MxMIndia

Tag: Publicis Group

  • Das will also focus on elevating the Groupe's creative agenda through the a "lchemy of technology and data for transformation of client businesses"

    Rajdeepak Das now Chief Creative Officer. Publicis Group + Chairman, Leo Burnett South Asia

    By Our Staff

     

    Rajdeepak Das
    Rajdeepak Das

    Publicis Groupe has appointed Rajdeepak Das as Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe South Asia and Chairman Leo Burnett, South Asia.

     

    In these newly created roles, Das will also focus on elevating the group’s creative agenda through the “alchemy of technology and data for transformation of client businesses”. He will work closely with the creative, data and technology talent across the group to champion these mandates.

     

    Anupriya Acharya
    Anupriya Acharya

    Said Anupriya Acharya, South Asia CEO, Publicis Groupe: “I have really enjoyed working with Raj as his ideas and creativity continue to fuel both business impact and accolades. His quest for world-changing brand ideas is truly remarkable. His scintillating, sustained performance, ability to transform agency culture and reputation, as well as the width of the work that captures innovation, business transformation, data and sustainability, make him an ideal choice. We hope to leverage these strengths on a larger Groupe canvas.”

     

  • To spearhead development of brand and business solutions

    LKSS appoints Samir Shanbhag as Biz Head & EVP

    By Our Staff

     

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi (LKSS), part of the Publicis group in India, has appointed Samir Shanbhag as its Business Head and Executive Vice President. Based at the agency’s Mumbai office, he will report to Paritosh Srivastava, CEO of L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and Publicis Worldwide.

     

    Said Shanbhag: “I am excited to embark on this journey with L&K Saatchi & Saatchi which is driven by the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ philosophy. The growth demonstrated in both business and quality of work over the past few years serves as a testament to this belief. I am confident that we will continue to build upon these success stories, leveraging the ‘Power Of One’ for our clients. I look forward to contributing to the agency’s growth and reputation.”

     

  • As part of the 'Work Your World', a global employee-first experience from the Publicis Group

    Starting next month, Subhash Kamath can work in Paris/ US/ wherever for 6 weeks

    By Our Staff

     

    Subhash Kamath
    Subhash Kamath

    Publicis Groupe has announced ‘Work Your World’, a policy that combines flexibility, opportunity and growth for all talent. Launching in January, with health and safety at the core, the programme will allow every Publicis Groupe employee to work from any accessible country where the Groupe is present, for up to six weeks a year. Hence Subhash Kamath, CEO, Publicis Worldwide and BBH, India and every Publicis Group employee in India can spend a month-and-a-half in the 100-odd group offices across the world.

     

    Said Arthur Sadoun, global Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe: “We have been working hard on how to turn the hybrid world into new opportunities for everyone at Publicis, and make the future of work more creative and more daring. We know the pandemic isn’t over, and we know that the world could close again at any time. But that’s not a reason to close our horizons and perspectives. We will continue to move forward, because one day this crisis will come to an end and because we owe it to our people to make their professional and personal experience at Publicis truly unique”

     

    Added Carla Serrano, global CSO of Publicis Groupe: “Our people have been incredibly resourceful despite the limitations of the pandemic. They deserve to work for a company as resourceful as they are. Work Your World can help every Publicis employee “work their world” in a bigger, better and brighter way thanks to our scale, diversity and Marcel.”

     

    So if you want to be going places – literally, you know which CEO/HR head to write to pronto.

     

  • As National Creative Head of the restaurant chain

    Roshni Kavina turns Impresario

    By Our Staff

     

    Roshni Kavina
    Roshni Kavina

    Impresario Handmade Restaurants has announced the appointment of Roshni Kavina as National Creative Head. At Impresario, Kavina will be responsible for leading creative brand development and brand building across Impresario brands including Social, Smoke House Deli and Salt Water Café. Kavina was until recently with the Publicis group as Executive Creative Director.

     

    Said Riyaaz Amlani, CEO & MD, Impresario Handmade Restaurants:  “We are excited to welcome Roshni to Impresario. A new-age creative thinker equally adept at traditional and non-traditional media, Roshni is just the talent to lead the creative teams at Impresario. We are confident that she will use her expertise in design and storytelling in driving growth across the brand and deepening Impresario’s connection with its customers.”

     

    Added Kavina: “The moment I spoke to Riyaaz I knew Impresario was the right fit for me. I wanted to focus on engagement ideas lead by great design and Impresario gives me the opportunity to do just that and a lot more. Being a total foodie – Social, Smoke House Deli, Salt Water Cafe, Mocha among others have been a part of my life pretty much since their launch, and it is an absolute pleasure getting to know what goes on behind-the-scenes of these iconic brands and teaming up to help them reach their absolute pinnacle of success. I am really excited to be here and be a part of team Impresario. I can’t wait to see all that we can achieve across brands.”

     

  • She will report to Rathi Gangappa, CEO of Starcom Indi

    Niti Kumar is Starcom COO

    By Our Staff

     

    Niti Kumar
    Niti Kumar

    Publicis Group’s Starcom has strengthened its leadership team by appointing Niti Kumar as Chief Operating Officer. In this role, she will be responsible for client deliverables, revenue growth and new business development across the agency’s offices. Kumar will report to Rathi Gangappa, CEO of Starcom India and will work closely with the senior leadership at Publicis Media to consolidate businesses and drive integrated solutions.

     

    On the appointment, Gangappa said: “I believe that there is immense growth potential in the market today, especially considering the shifts we are likely to see in consumer and work place habits in a post- pandemic era. This is the right time for Starcom to recruit the right talent, drive future-focused capabilities and to grow the agency’s business through innovative and organic streams. Niti has a successful track record of driving new business growth and fits right into this vision. I am confident that her rich experience in marketing communications will be an asset that will add immense value to our clients and people alike. ”

     

    Before joining Starcom, Kumar was Senior Vice President at Penguin Random House India. She has also worked in leadership roles at GroupM (Managing Partner North & East at Mediacom) and Mudra Communications (Office Head, Media, Delhi & Kolkata).

     

    Embarking on her new role as COO, Kumar added: “I’ve always believed in the power of communications to influence a brand’s business impact and their relationship with consumers. Starcom has a diverse and interesting portfolio of clients, and I’m looking forward to working with them to drive more value, innovation and effectiveness for their media investments while also using the agency’s unique offerings to grow and strengthen the teams and the business”

     

  • As Vice President – delivery and operational excellence

    Indigo Consulting appoints Sam Antony

    By Our Staff

    Sam Antony
    Sam Antony

    Indigo Consulting, the Publicis Group agency specialising in enterprise technology, design, and data-first talent, has strengthened its delivery and operations team by appointing Sam Antony in the role of Vice President. He will be in charge of complete digital delivery and operational excellence of deep-tech transformation projects, across the company.

    Said Jose Leon, COO Indigo Consulting: “As a team, we are deeply committed to continuing to strive in all our endeavours to deliver excellence to our existing and new customers. We are strengthening our delivery and operations teams under the leadership of Sam Antony. His rich and global work experience and solution-oriented approach will add great value to our customers and organisation.”

    Added Antony: “I am excited to be a part of Indigo Consulting and looking forward to play a critical role in Delivery Excellence. I look at this opportunity as the one that drives excellence through People, Processes and Technologies. Standardization and Industrialization are going to be the keywords for us to be consistent in our deliveries which would ultimately drive higher customer satisfaction and achieve profitable growth.”

     

  • The report examines the impact on businesses, consumer sentiment and behaviour and the response of brands

    Publicis launches ‘Reboot To A New Normal’ report

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Publicis Group has released a report ‘Reboot To A New Normal’, a study on the consumption patterns, media usage, purchase behaviour and overall marketing and brand trends in India, in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak. We haven’t seen the report but a communique says it examines the impact on businesses, consumer sentiment and behaviour and the response of brands.

     

    Said Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Groupe, South Asia: “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that uncertainty has become the norm for brands and businesses across sectors and geographies. Publicis Groupe, through this report, offers some of our latest insights tracing the evident change in consumer behaviour, resilience, and solidarity among brands in these times, conceivable future implications and the reboot in brand response to that.  Most certainly, only the ones who imbibe this change, and more importantly, lead it, will emerge stronger. We look forward to and promise sharing the quest for the new normal, evolving businesses and robust communities.”

     

    Adds the communique:

    The report marks profound shifts in the wake of the lockdown enforced by the Government of India. Many of these behavioural changes are not transient in nature; they are likely to stay long-term.  While the focus of the report remains on the Indian market, the study also draws on comparisons with other countries across US, Europe and APAC and predicts some of the outcomes ahead for brands.

     

    Online is clearly the new norm as companies embrace remote work and rapidly digitise operations in order to ensure business continuity. However many still struggle to operationalise work from home initiatives because of cumbersome compliance and technical requirements.

     

    Indian consumers today are single-mindedly focusing on essential products, sidestepping discretionary purchases such as apparel, electronics and watches.  Immunity-boosting products such as Honey and Chyawanptrash see huge surge in demand, alongside medicines, face masks and hand sanitizers.  As they brace for uncertain times ahead, consumers are panic-buying and tend to hoard supplies. Restaurants and food delivery apps have started offering contactless delivery. The demand however continues to be muted given hygiene-related concerns.

     

    At the start of the outbreak, ecommerce witnessed huge momentum with people instinctively turning to online channels.  The convenience, promotions and value deals on online grocery platforms has in any case always been a huge draw and the crisis accelerated demand. During this period, online retail received a short-term boost in the fresh food, personal hygiene, and food delivery categories. However the shortage in stock and inability to deliver has led to frustration among consumers and has subsequently impacted sales volumes.

     

    Television ratings, on the decline over the past year has now experienced an exponential jump because of coronavirus-related news. The trend is in line with other Asian markets such as China and Korea.

     

    In the period between March 1-21, 2020, Gaming has witnessed a 41% increase  in time spent while Entertainment & OTT have registered a 34% increase.

     

    Online news has become the de facto  source of information with digital editions of mainline publications seeing  huge increase in traffic.  Between March 16-22, there has been a whopping 61% increase in visits to websites and mobile apps, as compared to a month ago. Regional publications  also see huge online demand, as much as 50% increase, significantly higher than that of English publications.  Publishers may need to shift focus on to digital operations as it remains uncertain whether consumers will continue subscriptions of physical  copies. Understandably, government notifications and health-related news in connection with the outbreak are the most consumed content categories

     

    Brands are now agents of positive change  and are instrumental in spreading social awareness and information around Covid-19. Examples are: Viacom ‘s #PauseForACause campaign focusing on care-givers,  Bajaj Alllianz’s #DooriHaiZaroori  campaign on social-distancing,  Jeep’s  Explore The Great Indoors campaign on staying safe and indoors, and  Zee’s  #BreakTheCoronaOutbreak campaign urging viewers to wash hands and maintain hygiene.

     

    With content consumption set to rise, brands are creating content relevant to their consumer, in areas such as health, fitness, DIY, food, mental health  and entertainment. Brands can weather the current conditions by creating relevant content, developing an omni-channel strategy,  addressing consumer anxiety through positive messaging,  realigning brand and media strategy in line with consumer trends, using media in agile ways.

     

     

  • The ‘Blink to Speak’ campaign bagged a Grand Prix for Good along with a host of other awards at Cannes Lions 2018

    Grand Prix for TBWA heralds Good News on Day 2 @ Cannes

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    TBWA\India ‘Blink to Speak’ campaign bagged a Grand Prix for Good for the second consecutive year for India on Day 2 of the Cannes Lions festival for creativity.

     

    Blink to Speak has been created by TBWA\India for the Asha Ek Hope Foundation and the Neuro Gen Brain & Spine Institute. Said TBWA India CEO Govind Pandey to The Economic Times: “We believe in the power of disruptively simple ideas to make a difference to humanity. This was not done for awards. This was a heartfelt intervention from a team that genuinely wanted to help and make a difference.”  (Link: https://tbwacannes.com/blink-to-speak-asha-ek-hope-foundation-and-neurogen-brain-spine-institute-tbwaindia)

     

    Meanwhile, India had a fair day with awards. TBWA also bagged a Gold in Pharma. Meanwhile, DDB Mudra and Grey bagged Silvers fro Stayfree and Mahindra Rise and McCann Health bagged a Bronze for Kwality.

     

    Last year, McCann had bagged the Healthcare Grand Prix for Good for “Immunity Charm” for the Ministry of Public Health, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

     

    India has sent a total of 979 entries this year. Last year, the number of entries was 1227, which if one excludes entries from the Publicis Group and those categories that been deleted/ merged is 953.

     

     

  • In their new roles McDonald and Iqbal will continue to report into Head of Agency Prithviraj Banerjee while Gosain will continue to report into Mark McDonald

    DigitasLBi elevates Mark McDonald, Sabah Iqbal and Pooja Gosain

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Publicis Group’s DigitasLBi has elevated Mark McDonald, Sabah Iqbal and Pooja Gosain to Head of Creative, Head of Account Management and Senior Creative Director respectively.  In their new roles McDonald and Iqbal will continue to report into Head of Agency Prithviraj Banerjee as they will take on larger responsibilities to partner him in managing respective business units in the region. Gosain will continue to report into Mark McDonald.

     

    Said Banerjee:  “Sabah, Mark and Pooja bring with them a duality of skills that are rare – the wisdom gained from their past creative agency experience and the agility they have instilled within themselves in this fast-paced world of digital. DigitasLBi has grown exponentially with them over the years, as they mentored their teams and produced phenomenal output at every step of their journey. Their new leadership positions do not need much getting used to, as they have been performing at heightened levels already, and will continue to help our brand grow in the future.”

     

    Mark McDonald

    Commenting on his new role McDonald said: “Over the last one year we’ve built up a fantastic team across creative and put in place a structure that allows for cross-discipline integration and encourages great creative work. I’m delighted to be stepping into my new role and really look forward to delivering award-winning work that makes our clients’ brands count in the marketplace.”

     

     

     

    Sabah Iqbal

    Speaking about her elevation Iqbal, said: “My time at the agency (pre-merger as LBi and now as DigitasLBi in the Publicis Network) has taught me that the most important piece to the talent puzzle is culture. While my core responsibility is steering brands in the right direction with collaborative and sustainable management, I plan on carrying forward our culture and focusing my efforts on grooming, empowering and retaining talent. My goal being to make DigitasLBi the agency of choice in the advertising industry, for clients and professionals from the industry.”

     

     

    Pooja Gosain

    Commenting on her new role Gosain, said: “Change has to be steered in the right direction and that is what I aim to focus on most – leadership of the right kind. By combining great design, UX strategy and creativity with innovative technology and data, I look forward to creating a niche for DigitasLBi, as well as a learning curve for the entire team I work with. At the same time, fostering a culture of fraternity, ownership and inclusivity.”

     

  • Resultrix co-founder Shibu Shivanandan has set up with the new digital marketing agency along with Hetal Khalso and Dhruvi Joshi

    Resultrix co-founder sets up PivotRoots

    By A Correspondent

     

    Resultrix co-founder Shibu Shivanandan has set up with the new digital marketing agency along with Hetal Khalso and Dhruvi Joshi

     

    Shibu Shivanandan, one of the co-founders of Resultrix (now a part of the Publicis Group) who quit the agency in February 2016, has announced the launch of his independent digital marketing firm PivotRoots. Shivanandan is accompanied by Hetal Khalsa and Dhruvi Joshi, who join him as co-founders in the venture. PivotRoots has signed on brands like Pidilite, ICICIBank, Fourseven.com, MeruCabs, HoneyTwigs & Loylty Rewardz.

     

    PivotRoots will focus on data-driven marketing and design thinking-led strategies. As Managing Director, Shivandnan is responsible for the overall growth of the organization and drives specialized teams for technology and an experiential lab. Hetal Parikh leads the entire experiential team as Chief Creative Officer and gets Design Thinking practice to life for new as well as existing solutions or products. Dhruvi Joshi, Head – Media & Innovation is responsible for leading the brand and performance media business and setting up the innovation lab at PivotRoots.

     

    Says Shivanandan: “Understanding consumers better through data and providing them the right experience across all digital channels (Paid, Owned & Earned) will be the only way brands would be able to sustain, differentiate and grow in this cut-throat digital space.  We at PivotRoots aim to create products and processes to bridge this gap for brands.”

     

    Operating from its head office based in Mumbai, PivotRoots is looking at expanding to Delhi, Bengaluru and international markets like SEA & MENA in the near future.

     

  • Known for his creatively done Christmas messages, this year’s video by Publicis Group boss Maurice Levy is a winner. You'll love seeing it over and over again

    Can any of the Indian ad honchos do this?

     

    Okay, given the fact that most of our biggie ad gurus belong to international networks, it may be tough to do this, but you’ve got to hand it to Publicis Group bossman  Maurice Lévy to present his annual Christmas message in a fun way. As the Guardian commented, he is “well known for delivering a bit of a tongue-in-cheek Christmas video message, but this year he’s outdone himself”. Indeed he has.

    Here’s the link: http://publicisgroupewishes2016.com/

     

    In the video, Levy (whose coffee mug says “Yes… I am the BOSS”), talks about the times being tough.  He says that normally people like to skip the ads and watch the content, but here’ they should skip him and watch the ads.

     

    We recommend watch the entire message as is, without clicking on ‘Skip Maurice’. Refresh the screen. And then click ‘Skip Maurice’ as it plays on.

     

    Now will someone from our own country do something like this?

     

  • The Studio will offer content and thought leadership solutions

    Ketchum Sampark launches Knowledge Studio

    Whoever thought you hire a public relations agency to get your plugs in the papers the following day or on television and online outlets like MxMIndia?! PR firm Ketchum Sampark has announced the launch of a ‘Knowledge Studio’ to provide research, content and thought leadership services for Indian and transnational corporates. The Knowledge Studio will complement Ketchum Sampark’s PR offerings to clients with thought leadership-led content and serve as an important growth driver especially in the ever-evolving online and digital reputation space, notes a communiqué.

     

    Jon Higgins, Senior Partner and CEO, International, Ketchum,said, “India is one of our most promising and key growth markets. We believe in continuously providing our customers solutions and offerings that significantly add value to their business. Knowledge Studio is a great example of that value-added service offering.”

     

    Announcing the launch, Bela Rajan, Founder and Director, Ketchum Sampark, said: “We see strategic synergy in offering our clients value-added services in the thought leadership and content space along with integrated design and software solutions. I believe the Knowledge Studio team will help us deliver new ideas and enhance client value in the new-age digital reputation arena.”

     

    Biswadeep Gupta, President, Knowledge Studio, and Partner, Ketchum Sampark, will drive the content business. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of Riteverses, a firm in a similar business as the Ketchum Sampark Knoweldge Studio. The Riteverses website now points to Mr Gupta and two others who are now part of the (Publicis) Omnicom group PR agency.

     

    Commenting on this move, Mr Gupta said: “Going ahead, content will be a key differentiator globally for consumer and other stakeholder outreach programmes, especially in the online space. We see a genuine opportunity to partner customers in building Thought Leadership content solutions for our clients at Ketchum Sampark and also continue to build and service existing and new customers.”

     

    It may be noted that the Publicis group’s MSLGroup in India already runs a similar division under the leadership of former Hindustan Times senior associate editor Ashraf Engineer. It will be interesting to see if post the merger of the Publicis and Omnicom groups, such services in the group’s PR agencies are turned into a common resource or stay as is to be value adds to the PR function.