MxMIndia

Tag: Rammohan Sundaram

  • The Anchor: 4 reasons why digital media’s mergers and acquisitions are a good sign

    By Rammohan Sundaram

     

    #1 It is a sign that the market has matured:

    It shows that India as a market has matured. All these agencies which have been acquired are at least 10 years old and these are the people who have done all the hard work – whether it is Communicate2 which was acquired by Aegis Media or Hungama Digital acquired by JWT, etc. It’s a natural progression and these are things which happen when businesses are scaling up.

     

    #2 Large agencies bring large clients:

    When large agencies acquire a standalone agency, it comes with large clients and as a result, it helps the standalone agency maintain continuity in the business, especially for clients attached to the agency that they have been associated with over the last several years.

     

    #3 Standalone agencies are allowed to retain vision:

    It is important for continuity in the business, and there is no reason why the standalone agency needs to change post-acquisition. While operational and financial processes will inevitably change, how you run your business usually doesn’t. This is so that there is a continuity of the vision that first started the standalone agency and has ensured the continuation of its growth.

     

    #4 Brings more talent to the agency:

    The companies which are successful today are those that have got tremendous talent. In order to build talent, loyalty and attrition rates which are lower than any other competitor is the key to success for an advertising agency in the business today. This is what most of these agencies have managed to do and that’s the differentiator.

     

    Rammohan Sundaram is CEO and MD, NetworkPlay Media Pvt. Ltd

     

  • The three-day Delhi event will see participation from over 70 digital marketing companies, more than 2500 delegates and experts from the digital marketing fraternity.

    ad:tech 2012 set to kick off today

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    The biggest digital marketing, media and advertising event is here. ad:tech 2012 kicks off in New Delhi today. The three-day event is being held at The Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon, Delhi NCR from February 22 to 24.

     

    This year’s event will have participation of over 70 digital marketing companies, more than 2500 delegates and experts from the digital marketing fraternity. (see Disclosure)

     

    Speaking to MxMIndia, Event Chairman, ad:tech India and Founder, CEO & Managing Director, Rammohan Sundaram said, “We have over 100 speakers this year and more than 3000 delegates, combined both in the expo and at the conference. We’ve grown more than 50 per cent from last year in terms of participation.”

     

    The event is set to showcase 7 ground breaking keynotes. A line-up of global thought leaders for 2012 edition includes, Mr. Shiv Singh, Global Head of Digital, Pepsico Beverages; Mr. Gian M Fulgoni, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, comScore Inc.; Mr Arvind Rajan, Managing Director & Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, LinkedIn; Mr Kent Wertime, Chief Operating officer, Ogilvy Asia Pacific; Pete Blackshaw, Global Head of Digital Marketing and Social Media, Nestle; Satyan Gajwani, Director-New Media, BCCL; and Richard Dunmall, Vice President, Global Accounts & Agencies, Microsoft Advertising.

     

    The agenda includes two parallel tracks of insightful panel discussions with 18 sessions conducted by experts from advertising, marketing and media industry. There will be three panel tracks on Brand Strategy, Performance and Venture Capital.

     

    Mr Sundaram believes that the star attraction for ad:tech has always been its keynotes and marketing masters. But the expo this year will also be a huge attraction and expos he believes tend to create a vibrant atmosphere. He told MxMIndia, “The expo is going to see a lot of action this year. We have ten more participants this year, with over 15 international companies participating.”

     

    Talking of slow economic growth because of the severity in European markets, Mr Sundaram believes that there is rising pressure on marketers today. So participants, he feels, are looking forward to some smart gains at the event.

     

    Expectations of participants are also high, given the line-up of speakers and huge delegate turn-out. Speaking to MxMIndia, Karl Gomes, Co-Founder at AgencyDigi said, “I have high expectations… for me it’s about meeting people, listening to perspectives and maybe help and evangelize the medium.” ad:tech he believes, “…is a nice meeting place for like-minded people. Delegates and speakers get a chance to chat, evangelize. While it’s essentially about marketing and technology, but other mediums also come in. Digital is part of every medium today, TV has become digital, radio is anyway interactive…so digital can actually help other mediums.”

     

    As the largest gathering of online marketers, the event promises to showcase leading Indian and global brands, including, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Facebook, Dell, Ford India, IBM< Nokia, Sony Entertainment Television, Bharti Airtel, LG Electronics, MTV, LinkedIn, Homeshop 18, Godrej appliances, comScore, Ogilvy, Avaya, mydala.com, Yatra.com, Kotak Mahindra Group, Tata Teleservices, MotorExchange, IndiaMART.com and Domino’s Pizza.

     

    ad:tech 2012 has a lot in store, as Mr Sundaram said, “Marketers can expect intense and thought-provoking discussions on wide-ranging topics from industry veterans and thought leaders.”

     

    More details about the event are at http://www.ad-tech.com/newdelhi/.

    Disclosure: MxMIndia is a media partner of the event.

     

  • 'Unprecedented response from leading brands proves that digital is where marketing wars will be fought'

    Delegates from 15 countries to attend ad:tech New Delhi 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    With less than ten days remaining, ad:tech, the world’s No.1 digital marketing, media and advertising event, is on its way to be oversubscribed again. ad:tech New Delhi 2012 has been registering an unprecedented number of entries from delegates, exhibitors and sponsors from all over the world, to make it even larger than last year.

     

    The event is being held over three days instead of two days as last year, and has an agenda full of insightful keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities. To be held between February 22 and 24 at Hotel Leela Kempinski Gurgaon, the first day of this conference and exhibition will be dedicated to in-depth master-classes on social media and search techniques for marketing professionals.

     

    The Master Classes will comprise of a hands-on, interactive workshop to provide in-depth learning on developing a web presence, digital brand building, SEO 2.0, evolution of technologies in PPC, social media monitoring, and imbibing search and social into an organization’s DNA. Leading experts from Google, Communicate2, Simplogy, Quova and Value Pitch will be conducting sessions during these pre-registered master classes.

     

    Rammohan Sundaram, Event Chairman, ad:techIndiaand Founder, CEO & Managing Director, Networkplay Media Pvt. Ltd. said: “This year is going to be a big game-changer forIndiain the digital marketing arena, and ad:tech is proud to be at the forefront in bringing the very best of minds together on one platform. We have global digital heads of top brands like Nestle and Pepsi are among the over 90 expert speakers fromIndia, APAC and the world.”

     

    Commenting on the people coming down to India to attend ad:tech, Mr Rammohan said: “Apart from India, we already have confirmations from delegates and speakers of as many as 15 countries, including USA, UK, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Korea”.

     

    As the largest gathering of online marketers, the event also promises to showcase leading Indian and global brands, including Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Facebook, Dell, FordIndia, IBM, Nokia, Sony Entertainment Television, Bharti Airtel, LG Electronics, MTV, Linkedin, Homeshop18, Godrej Appliances, comScore, Ogilvy, Avaya, mydala.com, Yatra.com, Kotak Mahindra Group, Tata Teleservices, MotorExchange, and Domino’s Pizza.

     

    Mr Rammohan said: “We see a renewed energy among brands this year. Such an unprecedented response from brands puts to rest any doubt on the future of digital media in India, and proves that digital is the new arena where real marketing wars will be fought, and probably much sooner than we expect.”

     

    Besides the master classes, this year’s ad:tech will also feature an exclusive exhibition area for start-up companies in the digital space, which is almost full booked already.

     

    ad:tech, world’s No. 1 digital marketing ,media & advertising event made its successful debut inIndiain April 2011, withNew Delhi being the first city to host the two day event. With 10 shows in 7 countries, ad:tech has been providing media, marketing and technology professionals with the tools and techniques required to succeed in a changing digital world for over a decade.