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Tag: Rakesh Thukral

  • To be Head of Brand APAC

    Edelman elevates Ashutosh Munshi

    By Our Staff

     

    Ashutosh Munshi
    Ashutosh Munshi

    Edelman has appointed Ashutosh Munshi, the network’s Head of Brand for India, into the role of Head of Brand for Asia Pacific. Munshi will report to Edelman’s Global Chair of Brand and F&B, Megan Van Someren, as well as Stephen Kehoe, CEO of Edelman Asia-Pacific.

    Said Rakesh Thukral, Managing Director of Edelman India: “Under Ashutosh’s leadership, we have developed a brand marketing offering in India that delivers creative solutions to earn attention and trust, and therefore drive true impact for our clients. With his expanded role, we look forward to taking this vision to the next level, in India and across the region.”

    Added Van Someren: “As we look ahead at the new year and at the continuous shifts in consumer expectations, how brands behave matters more than ever before. The time is now for brands to step up and put trust at the helm – and not just through communication, but through action and advocacy. We are delighted to have Ashutosh take on this new role, to which he brings over twenty years of experience integrating and delivering strategic, creative and insight-driven work. Work that achieves tangible and measurable business outcomes for client partners.”

    Said Kehoe: “Our brand practice at Edelman continues to lead the industry. Whether it is Adidas in China, GSK in Australia, Oatly in Hong Kong or PepsiCo in India, our Brand team in Asia-Pacific continues to produce award-winning work for our clients. As a testament to our talent and commitment to grow from within, I am proud to see Ashutosh now take the lead in launching new regional capabilities for our Brand practice, setting the bar higher in areas of brand obsession, curiosity and excellence.”

     

     

  • Integrated mandate includes brand communications, influencer marketing, and creative and digital services

    Edelman to promote California Pistas

    By Our Staff

     

    Edelman has been appointed Agency of Record (AOR) to promote California Pistachios in India, distributed through the US-based The Wonderful Company. It’s actually old news… it is effective November 1, 2020.

     

    Said Rakesh Thukral, Managing Director, Edelman India: “We are delighted to partner with The Wonderful Company in India. As their communications consultants, we are committed to inspiring people with the healthy choice of California Pistachios, one snack break at a time. We are leveraging our earned-centric mindset to build powerful brand ideas and communication, backed by rich human data, inspired by culture and driven by brand purpose.”

     

     

  • Tapia will lead Edelman India's events business and will report to Rakesh Thukral, managing director of Edelman India

    Zarif Tapia appointed as Head of Cream Events at Edelman

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zarif Tapia

    Edelman has announced the appointment of Zarif Tapia as head of its specialty company Cream Events, an experiential marketing unit. Based in Mumbai, Tapia will lead Edelman India’s events business and will report to Rakesh Thukral, managing director of Edelman India, effective immediately.

     

    With over 20 years of experience in experiential marketing, Tapia joins Cream Events from Brand Activation, a division of Wizcraft International Entertainment. In addition to regional leadership, his profile at Brand Activation included developing integrated experiential marketing solutions across multiple platforms, including events, digital, PR and TV/radio.

     

    “We are delighted to have Zarif on board,” said Thukral. “He brings to the table strategic thinking, experiential innovation and the ability to drive business growth – skills honed over long years. His proven track record of delivering experiential excellence across sectors will strengthen our integrated offering for our clients. We welcome him to the Daniel J. Edelman India family.”

     

    Over the years, Tapia has counselled a wide range of Indian and multinational clients across the corporate, consumer, lifestyle and luxury sectors. More recently, he spearheaded Wizcraft’s venture into exposition and exhibition management, running prestigious projects such as the MCHI Property Expo, the largest property expo in India, and the IIFA Expo.

     

  • India is Second Most Trusting Nation in 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer Findings Despite Global Decline in Trust

    Edelman Trust Barometer reveals interesting findings about India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Trust in India remained among the highest in the world even as the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that global trust in institutions had dropped to the lows of the global financial crisis in 2008-9. India emerged second highest on the list of 27 other countries in this year’s trust index, posting one of the largest increases in 2014.

     

    In India, government saw the largest year-over-year increase in trust among the four institutions surveyed in the Trust Barometer. More than four in five (82 percent) informed public respondents expressed confidence in government this year compared with just 53 percent in 2014. This rise – along with an increase in trust in business and trust in media – helped India counter the downward global trend in trust. Trust in all four institutions in India remained well above this year’s global average of 55 percent.

     

    “World events in 2014 contributed to a global sense of unpredictability and instability, but what we see in India is trust in anticipation,” said Robert Holdheim, CEO, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Edelman. “The anticipation of better days brought 100 million new voters to the polls in the 2014 general election. The anticipation of growth gave Prime Minister Modi and the government an historic mandate. Trust may have eroded in many countries – at an alarming rate in some cases, but anticipation helped to bolster the state of trust in India over the past year.”

     

    Nevertheless, challenges remain for India Inc. with global ambitions. Companies head quartered in the BRIC nations are largely distrusted around the world. Only one in three respondents (34 percent) outside of India expressed trust in India-headquartered companies in this year’s survey. This trust deficit is most acute for companies headquartered in emerging markets like India doing business in developed countries; a relationship trusted by just 22 percent of respondents.

     

    “The contrast between trust in India and trust around the world is striking in many ways. Navigating those differences requires companies to understand how to operate in a trust-building way across borders and particularly when bridging the developed / developing country divide,” said Holdheim.

     

    While in India the CEO retains a stable position as a trusted source of information, this year’s Trust Barometer results also show a rise in other trusted sources. Media as an institution saw a five-point rise in trust levels over 2014, defying a decline in global trust in media. This was spurred largely by an increased trust in social media as a credible source of information, rising from 71 percent last year to 86 percent in this year’s results. Online search engines continued to rise as a trusted first source of general business information, breaking news and news validation – the only type of media to do so among search, newspapers and television.

     

    “There are new avenues of opportunity opening up for transparent communication: from the channel and spokesperson to the message,” said Rakesh Thukral, Managing Director, Edelman India. “The increasing trust trend in social media sources particularly suggests an opportunity for business and government to consider new forms of communication.”

     

    For the first time, the Trust Barometer examined the link between trust and innovation, revealing that a majority of respondents worldwide (51 percent) felt the pace of innovation is too fast. Those results were even more striking in India where more than three-fourths (77 percent) believe innovation is happening too quickly.

     

    Even in light of these concerns, trust in business innovations in India was significantly higher than the global average. Along with the other countries at the top of this year’s trust index, India’s results reflected a strong correlation worldwide between overall trust in institutions and acceptance of innovations.

     

  • Bhavna Jagtiani has rejoined the agency as Director – West while Bonny Lawrie has joined as Deputy GM of the Delhi NCR office

    Edelman strengthens strategic leadership positions in Mumbai and Delhi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bhavna Jagtiani
    Bonny Lawrie

    Edelman has announced two additions to its leadership team in India. Bhavna Jagtiani has rejoined the agency as Director – West while Bonny Lawrie has joined from Edelman Middle East, in the newly created role as Deputy General Manager of the Delhi NCR office.

     

    An experienced brand marketer, Bhavna returns to Edelman India after two years in the Edelman Hong Kong office, where she co-led the consumer practice. Bhavna will now be responsible for managing and growing the Edelman business in West India, including the offices in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad.  She will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Rakesh Thukral, Chief Operating Officer, Edelman India.

     

    Bonny will lead some of Edelman India’s largest clients, most notably Microsoft and Shell. She brings with her more than 11 years of experience in communications and marketing across Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and most recently, the Middle East. She will be based out of New Delhi and will report to Varghese Cherian, General Manager North & East, Edelman India and Technology Lead – SAMEA.

     

    Rakesh Thukral, Chief Operating Officer, Edelman India, commented, “These strategic additions to our team will further strengthen our leadership in India and help drive business growth. With their multi-market experience, Bhavna and Bonny are well-positioned to ensure success in our client work, learning for our teams and growth for Edelman. Bhavna’s return to Edelman India will provide further impetus to our West operations; and Bonny’s experience will contribute to further expansion of our fastest growing office in India.”