MxMIndia

Tag: Maxus India

  • T Gangadhar to head Essence in India & North Asia. Anand Chakravarthy to be MD, Essence India

    Kartik Sharma to head new Maxus-MEC entity

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    GroupM has announced the leadership structure for the proposed Maxus-MEC merged entity (codenamed ‘NewCo’) in India and South Asia as also for the digitally-led agency Essence in South and North Asia.

     

    As speculated in a report on MxMIndia a few weeks back, Tim Castree, Global CEO of MEC and CEO of “NewCo”has named Kartik Sharma as Managing Director of the new media, content and technology agency in India and South Asia when it launches in January 2018. Sharma has been Managing Director of Maxus South Asia since 2014 and in that time, has led the agency to outstanding new business growth and success.

     

    Said Castree: “We’re creating a brand new billion-dollar revenue media, content and technology agency, dubbed ‘NewCo’ for now. With such ambition, comes a need for brilliant talent to lead and inspire, and so today’s news is very exciting for us. Under Kartik’s leadership, I am confident that we will have the right team in place to truly make NewCo a formidable future-facing agency in India and South Asia.” Sharma will report to GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas and Castree.

     

    Following GroupM’s recent commitment to adding offline media capabilities, an expanded geographic footprint and an influx of talent to the agency, Christian Juhl, Global CEO of Essence, a global digital-first agency, has announced that T Gangadhar, current Managing Director of MEC South Asia, will transition into the new role of Chairman of India and Managing Director of North Asia, Essence. Gangadhar will report into Kyoko Matsushita, CEO of Essence APAC. He will continue to be based in Mumbai.

     

    Meanwhile, Anand Chakravarthy, who has served as Managing Partner at Maxus India since 2015, will be transitioning into the role of Managing Director of Essence India. Chakravarthy will report into both Gangadhar and Matsushita and will work closely with the regional leadership in his new role.

     

    Both Gangadhar and Chakravarthy will assume their new roles by January 2018. The Essence teams will be strongly supported by the GroupM network as they look to expand their presence in market.  Said Christian Juhl: “India is such an important market for so many of our clients whose business challenges we work tirelessly to solve.  Essence has built its credibility on being a data-centric agency that infuses technology and measurement across all media.  We’re excited to expand our geographic footprint and apply our unique approach for our global clients looking for relevance in India.  Gangadhar and Anand are experienced leaders who will help expand our presence.”

     

  • The APAC CEO is likely to move to London next year

    Ajit Varghese to take on global role at MEC-Maxus merged entity

     

    By A Correspondent

    Former Maxus India head and currently CEO of Maxus Asia Pacific Ajit Varghese is all set to take on a global role in the yet-unnamed entity born out of the merger of MEC and Maxus.

     

    Varghese will in all likelihood move to London as head of market development, looking after over 45 markets other than the top eight markets globally, including India.

     

    While for Varghese this would mean not overseeing India operations something that he has done with much success and passion (and aggression), but, industry insiders say, it’s a big promotion and can be the next step towards a bigger responsibility.

     

    According to reports, Tim Castree, the CEO of the merged entity, isn’t too keen on silos being set up in the form of regions. Hence all key market heads will report directly to him, and the rest – 45-odd currently – will be headed by Varghese. Varghese, who has spent 11 years in Maxus, had moved to the role of APAC CEO in January 14.

     

    Meanwhile, it’s also learnt that the CEO for the merged entity for India will be announced soon. While rumour mills suggest that it may be Kartik Sharma, given his success with Maxus South Asia since Varghese moved to a larger role and a healthy portfolio of clients in the Maxus kitty, one has to the await the final announcement on this for next week.

     

    A student of Xavier Insitute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Varghese was COO, Madison World before he joined Maxus in 2006.

     

  • The movie is scheduled to release on May 26th, 2017

    200 Not Out appoints Maxus to promote ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’

    By A Correspondent

     

    There’s a fair buzz around ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’ and GroupM agency Maxus has bagged the account to innovate and promote the film. movie is scheduled to release tomorrow (May 26).

     

    Speaking on the win, Kartik Sharma, Managing Director, Maxus South Asia said: “In a country of cricket enthusiasts, getting to work on the epic biographical film is thrilling and humbling at the same time. It’s great to be regarded as experts in sports media and marketing. This is a unique project indeed because it’s not only about the social religion of cricket but also about the niche that Sachin has carved out for himself”.

     

    Added Ravi Bhagchandka, Producer, 200 Not Out:, “Sachin: A Billion Dreams is a very special project for us. We wanted a partner who could share the same passion in building this up just like us and give their best. Maxus’ understanding of media and sports marketing bundled up with innovative thinking and strong domain expertise makes them the perfect partner for us”.

     

    Said Jigar Rambhia, National Director – Sports and Entertainment Partnerships, Maxus India: “Working on this magnum opus project is a dream come true. Personally, sports has always been my passion and when you club your passion with profession, it only gets better”.

     

  • Maxus India has bagged the consolidated digital creative and media mandate for Tata Motors

    Maxus to vroom Tata Motors digitally

    By A Correspondent

     

    GroupM agency Maxus India has bagged the consolidated digital creative and media mandate for Tata Motors.  Maxus has set up a large exclusive team in its Mumbai office for Tata Motors to handle the creative, media, social and innovations portfolio.

     

    Commenting on the win, Kartik Sharma, Managing Director – Maxus South Asia said ‘We are very delighted to be chosen by Tata Motors as their digital partner. Maxus today handles several leading brands from the Tata stable and with this win we are truly humbled by the group’s faith in our capabilities”

     

    Added Unny Radhakrishnan, Maxus’ Chief Digital Officer: “It is a moment of pride for us. Our focus will be to bring data, content and technology together to deliver effective and creative solutions for brands and we look forward to do some great work for Tata Motors in the coming months”

     

  • Looking how IPL fared on the social media, courtesy MESH, the data analysis tool from Maxus India

    Discovering the Buzz around IPL9

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    MESH, the proprietary tool for data analysis from GroupM agency Maxus India has been analysing Season 9 of the Indian Premier League from the digital media point of view.

     

    Here’s the analysis in brief. Also, please look up the PPT attached to this story for a graphical representation of the findings.

     

    Here goes:

    1. IPL 2016 clocked more than 3.1 mn mentions with last week witnessing a jump of 74% in conversations vs IPL 2015’s last week

     

    2. #PepsiIPL had generated twice more mentions in 2015 vs #VivoIPL in 2016

     

    3. RCB was the highest buzzing team followed by KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad

     

    4. While Virat and AB De Villiers were unquestionably the top buzzing players of IPL 2016, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain David Warner’s winning the IPL 2016 trophy secured him 7th position in the most mentioned player tally.

     

    5. Aakash Chopra and Sidhu were the most-talked-about commentators in IPL 2016

     

    6. Mobile handset manufacturer Vivo clocked the maximum mentions with #VivoIPL followed by Kingfisher’s #UnitedbyGoodTimes and Freecharge’s #LoDoKhatamKaro

     

    7. Top Buzzing sponsors basis category

    a. Telecom Vodafone #BeSuper
    b. Mobile Wallets Freecharge #LoDoKhatamKaro
    c. Mobile Handsets Vivo #VivoIPL
    d. Beverages Kingfisher #UnitedByGoodTimes
    e. Appliances Lloyd #PlayBoldBeBold
    f. Automobiles Maruti #Glamshot
    g. Building/Construction Ultratech #UnShakableSpirit
    h. DTH DishTV #MasalaMaarKe
    i. Banks Yes Bank #BattleofFans
    j. Airlines Jet Airways #TrueMIfan
    k. Others Ola #OlaMatchMania

    Congratulatory messages from the cricket fraternity and Yuvraj winning some major titles were among the most RTed tweets around IPL Finals.

     

    9. Congratulatory messages, Contests & Polls were the key for brands to get maximum engagement.

     

    10. Celebration moments shared by IPL and other Instagram handles were the highest engaged ones.

     

  • This mandate will cover the entire media end-to-end solutions for TV, Print, Digital, Radio, Cinema etc

    Maxus to handle media mandate of Infiniti Retail

    By A Correspondent

     

    Global communications consultancy firm Maxus has bagged the mandate for Infiniti Retail (Croma), a subsidiary company of Tata Sons dealing solely in electronic retail products. Maxus has taken over the mandate with effect from April 1st 2016.

     

    This mandate will cover the entire media end-to-end solutions for TV, Print, Digital, Radio, Cinema etc. Maxus will also be managing the Social Assets of brand Croma and driving their Social strategy.

     

    Kartik Sharma, Managing Director- Maxus South Asia said: “Maxus has had the opportunity to partner with multiple entities from the TATA GROUP. We are therefore very pleased to now be a partner to Croma as well. Croma has been a pioneer in the Electronic retail space and continues to thrive in an evolving competitive environment. We see our strong strategic and digital capabilities being a real asset to the Croma team and look to working closely with them to drive their business priorities. The larger goal will be to navigate the brand in this increasingly challenging media and marketing landscape to ensure that Croma continues to win.”

     

    Anand Chakravarthy, Managing Partner- Maxus India said: “Working with a TATA brand is always an exciting proposition and this partnership with Croma is a big win for Maxus. Given the vision and brand strategy articulated by the Croma marketing team, we are really looking forward to partnering them on this journey.”

     

    Ritesh Ghosal CMO Infiniti Retail said, “Maxus’ integrated digital approach covering content, social and bought media swung the pitch in our minds. With our increasing focus on digital media, we were looking for a partner willing to learn the new Omni-channel marketing game along with us and Maxus with its experienced team and strong digital understanding put their hand up.”

     

  • As media AOR, Maxus will manage all traditional media outlets as well as content marketing for the brand. The digital business will continue to be with ZenithOptimedia, which managed the OLX account until recently

    Move-de! OLX mandates Maxus with media duties

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s now been made official. For the last few weeks (or was it months), it’s been known that leading online classifieds platform OLX has moved its non-digital media and content marketing mandate to Maxus India. Now it’s been made official.

     

    The account win happens after a multi-agency pitch held late last year. It will be managed by the New Delhi team lead by Maxus managing partner Navin Khemka. As media AOR, Maxus will manage all traditional media outlets as well as content marketing for the brand. The digital business will continue to be with Zenith Optimedia, which managed the OLX account until recently.

     

    Said Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX India on the move: “Changes in the technology and media domains, as well as the growth in the Internet business, not only offer new opportunities but also pose some interesting challenges. We feel that Maxus will be able to think strategically, and offer innovative business-led solutions for the same.” Commenting on the win Kartik Sharma, Managing Director- Maxus South Asia said, “Our vision is two-fold- to communicate their brand proposition through an effective media mix and creative strategies, and use those to accelerate business growth for the brand.”

     

    Navin Khemka, Managing Partner, Maxus added: “We are delighted to have OLX as a part of the Maxus Delhi team. Our experience and expertise in managing new age clients has helped provide them with an edge in the market place. We are confident about delivering ground breaking solutions for driving OLX’s business objective. We are looking at innovative and customized solutions to connect buyers and sellers in every small town and village in India.”

     

    Interestingly, Khemka moved to Maxus in July 2014 after spending over eight years at ZenithOptimedia (ZO) in July 2014 where again he managed the ZO business amongst several others.

     

  • A location based mood mapping tool for audiences in India

    Maxus unveils Kaleidoscope

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maxus India launched ‘Maxus Kaleidoscope’, a unique mood based planning tool. Inspired by British physician Dr. Liz Miller’s mapping principle of defining one’s mood, this web based tool will enable brands in India to align their communication basis the emotional and behavioral parameters of the audience. The tool measures parameters such as ‘Share of Mood’, ‘Receptivity of Audience’ and ‘Appropriate Moment’ for engagement from a brand and audience perspective. This is Maxus India’s second initiative on behavioural mapping the first being Moribus – first of its kind behavioural sciences lab by a media agency in partnership with the Mumbai University.

     

    Lindsay Pattison

    The tool was launched by Lindsay Pattison, Global CEO, Maxus at a media round table with the entire Global Executive Committee, along with Ajit Varghese, CEO, Maxus APAC. The round table further discussed their vision for Maxus India in 2016 as well as how the domestic market contributes to the global brand.

     

    The fundamental premise of ‘Maxus Kaleidoscope’ is that every decision of humankind is based on feelings. Different moods denote diverse feelings and reactions, making it important for brands to be sensitive in their messaging. Data on a brand’s share of mood and audience receptivity can help a marketing campaign reduce ad avoidance and wastage. Mood based audience segmentation has a greater probability of effective communication, vis a vis demographic segmentation.

     

    Speaking to the media about the tool, Lindsay Pattison, Global CEO, Maxus said “With access to real time data, brands can move beyond demographics into behavior consumer profiling. Maxus Kaleidoscope is a first step towards mood and receptivity profiling, so brands have an insight on what their target consumer is feeling, and build their communication around a ‘mood’.”

     

    Lindsay and the Global team also discussed India’s new initiatives, including Maxus India’s focus in 2016 on the trinity of data, digital and content. While IoTBLR Partnership and Metalworks form key components of the digital pillar, Moribus and Maxus Kaleidoscope are one of a kind tools that differentiate our data and analytics product. The content marketing pillar is an enabler that provides brands the opportunity for greater engagement with brands.

     

    Commenting on India, Lindsay further added, “India is a benchmark market for us. In 2016, we are looking at a growth poised in double digits, fueled by innovation within the trinity of data, digital and content. India is one of those unique markets where traditional media and digital media are growing together. We are most excited about developments in mobile media and advertising, and have a lot to learn from this mobile-first market. Our focus in 2016 is to develop a diverse skillset that will be future ready for all our clients and brands.”

     

  • Once a user logins to the website and signs in via Facebook or email, all the images of the person and their partner are collated together to create a video montage

    Maxus unveils unique campaign for Platinum Guild India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Global communications consultancy firm Maxus in collaboration with Platinum Guild India has created an exclusive microsite – www.oureverlastinglove.in wherein couples can create a personalized video of the special moments of togetherness that make their journey extraordinary.

     

    Couples around the world like to share manifestations of their journey together on various social media platforms. On the basis of this understanding and building on this innate desire, Maxus presents couples with a platform where they can curate their most rejoiced memories and bring to life their special moments.

     

    “Our social timelines have become a destination that stores a lot of our memories. We found an innovative way of allowing people to use the content on their timeline to express their feelings to their partner and loved ones. Our Everlasting Love, is a way for everyone to look back on their special memories and celebrate their Platinum Day of Love, through a heartfelt visual representation of their unique love story,” said Vishal Jacob, National Director – Digital, Maxus India.

     

    Speaking about the initiative Vaishali Banerjee, Managing Director, Platinum Guild India said, “Today Platinum is an expression of love, intimacy and commitment between young couples.  Platinum Day of Love is about discovering true love and celebrating it with precious platinum. Building on the back of this campaign we wanted to give young couples the opportunity to celebrate not just their Platinum Day of Love but their entire journey of togetherness through a video. We feel social media is a perfect platform to interact with couples and their friends and encourage them to share their stories of everlasting love”.

     

    Once a user logins to the website and signs in via Facebook or email, all the images of the person and their partner are collated together to create a video montage. A feature to upload additional images is also available. Each of these videos can be shared on Facebook and Twitter and can be viewed by their friends and loved ones.

     

     

  • The key quantitative metrics are reach (in minutes) mentions for the programs as well as conversation sentiments

    Maxus unveils social TV tracker tool- Maxus Synapse

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maxus has announced the launch of yet another pragmatic tool ‘Maxus Synapse’­ the social TV tracker that will help one plan for digital natives effectively. The tool tracks the conversations of key channels and programs, reports it in one view for planners and buyers to take quick and smart decisions that will enable them to drive their business more efficiently.

     

    The applicable tool pulls in real time Twitter data for top performing programs and online channels. The key quantitative metrics are reach (in minutes) mentions for the programs as well as conversation sentiments. These metrics would help planners track and measure what programs are dominant on social media and how the brand associations can be multiplied, leveraged and nurtured to bring out the best performing results.

     

    Priti Murthy

    Commenting on the launch Priti Murthy- National Director, Insights Maxus India said “We at Maxus are committed to bring out the best innovations for the industry. Research has found that earned social media ‘reminds’ people to watch an episode after the live airing, thereby making it imperative for us as media planners to see the audience data more holistically than in silos. It was the recurrence of these conversations that gave birth to the idea of Maxus Synapse.”

     

    “With Synapse one will be enabled to track and measure the performance of TV programs vis-à-vis the social chatter around them. This will also help understand the lift generated by social media and analyse the qualitative viewing of niche audiences which is minuscule compared to GECs. We also would like to thank our partners from the Frrole Team who helped develop the tool,” she added.

     

    Amarpreet Kalkat Co-founder, Frrole said, “Maxus is an innovator and a thought leader when it comes to employing data and analytics for the benefit of its clients. At Frrole, we are privileged to be the social data partner for another industry-leading initiative from Maxus that would not just be a trend-setter, but would also drive significant increase in ROI on media spends by Maxus clients.”

     

  • This is the result of the divisions winning multiple business accounts in the first six months of 2014

    Maxus strengthens leadership teams in West & South

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maxus has announced the strengthening its regional teams across its divisions in the West and South. This is the result of the divisions winning multiple business accounts in the first six months of 2014.

     

    In the southern region, Maxus has elevated Kishankumar Shyamalan to the post of General Manager. In his previous role as Client Leader, Kishankumar was the key lead for the Tata Global Beverages pitch, ultimately converting the business in Maxus’ favour. He is the key architect of the ‘Power of 49’ campaign, conceptualized and executed by Maxus Bangalore. He also spearheaded media teams for Titan Industries, Wipro and the Kerala office. His erstwhile roles include Buying Head for Maxus South.

     

    The new appointment at Maxus Mumbai, is of Monaz Todywalla as General Manager. Monaz will be leading client teams for Vodafone, L’Oreal, HDFC Life and Kotak. She comes with a wealth of experience across categories like FMCG, BFSI, Retail and Confectionary. Monaz joins Maxus from Madison Communications, where she worked on clients such as Marico Industries Limited, Asian Paints, Kaya and Sleek. She began her career with Lodestar where she serviced Amul and SC Johnson.

     

    Speaking about both these leaders, Kartik Sharma, Managing Director, Maxus South Asia said, “We are excited to elevate Kishan and bring Monaz on board at Maxus. We have always attracted the very best talent in the industry and have given them every opportunity to grow and prosper within Maxus. We are confident that Kishan and Monaz will be ambassadors of the PACE values of Passion Agility, Collaboration and an Entrepreneurial spirit that drives us to become change agents in a fast paced media environment.”

     

    In the first half of 2014, Maxus India has won 23 new accounts across the country worth 300 crore collectively. Over the last six months, Maxus India has garnered 23 new clients, including JK Tyres, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Unitech, PayTM, Askme.com, ICC T20 World Cup 2014, Cigna TTK Health Insurance, Musafir.com and BML Educorp.

     

     

  • Maxus India has retained the title of the most "dominant" agency profile for the fourth year in a row as per the RECMA 2013 report

    Maxus is RECMA’s ‘Most Dominant Agency’ for fourth consecutive year

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maxus India has retained the title of the most “dominant” agency profile for the fourth year in a row as per the RECMA 2013 report. Maxus was the only agency to be rated as “dominant” as per the ratings. The RECMA report is the Qualitative Assessment for 2013 for all leading media agencies in India, basis two parameters – Vitality & Structure. This is the highest level of ratings awarded by RECMA, for the agency that demonstrates a balance between the two parameters.

     

    Kartik Sharma

    Speaking on the new RECMA Ratings, Kartik Sharma, Managing Director, Maxus India said, “2013 has been an exciting year for us. We won 17 new businesses, worth over Rs 600 crores. We made substantial investments to strengthen our offering across core media, digital, branded content and activation. This is also reflected in the number of industry awards the agency won during the year.” He added, “From a people point of view, the new RECMA ratings are an indicator of the 10/10 vision that drives us to delight our clients and customers. We are governed by Passion, Agility, Collaboration and an Entrepreneurial spirit (PACE), a mission statement that drives us to deliver the very best and meet challenges head on.”

     

    2013 has been an exciting year for Maxus in India. New business wins include Tata Global Beverages, Unitech, Nestle India, Kotak Mahindra, Redbus.in, Ruchi Soya and Musafir.com to name a few. They also retained the media duties for L’Oreal in India.