MxMIndia

Tag: Ranji Cherian

  • DDB Mudra will drive strategy and creative for the company in its journey of transitioning from a B2B to a B2C brand

    DDB Mudra South bags Gem Paints mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Gem Paints, one of Southern India’s leading manufacturer of paints and coatings, has awarded its creative duties to DDB Mudra. DDB Mudra will drive strategy and creative for the company in its journey of transitioning from a B2B to a B2C brand.

     

    Nitin Gandotra

    Said Nitin Gandotra, Director, Gem Paints: “The benefits of a communication expert for the growth and development of a business is often downplayed. And if one can get into a happy marriage with a name like DDB Mudra, it is priceless. It is going to be a step – up in creating awareness about the existence of an outstanding brand and achieve significant reach in the markets of South India. A fresh & improvised perspective in the objectives, driving strategy, with target to reach the most effective markets & a whole new creative campaign for the company. DDB Mudra undoubtedly has a lot of successful campaigns to their credit. They were chosen and finalised for their vast and thorough knowledge of consumer behaviour in India, extensive reach, and an overall holistic approach.”

     

    Ranji Cherian

    Commenting on the win, Ranji Cherian, President & Managing Partner, DDB Mudra South added: “This oft-repeated divide between B2B and B2C marketing is misleading. The way in which people interact with either B2B or B2C brands is incredibly similar. People rely heavily on emotions rather than information alone to make brand decisions. It’s a pleasure to partner with a visionary leader at Gem Paints who appreciated our deep understanding of social and cultural contexts that moves people at scale.”

     

     

  • Under this partnership, the agency will be responsible for the creative strategy and execution for Puma's marketing communication in India

    DDB Mudra Group wins the creative mandate for Puma

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lifestyle and sportswear brand, Puma has decided to partner with the DDB Mudra Group for the brand’s creative mandate in India.

     

    Speaking on the partnership, Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, Puma India said:“We firmly believed in new age media and have constantly strived to create our own differentiated patterns and modules; to engage with our consumers. I am confident that our partnership with DDB will help us create more resonance with our customers and bring forward the true spirit of our brand.”

     

    The business will be led by Ranji Cherian, President and Managing Partner, DDB Mudra South and Vishnu Srivatsav, Creative Head, DDB Mudra South.

     

    Added Ranji Cherian, President and Managing Partner, DDB Mudra South:“We intend to bring Puma’s unique voice to life in the sports and lifestyle category. It’s a prestigious account win for us, and a great canvas for our own capabilities and creativity. We’re relishing the challenge and the opportunity to be Puma’s partner in embedding itself in India’s consideration and culture.”

     

  • Ujjivan is now continuously building the railroads for developing a powerful 360 degrees communication campaign for its launch which will span multimedia efforts

    Ujjivan Fin mandates DDB Mudra for integrated comms

    By A Correspondent

     

    In another decisive move aimed at building a powerful Small Finance Bank Brand, Ujjivan announced that following a highly competitive multi-agency pitch, DDB Mudra Group has won the mandate to be its integrated communications agency to work on the transition to becoming a Small Finance Bank.

     

    Taking full cognizance of the brand and marketing challenges in this competitive space, Ujjivan is now continuously building the railroads for developing a powerful 360 degrees communication campaign for its launch which will span multimedia efforts.

     

    Speaking on this development, Vijay Balakrishnan, Chief Marketing Officer, Ujjivan Financial Services said, “After a very intense and hard fought competitive pitch lasting over two months, which saw India’s finest advertising agencies vying for the account, we are absolutely thrilled to have DDB Mudra on board as our Integrated Communications Partner”.

     

    DDB Mudra’s granular understanding of the category during their pitch and strategy presentations, their innovative approach to category creation combined with a highly committed leadership team and deep understanding of financial inclusion and social values is reassuring. We are confident they will ably partner us to launch the small finance bank.”

     

    “DDB Mudra’s past track record of creating powerful Indian brands from scratch and their powerful Integrated Advertising & Marketing Services offerings coupled with DDB’s global brand building repertoire will help Ujjivan create a distinct and stand out brand identity in the competitive SFB space.” he added.

     

    The account will be managed from the agency’s Bengaluru office and will be spearheaded by Sujay Ghosh, Executive Vice President & Business Partner, DDB Mudra South and East.

     

    Madhukar Kamath

    Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & MD, DDB Mudra Group remarked, “The Ujjivan Financial Services pitch process was perfect. Not just exciting, but professionally conducted.  The interaction with Mr. Sumit Ghosh and his leadership team were truly insightful and educational.   My colleagues and I, are truly excited.   The partnership will be one to cherish.”

     

    Ranji Cherian, President, DDB Mudra South and East added, “We are extremely privileged to be chosen by Ujjivan Financial Services as their integrated communications partner. To us this is both exciting & challenging. We will leverage all our strengths as a Group to build a dominant position for the brand in the marketplace. We look forward to working closely as a team.”

     

    Ujjivan started operations in Bengaluru in 2005 and serves over 32.79 lakh active customers through 469 branches and 8,258 employees spread across 209 districts and 24 states in India, making it the largest MFI (Micro Finance Institution) in terms of geographical spread.

     

    It also undertakes robust financial literacy program and community development & disaster relief programs for customers in collaboration with Parinaam Foundation which is a non-profit organization.

     

  • Based out of the agency's Bengaluru office, he would be reporting to Ranji Cherian, President, DDB Mudra South and East

    DDB Mudra appoints Rajat Ray as Associate VP for South & East

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajat Ray

    Senior advertising professional Rajat Ray has been roped in by DDB Mudra South and East as Associate Vice President, DDB Mudra South & East. Based out of the agency’s Bengaluru office, he would be reporting to Ranji Cherian, President, DDB Mudra South and East.

     

    Ray joins DDB Mudra, fresh from a five-year stint at Ogilvy & Mather, where he was last designated Client Services Director and led the Consolidated Advertising team on the IBM account. Before that, he was associated with prominent agencies like Euro RSCG, Ogilvy (earlier stint) and Fountainhead.

     

    Ranji Cherian

    Said Cherian: “I am happy to welcome Rajat to the DDB family. Rajat brings with him strong creative agency experience handling global brands & businesses. He is an excellent people’s person and demonstrates strong leadership skills.”

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Ray said, “I’m extremely excited about my new assignment at DDB Mudra and look forward to navigate through the unique opportunities and challenges that the alco-bev category presents.”

     

  • They come in with solid experience and strong body of work to showcase

    Tejali Shete and Ajay Menon appointed Senior CD at DDB Mudra South & East

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tejali Shete
    Ajay Menon

    Tejali Shete and Ajay Menon have joined DDB Mudra South & East as Senior Creative Directors, based out of the agency’s Bengaluru office.

     

    With over a decade of experience in the creative communications industry, Tejali joins DDB Mudra from Grey Worldwide and a short stint at Leo Burnett, Kuala Lumpur. Tejali has worked with leading advertising agencies including Contract, Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy & Mather, Creativeland Asia, and Percept/H. She’s worked on an array of world-renowned brands including Coca-Cola regional, Samsung regional, Pantene, AmbiPur, Wella, Downy, Godrej Cinthol, Godrej Aer, Godrej Expert Hair Color, Asian Paints, Samsonite, HSBC, Tata Indicom and Photon, Louis Phillip, Vladivar Vodka, Johnson’s Baby, Femina, Ceat, and Brooke Bond Red Label to name a few.

     

    Ajay Menon joins DDB Mudra from JWT Chennai where he was Senior Creative Director & AVP. With over 16 years of experience, Ajay has worked on MRF, Blackberry smartphones, Cinthol, Godrej, TI Cycles, Indian Terrain, HP, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Sun Direct, Univercell, Mico Bosch, Lacto Calamine, and Piramal Healthcare. He has worked at Orchard in Mumbai, JWT in Chennai, and Saatchi in Bengaluru.

     

    Ranji Cherian

    On the new appointments Ranji Cherian, President, DDB Mudra South & East, quoted, “”I am delighted to have Tejali Shete & Ajay Menon join our team at DDB Mudra South and East. They come in with solid experience and strong body of work to showcase. They are extremely talented and nice to work with and fit into our DDB culture that prioritizes creativity & humanity. I am confident that their contribution will take our agency to greater heights.”

     

  • The architecture & identity of the new DDB Mudra Group will be shared with the media on February 28.

    DDB Mudra announces new ‘A’ team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO and MD DDB Mudra Group announced on February 23 that the restructuring of the Mudra Group is complete, and shared a slew of changes in responsibility of his ‘A’ team, pursuant to the Group’s integration with Omnicom and DDB Worldwide.

     

    The architecture & identity of the new DDB Mudra Group will be shared with the media at a press meet scheduled on February 28, in the presence of John Zeigler, Chairman & CEO – DDB Asia Pacific, India & Japan. The effective date for the change of identity and the roll-out will be March 1.

     

    With regard to his senior team, Mr Kamath announced the following:

    Rajiv Sabnis will be President – DDB Mudra Group and will report to him.  He will be responsible for building the DDB Mudra and Mudra brands in Mumbai and the Western Region. He will also be responsible for initiating integration projects and business for DDB MudraMax from the existing clients within DDB Mudra and Mudra.

     

    Ranji Cherian will be President – DDB Mudra Group and will also report to him. He will be responsible for building the DDB Mudra and Mudra brands in the South. He will be responsible for initiating integration projects and business for DDB MudraMax from the existing clients within DDB Mudra and Mudra in the South.

     

    Anurag Bansal will be Director Finance, DDB Mudra Group.   He will now function as deputy to the Group CFO, Dilip Upadhyaya.

     

    Sudarshan Banerjee, apart from his role as Head, Mudra Ahmedabad, will now also be Director – Business Development, DDB Mudra Group and will report to the Group Chief Operating Officer, Pratap Bose.

     

    After a successful stint in Mudra West, Arijit Ray (currently President – Mudra West) will now work with Mr Kamath on a new assignment in the DDB Mudra Group, possibly in the DDB Asia-Pacific network.

     

    “With these changes in place and with Mandeep Malhotra (Mandy) driving the Experiential, Retail and OOH Agenda, Aneil Deepak (Andee) leading the planning and creative function in DDB MudraMax as National Head – Ideas, N.P. Sathyamurthy driving the MudraMax media agenda, Venkat Mallik running RAPP and Tribal DDB, Soumitra Sen and his fast expanding DDB Health & Lifestyle practice, Ashish Mishra in Water, and Radha in Maatra, Vandana Das joining us as President – DDB Mudra Group in Delhi in mid March, Sonal Dabral coming on board as the Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, from  March 1, and Pratap working closely with me as the Group COO and  driving the entire New Business Agenda, I look forward to exciting days ahead,”  said Mr Kamath.

     

    DDB Mudra Group isIndia’s largest integrated marketing communications and services network. Its customized and collaborative approach helps its clients build valuable and enduring brands. The group’s capabilities span Advertising, Media, Digital & Data marketing, Experiential marketing (Promotions, Events, Rural), Trade marketing, Youth marketing, Localization & Pre-Media services and Brand Strategy & Design consultancy.

     

    With over 1,100 employees and 26 offices, offering direct contact across 1,75,000 villages, 4000 towns, 3500 schools and nearly 7 million students, the DDB Mudra Group was India’s most awarded agency network at Cannes, Spikes and Abbys among others in 2011.