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Tag: Publicis Groupe

  • … as Saurabh Varma exited group as CEO of Publicis Communications (from yesterday)

    Publicis Groupe appoints Anupriya Acharya as CEO, South Asia…

     

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    Publicis Groupe has  announced the appointment of Anupriya Acharya as Chief Executive Officer, South Asia. Saurabh Varma, currently CEO of Publicis Communications, has exited the group. The reasons for his sudden departure are not known.

    In this newly created role, Acharya will be leading Publicis Groupe’s country agenda across India and Sri Lanka. Her primary responsibilities will include driving greater integration across the group’s operations to deliver “end-to-end marketing transformation to existing clients while winning the trust of new ones, as well as cultivating and attracting the best talent across agencies and practices”. The India leadership team, comprising all the agencies’ CEOs, including creative, media, digital, influence, data and technology will report to her.

    “I am thrilled with Anupriya’s appointment. She and I have been working together for a number of years, I am really impressed with her achievements to date and I cannot think of a better leader to take on this extremely important responsibility. India is an absolutely critical market for us, one of the very best talent pools in the world, with strong innovation and a great resonance well into the region and beyond. It is a strategic priority for us, and shifting to a Groupe leadership is a catalyst to accelerate our investments in India. Over the past 3 years, we have made significant progress in making the Power of One a reality in India, with great examples of collaboration for the benefit of our clients and talents and having Anupriya at the helm is very natural. I am truly looking forward to partnering with her in this new role.” said Loris Nold, CEO, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Publicis Groupe. I also wanted to announce that Saurabh Varma, currently CEO of Publicis Communications has decided to pursue other career opportunities, and will be leaving Publicis Groupe after 17 years. In the past few years, we have built very strong momentum at Publicis Communications and I want to thank Saurabh for his partnership and wish him good luck in his future endeavours”.

    Said Anupriya Acharya: “Its a great honour to get this mandate and am both excited and humbled by getting this opportunity. We have such an incredibly talented leadership team in India, who has been the very reason for our success over the years. And moving to the Power of One model that puts our clients at the centre of our offering has infused unmatched vitality and energy across the entire organisation. I look forward to building on this momentum and innovate further with new products and approaches”

    Acharya started her career at Ogilvy in 1994 and worked at a number of agencies before joining Publicis Groupe in 2013 as CEO of Zenith. In 2016, she was elevated to CEO of Publicis Media where her mandate encompassed all the Groupe media agencies including Zenith, Starcom, and Performics. In this stint, she has more than doubled the operations in three years through expanding capabilities in digital media and services, analytics, consulting, content, commerce and adding new clients including Parle, Fiat, Ola, GSK, KrafHeinz, Lenovo, Motorola, Nykaa amongst others.

     

     

  • Erickson will be working directly with Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz

    Publicis Sapient appoints Kristi Erickson as Global Chief Talent Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kristi Erickson

    Publicis Sapient, the digital business arm of the Publicis Groupe, has announced the appointment of Kristi Erickson as Global Chief Talent Officer. Erickson will be working directly with Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz.

     

    Said Vaz: “We are thrilled to hire Kristi Erickson as our Chief Talent Officer. Her extensive background and expertise are aligned with our company objectives to ensure we deliver on our promise to help our clients become digitally enabled to better serve their customers and thrive in the future. Her commitment to inclusion and talent development will be vital to providing the tools for success to our 20,000 global employees.”

     

    Prior to joining Publicis Sapient, Kristi held Chief People Officer roles spanning verticals, regions and horizontal service lines.

     

     

  • The mandate is for the corporate campaign and subsequent project launches across NCR, MMR and Bengaluru markets

    Leo Burnett launches inaugural corporate campaign for Birla Estates

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Birla Group recently announced its foray into the real estate business with the launch of Birla Estates. Leo Burnett, the Publicis Groupe agency which won the advertising mandate for Birla Estates in a competitive multi-agency pitch in September 2018, has launched its first campaign, LifeDesigned. For the record, Birla Estates is the real estate division of Century Textiles and Industries Ltd., the over Rs 8000 crore flagship Company of the B K Birla Group of Companies with presence in cement, textiles, rayon yarn, pulp & paper, salt, chemicals and more. BK (short for Basant Kumar) Birla is the grandfather of Kumarmangalam Birla, who also runs the Aditya Birla Group. The Chairman of Birla Estates is BK Birla and Vice Chairman is Kumarmangalam Birla.

    Speaking about the announcement, Rakesh Hinduja, Chief Operating Officer, West, Leo Burnett, said: “We are very excited to have been chosen to be a part of the Birla Estates team. The brand name Birla itself evokes the feeling of trust, commitment and innovation and we are excited to have been given a chance to build on this legacy for brand Birla Estates. Brand Birla is actually a perfect fit with our Humankind philosophy, which puts people at the heart of everything we do and we look forward to embarking on a positive and impactful journey together starting with the launch of the LifeDesigned campaign.”

    Talking about the campaign, Prajato Guha, National Creative Director Leo Burnett added: “With the challenges of rapid urbanisation across India and the fact that Birla Estates is a relatively new entrant in the category, we had to find a credible value proposition. In LifeDesigned, we have found a unique way to bring their brand philosophy alive”.

    The mandate is for the corporate campaign and subsequent project launches across NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Bangalore markets. The first project to be launched is Birla Vanya in Kalyan, off Mumbai.

     

     

  • Pankaj received his award from Shri. Vijay Goel, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for parliamentary Affairs

    Pankaj Vasani wins ICAI’s CFO of the Year award

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Groupe’s Executive President and CFO – South Asia Pankaj Vasani was been awarded ‘CA CFO of the Year in the Media & Entertainment Sector’ by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) last week.

     

    On receiving the award, Vasani said: “I’m truly and honestly thrilled to be here today, and sincerely grateful to the entire jury for the unique distinction. I might have done well at my job, but this recognition accorded by the Institute, which I greatly appreciate and accept with all humility and deep gratitude, comes in consequence of a lot of other people’s work. I, therefore, accept this award on behalf of my family and friends for always being there and encouraging me, my mentors for believing in me and all my colleagues who I’ve worked in the past and work with at the Publicis Groupe, who made this moment, happen. This award is a compliment, an inspiration and cognisance that I’m on my journey to become a better professional, and a person of greater social significance.”

     

     

  • 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.”

     

     

  • The Groupe’s policy has been scrupulously followed throughout the year

    Publicis Groupe clarifies stand on participation at Cannes 2018

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Groupe, which had announced that it would shift its promotional budget away from industry events and awards shows until July 1, 2018 in order to focus on the development of its Marcel platform, has issued a communique on its stand on its participation at Cannes Lions 2018. Here goes:

    “Publicis Groupe has kept to its own strict rules concerning awards submissions and has not entered any work in this year’s Cannes Lions festival on its own behalf, bar one exception.

     

    In support of creative excellence and out of respect for this awards submission pause, some of the Groupe’s clients and partners have taken on the cost of entering what they consider to be award-worthy campaigns developed by Publicis Groupe agencies. This represents 399 campaigns as of 9th June.

     

    The only exception to this is BBH London’s “3 Billboards” campaign for Justice4Grenfell, the organisation trying to get justice for the victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster in London. Publicis Groupe is proud to support this cause and creativity for good at the Cannes Lions.

     

    Publicis Groupe attendees at the Cannes Lions 2018:

    Publicis Groupe leaders have been invited to attend the Festival as Jury Presidents or as part of the awarding juries. Their presence will be financed by the Cannes Lions, in line with the Festival’s policy of covering the cost of all delegates, from any company, who serve on its juries. 12 additional Publicis Groupe leaders are members of the shortlist juries and will not be attending the Festival.

     

    12 members of the Publicis Groupe community have been invited by the festival to compete in Young Lions competitions after winning at regional stage competitions.

     

    25 Publicis Groupe employees have been invited to attend Cannes Lions by their clients and by other industry partners.

     

    15 Publicis Groupe employees have decided to attend the Festival by personally funding their trip.

     

    20 Publicis Groupe account leaders will be participating in key client meetings taking place in Cannes- not attending the Festival. Their presence will be funded by Publicis Groupe.

     

    Also, at the invitation of the Festival, Publicis Groupe will present Marcel on Tuesday June 19 at 3pm CET on the main stage of the Palais des Festivals. Carla Serrano, Chief Strategy Officer of Publicis Groupe, Nick Law, Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Groupe and President of Publicis Communications and Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO of Publicis Groupe will present a beta version and discuss why it’s an important part of the company’s future‎.”

     

    Said Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe: “Twelve months ago, we took the decision to pause our investment in promotional industry events for one year. It was a difficult but necessary sacrifice at a moment when our industry is in need of radical change. It gave us the means, the focus, and perhaps more importantly, the sense of urgency, to reinvent the way we work and start building Marcel.I would like to deeply thank our clients, whose commitment to creativity and to our relationship means we have been able to keep our promise that no work deserving to be judged this year would miss out. The investment they have made to ensure that what we are doing together is celebrated demonstrates their belief in our work and the creative value it delivers. I know I speak for the entire Groupe when I say we’re extremely grateful to them for their incredible partnership.And of course, a big big merci goes to all of our people. The Groupe’s creative community has had to shoulder much of the weight of our decision to pause our promotions this year, and they have been outstanding during this period, which will come to an end on July 1. Together our efforts have already resulted in the very successful unboxing of Marcel, so there is no doubt that it has all been worth it.Finally, I want to say thank you to the Cannes Lions for inviting us to present Marcel at this year’s festival, and for their partnership through The Work. It will be only for a couple of hours but we are really looking forward to having the opportunity, one year later, to share why we believe that the decision we took was right for our people, our clients and hopefully for our industry. The Festival has always held a special place for Publicis Groupe, and we’re delighted to be coming back in 2019, stronger than ever.”

     

    Not just Cannes Lions, other award hosts will also be happy to see the Publicis Group back.

     

     

  • Marcel to accelerate the transformation of the Publicis Group from a holding company to an 80,000-person enterprise platform, notes a communique

    Publicis Unveils Marcel

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Groupe has unveiled Marcel – named after Publicis Groupe founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet – AI-powered innovation that, as a communique notes, will “accelerate transforming the organisation from a holding company to a platform, creating the first truly borderless, frictionless enterprise workforce, comprised of 80,000 employees worldwide, and usher in a new era of creativity and innovation.”

     

    Said Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO, Publicis Groupe, in a statement: “In June last year, Publicis Groupe announced the creation of Marcel, to connect our 80,000 employees and completely reinvent the way that we work, for ourselves and our clients. Since then, our industry has gone through unprecedented challenges, demonstrating that incremental change is not a solution. The need for reinvention is stronger than ever. At Publicis Groupe, we haven’t waited to act. We have broken the divide between data, creativity and technology. We have broken our silos through the Power of One. Today, we are breaking the barriers between talent and opportunity with Marcel. Marcel is a journey to shift Publicis Groupe from a holding company to a platform and give creative minds the freedom to progress and thrive in this ever-changing industry. Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our people. At Publicis, we will put them first in our transformation, and give them the opportunity to learn, share and create more than anywhere else. Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our clients. They will be able to leverage our incredible diversity of talent to bring to life the ideas they need to grow their business. And, of course, Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our industry. We will be a force for good, by leading the change. Tying the development of Marcel to our one-year industry event hiatus was a controversial decision, but a necessary one. It drew a line in the sand and left no doubt that we are determined to do whatever it takes to reinvent an industry that has struggled to evolve over the past 40 years. So I’m grateful to our people, our clients, and our partners at industry festivals around the world for their support and solidarity during this period, which will end in July 2018. And, last but not least, I’d like to thank everyone at Publicis Groupe who, both directly and indirectly, have contributed to the ideation and production of Marcel. Marcel is the power of all of us, working as one, and we have already begun to prove that.”

     

     

  • There will be no single head of the Publicis Group in India, as per the announcment

    Publicis Groupe appoints leadership team to lead Indian market

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Publicis Group has announced the appointment of a Group Leadership Team  to strengthen and accelerate the groupe’s capabilities at a national level across India & Sri Lanka.

     

    Anupriya Acharya
    Saurabh Varma
    Surbhi Gupta
    Pankaj Vasani

    The team comprises executive leaders in India and Sri Lanka, including: Anupriya Acharya, CEO of Publicis Media India; Saurabh Varma, CEO of Publicis Communications South Asia; Surbhi Gupta, in the newly created role of Chief Talent Officer, Publicis Groupe South Asia; along with Pankaj Vasani, who is joining to take the new role of Chief Financial Officer, Publicis Groupe South Asia. There will be no single head of the Publicis Group in India, as per this announcement.

     

    Vasani joins from Vodafone where  he served for around five-and-a-half years and was holding various pivotal positions of responsibilities in Finance and Tax.

     

    Driving greater integration across Publicis Group’s range of services, the Group Leadership Team’s focus is targeted on helping brands to accelerate their transformation, enhance collaboration, and achieve cumulative growth for clients. The Solution hub leaders who make up the Group Leadership Team in the Indian market will maintain their existing responsibilities and continue to cultivate collaborative opportunities and new business initiatives.

     

    Appointed CEO of Publicis Group APAC in February 2018, Loris Nold will work closely with the Group Leadership Team, supporting Publicis Group as it strengthens its relationship with existing clients, wins the trust of new ones, in addition to cultivating and attracting the brightest talent across its agencies and disciplines in the South Asia region.

     

    Loris Nold

    Said Nold: “South Asia is a critical region of outmost strategic importance to us. With the appointment of such a strong leadership team, we are in a unique position to continue driving The Power of One philosophy at the country level in this key market. Together with our recent appointments in Australia, this is a very important move as it allows us to continue driving and accelerating the exciting potential for transforming the way we work with our clients, as well as the opportunity it presents for developing and challenging our own talents. Having partnered with Anupriya, Saurabh, Surbhi and Pankaj, I am convinced that they’re uniquely positioned to successfully drive the Group forward on our behalf.”

     

     

  • Digitas is also introducing an evolved, inspiring global brand proposition: Creating better ways to connect with people through Truth. Connection. Wonder

    DigitasLBi to now be called Digitas

    By A Correspondent

     

    Five years after the merger between Digitas and LBi, DigitasLBi has announced it will drop the LBi from its name, returning to the name Digitas. Since 2013, the two agencies have integrated to form a global network focused in mission, purpose, and culture, notes a communique.

     

    Said Michael Kahn, Global Brand President, Digitas: “Digitas is a brand of unrivaled passion and diversity of talent, all under one roof. We now take the world stage united in name, in belief, and in the unique value we bring to our employees, to clients, and to Publicis Groupe. With ‘Truth. Connection. Wonder.’ as our strategic guidepost for the work we do, the people who do it, and the culture that enables it, we believe we’re positioning Digitas for sustainable growth in 2018 and beyond.”

     

     

  • Marcel will be an industry-first platform to connect Publicis Groupe’s 80,000 employees, powered by Microsoft’s artificial intelligence capabilities

    Publicis Groupe partners Microsoft to roll out AI-inspired Marcel

     

     

    Publicis Groupe has announced its partnership with Microsoft Corp. to develop and roll out Marcel, its platform that it hopes will “radically change the way the group’s teams and clients connect, interact and work together”.

     

    Through Publicis.Sapient, its technology and consulting arm, Publicis is defining the architecture and design of Marcel, and conceiving the user experience, notes a communique, adding:“Microsoft will build the platform, and connect it to its deep technology and AI capabilities, leveraging Microsoft Azure AI and Office 365.”

     

    Said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft: “AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our time, but its real power lies in how it can be applied to amplify human ingenuity. And that’s the beauty of Marcel. At Microsoft, we believe that people no longer just work for companies – companies need to work for their people. Marcel embodies that belief. That’s what makes this collaboration so seamless and natural.”

     

    Added Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO, Publicis Groupe: “Marcel is a crucial step in Publicis Groupe’s commitment to radically change our industry, for the good of our clients and our people. It’s why we’re thrilled to be able to draw on Microsoft’s ground-breaking talent, capabilities and resources in artificial intelligence, to build the platform of the future, today. Thanks to the dedication of Satya and his teams we’re accelerating on putting Marcel at the heart of the Groupe, to deliver big ideas that harness creativity in all of its forms”.

     

     

  • Publicis Communications has announced the merger of digital experiential arm, Solutions, with Arc Worldwide

    Publicis creates a bigger Arc with Solutions

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a consolidation of its experiential marketing play, Publicis Communications has announced the merger of its in-house technology-enabled experiential arm, Solutions, with its brand activation and experiential shopper agency, Arc Worldwide. The merger is effective immediately.

     

    The entire Solutions team and its roster of clients will now come under the Arc umbrella. The newly merged entity will be called Arc Worldwide, and will be headed by Vandana Verma, Executive Vice President and India Head at Arc.

     

    The merged entity can now create deep impact in over 100 Indian towns and metros, further delivering on Arc’s ‘Irresistible Commerce’ philosophy, notes a communique.

     

    Saurabh Varma

    Speaking about the merger, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications India and Leo Burnett, South Asia said: “By merging the two entities, Arc can leverage their combined expertise in ways that are unprecedented for the industry. The merger of Solutions with Arc will create even more momentum for Arc’s trajectory in India. Arc has deep capabilities across the entire experience landscape. With Solutions, we will create meaningful value exchange straddling the entire shopping experience for greater impact on our clients’ businesses. The merger is in perfectly in line with our ‘Power of One’ strategy.”

     

     

    Vandana Verma

    Speaking about her vision for Arc Worldwide, Vandana Verma, Executive Vice President and India Head, Arc Worldwide said: “Arc is focused on creating meaningful connected experiences. In India, Arc is a key platform within Publicis Communications. Solutions will add immense value to Arc through its expertise across technology-enabled solutions, paperless retail audits, merchandising and real time consumer feedback, among others. The merger will now help us lead experiential planning, data-driven shopper insights, and mobile-tracking and analytics-led initiatives designed to help our clients reach empowered consumers.”

     

    Virender Sharma

    Added Virender Sharma, COO – Solutions: “Arc’s superb experiential and shopper marketing capabilities, combined with Solutions’ superior technology-led approach will prove valuable for clients in this market. The merger with Arc means unparalleled access to all clients in the Publicis Communications portfolio. I look forward to seamlessly integrating ideas and solutions that will grow our clients’ businesses. We are happy to see the coming together of Arc Worldwide and Solutions at our new Big Apple office in Gurugram.”

     

    Arc Worldwide is the shopper marketing agency within the Publicis Groupe and is headquartered in Chicago. It works with some of the brands including Procter & Gamble, MillerCoors, Intel, Bridgestone, Kraft-Heinz, Alcon, Coca-Cola and Walmart.

     

     

  • George will assume charge effective January 1, 2018, while

    MSL appoints Viju George as MD of 20:20 MSL

     

     

    MSL, Publicis Groupe’s strategic communications and engagement firm, announced the appointment of Viju George as Managing Director of 20:20 MSL. George will assume charge effective January 1, 2018, while continuing his current responsibility as India Managing Director of Publicis Consultants Asia.

     

    Viju George succeeds Amrit Ahuja, who is leaving the organisation following a successful 21-year career with the firm, to pursue interests on the corporate side. As Managing Director, George will oversee the operations of 20:20 MSL, Publicis Consultants Asia, and Creative+, the firm’s creative wing, He will continue to report to the India CEO of MSLGroup, Amit Misra.

     

    “Viju’s people-first leadership style and his PR industry expertise make him the right choice. His passion and drive will contribute immensely in building on the success of the firm in the years ahead,” said Misraon the appointment. “On behalf of MSL, I thank Amrit Ahuja for her years of vision, dedication and leadership. Under her leadership 20:20 MSL emerged as India’s leading technology/B2B PR firm, with a strong foundation that we will build on. We wish her the best in her future endeavors,” he added.

     

    With over two decades of communications experience in both advertising and public relations, George has been with the organization for 20 years.  He took over as Managing Director of Publicis Consultants Asia in December 2016. George will continue to focus on building the firm’s business while creating more efficiency and value for clients. In addition to the India roles, George will also take on the role as Technology Practice Leader for Asia.