward to carrying on the good work and pushing the bar higher. Leading JWT Sri Lanka was truly an enriching experience and I am glad to move on to the next professional assignment after three years in Colombo.” said Himanshu Saxena on his new role.

     

    Senthil Kumar

    Senthil Kumar, National Creative Director, JWT India, will continue to lead JWT South and Kolkata as Himanshu’s creative partner.

     

    “It is an immensely exciting opportunity for me to be a part of a great legacy like JWT Sri Lanka. To be a part of a growing market like Sri Lanka, is the high that I really wanted at this point in my career. Armed with the rich experience of some of the best national and international brands like, Pepsi foods, Nestle, Hero and Airtel, I feel my learning will help me grow the brands and businesses at JWT Sri Lanka. JWT will continue to shine,” said Joy Chauhan on his move to Sri Lanka.

     

  • A quick chat with the JWT South Asia CEO whose agency won the maximum number of metals at Goafest 2014 including a Grand Prix for Direct

    Other agencies should’ve participated in the Abby: Colvyn Harris

     

    Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT South Asia is delighted as his agency won the maximum number of metalsfrom among the entrants at the Creative Abby. This included a Grand Prix for Direct. Shobhana Nair caught up with him hours after the achievement.

     

    Forty metals and the #1 agency in the Creative Abby at Goafest 2014. Your comments on this victory?

    The team is extremely delighted. As South Asia we have won 41 metals (Contract Advertising included) of which we have won 6 Golds. It’s fabulous to win so many awards. We have won across many client categories including digital, direct and traditional.

     

    What does winning so many awards including the Grand Prix mean for JWT?

    Personally, we want to do the best for our clients and their brands. This happens to be a validation of the work we have done. We are delighted when we win for our clients. As far as the creative team is concerned, their winning is a validation that the work they do is better than what the industry does.

     

    What’s your personal favourite from amongst the winning entries?

    The Grand Prix winning is obviously a favourite. If you get recognition from peers through a fair jury process, why would you wish anything better?

     

    What was the idea behind ‘Genomusic Project’ for Bay Beat Collection which won a Grand Prix in the Direct Response Digital Category?

    The idea around this was that your DNA can be used to create a unique music track. It’s an end-to-an end platform. On Facebook, there is an app to express why you should be there. Somebody is sent across to take your DNA samples which will be blended in to the music. So it’s unique and never done before.

     

    Back to the Creative Abby, did the fact that some top agencies not participating increase your chances?

    The Olympic Games takes place despite countries not participating in them. In Cannes, some agencies participate and some don’t but the ones who win believe their work is good. Coming back to India, Goafest is a property by the industry, for the industry. It’s very easy to boycott an industry function. Do we want to do that? No. We want to support this institution thinking that it will do well. If some agencies choose not to enter for whatever reasons, it’s not political. This is a clean event as there’s a jury. People have done a good job and they should be recognized.

     

    What would you say to all those agencies who decided to stay away?

    I think they should have participated. The other awards show (Kyoorius Awards) has other agencies which doesn’t worry us. The right approach to this would have been to enter both the awards.

     

    The Abby is an institution. We continue to enter this event by supporting it because it has been created by the industry. But it’s over now! We are happy and delighted.

     


  • JWT makes its 2nd digital acquisition after Hungama. Interviews with Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT S Asia & Sanjay Mehta, co-founder and Joint CEO, Social Wavelength

    JWT acquires majority stake in Social Wavelength

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading marketing communications agency network JWT has agreed to acquire a majority stake in leading social media agency Social Wavelength.

     

    Social Wavelength is a Mumbai-headquartered full-service social media agency specialising in social media offerings right from strategy to execution that includes social media marketing, online reputation management, social CRM and social media for HR.

     

    “JWT’s acquisition of Social Wavelength is a logical confluence of social media and mainline expertise, coming together to create integrated communication for brands. The rich experience of five years that we have, in this young industry of social and digital media, will find the next leap of growth, through this partnership,” said Hareesh Tibrewala and Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEOs and promoters of Social Wavelength.

     

    Established in 2009, the agency now has over 170 professionals servicing over 50 brands across their offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

     

    “We want to be a critical resource partner across the many solutions we provide to our clients. As we continue to relentlessly transform our offerings, Social Wavelength adds a huge dimension to our existing clients and the brands we steward,” said Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT South Asia. This is JWT’s second digital agency acquisition in India, the first being Hungama in June 2012.

     

    Acquisition part of JWT plan to be future-ready: Colvyn Harris 

    A quick chat with Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT South Asia on the Social Wavelength acquisition and whether he is looking at any more buys in the future.

     

    01. This is the second digital agency that JWT has acquired in India. Would you be looking at acquiring any more soon? Or is this it?

    We are transforming the JWT group of companies to be future-ready. And digital is an important part of the mix. We have a definite roadmap on digital and while Hungama has been doing well, when it came to social media, we were looking at a good agency and Social Wavelength was the answer. So, in future, if something good comes along and if we find that we are unable to develop skills and build capabilities and if we think it’s better to acquire, we will do that.

     

    02. Social Wavelength is known more for work on the implementation and execution than strategising for brands and corporates. Will it stay that way?

    If you look at a specialised space like social media, the strategy that you develop is what you need to execute. Typically, the creative agency will look at the brand and its personality, while Social Wavelength will look at the social media implementation. Now that it is part of JWT, if we identify opportunities for our clients, Social Wavelength will definitely be able to deliver on that proposition. Also, they have their own clients for which they have been doing work and will continue to do so.

     

    03. Would you see India becoming a hub for servicing digital deliveries for other JWT offices?

    Across the globe, JWT has many digital offerings. In fact there’s a major global push that we have on digital. On being a hub, it all depends on what are the skills we can offer and if there is a requirement for then from within the JWT or WPP fold…

     

    04. With digital in most agency set-ups being a full-service activity, we now have creative agencies doing media work and vice versa. As an advertising industry veteran, do you think we are headed in the direction where all agencies will turn full-service?

    That may not happen. Media agencies have gone far ahead of the curve. Both media and digital agencies have developed and invested a fair deal expertise. But the client is central to our work so if it means working within the JWT or within the WPP fold, we work very seamlessly.

     

    05. You acquired Mindset in Hyderabad two years back, Hungama after that and now Social Wavelength. Would JWT be looking at any other acquisition? Any other business – new or old – that you would like to be looking at growing inorganically?

    In JWT, we believe in planning and we have considerable depth in that. Encompass is part of JWT which takes care of activation and big events. But yes, there are areas like mobile and analytics which are growing. We put the client’s business at the centre of what we do and where we identify a gap, we will definitely try and close that gap.

     

    		 ‘The JWT structure enables us to continue to be entrepreneurial and reasonably independent: Sanjay Mehta
     

    Q&A with Sanjay Mehta, co-founder and Joint CEO, Social Wavelength

     

    01. One more homegrown digital firm gets gobbled up. Wouldn’t it have been nicer for you to have stayed independent rather than become a part of a large global advertising network?

    Well, that’s always a dilemma for any entrepreneur. We weighed the pros and cons of the two options, and found it more exciting to join hands with a global major and grow faster.

     

    The WPP / JWT structure enables us to continue to be entrepreneurial and reasonably independent, and yet derive the benefits of a larger agency network. That looked like a good option for us.

     

    02. Is this (getting acquired by an international biggie) the only way to go for digital independents?

    Certainly not. One can remain independent and grow. Will there not be a Madison in the digital world? Why not? There would be one (or more) and it could be maturing even as I write this.

     

    03. From when did you start looking towards getting acquired? And how did the entire process start and how much time did it take?

    We were not consciously looking to get acquired. In the sense that we never mandated someone to find us an acquiring prospect, etc. We did have a few conversations which were all proactive and direct. We were prepared to look at opportunities that came our way, without being in any rush of any kind, as we were growing well, on our own steam. But we were open to strike a deal, if we found the proposal interesting. This one turned out to be that type.

     

    As for the process, it has taken several months, and we believe it was worth the time. As any relationship involves the getting-to-know-each-other phase, and the time was well utilised for the same.

     

    04. Is the choice of JWT a case of whoever gave the best price or is there also a fitment of cultures?

    We were genuinely very happy with the chemistry we saw with the folks at JWT. And that was the driving force. There are many other factors, including what the association can create together, and how it can yield benefit to us, over time. And sure, there was a factor of the right price too.

     

    05. What happens now with Social Wavelength being part of JWT?

    First of all, Social Wavelength remains an independent unit and continues to run its business completely independently. Operationally, some processes of WPP / JWT do get into place, but for most parts, we run the business like we have been doing. Quite independently.

     

    What we do get is the benefit of JWT’s local and global reach of clients, the best practices, the knowledge resources, etc. Which we reckon, will propel us to higher levels of growth, rapidly.

     

    06. Will there be synergies with the Hungama part of the business?

    Yes, there are plans to have a great working set up between JWT, Hungama and Social Wavelength. Details will be figured out as we run the course over the next few weeks.