MxMIndia

Tag: Santosh Padhi

  • Santa Claus is comin' to town! So we asked some industry captains to tell us what goodies they would like Uncle Santa to bring them this Dec 25

    Dear Santa…

     

    On the occasion of X’mas 2014 so we asked some industry captains to tell us what goodies they would like Santa Claus to bring them this Dec 25. Interviews by Shobhana Nair here goes:

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director, RK Swamy BBDO

    If I were to wish for something, then this would be double digit GDP growth of our economy in 2015!

     

     

     

    M G Parameswaran, Member Management Board, FCB Ulka Advertising

    I wish Santa Claus to bring to the advertising agency business a big bottle of confidence tonic! An elixir that will infuse everyone in our exciting world of advertising with extra courage, confidence and spirit; to believe in the industry, to believe in their own competence and contribution to the success of brands and most importantly a unshakeable faith in the greater purpose of advertising: to move consumers from their inertia, to keep the wheels of industry moving, to make the world a better place, one OTS/ one TRP at a time!

     

    Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, South Asia

    Ogilvy & Mather India

    I’d like Santa to distribute small and beautiful packets of wisdom for everybody in the industry.

     

     

    Satyan Gajwani, CEO, Times Internet

    New consumers are buying smartphones everyday, but for them to be useful, the cost of data needs to reduce. When users want to pay for something, it shouldn’t be as cumbersome as it is today.

     

     

    Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia – Dentsu Aegis Network

    If Santa Claus could meet with the Finance Minister and emphasize upon him that in the forthcoming budget he needs to give a sensible taxation regime, particularly with respect to service tax and VAT applicable on the advertising and marketing communications business, I think it will go a long way in helping our industry grow. A an industry, we want to show our creativity in the area of advertising and not in the area of creative accounting!

     

    Prashant Panday, MD & CEO, ENIL

    The one thing is that Phase-3 auctions get completed before March 31 and migration of 21 Phase-2 licences which are lapsing on March 31st happens on time.

     

     

     

    Anirudh Dhoot, Director, Videocon

    In line with our Prime Minister’s vision of “Make in India”, we expect policies and infrastructural support for electronic components and panel manufacturing in India. India has the potential to become a global electronics manufacturing hub not only for internal consumption but also satiating global requirement.

     

     

    Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Social Wavelength

    The one thing that I’d want Santa Claus to bring to our industry, would be Better Retainer Fees :)  For all the hard work that the social media agencies do for clients, from strategy to execution, from creatives to media, from technology to ORM, we still don’t get adequate respect, reflected in terms of decent monthly retainer fees! As we get into 2015, I hope Santa Claus makes our clients acknowledge the role we play and compensate us better!

     

    Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer & Co-Founder, Taproot India

    I’d want Santa to give us an emotional gift in the form of ‘unity within the industry’. We are fighting so much within ourselves and are even ready to kill each other for business. We are going from bad to worse now. There’s a long list of things that I am seeking from Santa but I definitely feel that people should follow ethics and morals. We need to make it a human industry. There’s just no humanity left and that’s a huge disconnect.

     

    Arvind Sharma, former President, AAAI

    There was a great deal of optimism and hope during BJP’s election campaign. And so far it has translated into foreign investment flowing into financial markets. But as far as the ground is concerned, things have to yet get better. We hope 2015 will bring strong growth in the economy for the overall business. Advertising industry depends on the client’s growing business, their budgets and spends. They have been really tight for the last two-and-a-half years. We hope that will change in the coming year.

     

  • "We're working on the nomenclature. Taproot has a very unique culture and we didn't want to destroy that," said Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India

    Taproot to get Dentsu identity. Exec Chairman Rohit Ohri eyes PR, Activation & regional creative shops

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rohit Ohri

    In August 2012, Japanese advertising major Dentsu acquired Taproot, the boutique creative agency set up by Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi. Ever since Aggie and Paddy (as the Taproot co-founders  are called in the industry) have integrated into the Dentsu India system.

     

    They head the Creative Council that the network has set up in India and now jointly do business like the Congress campaign or for NourishCo, the Tata-Pepsi jv.

     

    Now, the Mumbai-based creative agency which has produced some awardwinning advertising since it was set up in early 2009 is all set to sport the Dentsu identity.

    When asked whether it would mean that a Dentsu will be prefixed or suffixed to the name, Mr Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India said in an interview to ‘dna of brands’ and MxMIndia: We’re working on the nomenclature. Taproot has a very unique culture and we didn’t want to destroy that.”

    Meanwhile, Mr Ohri also said in the interview that “there are very clearly some holes still left to be filled”. These “holes” are reference to PR and Activation agency, he said. In addition, the appetite for digital shops continues even after the WebChutney acquisition.

     

    And that’s not more. Citing the success of JWT’s success with Hyderabad’s Mindset, Mr Ohri has his eyes and ears open for regional biggies.

     

    See ‘dna of brands’ at: http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=13&edcode=820009&eddate=2014-12-01

     

    Don’t miss the Rohit Ohri interview on MxMIndia tomorrow

     

  • On the happy occasion of Gudi Padwa, Ugadi, Cheti Chand, Navreh, Shajibu Cheiraoba & Chaitra Sukhladi, we look at what works for happiness as a theme in ads

    More khushi when there’s gham

     

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    Advertising and marketing have always been in a happy state in India. It’s an emotion that combines joy and delight of consumers, thereby creating a happy environment for consumption.

     

    Lloyd Mathias

    Before going for a macho refrain, soft drink Thums Up had embraced its tagline of ‘Happy days are here again’ nearly four decades back. In fact as one brand manager told us, it’s an evergreen emotion and always works magic for a brand. “Happiness is a very positive emotion with most brands wanting to build messages around it as it is a primary emotion,” says Lloyd Mathias, director Green Bean Ventures who was head of marketing at Tata Docomo, Motorala and Pepsico India.

     

    Indeed it is. From Thums Up to Domino’s Pizza with Khushiyon ki Home Delivery and from Khushiyon ki Planning at Max Life Insurance to Khushiyon ki Chaabi for Tata Nano and Khushiyon ka Khazana wali Maggi for Maggi, it’s khushi-ness all over. In fact the same line – Khushiyon ki Diwali – was used in the ads of brands Airtel and Asus.

     

    The recent Coca-Cola campaign with Deepika Padukone and Farhan Akhtar talks about the little moments of happiness. The entire sequence of missing the bus, chasing it and boarding it. “It makes a lot of sense to be associated with a positive emotion. Products like beverages and food are consumed by people in a positive frame of mind,” reasons Mr Mathias. “Another commercial by Nestle about a family adopting a girl child and how the boy makes up with her over food is a good campaign. There’s a lot of joy in the food category.”

     

    K V Sridhar

    Khushi, when there’s Gham: Although happiness is an emotion that has been used by marketers for decades, in times of a slowdown and a liquidity crunch, it’s often the possible solution to keep buyers happy. Says K V ‘Pops’ Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer India subcontinent, Leo Burnett: “When society is depressed, it needs something which is optimistic or makes people happy. Unemployment, corruption, politicians, etc add to this state. Therefore, brands are showing optimism and presenting a picture that not everything is going wrong. Today, it has become important for big brands to not talk about the values their brands have, but the values that the brands will bring.”

     

    Santosh Padhi

    According to Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer & Co-Founder, Taproot, happiness is an emotion that’s employed by most brands. “If I want to sell something, I would rather do it in a positive way. In general, brands talk positive unless it is a category like insurance where you need to make your point in a negative way where it gets hammered and more understood. Otherwise, life is all about positivity. Happiness is one part of it; humour is another. And then there is hope and simply being positive.”

     

    Happiness is of course not a phenomenon that works only in India. It’s a global sentiment. Adds Mr Padhi: “In China, Pepsi released a big campaign on Happiness. There’s a man who’s offering happiness to people who are in need like education, shelter, umbrella, spectacles. Pepsi is running it for the past 20 years in China. So when Coke came a few years back with ‘Open Happiness’ as part of a global mandate, Pepsi China didn’t stop. In a huge market like China, two competitors are ‘doing’ happiness.”

     

    The Coca-Cola brand launched the campaign internationally in 2009 – around the time of the slowdown – and the ongoing  Deepika-Akhtar commercial is a part of the five-year-old activity.

     

    Bobby Pawar

    Over-used concept: Says Bobby Pawar, Director and Chief Creative Officer, South Asia, Publicis Worldwide: “I think in tough times, brands want to hold out people to heart. Happiness has a gravitational point for that. But it is such a broad concept unless you try to find true meaning in it. ”

     

    Mr Pawar believes not all advertisers are doing it right. “Happiness as a term is getting over-used. Coke has nailed it internationally. They do create happiness with their world machines,. Only Coke has got it right. Rest of them are like whatever.”

     

    Anand Halve, brand consultant and a veteran ad professional and Co-Founder, Chlorophyll adds on to Pawar’s sentiment:  “Not only happiness, all emotions are being over-used. Brands have started to use this term that aapki zindagi badal jaayegi. Just look at the number of brands that use the word ‘life’. Brands should aim to do beyond just the functional thing. You have to be careful about not going overboard and sounding incredible.

     

    “Coke is doing really well through Coke Studio. Music makes people happy and that to me is genuine happiness. Just hanging a line at the end of an ad doesn’t mean anything… agar mujhe khush karna hai toh, take me out for dinner…don’t just send a voucher,” says Mr Halve.

     

    But Mr Mathias believes, happiness is here to stay. “It can never go out of style. It is a very basic emotion and in a typical day one has a lot of happy moments. It is very logical for brands to show people in a happy frame of mind especially categories like beverages or food which are driven by this. It is an important emotion to build your brand on.”

     

  • Given L&K's stake sale to Publicis, Sajan Raj Kurup (Creativeland) and Santosh Padhi (Taproot) talk on independent creative agencies aligning with big networks

    Independent or align with a global network?

     

    While the advertising industry has been abuzz with rumours on Law & Kenneth selling a majority stake to Publicis Groupe since last year, there are mixed sentiments on yet another independent agency (that is not a part of an global media services network) succumbing to the pressures. We asked two agency heads – Sajan Raj Kurup who continues to be an independent and says he will never sell stake to a international superpower and Santosh Padhi whose Taproot aligned with Dentsu two years back for their views.

     

     

    Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder & Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia

     

    While each agency will have its own reasons, how do you react to one more independent agency getting aligned with a big network?

    Every agency has its reasons to sell. To each his own. As long as they are happy who are we to judge.

     

    Is this something that you at Creativeland are also looking at now or eventually?

    If I wanted to start a place to one day sell it as an advertising agency and cash out, I would called it adland. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am not adland. I am Creativeland. And I have a plan 🙂

     

    In fact with each passing day I am lesser and lesser of an advertising agency. And I still enjoy what I am doing. There is a good chance I may fail and what an epic failure it would be. There is also a good chance I may succeed. But I am not thinking about it.

     

    Some of the reasons why L&K decided to sell stake was to increase scale, get better funded and increase its set of clients. Is that something that’s a huge pull as the agency size grows?

    Obviously scaling up and investments are a part of any business. Mine is no exception. I am not averse to conversation for strategic investments. But I am reluctant to talk with advertising networks. They are myopic. They don’t invest. They buy to kill and devour. Not to grow. That is not my game.

     

    		  

    Santosh Padhi, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot India

     

    Santosh Padhi

    While each agency will have its own reasons, how do you react to one more independent agency getting aligned with a big network?

    Different people have different needs and priorities, but in most cases coming together means strengthening your strength. Since I ran the recent Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, let me put the same analogy here :). On a long run you can decide to maintain a speed and decide to run the same speed throughout or you decide to speed up but run out of energy and momentum when you are pushing beyond your limit, where you need the right energy drink to add to your momentum and achieve the goals faster, without getting tired. It’s completely up to an individual or the agency to decide how fast one wants to finish the game.

     

    Some of the reasons why L&K decided to sell stake was to increase scale, get better funded and increase its set of clients. Is that something that’s a huge pull as the agency size grows? Were these the reasons why Taproot sold stake to Dentsu?

    While someone from L&K can address the issue of why they sold stake, we at Taproot joined hands with Dentsu for 2-3 reasons:

    a.Management control, a creative agency should always have this as that reflects in your output. Other department support as we were only focusing on creative product and limited to just Mumbai, but at times clients do look for many necessary support and we did not want to lose business just because of the lack of it. Dentsu’s multiple offices and departments have been very handy for us.

     

    b.Globally, Dentsu is an innovator when it comes to digital and sooner or later we all will be in this sea, and they will be of great help when India gets into such action.

     

    And, most importantly, c. We felt comfortable at a human level and that’s very important in a people’s business

     

    If there’s one advantage that you think Taproot has derived post Dentsu, what would it be?

    It has been a wonderful two-year journey. We have worked together on many projects like Nurishco, Dulux, Himalaya etc. We complement each other very well.

     

     

  • The second phase of the campaign was launched a few days back with a two-minute TVC, digital and print advertising and exhibitions which will draw people to understand the problem and donate

    Taproot launches second phase of TOI campaign on farmer suicides

    By A Correspondent

     

    Taproot India has released the second part of the farmer suicides campaign it has created for The Times of India.  The awareness campaign began in April last year with an exhibition, traffic to which was driven by a print and outdoor campaign. As part of that communication, 12 portraits of dead farmers were created using dry, burnt hay. These portraits were displayed and auctioned and the proceeds from each portrait were given to the families of the deceased.

     

    “The objective of this campaign is to raise awareness of this issue so that steps are taken to support the farmers. In addition the campaign will also attempt to provide an alternative source of income  to the farmers families that have been affected,” said Rahul Kansal, Executive Director, Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd, the publishers of The Times of India.

     

    Rahul Kansal

    Given the response to the initial phase, the second phase of the campaign was launched a few days back a two-minute TVC, which is also a part of a digital campaign that got implemented around the same time. Webchutney is the digital agency. Along with the television message, hoardings have been planned in different cities, starting with Mumbai. Followed by a print campaign and a second round of exhibition planned at Feb end in Nagpur, The whole agenda of the campaign is to have more and more people wake up to the issue and generate sufficient funds for the hugely affected farmer community, notes a communiqué.

     

    Santosh Padhi

    “One Indian farmer committing suicide every 30 minutes is indeed a shocking piece of news. Our attempt is to make people realise the seriousness of the issue and request people to donate or spread the message. The more we spread the message the higher our chances of saving a few lives,” said Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder, Taproot India.

     

    All proceeds go towards helping the community learn alternative means of livelihood and to support the families of the bereaved. The initiative has been carried out with support from Samaj Sevak Charitable Trust, an NGO working for the same cause, thereby ensuring the funds reach those rightfully in need. The initiative has also gained support from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure effective implementation of all its programmes.

     

    “India’s economic strength comes from the farmers and all that they produce. Close to 60 percent of people are still directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. For centuries, the entire nation has been heavily reliant on the farmers. So it’s only right that now when they are suffering, we try and do everything from donations to awareness programs to ease their pain and put an end to their sufferings,” said Vivek Khilare, Secretary and Divisional Head, Samaj Sevak Trust, Mumbai

     

  • BSB's cross-platform messaging application sees digital marketing campaign comprising four ad films

    Maadar… Taproot crafts bold digital campaign for Hike

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hike, a free cross-platform messaging app from BSB rolled out a digital marketing initiative for India. Tag lined ‘Keep Close Friends Close’, the digital campagn is aimed at showcasing how Hike can enable today’s tech-savvy youth to ‘keep close friends close.’

     

    The new ads showcase the dynamics of an individual with their close friends and how Hike helps them stay connected. Through the month long activation, the campaign aims at driving awareness and encourages the Indian youth to download hike to stay connected to their close friends.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Kavin Bharti Mittal, Head of Product and Strategy, BSB said: “With the Indian youth being online more than ever before, a pure digital strategy made sense to create a connect with our users.”

     

    Santosh Padhi

    Created by Taproot, the creative compliments the brand’s youthful appeal. Said Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi, Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder, Taproot India: “Though we are not one of the first ones in India to bring this service, we are very positive that with the youthful brand positioning of ‘Keep Close Friends Close’ and the quirky communication will make sure Hike Messenger becomes the youth’s close friend soon.”

     

    When asked whether the use of words like ‘maadar’ or ‘boobs’ in two of the films would pass with the self-regulators and moral police,  Paddy clarified that the ads are not meant for television, but digital only. “Even we decide to go for TV for some reason, it will be the water or bike films.”

     

    While the friendly banter in two of the films- the one on the bike and the other pouring water on the head – was clean and fine, why get into areas like ‘boobs’ and ‘maadar’, we asked Paddy. “It’s a mix of things we have portrayed through these digital films – right from abuse to fight to all sort of emotions which close friends share,” he explained adding that these are first set of digital films, there are few more lined post the launch.

     

  • The four Indian creative whizkids have been appointed to the London International Awards 2013 juries. Judging is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas in early October

    Prasoon Joshi, Sonal Dabral, Santosh Padhi & Roopak Saluja on LIA 2013 jury

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sonal Dabral

    Sonal Dabral, Prasoon Joshi, Santosh Padhi and Roopak Saluja have been appointed to join LIA’s 2013 prestigious juries. The judging is scheduled to take place at the Wynn/Encore Hotel, Las Vegas in early October.

     

    Sonal Dabral, Chairman/CCO of DDB Mudra, Mumbai returns to join the 2013 TV/Cinema/Online Film Jury which will be led this year by Ogilvy’s Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, Tham Khai Meng.

     

     

    Prasoon Joshi

    Prasoon Joshi, President South Asia of McCann Worldgroup, Mumbai will sit on the Non -Traditional Jury, led by Leo Burnett’s Global Chief Creative Officer, Mark Tutssel.

     

    Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer/Co-Founder of Taproot India, Mumbai will join the Print-Poster-Billboard Jury, presided over by David Guerrero, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Guerrero/Proximity, Philippines.

     

     

    Roopak Saluja

    Roopak Saluja, Founder/CEO of The 120 Media Collective, Mumbai joins the 2013 TV/Cinema/Online Film – Production/Post-Production Jury, which is led by Jonathon Ker, Executive Producer at paydirt, Los Angeles.

     

    Says Barbara Levy, President of LIA of the appointments, “It is a reflection of the great creative work that consistently emerges from India that we have appointed Indian jury members across such a broad spectrum of media. To have the honour to have some of the most highly ranked Creative Officers of India’s most awarded creative businesses is something that we are extremely proud of, and is in keeping with our commitment to have the world’s most creative work judged by the world’s most creative people. We look forward to welcoming them and working with them in Las Vegas”.

     

    The complete LIA Jury can be viewed on the website: www.liaawards.com  The LIA Call for Entry Deadline is currently the July 15, 2013

     

  • Former Contract India captain joins Taproot India as CEO today

    Umesh Shrikhande signs contract to be CEO, Taproot India. Joins today

    [updated]

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu India Group has announced the appointment of Umesh Shrikhande as the new Chief Executive Officer of Taproot India. The former CEO of Contract India, Mr Shrikhande is an advertising veteran with more than two decades of experience. This is the seniormost appointment made in the agency after Dentsu’s stake buy in August last year.

    Indicating the significance of the announcement, a communiqué to inform the media of the appointment was sent on the Dentsu letterhead. Until now, all major communiques – including that of the hiring of Sameer Aasht as Head of Strategy and Business or the setting of the SquareRoot design unit – were sent by Taproot co-founder and CCO Santosh Padhi. Mr Shrikhande joins today (July 3).

     

    Welcoming Mr Shrikhande to the group, Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman of the Dentsu India Group, said, “I’m delighted that Umesh has chosen to join us. Aggie, Paddy and I look forward to his partnership in this exciting new phase of growth at Taproot. Umesh is an industry professional I’ve always had the highest regard for and now, I’m happy to have this opportunity to work with him.”

    On Mr Shrikhande joining team Taproot at the helm, Agnello Dias, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot India said, “I am glad to have Umesh’s vast experience on our side, which will be a guiding light for us as we scramble around doing what we think is the right thing. He is sharp, insightful and most important possesses great clarity on the way mass communication in the contemporary world works. Everything we need.”

    “With the kind of experience Umesh has and the number of youngsters Taproot has, it will be a wonderful blend,” said Mr Padhi. When asked who Mr Shrikhande will report to, Mr Padhi replied: “Though on paper he will be reporting to Aggie, he is not hired for that…  he has been hired to take certain calls and just inform us and keep us in the loop”.

    Speaking on his appointment as the new CEO of Taproot India, Mr Shrikhande said, “Aggie and Paddy are not just immensely talented, they also happen to be wonderful people who have managed to build an attractive reputation for Taproot despite a hugely competitive environment. Our collective endeavour will be to build on Taproot’s innate strengths and culture to create a stronger organisation.”

    Mr Shrikhande, a management graduate from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, started his career with Lintas (now Lowe Lintas & Partners), where he spent six years. Thereafter, he was a core member of Team Contract and took charge as the agency’s CEO in 2008. He left the agency in November 2012.

  • Golds finally happen on Day 3 for India@Cannes2013. Plus 3 bronzes in Outdoor. And 19 Design shortlists.

    Taproot leads India with twin golds

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Agnello Dias
    Agnello Dias
    Santosh Padhi

    When Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi set up Taproot not many moons ago, one of their first benefactors was The Times of India. With reason. Aggie, as the Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of the agency is better known as, had won his former agency JWT a Grand Prix in Direct at Cannes in 2008. The client in question was The Times of India.

     

    For, Aggie and Paddy (Santosh Padhi’s aka) have done some splendid work for the media group ever since.

     

     

    Rahul Kansal

    “The Times Group brand has an old legacy and is considered a great brand but I think with their association, Aggie and Paddy have managed to create a new buzz around the brand,” said Rahul Kansal, Executive President of Bennett Coleman and Company Limited. Talking of the duo the day the news that Dentsu had acquired stake in the agency, Mr Kansal told MxMIndia: “Aggie I would say is amongst the most versatile thinkers. He assesses the brand, market and consumer needs and comes out with a specific solution that will address the issue. Paddy then complements by giving the most appropriate treatment to the concept and that probably is their winning formula.” (Read full account at: Rahul Kansal: No shortcuts with Taproot).

     

    On Wednesday, even as Indian agencies had won a silver and 3 bronze metals in the PR and Direct categories, all eyes were on Outdoor where 43 Indian entries were shortlisted. Yes, there was Media too, but there were just two shortlists.

     

    While Media saw a blank for Indian entries, in Outdoor, there were as many as five metals, including two golds.

     

    Leading India in the metals foray this year is Taproot with two golds in Outdoor. Both are for The Times of India’s Farmer Suicides campaign. From amongst the numerous congratulatory messages he received on his Facebook profile, there was one from a senior creative: “To hear the word congratulations, must be so cliche for you. Boss how do you do it year after year!!!”

     

    The two golds are in the ‘Fundraising, Charities, Appeals, Non-Profit Organisations, Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages’ and ‘Illustration’ sub-categories.  Meanwhile, Grey won two Bronze Lions for DHL and Duracell and O&M won its Bronze Lion for Philips Electronics.

     

    With this, India’s total tally of metals at Cannes Lions 2013 is 9: 3 in PR, 1 in Direct and 5 in Outdoor.

     

    But there are many shortlists in Press and Design. And the glamour part of the Lions – films, integrated are still to happen. The Cyber, Design, Press and Radio Lions will be awarded today (June 19) and Branded Content & Entertainment, Film, Film Craft and the Titanium and Integrated Lions will be presented on Saturday (June 22).

     

    Going past last year’s tally of 14 now appears easy, but will we cross the 2009 high of 25? We’ll know for sure before the week ends.

     

     

  • Sameer Asth, who recently joined Taproot India as Head of Business and Strategy, will be involved in SquareRoot Design, which will be fronted by Santosh Padhi and Agnello Dias.

    Taproot launches design unit, SquareRoot Design

    By A Correspondent

     

    Taproot India has launched a design unit, SquareRoot Design. Sameer Asth, who recently joined Taproot India as Head of Business and Strategy, will be involved in SquareRoot Design, which will be fronted by Santosh Padhi and Agnello Dias.

     

    SquareRoot Design is a brand consultancy focused on multiplying brand and business growth – from defining a path to growth to creating a name, nomenclature, verbal and visual language, packaging, tangible retail engagement and viral content for the virtual world.

     

  • Sameer Aasht joing Taproot India after 12 years of work spanning Strategy, Design & Communication agencies.

    Sameer Aasht joins Taproot India as Head, Strategy and Business

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sameer Aasht

    Sameer Aasht is joining Taproot India as Head, Strategy and Business. In a career spanning over 12 years across Strategy, Design & Communication agencies like Landor, Rediffusion Y&R, Contract, TBWA, Percept H & Ambience Publicis, Mr Aasht has worked on key strategic assignments for groups like Cadbury’s, ITC, HSBC, Mahindra, Suzlon, Tata, FICCI, Asian Paints, Samsonite, Black & Decker, Toyota and many more.

     

    Some key projects where he has played an integral role include rebranding of FICCI, expanding portfolios of Bytes & Celebrations for Cadbury’s , Brand Architecture implementation for Mahindra, Launch strategy for Volvo-Eicher, Integration for Suzlon, creating a special matrimonial brand for World Gold Council and the Design strategy for Himalayan Water by Tata among others.

     

    He has also been on the marketing side with Jet Airways, launching the brand in key global markets and leading segment initiatives for youth, business and leisure travellers, as well as an entrepreneurial stint with AlmaMaterPLC & Loveknits.org.

     

    “We are confident that Sameer’s wealth of experience and strategic acumen will add even more muscle to everything that Taproot India brings to the table and look forward to your continued cooperation in creating powerful value for your brands in the market place,” said Agnello Dias, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder, Taproot India.

     

    Santosh Padhi

    Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder, Taproot India, said, “For Taproot India, it will be a huge plus to have someone who has worked on 4 sides of the table – Advertising, Marketing, Design and Digital across a diverse set of categories ranging across Tourism & Hospitality, FMCG, Automotive,Financial Services, Fashion, Retail & Luxury and more.”

     

    Sameer Aasht said, “Taproot is a dream agency for most professionals in the industry today. I absolutely look forward to co-creating the best solutions for the brands we handle.”

     

  • Santosh Padhi, chief creative officer and co-founder of Taproot India, is joining Adfest as Jury President of the Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus at the 2013 Lotus Awards, which run from March 17 to 19 in Pattaya, Thailand

    Paddy joins Adfest 2013 as jury president, Design Lotus & Print Craft Lotus

    By A Correspondent

     

    Santosh Padhi

    Santosh Padhi, chief creative officer and co-founder of Taproot India, is joining Adfest as Jury President of the Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus at the 2013 Lotus Awards, which run from March 17 to 19 in Pattaya, Thailand.

     

    “The Asian region has had a love affair with craft for years. We have witnessed some wonderful marriages of the modern and the ethnic. Asians have a sea of traditions to delve into, and this region does not shy away from fearless experiments when it comes to art, craft and design,” says Padhi.

     

    Popularly known as ‘Paddy’, Padhi started his advertising career 18 years ago. After a 10-year stint at Leo Burnetthe startedTaproot India, which ranked amongst the Top 20 Independent Agencies in the world in a recent Cannes Survey, and was the Best Performing Agency from India at Adfest 2010.

     

    “Paddy’s credentials as an art director and designer are formidable. He has been involved in some of India’s most celebrated print campaigns, which makes him our undisputed choice as Jury President of Design and Print Craft in 2013,” says Jimmy Lam, President of Adfest.

     

    Taproot’s campaign for Conqueror Papers was the 11th most awarded print campaign in the world in the Gunn Report 2011.

     

    Padhi also holds the record for the most number of Cannes Lions won by an individual Indian creative from India, and was also voted the 3rd Best Art Director in the World in a survey conducted by Campaign UK in 2009-2010.

     

    “Adfest is one of the oldest, most reputed and celebrated award shows this region has. It values all things uniquely Asian – be it Asian culture, traditions, insights or behavior. Its delightful venue near the beaches of Pattaya just adds to its charm. To have one’s work applauded in such a vibrant atmosphere is amazing indeed,” he says.