MxMIndia

Tag: MullenLowe Lintas Group

  • These appointments mark the completion of the transition that started with the recent exit of Arun Iyer

    Lowe Lintas names Sagar Kapoor and Prateek Bhardwaj as CCOs

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sagar Kapoor
    Prateek Bhardwaj

    MullenLowe Lintas Group has announced the new creative leadership of its agency, Lowe Lintas. The agency has named Sagar Kapoor and Prateek Bhardwaj as its Chief Creative Officers (CCOs). These appointments mark the completion of the transition that started with the recent exit of Arun Iyer.  While Kapoor has been elevated from within the agency where he was Executive Director, based in Mumbai. Bharadwaj  moves from McCann Worldgroup where he was National Creative Director.

     

    In the new structure, Kapoor would oversee a part of the Mumbai office of Lowe Lintas, and all its offices in the South. Bharadwaj’s portfolio would include a part of the Mumbai office, and the agency’s offices in the North.

     

    Amer Jaleel

    According to a communique, Amer Jaleel, Chairman and CCO – MullenLowe Lintas Group, has handpicked the creative duo for these roles, in consultation with Arun Iyer. Speaking of the appointments, Jaleel said: “The task of choosing and appointing the creative leadership of Lowe Lintas is an incredibly enviable and unenviable position to be in! Taking over from the likes of Balki and Arun Iyer for one. And taking charge of the legacy and for the future of Lowe Lintas during these challenging and exciting times, too. But we have found the two most gifted and ideal individuals possible, what a great relief and what a sense of pride at this announcement!”

     

    Commenting on the new CCOs, Jaleel added: “We’ve seen the two CCO model work well in the past for the agency. The new generation of leaders taking over is the start of Lowe Lintas evolving its creative product, while being true to the Lintas soul.”

     

    The new appointments will be effective January 1, 2019. Both the new CCOs will operate out of the Mumbai offices of Lowe Lintas, reporting to Jaleel.

     

     

  • While Michelle Suradkar will continue to help with some special projects until June 2019, Heather Gupta will take over the HR operations with immediate effect

    Heather Gupta joins MullenLowe Lintas Group as Group HR Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    MullenLowe Lintas Group has hired Heather Gupta as Group HR Director. She takes over from Michelle Suradkar, the current Group Chief HR Officer, who is taking a break from work for personal reasons.

     

    Virat Tandon

    Gupta’s move back to the group coincides with a renewed focus on meaningful integration at all levels of the business. Said Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group: “We could not imagine an HR leader better suited for the task, given our vision of hyper-bundled solutions for the future, and the need for extreme agility as we integrate the various parts of our offering. Heather’s experience across diverse media businesses, including traditional and digital advertising, production, movies, TV, and content make her perfectly placed to help us shape our existing people for the future and also attract the very best talent in the industry”.

     

    Heather Gupta

    Commenting on her appointment, Gupta said: “I am thrilled to be returning to Lintas Group, after a journey of several years on a sharp learning curve across the media spectrum. Lintas is a special place with a strong identity and emotional resonance, and the company’s vision for the future is incredibly exciting”.

     

  • Iyer to take on a consulting role with the group, will transition out of the agency over the next year

    Amer Jaleel & Virat Tandon to head MullenLowe Lintas Group. Arun iyer to exit

     

    By A Correspondent

    The winds of change are blowing. And given that the headquarters are near the near-seafront end of Mumbai’s Nariman Point, these winds have been blowing hard and fast.

     

    So we woke this morning to the Brand Equity story on the development at MullenLowe Lintas Group. That Amer Jaleel has been named Group Chairman and Chief Creative Officer. Partnering him, on business, will be Virat Tandon who’s being named Group CEO. In their new roles, the duo will lead the group mandate in India overseeing its three agencies; Lowe Lintas, Mullen Lintas and PointNine Lintas. And, most importantly, Arun Iyer – Chairman and CCO of Lowe, the older agency, has decided to move on.

     

    Given the Economic Times supplement’s deadlines, this was a carefully planned exclusive given by the agency network. And we rest our case whether the exclusive lolly was really worth it.

     

    Speaking of the new group leadership, Alex Leikikh – global CEO MullenLowe Group said: “A few years ago, we had asked Amer and Virat to start our second agency in India, Mullen Lintas, and they have built it into a top 10 agency in the country in just two years. Amer has been a creative leader of our group in India for a very long time now, and Virat embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of the MullenLowe Group, and as such I am delighted to have them steer our overall business in India to even greater success.”

     

    Interestingly, the communique received from the agency network is silent on the roles of Raj Gupta, CEO, Lowe Lintas, the flagship agency and Vikas Mehta, CEO, PointNine Lintas. Gupta was elevated in March 2017 along with Iyer and Mehta was appointed CEO in mid-2017 along with the agency’s formation. Mehta was also essaying the role of CMO of the group. While the appointments have the blessings of the global guard, it needs to be seen how the appointment of Tandon impacts that of Gupta and Mehta.

     

    Meanwhile, speaking of their new roles, Jaleel and Tandon said this in a communique: “We have a lot of strong assets in the group. Two top ten agencies, Lowe Lintas and Mullen Lintas; a very promising incubation, the Omni-channel agency PointNine Lintas; some of the industry’s best and brightest creative, strategy and business leaders; and last but not the least a culture that makes us stick together and tick. The future is looking different and exciting. There could be no better time for the group to embark on this journey. To stay at the top of its game, MullenLowe Lintas Group realizes the importance of investing in building a strong talent pool with new skills that are relevant in the digital and hyper-connected world. It’s becoming more challenging for brands to win in the marketplace as the consumer is evolving and most categories are being disrupted and transformed due to technology. Clients are looking for all the help they can get from their agencies to win in this new reality. We want to continue to be our clients’ biggest strength.”

     

    Iyer, who plans to start a venture of his own and will transition out of the agency over the next year, has along with the agency planned a twelve-month transition period, during which he will continue to work for some key clients and help with succession planning. This is what he has said:  “I have had the privilege of being part of an institution. I have spent a little over 15 years here. And it is home. Over the last few years, I have been passionate about start-ups and have played a role in developing some strong brands such as Byju’s, Freecharge and Grofers. Going forward, I am planning to work more closely within the start-up ecosystem.” Added Jaleel: “Arun and I have been brothers-in-arms for over eight years now. We’ve been shouldering the equity and reputation of Lintas together and that gives you a sort of a feeling of being in the same womb! Arun has, over the last three years, taken the spirit that Balki infused in Lowe Lintas to a different zone and moulded the agency in his own way. A large part of my job for MullenLowe Lintas Group will be to take that imprint forward.”

     

    The last bit in the communique is critical: “Jaleel and Tandon’s appointments take place with immediate effect. They are working on plans to transform MullenLowe Lintas Group in a few critical areas to remain the key agency partner for clients.”

     

    Ah. Sorry, we aren’t Brand Equity, but this last line can be interpreted variously. Or perhaps not. We are journalists. We don’t have to necessarily do creative thinking. Tandon is a great guy, and so are Gupta and Mehta. But then there can be just one leader.

  • Ameer Ismail has been named Chief Growth Officer, Sumanta Ganguly takes on the role of National Director – Digital Marketing & Transformation and Sriharsh Grandhe would be National Director – Consumer Engagement

    PointNine Lintas announces leadership team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Left to right: Sumanta Ganguly Ameer Ismail Vikas Mehta Sriharsh Grandhe

    PointNine Lintas, the recently announced independent agency from the MullenLowe Lintas Group, announced the first set of names in its leadership team. Ameer Ismail has been named Chief Growth Officer, Sumanta Ganguly takes on the role of National Director – Digital Marketing & Transformation and Sriharsh Grandhe would be National Director – Consumer Engagement. Along with Vikas; Ameer, Sumanta and Sriharsh will work with clients to build bespoke agency solutions geared to maximize return-on-marketing-investments. They will work with CEO Vikas Mehta. All teams of PointNine Lintas will be co-located in offices in Mumbai, New Delhi (NCR) and Bengaluru respectively.

     

    Ismail, Grandhe and Ganguly will retain their divisional responsibilities for GolinOpinion, LinEngage and LinTeractive respectively.

     

    Speaking of the lineup, said: “The biggest challenge in getting an omni-channel model right is the ability to bring multi-disciplinary expertise together upfront. This leadership team is made up of seasoned practitioners. It allows us to bring multiple disciplines to the table right at the start and offer clients, a customised agency team that’s built around their brand opportunities. This is in sharp contrast to the administrative structure most agencies follow for their verticals. We are lucky to have experts like Ameer, Sumanta and Sriharsh within the organisation, to be my co-founders at PointNine Lintas.”

     

    Explaining the rationale behind this choice, Mehta added: “One of the big reasons why full-service is preached more often than practiced, is because every skill-set comes with its own administrative layers. For example, when you need a PR expert, you also inherit the administrative layer of a PR agency. In a day-to-day working scenario, this becomes a major barrier to collaboration. We’ve made a conscious choice to cast our best minds as both, ‘practitioners’ and ‘managers’ making it easier to collaborate seamlessly.”

     

    The agency, notes a communique, is planning more additions to the leadership team, which would be announced in the coming days.

     

  • MullenLowe Lintas launches new full-service agency hyperbundling key marketing services functions + interview with CEO Vikas Mehta

    And now, PointNine Lintas

     

    The MullenLowe Lintas Group has  announced the launch of its new independent full-service agency in India, PointNine Lintas. It would offer omni-channel marketing capabilities including creative (on and offline), PR, activation, experiential, social, media and digital transformation; all under one roof. The agency will commence operations on August 1, 2017.

     

    The existing marketing services of the Group will be aggregated under this new agency and will operate as its divisions. These includeGolinOpinion – PR, reputation management; LinTeractive – digital marketing and transformation and LinEngage – activation, experiential & shopper. These divisions will come together to offer full-service horizontal offerings to clients of PointNine Lintas, while continuing toretain their vertical offerings for existing clients. The new agency has a roadmap to further expand its capabilities by adding new offerings to its service stack, including creative, media, technology and platforms.

     

    PointNine is a model developing and landing in India: Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas Mehta

     

    A quick chat with the founding CEO of the MullenLoweLintas group’s all-new agency. Mehta has been Group CMO and President, Marketing Services for the MullenLoweLintas Group,

     

     

    All of the constituents set to become part of PointNine have existed for some years now. Why the desire to now merge them under one head?

    We are not disrupting the existing divisions. There is a market for special skillsets, and that will continue to be. While we will now have a unified team, we are not disbanding the existing teams. We are dropping the silos so they can work in a cross-functional way.

     

    So how will the existing teams work.. where does it leave individual team leaders like Ameer Ismail who was just recently elevated?

    The operating models of existing teams will continue. There will be an additional layer of a PointNineLintas team which will work in a horizontal way, so that it can leverage individual talent.

     

    Will full-service include media?

    The roadmap is to offer the entire spectrum of services and to expand. In media, we already have digital media buying and planning. And, as I said, the rest of the roadmap is to expand.

     

    There’s a mention made that PointNine will also look at creative work – online and offline. Is this meant only to handle competitive brands in the group, or do we see PointNine also growing to be a worthy competitor to the ‘mother’ agency?

    So in the unified team under PointNine, we already have 35-40 creatives. Yes, the three agency brands will be independent and going forward could compete.

     

    So a creative head – CCO or NCD?

    Yes, on Day 0 we already have people in creative. And we will have a creative head soon.

     

    Why the name PointNine? Does the name PointNineLintas point to the agency being very close to the real thing and not exactly that? Or is it nine functions coming together.

    No, no. It is to signify the beta version and is more of a reflection of the founding principles of the agency. It’s beta by choice and is a reflection of the prevailing marketing principles.

     

    But the beta life also means that not everything is 100 per cent perfect?

    Yeah, and that’s the world we live in.The best practives are evolving much faster than companies can. Our offerings, our engagement practices will allow us to evolve ahead of the market

     

    All of this sounds good, but it will require teams to unlearn they worked and learn all-new capabilities?

    Absolutely. And this is what we’ve been working over the last few months…. Arming our people with cross-functional expertise so that they can tap the best of talent across

     

    The MullenLowe group is going through the process hyperbundlingelsewhere? IsPointNinepart of a larger global plan or will exist only in India for now?

    This is a model developing and landing in India. It has been endorsed by the network and global bosses. As it is today, it’s for India. But it could well elsewhere.

     

    You’ve have been part of MullenLoweLintas group’s rise over the years as well as various wins in effectiveness and strategy awards. Will that continue, now that you have an independent P&L responsibility?

    At this point, my group role continues. We are in discussions on the future of it.

     

    Any targets for the agency that you can share?

    Given that we are some 20 days from launch, let me tell you what according to us will be the definition of our success. We wish put our work out of there which gives the value of seamlessness and its impact on business to clients. I am quite hopeful that’s how integration can be done going forward as against the 360-degree wagon wheel that currently exists.

     

     

    Announcing the new agency, Joseph George, Group Chairman and CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group said: “We made our intentions to go full-service clear four years ago. While the list of companies and industries pursuing full-service (under different labels) has grown tremendously in this time, the approach to it remains more or less the same. PointNine Lintas is a fresh take at an agency model that’s multi-faceted at its core. So far, only holding companies have seen some success with this approach, but it’s restricted to a handful of very large global clients. An agency network doing this would be a first, and we believe it could broaden the base of clients who can tap into it.”

     

    Along with Lowe Lintas and Mullen Lintas, PointNine Lintas would be the third independent agency of the MullenLowe Lintas Group in India. Vikas Mehta, currently Group CMO and President, Marketing Services for MullenLowe Lintas Group, has been named CEO ofPointNine Lintas.

     

    Speaking of the appointment, George said: “I have worked closely with Vikas the past four years and I am absolutely certain that he is most qualified to deliver on this ambition. Not just because of his subject matter competencies required for a multi-service agency, but also for his passionate, stubborn and informed belief in ‘full service’ being the only way to go!”

     

    Said said in a statment, “We have gone from the age of communication to the age of experiences. While the market has evolved at a furious pace, the agency models haven’t. The opportunity to take the Lintas pedigree and build an agency for the experiential economy is an inspiring one. Hyper-bundling is our biggest priority as a network and I’m grateful for the challenge to build a new agency that’s hyper-bundled from day zero”.

     

  • Ismail has led GolinOpinion (eka LinOpinion) for over two decades

    MullenLowe Lintas Group elevates Ameer Ismail to Prez, GolinOpinion

     

     

    PR veteran Ameer Ismail has been promoted to President by MullenLowe Lintas Group, effective immediately. He has led the group’s PR firm GolinOpinion (formerly LinOpinion) for over 20 years and built the agency into one of the top players in the PR industry. He was also instrumental in bringing Golin on-board as JV partner in India in 2014. GolinOpinion operates as a part of the marketing services offerings of MullenLowe Lintas Group.

     

    Ismail continues to report to Vikas Mehta, Group CMO & President, Marketing Services for the group. Announcing this elevation, Mehta said: “Ameer is just the right mix of vintage and vision. In a time when the practice of PR is more important than ever, but the business of PR is getting highly commoditized; he’s the kind of leader the industry needs. PR is an integral part of our re-bundled offering and GolinOpinion occupies a great position in the market today. Reinventing yourself from a position of strength is a rare & valuable opportunity and I’m delighted to have Ameer lead that agenda for us.”

     

    Speaking of the promotion, Ameer Ismail, says, “I am so proud to be a part of this great institution – the MullenLowe Lintas Group and am looking forward to this new phase in my journey with a renewed focus and dedication towards delivering great work.”

     

  • The three-day annual congregation of advertising, media and marketing professionals starts in Goa today

    Goafest, again!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s Goafest time. To the world outside, the advertising industry is a bundle of contradictions. Small in size, but loud in voice. Fiercely competitive, but always united. Well, almost.

     

    One arm of the world’s largest conglomerates WPP finds the Abby awards a no-no. That’s Ogilvy. In fact its supremo – Piyush Pandey – once said that the his team members saw no value in them, in fact they are strewn all over their cabins. Another arm of the same WPP is a fierce believer in the awards. In fact J Walter Thompson has been #1 over the last few years in the final tally of the creative awards. And before we go on and on here, we must add that GroupM, the media investments arm of WPP is not only an active participant in the Media Abby, but its CEO for South Asia – CVL Srinivas – is also an active member of the organising committee.

     

    Then there’s the MullenLowe Lintas Group. The diktat of its former chairman R Balki of not participating in the Abby is still followed, but in the past we’ve had integral parts of the same group participating actively. In fact two years back, Pickle Lintas even won the Grand Prix for its campaign for Dabur.

     

    There are some other agencies which don’t participate in the Abby. Some because their bosses don’t like creative awards in India, some because they don’t have enough good work to send which will hence put them twenty first in the pecking order. Even some hole-in-the-wall digital or out-of-home agency in the boondocks.

     

    Be that as it may, the 12th edition of Goafest, which starts today, is said to be the biggest ever held thus far. And as Organising Committee chair Ashish Bhasin told us, it’s a full house. Though we don’t have the final numbers of registered delegates as there are always some spot registrations and opt-outs at the last min.

     

    We asked MxMIndia columnist Sanjeev Kotnala for his list of favourite speakers, and this is, as he also wrote in this column on Wednesday, his list: Hemant Malik (ITC), Acharya Balkrishna ( Patanjali), Ishita Katyal (Youngest Ted speaker), Gaur Gopal Das (Spiritual Guru), Miss Malini Agarwal (the blogger), Geeta and Babita Pogat (Going to be crowd favourites), Eric Cruz (ECD AKQA), Claus Stangl (IG Creative Shop), Vivian Richards (Cricket), Juhi Kalia (Facebook), Laura Ries and Sanjay Dutt.

     

    We agree with most of the names. But Sanju baba? Well, Kotnala clarified to us, Baba comes last in the list of names which are in order of priority.

     

    The awards start in right earnest from Day 1 with the Media Awards, though the big night is the last with the key creative awards.

     

    Keep tracking the MxMIndia coverage of Goafest starting today. Enjoy

     

     

     

  • This percentage is growing as more and more children are developing myopia at early age

    LinEngage initiates an education-led program for Acuvue

    By A Correspondent

     

    Refractive error, defined as optical imperfections that prevent the eye from properly focusing light, causing blurred vision affects an estimated 30% of the population globally. This percentage is growing as more and more children are developing myopia at early age.

     

    Acuvue® Brand Contact Lenses along with LinEngage – the experiential marketing & activation agency of MullenLowe Lintas Group, have initiated a program to create awareness on the importance of eye health and promote early detection of refractive errors among young students in India. The diagnosis is conducted by trained optometrists and wherever appropriate, the students are encouraged to try contact lens, one of the effective vision correction options available today. This method of eyesight correction allows students to not only see better, but also feel more confident about their looks. It also enables them to continue with all their activities that could have otherwise been hampered due to use of spectacles.

     

    Acuvue® &LinEngage orchestrated this unique engagement initiative. It’s an initiative that needs a deep understanding of the campus dynamics, youth mindset and the sensitive nature of the product. The first such trial was conducted recently across 3 colleges in Mumbai and plans are afoot to organize it across more colleges as well. About 2000 students have already participated and benefitted from the positive outcome of the program.

     

    Commenting on the initiative undertaken by the company, Vivek Bhatnagar, Director – Vision Care, said: “Anchored by a vision to bring healthy vision to people in India, Acuvue® believes that this initiative will help the younger generation to become more aware and learn about the importance of eye-health at an early age itself. The initial feedback from students in Mumbai has been positive and we are looking to expand this initiative to other parts of the country.”

     

    Sharing the communication objective behind this initiative, Sriharsh Grandhe, EVP, LinEngage said: “Contact Lenses in India has been a stubborn category with very little momentum. Primarily, there is a big lacking in consumer familiarity and misinformation. LinEngage’s specialized approach using technology for engaging with audiences interestingly has shown promise. We are excited about partnering with Acuvue® in the consumer education initiative.”

     

    In India, Contact Lens as a category has not yet taken off and is used by a very small percentage of the population. Few reasons for its poor adoptions are:

    :: Potential wearers have very little knowledge about CL and they carry many myths about them in their mind

    :: The Optometrists are comfortable to offer specs instead of CL as the patient does not ask for CL; and also wearing CL is a more skillful job which many Optometrists do not possess or have low confidence in

    :: The owners of optical outlets prefer to sell spectacles for two reasons: they are perceived to have high margins and also the owner has freedom to decide the price as there is usually no MRP on the product

     

    With this initiative, Acuvue® and LinEngage seek to create awareness on the importance of eye health and promote early detection of refractive errors among young students in India.

     

  • Hindustan Unlilever was adjudged Effie Client of the Year, while the coveted Grand Effie was won by The Leo Group India for Bajaj V

    MullenLowe Lintas Group is Agency of the Year yet again!

     

    It wasn’t the usual two-horse race at Effies 2016 night. On Friday, December 16, while Hindustan Unlilever was the clear #1 for the Effie Client of the Year title, it appeared that last year’s winner MullenLowe Lintas Group would face some tough competition for the ‘Effie India Agency of the Year’ crown.  Eventually though MullenLowe Lintas was the clear #1, 11 points ahead of arch rival Ogilvy & Mather. The coveted Grand EFFIE was won by The Leo Group India for Bajaj Motorcycles’ campaign McCann Worldgroup was #3 with 116 points, DDB Mudra #4 with 68 points and the Leo Group at #5 with 66 points.

     

    The 16th edition of the Effie Awards saw over a thousand people from across the country in attendance.

     

    Some of the key winners of the Effie awards under various categories are as follows:

     

    Speaking about the changing dynamics of campaigns and the importance of being relevant Vikram Sakhuja, 2016 Awards Chairman, Effies, said “The true mark of a successful campaign is its contribution towards achieving business objectives through impactful communication. The Effies laud and recognize campaigns that have grown brands and business”. “The response for Effies has been at an all-time-high propelled by the awards reputation of being the torchbearer of creative excellence tested through the lens of effectiveness,” he added.

     

    Elaborating on the entries, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, 2016 Awards Co-Chairman Effies said: “The Effies 2016 will once again shine the spotlight on inventive, ambitious and successful brand-building efforts that are effective and have left an indelible mark on consumer mindsets.”

     

    Speaking at the award ceremony Raj Nayak, President of The Advertising Club said “The Effies 2016 have been increasingly patronised owing to its support and recognition of campaigns that pack the combined punch of instinct with insight. I would like to congratulate the jury that has worked towards ensuring that inclusive campaigns that have resonance amongst consumers are adjudged the winners. “

     

    Click here for Effie 2016 Tally Sheet

     

  • Launches new brand campaign propagating ‘Reverse Migration’ with the power of 4G

    Idea democratises 4G to make a digitally enabled new India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Living by its philosophy that ‘An Idea can change your life”, Idea is now suggesting that democratising 4G is the way to build a truly digital India. Its new 4G ad campaign that goes live on television, establishes the fact the mobile internet is not just an urban phenomenon, it is a driver of change for rural India too.

     

    The campaign – crafted by the MullenLowe Lintas group – underlines an overarching message which says, “Idea 4G se Gaon Gaon Sheher ban jayenge, Toh apne bhi laut ayenge. Naya India Banaenge”, suggesting the idea of ‘Reverse Migration’ made possible with Idea 4G.

     

    The new ad is set in a village which is plagued with low economic development. A girl who has come back to her home in the village on vacation, sees that majority of the young population has left the village to earn a living and decides to bring back its people. She sets up a small business in the village and promotes it digitally, using Idea 4G that generates employment in turn. Her father returns to the village to take part in the business and that is how the TVC establishes the importance of democratizing 4G to empower lives and drive Reverse Migration.

     

    Talking about the new campaign, Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said, “Mobile internet as a category can be seen in various ways. While some decide to focus on the functional aspect of the 4G technology, we at Idea think that 4G has a transformational attribute. It is advanced, it is progressive, it is the window to the world of opportunities and it is affordable too. In the past several years, Idea has worked on apprising Indians about the importance of adopting mobile internet and with 4G there is so much more that can be done.

     

    With the new TVC, we are bringing people back home. We are promoting 4G as the driver of change that can create opportunities across India. We believe that Idea 4G can bridge the gap between urban and rural India.”

     

  • Together, the two have created 'BW Ganapati' – an Android app that works using augmented reality

    LinEngage & Birla White team up to pay respect to Lord Ganesha

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s that time of the year when devotees from all walks of life go out of their way to please Lord Ganesha. Be it via performing a simple aarti at one’s home or paying visits to divine destinations across cities, each year the devotees come up novel ways to pay obeisance to the Lord of good luck and prosperity. A similar gesture has been fulfilled by Birla White Wall Care Putty in association with LinEngage, the experiential marketing arm of MullenLowe Lintas Group.

     

    Together, the two have created ‘BW Ganapati’ - an Android app that works using augmented reality. When the user opens the app and points it towards the Ganapati image in the poster, the Ganapati ‘comes alive’ and can be seen in 3D. The Ganapati is accompanied by an aarti in Marathi and flowers are showered on the idol. The user gets a feeling as if he is performing the aarti of Lord Ganesha.

     

    Highlighting the uniqueness of the initiative, Raman Minhas, Group Creative Director – LinEngage said: “This simple and endearing idea shows how even a routine practice can be turned into an engaging experience by tapping the right technology at the right touchpoint. We hope the experience is leveraged in a big way by people from all walks of life.”

     

    Commenting on the novel initiative, Kedar Rele, Head – Brand & Advertising, Birla White (Unit of UltraTech Cement) said: “As a brand, we at Birla White, always look for innovative opportunities with LinEngage being a channel partner for painters. This smart idea of interactive poster of Ganapati at Point of Sale has helped us very well. Especially at the beginning of our business season, which also happens to be the festive season. Well done, Team LinEngage.”

     

    The app is available for download on Google Play (download here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.birlawhite.BWGanapati&hl=en).

     

     

  • The Mullen Lowe Lintas Group Chairman will take to film-making full-time

    Balki bids bye to advertising

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a move that is sure to surprise many in the industry, R Balakrishnan, better known as Balki, has decided to say goodbye to advertising after a three decade-long career in the industry. The move was announced earlier today, through an internal communication, to the employees of MullenLowe Lintas Group, India.

     

    Said Alex Leikikh, Global CEO – MullenLowe Group:  “Balki has been the architect of the stellar agency we have in India today. He leaves behind an operation that’s successful and future-ready, a leadership team that’s perhaps the strongest of any agency in India, and a culture that he shaped along the way while himself leading by example. While we will miss his infectiously passionate presence, we wish him even greater success as a film-maker.”

     

    Majority of Balki’s advertising years have been spent at the MullenLowe Lintas Group, India where he currently holds the role of Group Chairman. He joined the agency (then known as Lintas) in 1994, in its Bengaluru office.

     

    Speaking of his decision, Balki said, “We’ve been planning this for some time now. It’s been a long process of succession planning that concludes with my move. The agency is at its strongest today and I leave feeling satisfied, proud and excited. We have a fine leader in Joe and two world-class creative champions in Amer and Arun. The agency has given me more than 22 years’-worth in opportunities, growth, values and most of all, some friends-for-life.”

     

    Joseph George, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group, who has worked closely with Balki through all of the 22 years says, “It is impossible and even foolish to try and replace someone like Balki; so we planned the transition differently. As early as July 2015, we put in place, a management structure that would help us move forward as an organisation, while also maximizing the potential and aspirations of great individuals we have. Balki and I have tried to think this through every step of the way, and it’s reached a place where we feel the agency is ready for today, and tomorrow.”

     

    Balki started his career in Mudra, before moving on to Lintas, a place that he went on to make his home for over two decades. While with the agency, he’s been the brain behind several globally acclaimed campaigns and brand ideas. Under his leadership, MullenLowe Lintas Group has consistently retained its spot as one of India’s top agencies and a training ground for some of the best advertising minds of the industry.

     

    Talking further on the decision: “There is no bigger happiness than to see a thought actually work the way you had fantasised. Lowe was a thought am proud of.”

     

    We’ll miss you, Balki.