MxMIndia

Tag: Rakhshin Patel

  • McCann Worldgroup, FP7/DXB Dubai, and Mastercard score #1 in the various Midas Rankings

    Midas Touch: Pi Communications wins gold & silver for Aditya Birla Financial Services

    By A Correspondent

    Mumbai-based marketing services agency Pi Communications has bagged a gold and silver award at the coveted 2016 Midas Awards, regarded the Oscars for financial services advertising. Both awards have been won for Aditya Birla Financial Services Group. The two metals bagged by Pi and ABFSG are the only metals won by India at the 2016 Midas Awards.

    While the Gold Midas has been bagged for Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited for ‘The Incomplete Nameplate’ in the Use of Medium competition under the Direct Mail/Collateral category, the Silver Midas has gone to Birla Sun Life Insurance for ‘Salary Slip of 1985’ also in the Use of Medium competition under the Direct Mail/Collateral category.

    Rakhshin Patel
    Ajay Kakar

    Said Rakhshin Patel, Managing Director, Pi Communications: “We have had a fairly consistent track record at winning in the Midas Awards.Our clients at Aditya Birla Financial Services have always been encouraging and supportive of great traditional Direct Marketing ideas that deliver excellent results and ROI.What makes this win even more special is that this is our first Midas win since our name change to Pi Communications and the fact that we reign as leaders in the world in Direct Mail communication.”

    Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group was delighted with the news. “Across our Aditya Birla Financial Services Group businesses we aspire to do work that wins recognition of the industry and business.We are indeed humbled to have won consistently at the Midas Awards, New York. These awards are special because they are compared and rated against the best of best from within the financial services industry, from across the world,” he said adding: “This year having won a Gold and Silver, as also, being the only winners from India, is indeed recognition that makes us extremely proud. I am thankful to Pi Communications for bringing us this enviable recognition and for making us so proud.”

    Meanwhile, FP7 / DXB (a part of McCann Worldgroup) and MediaVest Spark earned the Midas Award for Innovation for “The AC Vests” for client Emirates NBD. This award honors the highest scoring entry that showcases a leading-edge idea or execution.McCann Worldgroup earned the number one ranking in the first annual Midas Network Report, cumulatively achieving the most points in this year’s competition. Publicis Worldwide, earned the number two slot, followed by R/GA, Wunderman and Havas Worldwide.

    Agencies from around the world competed for top spots in this year’s Midas Awards Agency Report; FP7/DXB Dubai (Part of McCann Worldgroup) was in the spotlight, ranking number one on the Midas Agency Report with a robust 190 points. McCann New York ranked number two this year with 90 points and the Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa) Johannesburg earned the number three spot with 86 points.

    Also, for the third year running, Mastercard scored first place with a staggering total 229 points in the Midas Brand Rankings due to the combined creative efforts of the following global agencies: FP7/DXB; McCann Canada, McCann XBC, McCann Worldgroup. Absa/ Barclays ranked second place for the third year in a row, they received 89 points for their innovative work created by Jupiter Drawing Room (South Africa) Johannesburg.  Emirates NBD, whose award-winning campaigns were created by FP7/DXB (Part of McCann Worldgroup), ranked third place for third consecutive year.

    Founded in 2001, the Midas Awards recognises excellence in financial advertising and marketing on a global scale. Indian entrants have a good run in the awards except last year when they drew a blank.

     

     

  • The DMA International ECHO competition began in 1929 as the first direct mail awards show

    DMAi brings ECHO to Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    DMAi, from 2015, will be the exclusive association to enjoy an expanded affiliation with the DMA International ECHOâ„¢ Competition to funnel entries from across Asia. ECHOâ„¢ Awards honors exceptional creative work that has delivered results. The DMA International ECHO competition began in 1929 as the first direct mail awards show and is currently the oldest direct response awards program in the world.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Thomas Benton, CEO, Direct Marketing Association (DMA), US said “Marketers around the world and the ecosystem that supports them benefit when their trade associations collaborate and put a spotlight on innovation and success.  In that spirit, the Direct Marketing Association is very pleased to be partnering with the DMAi to increase participation in the ECHOâ„¢ awards from DMAi’s breadth of creative and innovative members.  We celebrate this partnership and look forward to seeing DMAi and its members at our annual conference in Boston, Massachusetts in October.

     

    The DMA International ECHO Awards celebrate the best and the brightest data-driven, direct response marketing campaigns from around the world. Those that are honored by receiving an ECHO Award have demonstrated superlative marketing strategy, exceptional insight into audience behavior, a responsible use of data and the ability to conceive and execute inspired creative that delivers an overwhelming return on marketing investment.

     

    DMA India has brought this credible awards program to India since 2012. The DMA India ECHOâ„¢ Awards in 2014 had over 383 entrants from over 150 brands and 70 top agencies in fray locally. Globally India has had an unrivaled run for last two years beating all international participating countries and having won the highest tally of metals at the International Edition.

     

    In an added development, both Vatsal Asher, CEO DMAi & Shelly Singh COO, DMAi, have been appointed as an official International ECHO™ Envoy, for all the hard work they have put into the ECHO’s over the past five years. As an Envoy, they will join the DMA International Ambassador Committee, which is responsible for unifying all of the local international DMA’s as well as being a liaison to the DMA in New York. Vatsal and Shelly join a dignified group which includes ECHO™ Board of Governors, Mark Allen (also a member of the DMA Board of Directors), Debbie Roth, Henry Hoke and Tedd Aurelius.

     

    All entries can now enter simultaneously for both awards, 2015 DMA Asia ECHOâ„¢ Awards and The DMA International ECHOâ„¢ Awards 2015 at a single subsidized entry fee. All qualifying DMA Asia award-winning campaigns will enter into the prestigious International ECHOâ„¢ Awards 2015 bypassing the first round of judging and fast track to the semi-finals of the competition.

     

    The entries are judged on the basis of the regular 15 Business Categories viz, Automotive, Business & Consumer Services, Communications/Utilities, Consumer Products, Education, Financial Products & Services, IT, Insurance, Not-for-Profit and so on. Starting 2014 the expanded DMA ASIA Awards has introduced a new sub-category “Creative Effectiveness” under a new program called “CREATEFFECT” which covers the Direct Response, Craft and Interactive elements of the campaign too.

     

    Grand Jury Chairperson for 2015, Rakhshin Patel, Managing Director, Pi Communications said “For an athlete, the Olympics are the ultimate stage. Data driven marketers share the same feeling about the ECHO™ program. There is indeed no bigger stage to showcase ideas and work that have yielded measurable, tangible, real results. There are many reasons why creative and marketing professionals should be excited about this year’s ECHO™ awards. The most compelling of them is: They deserve to! Their hard work and smart thinking has resulted in many memorable experiences for audiences far and wide. It’s now time to send in those entries, and then wait for the applause to echo in their ears.”

     

  • A Q&A with Rakhshin Patel and Sumantra Sengupta who bought majority stake in M&C Saatchi Direct & Digital to set up Pi Communications

    The Birth of Pi

     

    As M&C Saatchi Direct & Digital becomes Pi Communications, following a change in ownership in its Mumbai operations, Rakhshin Patel and Sumantra Sengupta, managing director and CEO of the new company, give Pradyuman Maheshwari a lowdown on the changed set-up and their plans ahead.

     

    We’ve heard about big multinational media superpowers gobbling up homegrown enterprises. But now, two seasoned ad professionals have bought out the media superpowers. How come?

    You are turning this into a David and Goliath story, which it isn’t really. M&C Saatchi has always been steeped in entrepreneurial spirit, and supportive of entrepreneurs. In 2008, when we started out, they supported our fledgling ambitions, and partnered us as we grew. In fact, they have been supportive in such a way that their changed priorities didn’t ever limit our ambitions.

     

    M&C Saatchi is not a small agency. It’s a well-known, trans-national advertising powerhouse. And they are not known to invest in ventures quite so easily…

    As we mentioned earlier, M&C Saatchi is entrepreneur-centered. They have partnered with local professionals in many countries. It was the same here. We started with very little investment and managed to break even in the first year itself. Thereafter, our operations paid for themselves.

     

    We also started out with a much smaller stake in the company, and part of our terms with M&C Saatchi was a gradual increase in our stake over time. Our first increase was in 2012. The next one has taken place now, and we are extremely happy we could fast-track that.

     

    You’ve always had a stake, of course. But this is more than single-digit, loose change, isn’t it?

    Thank god for friends and family!We believe in what we’ve built, and we’ll certainly recover it over time. Cycling to work is an option perhaps.

     

    Digital agencies these days come with some fantastic valuations. And you are not doing just digital things, but also some big-data work. So can we assume that your stake runs into few hundred million dollars, ie in three-digit-figure crores?

    We had a 40 per cent stake in the company. Yes we’re digital and we do analytical consultancy, but we haven’t yet invested in data analytics. So a three-digit valuation is way off the mark.

     

    Didn’t M&C Saatchi also buy out February last year and ask them to control the company? Are they okay with this new situation? Also, another agency with Saatchi in its name, did a similar thing, not so long ago

    M&C Saatchi bought a minority stake in February; it did not buy them out. This followed a strategy similar to what they’ve adopted in China. Their focus and operations in India and China are a bit different from each other, probably given that the markets are different. I think the ability to think differently in different markets really means that all is, indeed, right with them. And globally, the brand in many countries is co-operated, if not co-owned.

     

    So how did it happen for you?

    As we mentioned earlier, our terms of agreement with M&C Saatchi allowed us to increase our stake over time. We just grabbed the opportunity when it presented itself

     

    Are your clients on-board with it?

    Our clients have not only been supportive, they have been actively encouraging and enthusiastic about this development. Many of them have said that since they know our work well, it doesn’t really matter what we choose to call ourselves.

     

    What about all the goodwill and global clients that the M&C Saatchi name would have attracted?

    M&C Saatchi did not really have globally-aligned clients here. Since there was no opportunity, in the past seven years, to work on globally-aligned businesses, it’s not something that we would miss. When for goodwill, it is garnered by both the name of the company as well as the people who build it. In this market, we have made a substantial contribution to the goodwill that M&C Saatchi enjoys. And while the name has changed we, the people, and our passion for the work, haven’t. So a part of that goodwill will continue to be with us.

     

    Digital and Direct shops in India are getting acquired. Will you take that route?

    Now you’ve got us thinking! Give us a few months and maybe we will look around to see whom to acquire…

     

    Ufff! One is obviously suggesting whether you would like to sell your equity to some large M&C Saatchi-like player in the future?

    Yes, of course, we understood it, so was a joke. But seriously we are just savouring this moment of being majority owners and our focus would only be to grow the business exponentially. That’s our goal.

     

    Does your buy out contract prevent you from doing that?

    The company has been taken over by us. We are free to pursue any path that is in our best interest. But right now, we are not planning to either acquire or be acquired.

     

    What’s next, in terms of growth?

    A lot of the distance we cover, will be through collaborations. Analytics is currently a gap in our offerings. We are in talks with people with whom we can collaborate on that. We need to take quick strides in that direction.  Besides, our business need not be limited by geography. We do have clients in Delhi whom we manage from Mumbai. But it would be great if we could create a presence in other cities as well.

     

    This interview first appeared in the dna of brands issue dated February 16, 2015

     

     

     

  • Pi Communications will be the new identity of M&C Saatchi Direct & Digital as Rakhshin Patel and Sumantra Sengupta assumes majority stake in the agency

    Rakhshin Patel & Sumantra Sengupta turn majority shareholders of M&C Saatchi Direct & Digital. Agency now called Pi Communications

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian arm of M&C Saatchi Direct & Digital has changed its name to pi communications. This move follows a change in ownership of the company’s operations based out of Mumbai. Rakhshin Patel and Sumantra Sengupta, erstwhile minority shareholders in the company have now increased their stake in the company as a step towards full ownership of the business.

     

    M&C Saatchi Direct & Digital has always been an independent operation, with just the prefix being common to this firm and the advertising agency. Hence the acquisition of Delhi-based February, the subsequent rechristening of the agency and the takeover of the parent firm by the Feb team didn’t have a consequence on the M&C Saatchi Direct & Digital team (and ownership).

     

    While the name and the ownership changes, the operations of the company will continue as before, with pi communications carrying forward the communication duties of a roster of clients such as Aditya Birla Financial Services Group, Future Group, IL&FS, Kotak, Mahindra Holidays and One Assist amongst others.

     

    Commenting on this development, Chris Jaques, CEO Asia, M&C Saatchi said, “We encourage entrepreneurs and are happy to partner in their success. Given Rakhshin and Sumantra’s efforts in building a formidable and reputable company we offered them a controlling stake in their own company. Over the years, they have built a solid foundation for the agency with long-term client relationships and over 25 awards in just the last three years. The company is now theirs to own, manage and steer to even greater success, leaving us to focus on our advertising business based out of Delhi.”

     

    Said Rakhshin Patel, Managing Director, pi communications: “Despite the change, what remains constant is our commitment, our passion and our ambition. Whether minority or majority shareholding, we always managed the company like it was our very own. Now is the time for us to reap the rewards of our hard work.”

     

    Sumantra Sengupta, CEO, pi communications explains the philosophy behind the name: “Pi stands for Profitable Interactions. Pi is also a constant. Pi communications is the constant when applied to client objectives, ignites a complete circle of solutions that delivers profitable interactions.”