Havas Creative Group India has appointed Samarpita Banerjee as Director Marketing & Communications. She will report to Pritha Dasgupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Havas Group India, and will be based out of Mumbai.
Samarpita will work across all agencies of Havas Creative Group India, including Havas Worldwide, Havas CX, Think Design, Conran Design Group Mumbai, and Shobiz Havas Experiential. Sneha Pillai Ahuja, Senior Manager – Marketing & Communications, will continue to lead corporate communications of Havas Media Group India.
Said Dasgupta on the appointment: “The current momentum of Havas Group India is unparalleled. The complete transformation that the network has witnessed is not just on the back of outstanding business growth but also a result of several industry-first initiatives, like Havas Spark, UN Unstereotype Alliance, Women Who Inspire, Women Bounce Back programme, etc. This undoubtedly makes Havas Group India, perhaps the most progressive agency network in India that is deeply invested in making a meaningful difference to the industry and the community at large. With Samarpita coming on board, we will be able to build stronger, more meaningful chronicles around the legacy and the future we are building.”
Havas Group announced the launch of its Prosumer Report, a global perspective on the future of e-commerce that captures information and insights on the sector, done through the network’s proprietary research tool. Drawing on responses from 3,000 consumers from India, Brazil, China, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the survey examined the upcoming trends in the e-commerce experience.
Pritha Dasgupta
Talking about the report, Pritha Dasgupta, CMO, Havas Group India, said: “Prosumer is Havas Group’s global report that is released 3 to 4 times every year, each one covering a specific topic. It is one of the longest-running thought leadership properties of Havas Group that has become instrumental in predicting emerging trends in consumer behaviour,” adding: “Over the last two years, digital adoption has been extremely fast and has become a way of life. If we specifically look at the e-commerce sector, it has become a breeding ground of innovation and in the last two years every leading company in this sector has grown aggressively. Our latest Prosumer Report gives a clear direction to the industry of where this e-commerce sector is headed, and also identifies trends of the sector.”
As per a communique, the study notes that throughout the pandemic, e-commerce has clearly established itself as the new retail norm as more than eight in 10 prosumers say they prefer the online shopping experience over the traditional format of in-store purchasing. However, one out of three respondents claim that their e-commerce experiences are quite boring. Havas Group’s Prosumer report came up with a few ways to upgrade the e-commerce experience by:
:: Focusing on new rules of eCommerce: This includes free shipping & returns, seamless & fast delivery, customer ratings, loyalty discounts and purchases recommendations.
:: Having a purpose beyond clicks: e-commerce must be about more than just access, it is about curating products that are good for society.
:: Being on the right side of data history: Privacy is gaining momentum so data education should be mandatory.
:: Expanding from a place to buy to a place to socialise: As e-commerce is becoming more human and is moving to social, making the experience more community-driven will bring results.
The report threw light on some India-specific trends:
:: The rise in community shopping experience: Post-pandemic, the desire to replicate in-store/mall experience has led prosumers to seek community shopping experiences from the e-commerce industry. In this context, we see a spike in demand for services such as the ability to shop on social media (66%) and the ability to interact with fellow shoppers (68%).
:: The era of Transparency: Contrary to popular euphemism, consumers are not averse to data sharing. In fact, they demand transparency regarding what data is being collected. In this context, we see 97% of the prosumers rating privacy as the key attribute and 83% ready to boycott brands that do not have a transparent data collection policy.
:: Personalised experience: 68% of Prosumers expect their e-commerce shopping experience to be tailored through personalisation and AI.
:: Rise in responsible e-commerce practices: 95% of prosumers demand eco-friendly packaging and 69% want to see e-commerce organisations commit to sustainable practices across the value chain.
The Havas Group Prosumer report notes that e-commerce is no longer just about business transactions; it’s about customer empowerment and with the e-commerce market touching $84 billion in July 2021, this is a sector one just can’t ignore. Meeting the needs of consumers will ensure that the e-commerce sector moves from strength to strength. It’s where the future is.
Havas Group India has announced the appointment of Pritha Dasgupta as Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. She will be based in Mumbai and report to Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India. Dasgupta, who was earlier with IPG Mediabrands, takes the place of Priyanka Mehra, who moved out of Havas last month as Chief Marketing Officer.
Commenting on Pritha’s appointment, Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, said: “Havas Group has rapidly grown, both in size and in stature, in the last few years. With over 10 companies, 1000+ people, we have extremely ambitious plans of further expansion, acquisitions and creating a meaningful difference in the overall Indian media and advertising ecosystem. As a Group CMO, her vast experience and in-depth knowledge of the media ecosystem will prove to be invaluable to our network. She is a highly accomplished journalist and a professional with effective leadership and people skills. We are all thrilled to have her on board and look forward to a totally new way of marketing and communication in today’s times.”
Added Dasgupta: “It’s hard to define the dynamic transformation the advertising and the marketing industry has gone through in the last decade, especially in the space of martech. This led to a huge transformation in the way networks built their communications strategies.”
