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Tag: Prashanth Challapalli

  • 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.

     

     

  • The campaign revolves around how Acko has transformed the critical car insurance purchasing process

    Leo Burnett Orchard executes latest ad film for Acko

    By A Correspondent

     

    Online general insurance brand Acko has launched its latest marketing campaign. Conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett Orchard, the campaign revolves around how Acko has transformed the critical car insurance purchasing process into one that’s quick, easy and fits one’s budget.

     

    Said Kavita Chowkimane – VP Marketing at Acko: “Consumers are bombarded with too many choices today. They want to pick the best one but at the same time, avoid the cognitive load when it’s not worth the hassle. Our campaign is inspired by the thought of simplifying this decision for the value-conscious but time-poor consumer. Buying an insurance policy does not need to be such a taxing process & we think Acko is definitely a no-brainer choice.”

     

    Added Prashanth Challapalli, COO, Leo Burnett Orchard: “The relationship between a man and his car is a fascinating one. Irrespective of how much the car costs, you care for it and also take it for granted. Anything that is critical to the everyday running of the car is always a priority. Anything that is under the hood is taken for granted and usually becomes hassle to get done. Our story is a classic argument between a car that is upset at being taken for granted and the guy who is trying his best to remedy a bad situation.”

     

     

  • In her new role, she will report to Leo Burnett Orchard’s Chief Operating Officer, Prashanth Challapalli

    Orchard appoints Menaka Menon as EVP& Branch Head for Bengaluru

    By A Correspondent

     

    Menaka Menon

    Leo Burnett Orchard has strengthened its senior management by hiring Menaka Menon as Executive Vice President and Branch Head – Bengaluru. In her new role, she will report to Leo Burnett Orchard’s Chief Operating Officer, Prashanth Challapalli. Her last stint was with FCB Ulka Bengaluru where she was Vice President. She replaces Sharmine Panthaky, Vice President & Branch Head – Bengaluru, who has moved on from the agency.

     

    Prashanth Challapalli

    Speaking about bringing Menon on board, Challapalli said: “Our ambition for Leo Burnett Orchard is to firmly drive integration via the Power of One philosophy. This has a direct bearing on the kind of people we want to bring on board – people with multiple skill sets and a hunger to drive this agenda. Menaka is the perfect fit for us. She has worn different hats in her career and brings to the table the kind of ambition, drive and skill sets we were looking for at a leadership level. On behalf of everyone at Leo Burnett Orchard, I am very happy to welcome her on board and wish her great success.”

     

     

  • In his new role, he will report to Dheeraj Sinha and Rajdeepak Das

    Prashanth Challapalli appointed COO at Leo Burnett Orchard

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Leo Group has elevated Prashanth Challapalli as Chief Operating Officer for Leo Burnett Orchard. In his new role, he will report to Dheeraj Sinha, Managing Director – India and Chief Strategy Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett, and Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director – India and Chief Creative Officer, South Asia, Leo Burnett. Challapalli replaces Mahuya Chaturvedi, who is moving on from the organisation. He will be based out of Leo Burnett Orchard’s Mumbai office.

     

    Challapalli has been a part of the group since18 months as Chief Integration Officer for Leo Burnett South Asia, driving the integration agenda for key clients such as Google, P&G, McDonald’s and TVS Motorcycles.

     

    Welcoming him to the new mandate, Sinha said: “One of Prashanth’s greatest assets is his knowledge and experience in driving Power of One solutions, tapping into all the Publicis Groupe companies to bring the power of creative, digital, data, content, shopper marketing, media, PR, production and entertainment to solve business problems. As we build brands and businesses that talk to consumers who live in a digitally-enabled world, Prashanth’s significant experience in this domain will be highly valuable. I have known Prashanth to get into the details of the business and lead from the front. I am convinced that he will add value to our client’s businesses and take Leo Burnett Orchard to new heights.”

     

    Added Challapalli: “Leo Burnett Orchard has a great set of brands and people. It is the perfect canvas for me to build the Power of One story further. The last 18 months of my role in the Group as the Chief Integration Officer have given me a really good understanding of the skill sets we have built across different specialisations. I am really looking forward to bringing these together for our clients at Leo Burnett Orchard.”

     

    Said Sinha on the strategy for Leo Burnett Orchard: “We have had a tremendous momentum at the Leo Burnett Group in the past few years. Our strategy for Leo Burnett and Leo Burnett Orchard is that of – one company, two brands. Both brands are extremely powerful with their own stellar list of clients, work and talent. Both come from the same DNA, use the power of HumanKind thinking and are backed by Publicis Groupe’s Power of One solutions. Leo Burnett Orchard has always been our top priority in terms of investment. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be a significant year for Leo Burnett Orchard for achieving growth and reputation.”

     

     

  • He will report to Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications India

    Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett as Chief Integration Officer for South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prashanth Challapalli

    Leo Burnett has announcedthe appointment of Prashanth Challapalli as Chief Integration Officer for South Asia. In his new mandate, Challapalli will report to Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Communications India, and will work with leaders across Publicis Communications to drive integration. His last stint was with iContract, where he was the Executive Vice President and Digital Head.

     

    At Leo Burnett, his key mandate predominantly includes operationalising and scaling up Leo Burnett’s, Play methodology, which puts context at the heart of creating content.  Challapalliwill also be a key bridge between Publicis Communications and Publicis.Sapient, responsible for bringing the best of Publicis.Sapient to all Publicis Communications clients.

     

    Speaking about the new appointment, Varma said, “Prashanth joins us at a critical stage in our transformational journey as Publicis Communications. He brings with him boundless energy, and the ability to integrate across mediums. He will be key as we put digital at the core of our offering and increasingly create cutting edge ideas and stories which emanate from the product itself.”

     

    Added Challapalli, “When I met Saurabh, the people, ambition and momentum at Leo Burnett were the deciding factors for me. Publicis Communications is poised at the cusp of transformation right now with a diverse range of skill sets across mainline, digital, shopper marketing, PR and content production. My role will be to bring all of these together through PLAY. I have always been a big believer in the one brand, one consumer and one communication approach and most of the leaders at Publicis Communications are either ex-colleagues or friends for a long time. I am really looking forward to partnering all of them.”

     

    With over 19 years of experience, Challapalli has worked with agencies like Ogilvy, Lowe, Dentsu, Publicis Ambience and Rediffusion Y&R, and has also successfully built and lead Jack in the Box Worldwide and iContract in the digital space. He has won multiple national and international awards like the Effies, Spikes, and AME, among others, for his work across brands and campaigns like Puma, Pepsi, Slice, Louis Philippe, Durex and Kolaveri Di.

     

  • Ends four-year stint, last as Business Head, Jack in the Box Worldwide & Executive Vice President (Digital), 120 Media Collective

    Prashanth Challapalli exits Jack in the Box

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prashanth Challapalli

    Jack in the Box has announced the quitting of Prashanth Challapalli, Business Head, Jack in the Box Worldwide & Executive Vice President (Digital), 120 Media Collective.

     

    Mr Challapalli was instrumental in setting up Jack in the Box as the content-for-brands arm of Bang Bang Films, which evolved into the digital agency brand of The 120 Media Collective. Adds a communique: “As the Founding Employee of Jack in the Box, Challapalli led its growth from startup to one of South Asia’s most respected and heavily awarded digital agency brands. Additionally, he oversaw the development and setup of video content production capabilities; fashion media brand, STRUT120 and other digitally rooted initiatives at The 120 Media Collective.”

     

    Roopak Saluja

    Roopak Saluja, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, The 120 Media Collective says, “Jack in the Box is what it is today thanks to Prashanth and the passion he put into building the brand. Our trajectory from hereon will be a testament to the foundation he built since 2009. That aside, his support and partnership to me has been of paramount importance in transforming what was just a commercials production company into a multi-platform content creator strongly rooted in film and digital capabilities. His next company has no idea how lucky they’ve gotten in getting him to join them. I wish him unlimited success ahead.”

     

    On his move, Mr Challapalli said, “It has been a fantastic experience building Jack in the Box and the other verticals within The 120 Media Collective. The people, the awards, the brands are some of the best in the industry.”

     

    Prior to joining Jack in the Box, he was Associate Vice President, Publicis Ambience. In earlier assignments, Mr Challapalli has been with Dentsu, Bates, Rediffusion Y&R, Lowe and Ogilvy.

     

    According to the company release, announcements on next steps at Jack in the Box Worldwide and The 120 Media Collective will be made public over the next few days. In the interim, Abhishek Razdan, Head of Business Management, will run things at JITB reporting directly to Mr Saluja.

     

  • In the run-up to the launch next month, Epic channels has signed on iContract, MSLGROUP, Jack in the Box and Madison Media for its launch and overall marketing strategy

    Epic gears up for August launch, appoints iContract, Madison, MSLGroup & Jack in the Box

    By A Correspondent

     

    Epic, the proposed Hindi entertainment channel that will offer content centered on Indian history, mythology and folklore, is gearing up for launch next month subject to regulatory approvals. And in order to do that, it has collaborated with specialized creative and communication agencies to initiate a comprehensive launch campaign.

     

    IContract, a part of Contract Advertising and the WPP Group, has been appointed to manage the creative and brand building duties for the channel; while Madison Media has been assigned the media buying and planning mandate.

     

    MSLGroup will be been handling the channel’s public relations, while Jack in the Box Worldwide, the content-for-brands arm of Bang Bang Films, has been selected to manage all digital communication for Epic.

     

    The decision comes after a month-long process of agency pitches for each of the mandates. Commenting on these partnerships, Business Head Aparna Pandey  said “Epic is a differentiated channel that will present meaningful entertainment against an innovative backdrop. Therefore, we were searching for partners who would exemplify fresh and enlightening approach in ideas and thought process. There was so much of creativity in all the agencies we met; however our selected partners had something different to offer, which appealed to all of us at EPIC. We are confident that our brand will be portrayed exactly like we perceive it, with the help and support of our partner agencies”

     

    Rana Barua

    On the assignment, Rana Barua, COO, Contract India said: “I am excited that the management of Epic Television Networks has entrusted iContract with their trust and faith in launching the channel in the country. iContract is one of our key offerings which merges the world of Digital, Experiential and Mainline with powerful and effective media neutral ideas and am confident that the launch will be successful”.

     

    Said Vanita Keswani, COO, Madison Media Sigma: “We are delighted to be helping India’s first digital channel with their launch strategy in the dynamic digitizing cable TV scenario and we are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship”.

     

    Vanita Keswani

    Speaking on the win, Prashanth Challapalli, Business Head, Jack in the Box said, ” India has a rich history and the possibilities of telling these stories in the digital medium is really exciting. Our mandate is to create awareness and more importantly relevance for the brand in the online space”.