Wondrlab has appointed Sanju Menon as Chief Operating Officer to lead the Wondrlab content team. Menon will report to Rakesh Hinduja, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Wondrlab.
Having worked with Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett in the recent past, Menon was instrumental in leading the ideation and solutioning of the Bajaj V campaign.
Speaking about the appointment, Rakesh Hinduja, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Wondrlab, said: “We are committed to being a platform first company. And that means first being a master of the human journey and then using the right platform, the right context to craft the right solution. Sanju is a master of that art. Our commitment on the best tools and data will be effectively deployed to create incredible value for our clients. And Sanju will drive the team to create wondrlful!”
Added Menon: “It feels fantastic to join forces with Wondrlab on an expedition that will allow me to push forth with my ideas and abilities. The ambition here is to create notable work and build rewarding narratives for the businesses we partner. With all the investments directed towards this singular purpose, I am excited to take on the responsibility and spark some magic together.”
Publicis Worldwide India has announced the appointment of Sanju Menon as Chief Operating Officer of Publicis Ambience and Publicis Beehive. Menon takes over the reins from Paritosh Srivastava, who recently was elevated to the role of Managing Director of L&K Saatchi & Saatchi. Menon will be responsible for driving the growth agenda while also providing fresh thinking and impetus to a host of brands under Publicis Ambience and Publicis Beehive. He has already assumed charge from January 2, 2020 and will report to Srija Chatterjee, MD, Publicis Worldwide, India.
Menon joins Publicis Worldwide from sibling Leo Burnett India where his last role was as Executive Vice President managing the entire Bajaj portfolio for the agency. Apart from Bajaj, he was also associated with brands across the Publicis Groupe including Jeep, Viacom, Bridgestone, Sketchers, Abbott Nutrition and Cholayil among others.
Srija Chatterjee
Commenting on the appointment, Chatterjee said: “It’s been an emotional ride these past few days as one of our most dependable faces departs to take on a larger role at the Groupe level. But that’s an exciting journey to undertake and Paritosh deserves every bit of the success that has come his way. I’d like to thank Paritosh for setting up steady and solid-looking agencies under Publicis Ambience & Publicis Beehive. At the same time, I’d like to welcome Sanju to the Publicis Worldwide family and can vouch for his credibility as one of the most exciting talents to watch out for. His credentials in driving growth and strategy and his team-bonding skills make him a prized asset to possess. I look forward to partnering him and carving out an upward trajectory for several brands under the Publicis stable.”
Paritosh-Srivastava
Added Srivastava: “Leaving is always tough, especially when it’s been a deep emotional relationship of over eight years. Publicis Worldwide will always be close to my heart and will root for its success and glory. However, the silver lining is that no one better than Sanju Menon could have taken the mantle. He’s a fantastic human being and an incredible professional who will add amazing value to our wonderful clients. I’m certain that he will take the agency to greater heights. My heartfelt wishes to Sanju, Srija, Ajay, Neeraj, Suraj, Sridhar and the entire PWW team for a great ride into the future.”
On joining Publicis Worldwide India, Menon said: “The last five years at Leo Burnett have been very rewarding. I will cherish the association I have had with the various teams I have worked with. With LB’s rich history of innovation, these years have been of great learning too, and I hope to take every bit of it with me to Publicis Worldwide. From the outside, I have seen that Publicis Worldwide has fantastic talents and long-standing relationships with brands that are trusted, loved, and have enormous potential. Equipped with the Publicis Groupe’s ‘Power of One’ philosophy and with the trust of our partners, I look forward to working with Srija and her talented team on building effective and innovative solutions that will make Publicis Worldwide more agile, and a powerhouse within the group. I’m looking forward to being a part of this exciting new journey.”
Having completed 50 years since its inception in 1969, Medimix is shifting focus towards the youth. With its new positioning, ‘Get SkinFit with fast acting Ayurveda,’ it has appointed Parineeti Chopra as its brand ambassador.
Said Pradeep Cholayil, Chairman & Managing Director, Cholayil Pvt Ltd, on the association with Parineeti Chopra: “We wanted a face for our brand to carry forward our legacy and were clear that this face would connect with a new, younger audience while at the same time not alienating our core consumers for whom Medimix has become an integral part of their daily life. This year marks the 50th year of Medimix’s journey of providing Ayurvedic goodness. We are repositioning our brand with an objective of contemporizing our Ayurvedic offering and becoming relevant to new age consumers.”
Added Sanju Menon, Executive Vice President, Leo Burnett: “With 50 years of skin expertise, Medimix is re-launching their portfolio with a new promise. As their strategy and communication partner, we decided to bring Parineeti onboard to take this new proposition forward. We believe her persona will drive greater connect with the younger audiences and give the brand a new impetus. We are excited with the association and hope to drive growth for the brand in the market through it.”
Leo Burnett India has won a part of the creative mandate for the Bajaj Auto International business and will have its Mumbai office handle the account.
Speaking about bringing Leo Burnett India on board, Milind Bade, Vice President – International Business, Bajaj Auto said: “Leo Burnett joins us at this crucial juncture to strengthen our marketing efforts in markets across Latin America, ASEAN and South Asia. Bajaj has the leadership position in the sports motorcycle segment across 26 countries. We needed a partner who understands our growth curve and ambition, and Leo Burnett India has proved its mettle to us repeatedly over the course of our long association. It was only natural that we would bring them on board this time, too.â€
Added Dheeraj Sinha, MD – India & Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia, Leo Burnett: “With this win, we have only strengthened our fruitful relationship with Bajaj Auto. The brand’s growing global presence needs a strong communication support plan and effective business solutions backed by the Power of One. We aim to pull all the stops on this one, and this journey will be great thanks to Bajaj’s support.â€
Added Sanju Menon, Executive Vice President, Leo Burnett India: “A successful relationship between Bajaj Domestic and Leo Burnett India has existed for several years, and we are glad Bajaj Auto has trusted us with another chance to do more iconic acts. We have done some of our best Humankind work for this brand and hope to transcend that magic across borders.â€
Inbisco India is back on television with a new TVC for its premium and popular coffee candy – Kopiko, a hard-boiled candy with a coffee extract. In the TVC, the brand introduces Durgesh, ayoung man from a small town, who promotes Kopiko’s mantra – ‘JaageRaho, AageRaho’.
Conceptualised by Leo Burnett, the TVC begins with Durgesh praying while holding a self-help motivational book in his hand. Speaking on Kopiko, Achyut 4Kasireddy, Managing Director of India and Indian Sub-continent, Inbisco India said: “Kopikois the first candy with real coffee extracts that gives the unique experience of ‘real coffee’ anytime and anywhere. The new TVC highlights Kopiko’s proposition as a candy that helps recharge energies and stay alert, because of its real coffee extracts.â€
Speaking on the TVC, Sanju Menon, Senior Vice President, Leo Burnett India said: “The confectionary category in India is very cluttered and the challenge to regain top spot in the category was quite daunting. As we understood the product deeper, the solution became quite apparent – to create a narrative that is derived from the product itself and not a mere piece of entertaining content. The story of Durgesh is something experienced by many. Making the story relevant and humorous will surely help us achieve our objectives. “
Leo Burnett has announced the appointment of Sanju Menon as Vice President based at its Mumbai office. Sanju will lead the Bajaj business nationally, taking charge of both strategy and account management.
Sanju’s appointment reinforces the agency’s talent philosophy of handpicking best professionals to serve clients.
Saurabh Varma
Welcoming him on board, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Leo Burnett India, says, “Sanju is extremely passionate about strategic thinking and providing business solutions. His ideology is in sync with that of Leo Burnett’s (HumanKind) philosophy that is to delight clients with integrated ideas that are based on human truth. Apart from leading the advertising mandate, Sanju will deliver solutions for Bajaj across functions, namely – shopper & retail, activation, branded content, website development & maintenance, social and search. He will play the role of an integrated lead managing all these functions to build the strong narrative. In addition to this, he will lead a multidisciplinary team and manage the newly established communication centre called ‘Play’ for Bajaj.â€
Sanju joins Leo Burnett from Rediffusion Kolkata where he worked as the Branch Head. He joined the agency as a brand Associate in 2007 and grew to the position of Business Head in 2011 before moving on to head the operations from 2013.
He started his advertising career with SN Design in 2005 and a year later joined Bates 141 as Brand Executive. In a career spanning more than ten years, Sanju has worked on brands across categories, namely, Eveready, Lafarge, Berger, AnandabazarPatrika, PC Chandra Jewellers and Spencer’s Retail.
