MxMIndia

Tag: Leo Burnett Group

  • The Leo Burnett Group was Creative Agency, Famous Innovations was runner-up

    Goafest 2022 ends with some partying, a new Creative Agency winner & some stars in the house

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Saturday, May 7 saw curtains drawn on the 15th edition of Goafest. The three-day fest saw several marketing and glamour stars, master classes and parties and of course awards on each of the evening. Around 1500 delegates are reported to have been in attendance.

     

    Day 3 began with Mithali Raj – Indian women’s cricket captain in conversation with Sharlene Lobo, Anchor, Mirror Now.  This was followed by a digital conclave an introductory address by Gowthaman ‘Gman’ Ragothaman, CEO, Aqilliz & Co-Founder, Web3 Marketing Association. And then there was Sandeep Bhushan, Director and Head of India GMS for Meta.

     

    Later, there was a fireside chat on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with Rathi Gangappa, CEO, Starcom India, Dheeraj Sinha, CEO & Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia, Leo Burnett, Rohit Ohri, Chairman & CEO FCB Ulka and Suhela Khan, Country Program Manager, We Empower Asia, UN Women on the panel. Post the lunch break, actor and comedian, Aiyyo Shraddha regaled the house with her stand-up act.

     

    Later then was a session on influencers with Ranveer Allahbadia, Niharika NM, Raj Shamani, and Madan Gowri moderated by Viraj Sheth, Co-Founder & CEO of Monk Entertainment.

     

    There was also Rujuta Diwekar, Nutrition Expert and Author in conversation with Anupriya Acharya, CEO-Publicis Groupe, South Asia.

     

    The highlight A&M session of the day was by Kash Sree – Executive Creative Director / Writer who was later engaged in a Q&A by Rana Barua.

     

    The last session for the day had actor Madhuri Dixit in conversation with actor Tisca Chopra.

     

    The mastercasses through the day were conducted by Keigan Pinto, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Ulka, Amaresh Godbole, CEO, Digital Technology Business, Publicis Groupe India, Ram Cobain Creative Shop, Meta, Prakash Jha, Indian film Producer, Actor, Director, and Screenwriter in conversation with Mayank Shekhar, journalist and film critic. The last of the masterclasses on YouTube Shorts by Google.

     

    At the Creative Abby, a total of 32 Video Craft ABBYs, 2 Radio Craft ABBYs, 29 Branded Content ABBYs, 13 Brand Activation & Promotion ABBYs, 4 Diversity ABBYs, 17 OOH ABBYs including 1 Grand Prix, 19 Still Print and Still Craft ABBYs, 4 Still Digital ABBYs, 20 Audio Visual TV/Cinema ABBYs, 41 Audio Visual Digital ABBYs, 1 Young ABBY, 2 Red ABBYs, 11 Integrated ABBYs and 3 Green awards ABBYs were handed out to deserving winners.

     

    Speaking about Goafest 2022, Anupriya Acharya, President – Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said, “Goafest 2022 had an electrifying start by celebrating the superpower within. It has grown to become the magnum opus event for the industry. With meaningful sessions and evenings filled with entertainment and fun, the last 3 days of the festival and the ABBYs, truly celebrated excellence and creativity, making Goafest a unique and enthralling experience. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed towards making Goafest 2022 a huge success with their encouragement and moral support. I’d also like to congratulate all the participants and winners in making the ABBYs’ an eventful evening at all three days.”

     

    On awarding the ABBYs at Goafest 2022, Partha Sinha, President – The Advertising Club said, “Goafest has once again proven itself to be an extravaganza that brings together the entire media and creative fraternity. Reinvigorating Goafest after a break of two years was a challenge that we successfully sailed through. After months of dedication and relentless work by the AAAI and The Advertising Club teams, bringing international jury and the enthusiasm witnessed from all has resulted into yet another marvellous festival this year. Our collaboration with The One Show this year proved to be a game changing proposition, making the ABBYs’ even more aspirational. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and also thank the jury for their meticulous and fair evaluation that makes Abby Awards more globally recognised.”

     

    Added Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest 2022 Organising Committee: “After two difficult years, Goafest 2022 came together to celebrate the true essence of happiness and cheer amongst the industry. Over the last three days, not only did we witness some of the best speakers deliver insightful and encouraging talks, we also witnessed stories of empowerment and futuristic innovation. We also saw some of the brilliant creative minds engage and interact with each other, reiterating the true spirit of the festival. I’d like to congratulate each and every one for their incredible win.”

     

    Said Rana Barua, Chairman, Abby Awards Governing Council 2022 & Vice President of The Ad Club: “As we come to the conclusion of Day 3 and of Goafest 2022, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the speakers and delegates for taking out time in to make the conference and the awards a great success. This year, we have witnessed an overwhelming response in terms of participation but what is heartening to note is that agencies are making their presence felt, showcasing some brilliant work.”

     

  • Last week, Prashanth Challapalli, Chandrabhan Singh and Kalyan Ram Challapalli announced the launch of Gravity Integrated, a brand and business consulting firm with multi-platform execution capabilities across India, SEA and EMEA markets

    Prashanth Challapalli, others set up Gravity Inegrated

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prashanth Challapalli

    Commenting on the launch, Prashanth Challapalli, who worked with the Leo Burnett group until recently, said: “Gravity is a force that brings together diverse and seemingly unrelated entities to create a powerful and sustainable eco-system. Gravity Integrated brings together Business strategy, Consumer strategy, Marketing Communications and Technology to create and implement bespoke solutions to ensure brand relevance and financial growth. ”

     

    Chandrabhan Singh

    Chandrabhan Singh is a marketer with 20+ years of business and brand building across brands like Philips, Diageo, Chennai Super Kings, Kesoram Industries and Gulf Oil and Kalyan Ram Challapalli omes with 18+ years of experience in consumer and brand strategy across India and SEA on both the agency and client side.

     

    Elaborating on the value propositions of Gravity Integrated, Singh said: “We don’t ask for briefs, we ask for the biggest growth challenges a company wants to solve. If you are an entrepreneur with a product idea, we can help you from financial planning to distribution to marketing and communications. If you are a tech start-up, we can be your extended marketing and communications arm. If you are a brand that is looking to solve for growth on digital, we can help with digital strategy, content marketing as well as performance marketing. Each problem is unique and each solution from us is bespoke..”

     

    Kalyan Ram Challapalli

    Speaking pn the relevance of Gravity Integrated, Kalyan Ram Challapalli added: “Our business model has actually been the result of multiple brainstorming sessions with close friends who happen to be CEOs and CMOs. We listened to them and built our service suites as well as our operational structure. Our core leadership team is therefore made up of business leaders with P&L experience from the world of advertising, marketing, content and technology.”

     

     

    Ambar Chakravarty

    The Gravity Integrated team senior management team also includes Ambar Chakravarty (co-founder of Addict Studios India) as Head of Content, Nolita Lobo-Mutschlechner (Ex-Marketing Head for Puma EMEA & India) as EMEA Brand and Marketing Consultant based out of Austria and Marc Chaudhary (An investment banker turned tech entrepreneur) as the Technology Head. More announcements are expected on the hiring front.

     

     

  • PubCom CEO Saurabh Varma unveils new top deck: Nakul Chopra turns Advisor. Srija Chatterjee & Sudeep Gohil to join Bobby Pawar. Launches Marcel in India

    Rejig time at Publicis Worldwide

     

    It was the day of the Effies. A few days before the announcement, we had received indications that it could happen. But then it was an announcement that was long overdue.

    At the Effies itself, the new boss ensured that he’s not seen just as head of one of the arms that he led thus far.

    We’re talking about Publicis Communications and Saurabh Varma. On December 16, it was announced that Varma, the Leo Burnett Group CEO South Asia, would be incharge of Publicis Communications for India.

    The announcement assumed significance as Varma would also be incharge of three other major agencies: Publicis Worldwide, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and MSLGroup and their respective subsidiaries.

    While MSL wasn’t going to be much of a problem with Amit Misra being at the helm after the exit of joint head Chetan Mahajan and he would report to Varma, there could be a problem at the other two. The communique sent to us then said that Nakul Chopra, the head of Publicis Worldwide for some years and Praveen Kenneth, head of L&K Saatchi & Saatchi will not report to Varma, even as Varma was to be incharge of the agency. Hmmm.

    But later it became clear. While Chopra continued to be in his position, he was no longer head of business (or overseeing the P&L).

    In the case of Kenneth, his commitments with Publicisare reported to end soon. The picture will get clearer on that front in the next two quarters.

    For Varma, the job on hand was tough.

    Having done a clean-up at Leo Burnett, getting an all-new team (okay, okay, we are euphemising the exiting of the old guard), integrating Indigo and Orchard into the system in a bigger way, it was time to look at Publicis Worldwide.

    A press release sent to us confirms the intent. Though the mainstay of the story has been tucked in at the end: Nakul Chopra, CEO, Publicis South Asia, will now be the Senior Advisor at Publicis Communications India. Chopra has spent over 20 years helming Publicis in India. He is currently President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (coincidentally when Varma took charge at Leo Burnett, CEO Arvind Sharma was also President of the AAAI).

    But along with the overhaul, there is also the announcement of the entry of Marcel from the group’s international shores to Mumbai. Marcel is a combo of a digital agency and creative boutique. Its clients include Uber, Instagram and Ray-Ban, but these aren’t coming to India with it for now.

    Said Charles Georges-Picot, Global CEO, Marcel: “We are thrilled to open a new office in Mumbai. Marcel is a precious brand that we only share with like-minded people. I know that together we will create amazing work. It is what drives us at Marcel.”Marcel has offices in Paris, Sydney, New York and Sao Paolo. In India, it will be headquartered in Mumbai.

    But while Marcel is good news on any day, here’s what make the March 30 announcement significant, other than the official announcement of Chopra’s advisory role: Currently, Publicis Worldwide has three agency brands – Publicis Ambience, Publicis Capital and Publicis Beehive. This will change with immediate effect.  Now, Publicis Ambience and Publicis Capital will become Publicis India. It will continue to build on the momentum of creating shareworthy ideas that impact share of wallet.

    And Publicis Worldwide will have a new leadership at the helm. Srija Chatterjee (Managing Director) and SudeepGohil, (Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Partner) will join forces with Bobby Pawar, (Chief Creative Officer and Managing Director). They will run all the Publicis Worldwide operations in India, including Marcel, and report to Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications, India.

    We aren’t yet sure of who will have have the P&L responsibilities, because there’s got to be one clear leader for PublicisWW.

    Speaking about the new developments, Varma said: “I believe it is the right time for Marcel to come to India. ‘Lead the change’ can only happen through a disruptive model and a world-class International-Indian team. The leadership team has been carefully put together to deliver on our ambition for Publicis Worldwide, in India.”

    Chatterjee joins from MullenLowe Singapore, where she was the Global Business Director. On her new role, Chatterjee said: “When I met Saurabh and discussed the plans for Publicis, the potential and ambition for the agency left me both, excited and nervous. With its mantra of ‘Lead the Change’, and the focus on true integration across all our different platforms, I believe that Publicis is now at a crucial juncture, poised for exponential growth and recognition. I look forward to being part of this journey with Bobby, Sudeep and the team here.”

    Gohil moves from 72andSunny LA, where he consulted on the agency’s Asia-Pacific plans, and led the Adidas business globally. On his appointment, Gohil said, “The Publicis team really impressed me with their bold ambitions, tenacious attitude and passion for great work – they have great clients and an enviable team. The opportunity to work with Bobby, Srija and Saurabh was a big part of my belief and excitement for the plan ahead for Publicis. All of this combined with the bold mandate for the business both locally and in the region made it an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

    Echoing Varma’s sentiments on the evolution of Publicis Worldwide, Pawar added, “I am really excited for our people and our clients. We’ve been doing some cool work. With the addition of the world-class talent and global experience of Sudeep and Srija, I’m sure we will take it up a few notches. It’s game on.”

    Meanwhile, Publicis Beehive will stay focussed on offering holistic marketing solutions to Indian entrepreneurial clients. SanjitShastri continues as the CEO of Publicis Beehive and will report directly to Saurabh Varma. Paritosh Srivastava, the COO at Publicis Ambience, is now COO at Marcel.

    Next stop: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

  • He will report to Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Leo Burnett, South Asia

    Indigo Consulting brings in Rajesh Ghatge as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajesh Ghatge

    Indigo Consulting has brought on board Rajesh Ghatge as Chief Executive Officer. In his new mandate, Ghatge will lead the 300-plus employees across Indigo Consulting and Indigo iStrat. He will report to Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Leo Burnett, South Asia, and will be based out of the Mumbai office.

     

    Welcoming Ghatge on board the Leo Burnett Group, Varma said: “Indigo is already one of the largest full-service digital agencies in the business, with a reputation for using technology and intelligence to solve business problems. We wanted a leader who can create a new curve for a team of 300 plus Indigo employees; Rajesh brings with him the energy, the passion and the drive to create a new destiny for Indigo Consulting. My brief to him is to make us the most respected digital agency in the country, bar none.”

     

    Speaking about his new role at Indigo Consulting, Ghatge said, “Driving effective consumer engagement on omnipresent digital touch-points is a function of technology, content, analytics and the ability to execute flawlessly in an ‘always on’ mode. Using data and platforms to create impactful and relevant experiences has been my ongoing work. Indigo Consulting, built on a deep foundation of technology has emerged as a leading digital agency. I am excited at the prospect of working with a team of passionate strategy, technology and creative champions at Indigo Consulting to grow the agency into the future and leverage ‘digital’ comprehensively for brands and businesses.”

     

  • He will report to Dheeraj Sinha, Chief Strategy Officer for Leo Burnett, South Asia and work closely with Navin Kansal, National Creative Director, Indigo Consulting

    Indigo Consulting ropes in Devang Raiyani as National Head of Strategy

    By A Correspondent

     

    Devang Raiyani

    Indigo Consulting, the Leo Burnett Group’s specialised digital agency, has announced the appointment of Devang Raiyani as its National Head of Strategy. He will report to Dheeraj Sinha, Chief Strategy Officer for Leo Burnett, South Asia.

     

    In his new role, Raiyani will be responsible for working with the management team to carve out a differentiated offering in an increasingly crowded digital space, and leverage digital not just as a media channel, but also as a tool to solve business problems. He will work closely with Navin Kansal, National Creative Director, Indigo Consulting.

     

    Dheeraj Sinha

    Welcoming Raiyani, Dheeraj Sinha, Chief Strategy Officer, Leo Burnett, South Asia said, “Devang is a well-honed strategist. He has a fantastic ability to weave through culture, technology and data to arrive at business solutions. He is an entrepreneur at heart and brings tremendous action orientation to strategic thinking. I am extremely happy to have Devang on board as a part of the strategy team at the Leo Burnett Group. I am certain that his ability and energy will push Indigo consulting to greater heights.”

     

    In his previous stint as Head of Product Strategy with Advocacy Asia, he led the development of the company’s gamified engagement platform.

     

    Navin Kansal

    Added Kansal on the appointment, “Devang is among the rare breed of hybrid strategists who leads with cultural and consumer insights and marries them with the digital way of life. I believe his solid yet audacious thinking will add to the momentum of Indigo Consulting and build on the three pillars of people, product and profit.”

     

    Said Raiyani about his new role, “Leo Burnett is without a doubt one the most ambitious agencies around and is pushing the boundaries of what an agency is expected to deliver to clients. Digital is at the forefront of this ambition and I’m excited to create some great work with the team at Indigo.”

     

    Apart from working with startups, Raiyani has also worked with Grey whereby he led its key accounts in Mumbai. He was also Senior Planning Director at Bates CHI & Partners, where he helped shape the agency’s shopper marketing practice.

     

  • The two-day event attempted to ‘untangle’ some of the marketing obstacles and show a smooth road ahead for digital marketing

    Day 2 of IAMAI Marketing Conclave: The Digital story continues

     

    By Anuka Roy

     

    It was the twelfth edition of the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)’s annual marketing conclave. And as the proceedings concluded on Thursday, some of the takeaways from the two-day event were: focus on context and content, understand your target group, utilise social media tools properly and mobile marketing will be the next big thing.

     

    The digital storytelling journey continued on Day 2 of the Conclave. Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer- South Asia, Leo Burnett Group, carried forward the topic of ‘Art of Storytelling with Digital Marketing’, which was touched upon a little on Day 1. In his presentation, Varma emphasised on the point that organisations need to find a purpose and once they find that everything falls in to place. He also cautioned that in the process of getting the act and purpose right, brands sometimes become too noisy while implementing their plan, which should be avoided. “We need more human brands, especially in digital,” stated Varma. He focused on the need for the right content and context, which eventually helps a brand to be successful. This was explained through two videos, one by Gatorade which paid tribute to a retiring baseball player and the other was Bajaj V, which showed motorcycles being made from the metal of, now dismantled, INS Vikrant. By giving examples of these two videos, he tried to reason that if the context and content of the brand are in proper place, everything gets going for a brand. Varma also spoke about ‘Functional integration’, something which is followed in his company and it pushes agencies to focus more seriously on client needs. He also pointed out that Social tools need to be used more efficiently.

     

    In a marketing conclave which has been mostly dominated by discussions about digital marketing, how can a discussion focused on social media not take place? Karthik Nagarajan, National Director- Content and Social Media, GroupM moderated the discussion on ‘Social Media- Marketing through Videos’, with Sameer Pitalwalla, Chief Executive Officer, Culture Machine, Malay Dikshit, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky, Vijay Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Only Much Louder and Shreyas Rao, Senior Vice President, #fame as his panelists. Before the discussion, each panelist made a short presentation on the same topic. Pitalwalla presented the case study of ‘Being Indian’- a brand which they are associated with. Through the case study he showed how this brand expanded using different social media platforms. Taking the unconventional route, just like the videos that Nair’s company makes, he chose to just talk about the topic rather than showing a PowerPoint presentation. Jain stated, “Creators are going to be the agencies themselves and content marketing should not be confused with advertising.” Dixit’s presentation highlighted the fact that very soon traditional media platforms will merge with internet. The presentation ‘Video is the new text’ by Rao showed how just through videos and live video streaming his company made an impact within one year of its launch. The panelists agreed to the attention required for correct content and context, just like Saurabh Varma did in his session. Another very important change in today’s scenario that surfaced in the discussion was that due to the plethora of digital platforms, consumers give their feedback almost immediately and they can be brutal. So, brands need to be very careful about what they are offering. This pre-lunch discussion definitely gave the audience some great food for thought.

     

    The session on ‘Programmatic Marketing- Make the best out of it’ was moderated by Nadeesh Ramachandran, Vice President- Sales and Strategy, Vserv. The panelists of the session were Ashish Sahni, Head- Digital Marketing (Passenger Vehicle Bussiness Unit), Tata Motors, Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, Craftsville.com, Hitesh Malhotra, Chief Marketing Officer, Nykaa and Henry Stokes, Vice President of Client Development- APAC, Xaxis. When the moderator asked the panelists to define programmatic marketing, Kalra was quick to reply, “It is a jargon and basically, the use of technology that enables marketers to target right people at the right time.” The discussion was mostly about how advertisers should know their audience and should be clear about the target group. This discussion was carried forward by Stokes, who made a presentation about the same topic immediately after the discussion, explaining the concept of ‘Programmatic Marketing’ more extensively. “Take control, by defining and managing your own target audience,” he said in conclusion.

     

    From programmatic, the discussion moved to ‘Performance Marketing- pay for outcomes only’. The post-lunch session moderated by Siddharth Puri, Chief Executive Officer, Tyroo with panelists Sevantika Bhandhari, SVP- Marketing and Head Products, DHFL, Shivani Dhanda, Director Marketing, eBay, Nikhil Rungta, Chief Executive Officer, Housing.com, Venkatesh C R, Chief Executive Officer, Adatha, Atit Mehta, VP and Head of Media, Sequoia Capital and Vivek Singh, Sr VP- Marketing and Analytics, Firstcry, made sure the audience was attentive through their insightful discussions. Dhanda and Singh had contradictory opinions on the definition of Performance Marketing, as the former said: “From eBay perspective, performance marketing is when you are paying for a click or the end transaction that takes place, while negotiating with a vendor, the performance metrics come in to play” while the latter opined: “Performance marketing is the process in any kind of marketing. It is about having an end goal while using any form of performance marketing.” The discussion concluded with each panelist giving their view on what they will be discussing about in a year from now, the common consensus was “about integrated marketing devices.”

     

    The last panel discussion was quite a fiery one, with quite a few contradicting views on the topic ‘Using mobile marketing to build healthy brands’. The session was moderated by Chandranshu Mishra, Consultant, Tata Strategic Management Group and the panelists included Ritza Trivedi, Director- Marketing India and South Asia, Visa, Uday Sodhi, Executive Vice President and Head- Digital Business, Sony Pictures Network, Anuj Kumar, Co-founder and MD, Affle, Martin Nygate, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gentay Communications and Lavin Punjabi, President, Affinity. While discussing about mobile advertising, Nygate said that his company conducted a survey which should people are annoyed by mobile advertising. “We believe the industry is in crisis,” he said. Kumar disagreed and said, “I do not buy the survey. The data consumption aspect in terms of mobile ads is overrated. This platform is giving free content.” Punjabi was quick to ask in reply to the statement, “Are viewers ever going to be ready to pay for content?” But everyone agreed to the fact that the future of mobile advertising is brand and eventually the obstacles of this platform will go away. “Mobile content is getting very exciting now. It allows you to communicate to the individual directly. It is the fastest growing space in the advertising ecosystem.”

     

    Day 2 also had three case study sessions taking place parallel to the panel and individual sessions. The case study session on ‘Building a brand on digital’ was taken by Anindita Chatterjee, Senior GM Marketing, Spaces and Ajit Nair, Region Head, Quasar. ‘SME Advertising Market- Big opportunity, bigger challenge’- case study session was taken by Samir Chaudhary, Co- Founder, The Media Ant and another session was taken by Priya Jayaraman, Co-founder and Business Director.

     

  • The Leo Group CEO writes a mail to his team reminding them of the ambition to be among the Top 5 creative agencies in the world within the next the two years

    It’s People, Product & Profit for Saurabh Varma, Leo Burnett Group CEO

    Sometime yesterday (Jan 5), our inboxes received this mail from a reasonably reliable source. It was written by Saurabh Varma, CEO of The Leo Group in India.

     

    We reproduce this as is:

     

    Dear Team,

     

    Welcome back. I wish you all a brilliant 2015.

     

    I wanted to start the year by reminding everyone of our Ambition – to be among the top 5 creative agencies in the world by 2017. Raj has set us this worthy target and we are all united in our pursuit of this single minded goal. Everything we do will be to reach this singular goal together. Overall the building blocks of our approach are guided by the 3 Ps. People, Product & Profit. In that order.

     

    You would have noticed that in 2014 we have moved massively on the People front. We are hiring what we call ‘the +A types’. People who want to reach the stars and they want to do that in the most positive and optimistic way possible. These are people who focus on the task at hand and do not let their egos get in the way. Their focus is the quality of our product and the need to solve our client’s problems. They know that to win we need to collaborate. They understand that to create symphony you need many different specialisations working seamlessly. The hiring of leaders like Neha, Kaizad, Sachin & Prajato, Harshad, Antony, Oindrilia & Rakesh in 2014 reflects our resolve to get the right kind of people who are future ready. You will see a lot of fresh talent getting infused in our Group in 2015. Many of these changes will start getting reflected in the next few days. A closer look at these leaders will also reveal that we are hiring a different breed of talent. Talent who can think beyond the 30 second TVC. We are really serious about winning with integration and these leadership changes will help us move rapidly in the new direction.

     

    I request you all to focus on the 4 Cs as you look at levels in the organisation. The first C is Curiosity. We want to be child-like in the way we live our lives. We want you to leave your tables and explore the world around you. Nothing will give us more pleasure than people taking all their leave. Sacrifice is in, but the right kind. Hard work is appreciated but not if it comes in the way of us experiencing life. You have our commitment of continuing with this new year break again, next year. Our hope is that next year we are even better organised to take this opportunity to slow down, relax and refresh. So please be curious in 2015. The next C is Champion. Great work stirs resistance. We need champions to help us sell great work. We need people who will not let the incredible idea just die. We all need more champions across the organisation who will challenge the work, shape the work and sell the work. The third C is Craftsman. Leo talked about that restless feeling that nothing you do is ever good enough. We want to live that spirit in our everyday life. We want to reach for the stars, everyday. No matter what you do in the Group, we want you to chase perfection. Average is out. Greatness is all that matters. Finally the 4th and the most important C. Citizens. We live in a world where an idea is shared and created by many. The spirit of knowing that we are all in it together is the fundamental to the organisation we are trying to build. Please populate the agency with people who embody these 4 traits. 2015, will also be a year where we will move forward and create a more performance driven organisation. We need to understand that Growth is everyones job. Growth gives us freedom. Freedom to reward our people. Freedom to train our people. Freedom to create a better destiny for our people. We will reward people who drive growth. Every senior leader will have clear KPIs. Creative leaders will have to deliver on 7+ work. We will need to use our understanding of clients to create and sell them work they need rather than the work they want.

     

    On the Product front, Raj and I are both excited about the momentum we have created. Work on KBC, HE (man’s day), Kindle, Imagica & Anchor shows that we are moving steadily in the right direction. With our marquee portfolio of brands, we hope to create incredible momentum in the next few months. Our People changes will help us create this new kind of work. We need to challenge the status quo in the industry and I urge you to be bold in the way you approach communication. Raj and I both think that our clients are ready for this change. They are asking for it. This is our moment and we have to seize this opportunity. Please use the specialisations at your disposal to create new work. Overall we need work which is true to ‘imaginative populism’. Work which is shared. Work which becomes part of peoples everyday lives. Work which our families are proud of. Work which delivers on the Purpose of our brands. Please create content. Please create branded utility. Please use the power of technology to create platforms which are always-on. Please try different things. We urge you to take the risks. We will support risk and failures. We are ready for change.

     

    On the Profit front, I promise you a brilliant 2015. Last year we as a group won 37 clients. Many of these wins came in the last quarter. These wins will come into play through the year. Our leaders are committed to zero complacency. We will not slow down. We will build on the incredible momentum we have created. We plan on both organic growth and new business wins. In 2015 we hope to pitch less and win a lot more. Prospecting will play a critical role in the way we approach our pitches. Please be ready for a lot of action.

     

    My ask for you is to be brave. Challenge status quo. Be positively paranoid. Win as a team and celebrate your wins. Let 2015 be a year of some outrageous parties.

     

    I remember a beautiful quote, ‘The secret of our future is hidden is our daily routine’. Please get your best to the office everyday. Let us together create and shape a new destiny for the Leo Group in India.

     

  • A day after Publicis announced the acquisition of leading digital agency, Indigo Solutions, MxMIndiaspoke to Indigo’s Managing Director, Vikas Tandon on the reasons for the sell out

    Digital independents & traditional ad agencies need each other: Vikas Tandon

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    It appears to be business as usual for Vikas Tandon, founder and managing director of Mumbai-based digital marketing and web development agency Indigo Consulting. On Monday, its acquisition by the Publicis Groupe was formally announced. Indigo will retain its name and operate as a separate unit within the Leo Burnett Group in India. Mr  Tandon will continue as the unit’s Managing Director and report into Mr Arvind Sharma, Chairman of Indian Subcontinent for Leo Burnett. Mr  Tandon is a postgraduate in Business Management from IIM Ahmedabad and has over 18 years’ experience in interactive media, sales and marketing. Prior to starting Indigo Consulting, he had set up and led Mudra Interactive.

     

    At Mudra Interactive, he founded the agency’s digital marketing practice. Indigo Consulting employs a team of over 150 people and provides digital and mobile marketing services to clients like HUL, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Kolkata Knight Riders, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Thomas Cook, South Australia Tourism Commission and Cathay Pacific.

     

    A music buff, Mr Tandon counts playing guitar, distance running, travelling, and gadgets among his passions… he has even performed at industry gigs!

    Soon after the acquisition was announced, Vikas Tandon shared with MxMIndia his reasons for selling out to Publicis and his plans for the future… music included.

     

    Indigo was cruising… why then did you sell out?

    I prefer to think of it as shifting gears in our journey towards offering future-ready marketing communication services to our clients, and creating a larger platform for our team to operate on. If selling stake is what it took to ensure Indigo Consulting, which includes the team and myself, goes from strength to strength as an agency of the future, so be it.

     

    Will you still have a stake in the company?

    I’m afraid I am not at liberty to discuss details of the transaction, but suffice to say, I will continue to be the MD of Indigo Consulting and remain committed to the continued growth and prosperity of the company I have nurtured over the last 12 years.

     

    Is it impossible for independents like you to survive in a world of biggies?

    Actually it was not about survival at all. In fact, to my best knowledge we are among the best performing independent agencies in the country with a track record of year on year growth and profitability consistently over every one of the 12 years. And all our client relationships have been direct, without involvement of any agencies. I have every reason to believe that survival would not have been an issue even going forward. However, we also recognize that the consumer and the marketing industry is changing very rapidly. So when the opportunity came to put two complimentary powerhouses together which could potentially result in something neither of us could achieve on our own within a reasonably short span of time, we took it.

     

    At the Creative Abby recently, it was an Ogilvy that won a Grand Prix in digital… Smaller, specialised agencies didn’t fare as well. Right?

    Yes, and I would say it only strengthens my conviction that together with Leo Burnett we will be able to do much better than we have been doing on our own.

     

    Do you see others like you also getting gobbled up?

    I do believe that there is tremendous complementarity of skills in independent digital agencies and traditional advertising agencies, and in many ways they both need each other. However, transactions of this kind depend on a lot of other factors, not the least of which is the chemistry between the people, and the promoters’ own aspirations and appetite for such a transition.

     

    In future: tech driving creativity or the converse?

    Creativity is, without a second thought, the fountainhead of everything, right from existence itself. It just takes different forms and shapes. Tech is increasingly driving our lives, and creativity certainly draws inspiration from various facets of our lives, including tech, but if you ask me what is the force that pushes mankind forward, it has to be creativity.

     

    More time to music…since there’s lesser stress now?

    Given that we took this decision to become part of Leo Burnett to further our growth, work is only going to become exciting and perhaps harder. However, I always have and will continue to try and make more and more time for music.