MxMIndia

Tag: Maxus South Asia

  • A quick Q&A with Kartik Sharma, Managing Director of Maxus South Asia, Kartik Sharma on the big Emvies win

    Jaldi 5 with Kartik Sharma: Emvies is the most coveted award in this part of the world for media agencies

    Alhough just seven months as Managing Director of Maxus South Asia, Kartik Sharma has been around with the GroupM agency since seven years. While there is a good roster of clients, the media agency business is very competitive and it’s in this scenario that winning the ‘Agency of the Year’ at Emvies 2014 means a lot for Team Maxus. Excerpts from an interview with Kartik Sharma…

     

    01. While Maxus has been doing well at the Emvies over the years, the Agency of the Year is a significant achievement. What does this win mean for the agency’s India office?

    Emvies is the most coveted award in this part of the world for media agencies, simply because it’s an award for not only innovation, but also effectiveness. Even a single award would suffice since it’s getting judged by best-in-class clients across various companies, In the last seven years, we’ve always had a dream to be the No 1. We have done exceedingly well at most other forums, but at the Emvies we have come a very close second, sometimes third. So that feeling of “You can do it, but it’s not coming” was always there. I think this means much to ourselves as a team and also to the clients who kept the belief that yes, Maxus can and has everything it takes to get the Agency of the Year award.

     

    02. The Power of 49 obviously worked for you?

    Yes, fantastic work done on the ‘Power of 49’. We sent in entries for 10 clients and are delighted that nine of them won an award at the Emvies. So, it’s also satisfying to see that the diverse nature of work the agency is putting across. Also, it’s not just innovation that we are doing well at, we have strengthened our research and analytics focus, our strategy focus…

     

    03. Does the push for winning awards put too much pressure on your team on a day-to-day basis?

    No way. We never do work to win awards. We do great work which eventually wins awards. So, our goal is always to excel. And if you set that goal then awards are just a by-product. We never go to Tata Tea saying that let’s do ‘Power of 49’ and we will win awards. We are there to solve a problem or a challenge, we did that and the great work ends in good results.

     

    04. How will you ensure that you win the top place next year too?

    I think, first is attitudinally, the passion to do great work is fundamental. So, that will continue. Second is that goal which I spoke about, if you put that goal as excellence in building clients, getting awards as a by-product is far more simpler. That’s something that will continue to work.

     

    05. And how is the rivalry with Mindshare?

    I won’t call it rivalry, I think it’s a healthy competition. I think they’re a great competitor to have. They are extremely professional, we really respect all the work they do. It’s good to have a competitor who will push you to do your best. And I think some of the manifestations that we got was also on the healthy competitor spirit. It’s not rivalry at all.

     

  • 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.

     

     

  • Kartik Sharma take charge from Ajit Varghese as Managing Director, Maxus South Asia next month when the latter moves into regional role as CEO, Maxus Asia-Pacific

    Kartik Sharma to helm Maxus South Asia wef Jan ’14

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kartik Sharma

    From its India headquarters in a part-woody and part-concrete environ of North Mumbai, media conglomerate GroupM announced a new captain to steer Maxus South Asia on Monday. Kartik Sharma, currently Managing Partner, will be Managing Director for the media network’s India region from January 2014, taking charge from Ajit Varghese who has been appointed CEO Asia Pacific. There were rumours that the replacement for Mr Varghese could be brought in from the outside, but that evidently was due to the long wait since the transition for Mr Varghese was announced in September.

     

    An alumnus of NMIMS Mumbai, Mr Sharma will report into CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia and Mr Varghese. In Maxus since 2007, Mr Sharma has been looking after the Western region and worked across key client relationships including Vodafone, L’oreal, Tata Sky, Shoppers Stop to name a few. He has earlier worked with HTA, Lintas, Mindshare and Madison.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Mr Varghese said, “Kartik is an excellent choice for Maxus considering his product strengths and client focus. He has the in-depth knowledge and insight of what is needed to take Maxus to the next level.” Added CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia, “Kartik has done a stellar job as Managing Partner, Maxus, working closely with Ajit in shaping the Maxus brand, creating client delight, winning several new businesses and helping Maxus dominate industry awards.”

     

    Speaking on his elevation, Mr Sharma said, “The last six years at Maxus have been very exciting. Our focus on constantly improving the product and the ability to develop a unique work culture has helped us deliver winning solutions for clients. I look forward to my new journey and am confident it will be equally exciting and fulfilling.”

     

    The current role and what he will helm post January will, according to Mr Sharma, be different given the overall leadership responsibility. When asked what Mr Varghese meant by taking Maxus to the next level, Mr Sharma said: Digital is the core of what we do. Given the pace at which data is hitting us is nothing that humankind has seen so far. The important thing is to understand what’s noise and what’s good. It’s important to use data intelligently,”

     

    But doesn’t too much of technology convert a media agency into a tech firm? “Whether we call it a media or tech company is semantics,” said Mr Sharma underscoring the need to understand technology. The digital media is growing over 30 per cent year-on-year and this, the MD-designate said, requires significant attention.

     

    On awards and Mr Varghese dream of the agency winning top honours at the Emvies, Mr Sharma said: “The Emvies are a mix of creativity and effectiveness and hence important. It’s very important to keep winning awards. But when we do work, it’s for the brand and not for awards. Awards though help in bringing the best in us.”