MxMIndia

Tag: Kartik Iyer

  • Both will report to CEO Anand Bhadkamkar

    Divya Karani is CEO Media at Dentsu. Kartik Iyer, COO of the network

    By Our Staff

     

    Kartik Iyer
    Kartik Iyer

    Dentsu International has announced key leadership changes in India as part of its global organisational redesign. Kartik Iyer, erstwhile president – Media Brands and Amplifi, will now join the network’s market leadership team as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). He will continue to report to Anand Bhadkamkar and will be instrumental in driving the implementation of Dentsu’s new business model within the country.

     

    Divya Karani
    Divya Karani

    The network has also appointed Divya Karani, CEO at Dentsu X India, as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Media, South Asia. Here, media includes the agencies Dentsu X, Carat, iProspect and Posterscope. In this additional role, Karana will be responsible for driving the global media strategy and delivery in South Asia, ensuring its alignment and relevance to the market. She will continue to report to Anand Bhadkamkar.

     

    Anand Bhadkamkar
    Anand Bhadkamkar

    Said Bhadkamkar: “Dentsu is committed to delivering the best to its clients and Kartik and Divya are veterans in what they do. Kartik is recognised industry-wide for his media expertise while Divya is one of our finest from the industry. Her strength lies in delivering first-class, client-centric results and I am confident that their expertise and experience will only help accelerate the effectiveness, purpose, and performance offered to our clients.”

     

    Meanwhile, Haresh Nayak will continue to serve as COO for Dentsu Media in India in addition to his other roles as President, Posterscope Asia Pacific and MD, Posterscope India, while Rubeena Singh is now incharge of the freshly rebranded iProspect. Anita Kotwani will continue to lead the Carat brand for India.

     

     

  • Anita Kotwani joins Carat India as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Carat India, the flagship media agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), has roped in Anita Kotwani as its chief executive officer (CEO). 

     

    Kotwani was until recently at Mindshare India where she held the position of Senior Vice President, New Business and Client Lead, The Walt Disney Business. In a career spanning more than two decades, 16 of which have been with Mindshare, Kotwani has been instrumental in leading client relationships for brands such as the ABG, Kellogg, ICICI Group, Facebook, Byju and The Walt Disney Company amongst others, for the West zone. Additionally, she has also helped build diversified offerings across data, digital and content, driving exponential growth for Mindshare India over the last two years.

    Kartik Iyer
    Kartik Iyer

    She will report to Kartik Iyer, President Media Brands and Amplifi and will be responsible for the agency’s strategic progress and business growth, nationally. She will also focus on developing and leading significant tools and capabilities within Carat to help deliver enhanced integrated solutions to clients. Speaking on her appointment, Iyer said: “I am delighted to have Anita Kotwani join our team at Dentsu Aegis Network India. In her new role, Anita will help futureproof Carat India as the agency gets ready to take on the new opportunities that the changing market dynamics has to offer.” 

     

    Anand Bhadkamkar
    Anand Bhadkamkar

    Added Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, DAN India: “Anita is an industry veteran. She is known for her dedication and diligence and has worked across multiple categories including consumer durables, financial services, FMCG and other MNC brands. I wish her all the luck as she charts fresh new path for Carat India, beginning now,” 

     

    Elaborating on her mandate, Kotwani said: “Carat was the world’s first media agency to form with the belief that media has the power to transform businesses and this holds true even in today’s times. It is indeed Redefining Media. With DAN’s unique operating model under its single P&L structure, one can draw on the capabilities of its sister companies – including that of its dedicated OOH, Digital, Performance, Marketing Effectiveness and Creative agencies, to access world class specialisms and create bespoke teams to meet client specific needs. There is scale, specialisation and integration at the core, and with my expertise in leading client relationships and growing diversified offerings, I am super excited to lead the Carat brand for India.”

  • CCS provides unique actionable insight into communication usage and engagement across 60+ media channels

    Dentsu launches third edition of CCS 2019

    By A Correspondent

     

    In its effort to mine consumer insights and deliver sharp intelligence, Dentsu Aegis Network has launched the third round of its proprietary consumer based system, widely known as CCS (Consumer Connection System).

     

    This edition, CCS 2019, will attempt to provide unique actionable insight into communication usage and engagement across 60+ bought, owned and earned digital, experiential and media channels.

     

    Kartik Iyer

    Speaking on the launch of CCS 2019, Kartik Iyer, President- Media Brands, Dentsu Aegis Network said: “It’s amazing what CCS has thrown up over the years. It has enabled us to understand consumers and predict trends well before the Industry. In fact, the results of the last round a couple of years ago already showed that we needed to plan across video screens which is why we set up the Video Stack practice for multiscreen planning for our clients in 2016. This round has already started throwing up surprises like the increasing Social media and newspaper readership for women which if looked closer definitely have a relationship. We are most excited with CCS’ latest round and I am sure that all of the DAN agencies and their clients will benefit hugely in keeping ahead of trends and connecting with their most valuable consumers.”

     

    Overall, CCS has a global sample size of over 400,000 across 52 markets, making it the world’s largest research of this nature. CCS is offered exclusively to DAN clients and is applied both internationally and locally to deliver enhanced communications strategy and planning, benefiting brands with improved targeting, precision and efficiencies.

     

  • The business will be handled out of Happy mcgarrybowen’s Bangalore office

    Happy mcgarrybowen wins integrated communication mandate for XSeed Education

    By A Correspondent

     

    Happy mcgarrybowen has been awarded the integrated mainline and digital communications duties for XSeed Education. With an aim to spread the brand’s footprint across the country, the business will be handled out of Happy mcgarrybowen’s Bengaluru office.

     

    Kartik Iyer

    “It is very inspiring to see what XSeed is doing to education in the country. Their unique teaching methodology not only improves learning amongst children but improves the quality of teachers as well. It is about time that one way, mugging methods of learning in schools be put to rest. What’s more, the fact that XSeed is being taken to schools across middle-income India is really a sign of great things to come for the children of our country,” said Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy mcgarrybowen.

     

    Ashish Rajpal

    Commenting on the partnership, Ashish Rajpal, Founder, XSeed said, “Our mission is to help realise the innate potential of every child. To do so, it is essential to transform elementary education from rote and memorisation to a genuine ability to learn over a lifetime, beyond the elite, for children across the economic strata. Not only do we need to transform every dimension of the education eco-system-curriculum, teaching, assessment – at an affordable cost. The idea is also to build a powerful brand that parents recognise and trust. We believe our partnership with Happy mcgarrybowen will add significant firepower to that effort.”

     

     

  • Happy mcgarrybowen was roped in to help chart a new course for Truecaller’s new avatar and host of services

    Truecaller moves to Happy mcgarrybowen for creative…

    By A Correspondent

     

    Truecaller has partnered with Happy Mcgarrybowen to roll out its new campaign for this year. Happy mcgarrybowen was roped in to help chart a new course for Truecaller’s new avatar and host of services.

     

    Kartik Iyer

    Kartik Iyer, Co-founder and CEO, Happy mcgarrybowen said, “We have been in talks with Truecaller for nearly a year now, exploring opportunities to work together. There has been a synergy of minds and thoughts from the first day the teams met together. A new campaign is already underway and shall be out soon. We see huge potential in the brand growing its offering, considering it is one of the few apps that commands acceptance amongst users of all phone segments. We look forward to a long-term relationship in building Truecaller’s already strong equity in India.”

     

    Manan Shah

    Speaking on the association, Manan Shah, Director Marketing India – Truecaller said, “We were looking for a partner rather than an ‘agency’ who can think beyond the obvious and move faster than us. This is where Happy mcgarrybowen clicked for us. Extremely delighted to work with them on our upcoming campaign and look forward to many more.”

     

     

  • For the record, Foodpanda was acquired by Ola Cabs in December last year

    Happy mcgarrybowen bags Foodpanda’s creative duties

    By A Correspondent

     

    Following a multi-agency pitch process, online food delivery marketplace Foodpanda has awarded its creative mandate to Happy mcgarrybowen. For the record, Foodpanda was acquired by Ola Cabs in December last year.

     

    The pitch for the creative mandate included both advertising and design disciplines, as the startup looks to revamp its identity after the alignment with Ola.

     

    Said Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola Cabs: “At Foodpanda, our mission is to connect deeper with our love and passion for food, and build not just a great delivery experience but also a great food experience. We trust that Happy mcgarrybowen would be able to take that narrative and ethos to the world with strong design and visual communication capabilities.”

     

    Added Anshul Khandelwal, Head of Marketing- Foodpanda: “We distinctly understand the need to build a strong and differentiated brand that people love. Being a food experience platform, we intend to constantly innovate to build foodie-first solutions for India. Considering Happy Mcgarrybowen’s work portfolio, we are confident that the association will ensure an effective brand strategy and communications.”

     

    On winning the business, Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy mcgarrybowen said: “In a time where the market has already been created, we are proud to have won the mandates in such a competitive environment. We’re raring to go and leap ahead with Foodpanda right to the top.”

  • Based out of Mumbai, Sinha will report to Kartik Iyer, President Media Brands and Amplifi

    Kumar Deb Sinha moves from Wavemaker to Dentsu’s Story Lab

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kumar Deb Sinha

    The Story Lab (TSL), the specialist content agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has roped in Kumar Deb Sinha as the new country head for its India operations. Based out of Mumbai, Sinha will report to Kartik Iyer, President Media Brands and Amplifi – Dentsu Aegis Network India and the Executive Sponsor for TSL in India.Prior to this, Sinha was National Director – Content at Wavemaker India, a GroupM Company.

     

    Commenting on Sinha’s appointment, Iyer said, “We are very happy to have Kumar Deb Sinha on board. The StoryLab aims to be a significant player in the burgeoning content ecosystem of India with a clear positioning. And we are confident that Kumar, with his experience and expertise, will help us take this ambition forward.”

     

     

  • Happy mcgarrybowen created a 360-degree campaign for the same titled #OutOfTheWorld

    Happy mcgarrybowen unveils ad film for Jabong’s Big Brand Sale

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jabong has launched its new marketing campaign to promote the fourth edition of its ‘Jabong Big Brand Sale’, which will end today. Happy mcgarrybowen created a 360-degree campaign for the same titled #OutOfTheWorld.

     

    As part of the campaign, the agency created a 30-second television commercial set in outer space. The commercial has fashionable people floating about in zero gravity chasing an army of shooting stars. Said Gaurav Kackar, Head of Brand, Jabong: “This campaign supports our bi-annual sale property- Jabong Big Brand Sale, which is about the best of international and Indian brands available at unbelievably great discounts. Our brief was to create a Jabong world where people express their individuality and sense of fashion, eluding the pull of the real world norms. Happy mcgarrybowen creatively translated the brief into the #OutOfTheWorld campaign. All credit to the collaboration between Happy mcgarrybowen and Jabong teams along with the director’s vision to capture the brand essence in a unique way and at the same time highlight the key sale callouts and innovations.”

     

    Added Kartik Iyer, CEO of Happy mcgarrybowen: “In a typical situation, this would be another opportunity to do another sale ad. But this is Jabong and the team seems to just push the experience of every piece of communication, every single time. A fresh take on what to expect and the excitement around it makes up the experience to be totally out of this world. All credit to the collaboration between client, agency and director.”

     

     

  • Conceptualized and scripted by Happy Mcgarry bowen, the TV commercial will be aired across leading channels

    Jabong’s new campaign promotes its upcoming ‘Big Brand Sale’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jabong has launched its new marketing campaign to promote the fourth edition of its Big Brand Sale, which will be held from July 27 to 30. Big Brand Sale (BBS) is Jabong’s marquee bi-annual property that is held in January and July to mark the end of on-going season.

     

    Conceptualised and scripted by Happy Mcgarrybowen, the campaign will cover multiple media and platforms. Said Gunjan Soni – Head of Jabong: “The fourth edition of BBS – Jabong’s flagship sale event is going to be bigger and better than ever before with innovations like 100% cash back, VIP Slots, lightening deals. The TVC attempts to capture this magic in a uniquely Jabong way. The campaign theme is based on the very essence of BBS which promises an extraordinary experience for our customers by making the biggest global and Indian brands available at out of the world discounts. The TVC beautifully captures this Jabong world where fashion is the way of life.”

     

    Added Gaurav Kackar, Head of Brand at Jabong: “The campaign communication is based on a simple consumer insight that when you dress well, you feel on top of the world. The TVC, set in a spatial backdrop, depicts the Jabong promise to offer an out of the world shopping experience to its customers this BBS. It’s a first-of-its-kind approach to creatively capture the brand essence and highlight the key sale callouts, which we believe will resonate very strongly with our consumers.”

     

    Said Kartik Iyer, CEO of Happy mcgarry bowen: “In a typical situation this would be another opportunity to do another sale ad. But this is Jabong and the team seems to just push the experience of every piece of communication, every single time. A fresh take on what to expect and the excitement around it makes up the experience to be totally out of this world. All credit to the collaboration between client agency and director.”

     

     

  • Advertising spends will reachRs624 billion, reports the mid-year Dentsu Adspends Report 2018

    Dentsu adspend forecast for 2018 down from 12.5% to 10.5%

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading advertising and digital communications group Dentsu Aegis Network released its biannual global forecasts, pointing to a more positive 2018 for Asia Pacific advertising expenditure than previously expected. Adspend growth will rise from 4.0% in 2017 to hit 4.5% in 2018 – higher than the 4.2% forecast in January 2018 and taking total investment to USD 215.95 billion. Regional events such as the 2018 World Cup will be held in Russia, 2018 Winter Olympics South Korea, Asian Games in Indonesia and Australian federal election will play an important role in stimulating growth.

     

    But the growth forecast for India – 12.5% made in January 2018 – is now 10.5%

     

    Speaking on the Indian context, Kartik Iyer, President- Media Brands and Amplifi – Dentsu Aegis Network India said, “India’s ad spend is projected to grow at 10.5% as compared to the beginning of the year when the growth was expected to be over 11%. Digital continues its rapid growth (31.9%) with online video –gaining in share. This has been driven largely by the availability of high speed connectivity across the country, it is only set to grow faster. TV with a projected market share of 39.1 % continues to lead the media share of pie with Print at 29.3%. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see some forward thinking brands trying to use Video Instead of TV  in a few test and learn cases.” [As per the communique we received from DAN in January, the forecast was 12.5% and not 11% as mentioned by Kartik Iyer. The table below – supplied by DAN – does give mention the earlier forecast as 12.5%]

     

    Geographically, Asia Pacific is a major growth region, contributing 41% of the global increase (USD 613.5 billion). Comparatively, North America accounts for 32%, Western Europe accounts for 13% with Latin America at 8% and Eastern Europe 5%.

     

    Commenting on the latest forecasts, Nick Waters, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific, said, “The region as a whole displays a positive outlook with increasing growth rates. We are seeing upward revisions in most key markets, with India, the Philippines and Vietnam showing high rates of growth. Spend in China continues to grow at pace, though driven almost entirely by the ecommerce platforms, Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu. Digital remains the dominant growth area with a quarter of Asia Pacific advertising spend expected to be delivered through mobile for the first time. Digital will be the leading form of advertising in half of the markets that we track in the region.”

     

    Key market trends

    :: India: India advertising spend market is expected to grow in 2018 by 10.5% to reach 624 billion rupees. Though there had been a slow start in Q1-2018, the market was picking up from March-April, fueled by a stable recovery post demonetisation/GST/RERA buoyed by the State Elections in Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland and Karnataka in April. The India South Africa Match in January, Budget announcement in February, lead to continued expansion and growth of regional newspapers and television. Both social and online video will see growth for the next five years as India continues to evolve their internet, mobile, cloud audience.

     

    :: China: China’s advertising market is predicted to grow 6.5% in 2018, up from the previous forecast of 5.4%, to reach RMB 630 billion – 16.2% of global ad investment. Growth will be driven by digital, which is forecast to command 60% of advertising spend and increase by 14.8%. The online giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (BAT) are projected to contribute around 80% of this growth, underlining their dominance of the marketplace. Mobile payments are also one to watch in the coming years as platforms such as WeChat or Alipay make cash obsolete in large parts of the country.

     

    :: Australia: Australia advertising spend is forecast to show continued growth in 2018, increasing by 2.8% to reach AUD 15.7 billion. The main driver of growth will be election related advertising which includes a boost in advertising by the governments involved as a means to promote the great things they have done during their time in power. In 2018 we expect more than 40% of growth to come from this sector and a further 40% to come from Gambling, Retail and Finance advertising. Digital media is expected to increase by 6.1% in 2018, representing 48% share of the total media spend, which could be a result of brand safety issues where advertisers and media owners look to more autonomy and control of their content.

     

    Global Media trends

     

    Mobile on the go

    The mobile device is steadily becoming our primary point of access to all digital services and content. In 2018, 52.2% of all worldwide online traffic was generated through mobile phones, up from 50.3% in the previous year, according to Statista. People now spend an unprecedented amount of time on their smartphones—more than five hours a day, according to some estimates. This growth in usage is largely driven by the widespread availability of high-quality digital Video. Mobile Video consumption is exploding among all age groups and content categories. 9 in 10 Social media users opt for mobile browsing, with mobile apps accounting for 70% of time spent on Social media.

     

    Reflecting this, mobile is forecast to represent a quarter of global ad spend 25.2% this year exceeding the previous prediction of 24.8%. With Mobile payments forecast to be more popular in the coming years, Mobile is set to continue on a positive growth trajectory a forecast 23.3% in 2018 and 18.8% in 2019.

     

    Digital still calls the tune

    Worldwide Digital media spend is forecast to increase by 12.6% in 2018, more than three times the rate of all media (3.9%), to reach US$230.6 billion—a US$25.7 billion incremental increase year-on-year. Online Video (+24.6%) and Social Media (+21.6%) are particularly strong. Paid Search continues to account for the largest share of digital (39%). As previously predicted, Digital will overtake TV for the first time this year to account for 38.4% share of total ad spend vs. 35.5%. In the US, Digital spend is forecast to overtake TV in 2019. Programmatic ad spend is expected to grow by 23.2% in 2018 and 19.1% in 2019 as the ability to consolidate programmatic buying strategies across formats and devices continues to be an opportunity for advertisers to reach the most valuable audiences at scale.

    :: Traditional media spend is forecast to decline by just -0.5% in 2018 and -0.4% in 2019. Newspapers and magazines are expected to continue their downward trend, with falls of -7.5% and -6.5% respectively. Radio (+2.0%), Out of Home (+2.2%) and Cinema (+5.9%) spend are expected to show steady growth.

    :: TV spend is forecast to move back into growth in 2018 (+1.2%), following a -0.7% decline in 2017, remaining a major medium in the mix with 35.5% of overall investment.

     

    Growth in global ad spend 2017-19 (% y-o-y at current prices)

      2017a 2018f 2019f
    GLOBAL 3.3 (3.1) 3.9 (3.6) 3.8
    NORTH AMERICA 2.5 (2.5) 3.4 (3.1) 3.2
    USA 2.6 (2.6) 3.4 (3.2) 3.1
    CANADA 0.0 (0.0) 2.3 (1.1) 5.1
    W. EUROPE 3.2 (3.3) 2.9 (2.6) 2.9
    UK 4.2 (3.6) 4.2 (3.8) 4.7
    GERMANY 2.3 (2.2) 2.6 (2.6) 2.9
    FRANCE 2.7 (1.7) 2.5 (2.0) 2.8
    ITALY 0.9 (0.9) 1.4 (1.9) 1.1
    SPAIN 2.3 (1.9) 1.5 (1.4) 1.2
    C&EE 8.8 (8.3) 7.8 (7.4) 6.6
    RUSSIA 14.3 (12.9) 11.7 (10.4) 8.5
    ASIA PACIFIC 4.0 (3.5) 4.5 (4.2) 4.4
    AUSTRALIA 2.3 (2.7) 2.8 (2.9) 2.4
    CHINA 6.3 (6.0) 6.5 (5.4) 6.0
    INDIA 8.9 (9.6) 10.5 (12.5) 11.1
    JAPAN 1.6 (1.0) 1.5 (1.6) 1.2
    LATIN AMERICA 8.3 (8.1) 6.9 (8.8) 7.3
    BRAZIL 2.8 (2.1) 2.3 (5.0) 2.6
      Figures in brackets show our previous forecasts from Jan 2018

     

  • Vimal Singh moves from Ogilvy, Gurgaon while Varun Khullar moves from Happy mcgarrybowen Bangalore

    Happy mcgarrybowen appoints Vimal Singh & Varun Khullar for Gurugram

    By A Correspondent

     

    Vimal Singh & Varun Khullar

    Happy mcgarrybowen has appointed Vimal Singh as Senior Creative Director and Varun Khullar as Creative Director in its Gururgram creative team. Vimal Singh moves from Ogilvy, Gurugram while Varun Khullar moves from Happy mcgarrybowen Bengaluru after a three-year stint at the head office to bolster operations at Happy mcgarrybowen, Gurugram.

     

    Said Kartik Iyer, Co-Founder and CEO on the moves: “It has been a little over six months since we started operations in Gurugram. The response from the market and the results have been extremely encouraging. We are very happy to have the quality of talent that Vimal and Varun bring to the already energetic team at Happy mcgarrybowen Gurgaon. The fact that they have worked together before shows in the chemistry of how they work together. I look forward to them pushing the envelope of Happy’s creative product. We wish them all the best and look forward to many more successes at Happy mcgarrybowen Gurgaon.”

     

     

  • The campaign is digital-led, but will also make its appearance in cinema screens, print and OOH

    Eat.fit makes food consumption interesting via #EatfitEveryday campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Eat.fit, the healthy food vertical of Cure.fit, has rolled out its first ever campaign in partnership with their creative agency- Happy mcgarrybowen. The campaign is digital-led, but will also make its appearance in cinema screens, print and OOH.

     

    Spearheaded by the belief #EatfitEveryday, the campaign promises healthy and tasty home-like food that can be consumed every day without upsetting your system.

     

    Talking about their first campaign for eat.fit, Kartik Iyer, CEO and Co-founder, Happy mcgarrybowen said: “We have been part of the entire journey of creating the cure.fit brand and one of our biggest efforts has been to create a unique identity and langue for the brand and the experience. With the eat.fit campaign, we have only taken that further in the cure.fit world. The brand speak is simple, contemporary and artistic. Strategically the eat.fit offering is more than just convenient food at your door step. In today’s urban world, many people feel the need to order-out nearly every meal. The need for it is more today than ever. Hence, eat.fit every day.”

     

    Added Ankit Nagori, Co-founder, cure.fit: “Our idea was to communicate the ease with which today’s jet setting, young urban professionals can keep up with their busy schedule without compromising on healthy eating. We are pleased with the new-age look of the campaign developed by Happy mcgarrybowen.”