MxMIndia

Tag: Saurabh Varma

  • India won well on Day 1 of Cannes Lions, and Saurabh Varma and a cross-section of industry folk are quite bullish of India@Cannes2016

    Bullish on India @ Cannes Lions

     

    The 29th annual Cannes Predictions were published by Leo Burnett Worldwide recently, projecting some of the major contenders for wins just ahead of the 63rd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which will be held in the French city from June 18 to June 25. And, for the first time in the history of the predictions report, an Indian agency has been shortlisted: Leo Burnett’s own ad for the Bajaj V, ‘The Nation’s Bike’. Pradyuman Maheshwari had a quick chat with Saurabh Varma, CEO, South Asia – Leo Burnett, before he left for the biggest advertising event of 2016.

     

    All set for Cannes? It seems like Bajaj V is going to win.

    Honestly, it is a big deal for us. We are back on the awards scene after a long time, and we are going straight to Cannes. We are very excited about what we have on the table, but Cannes is Cannes. We are going to be competing against the best pieces of work in the world. While we have given our best, we have to see whether it is good enough at the moment. And in a few days, we will have the answers.

     

     

    The bar is set pretty high for India at Cannes this year

     

    The festivities at Cannes Lions 2016 have begun and although India put up a fairly forgettable showing in terms of number of metals one last year there is confidence that our agencies will fare better in 2016. Here’s what a cross-section of industrypersons told Anuka Roy:

     

    Agnello Dias, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot Dentsu: We always hope that India does well. It was only some eight or nine years ago, India started showing significant hope at Cannes; before that it was not so. That’s why the expectations go up every year. I hope we really do well, particularly in the non-traditional medium categories like digital and activation. Ariel’s ‘Share the load’ campaign has a strong chance of winning.

     

    Josy Paul, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India: I think India is going to do better than last year. I have seen some fabulous work from other agencies and there are a lot of probables this year. So I think we are on a good wicket. There is also a lot of contributive work. I think everyone will do well. Every agency will have something, and a lot more is happening in the country, so there is new energy and things that are fresh, for the jury.

     

    Shubhajit Sen, Chief Marketing Officer, Micromax Informatics: We have set pretty high standards over the last few years, and we have got to beat that. I think the industry is moving to a place where we are creating communication that obviously works in India, but we are articulating why that is a global property, that is one of the reasons we have been winning in the past. So I am looking forward to some interesting stuff. As for the winner – we’ll have to wait. Never make a prediction or speculate. That is the golden rule.

     

    Dhunji S Wadia, President, Rediffusion Dentsu Young and Rubicam: I think there has been terrific work. And I think India is really poised to have a great run at Cannes this year. Regarding the winners, it is for the juries to decide. I just feel that there is so much work, that collectively India would be among the strong contenders this year.

     

    Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM: Hopefully, we will do well. I think since we have done well in the last couple of years, the expectations have grown. Hopefully we will fulfill them this year. I have no clue about the winners, but I think there are campaigns across the creative end which I thought were worth looking at and I hope they win.

     

    Even at the Ad Club ad review there was talking of how the Bajaj V commercial is something dramatically different from what we’ve seen so far, and sort of raises the bar for nationalistic advertising. From your experience, how do you rate the Bajaj V work versus the various things that Leo Burnett has done over the years?

    I am truly grateful that the whole industry has praised an idea like the Bajaj V. Grateful to Josy (Paul), (R) Balki and many other industry leaders for speaking positively about an idea like this. We think this may be the best piece of work we have ever done in India. I think we love it because it is really about business. An idea which leads to the production of bikes — which essentially translates into a sale of half a billion dollars. So we are very positive about the idea. I think the challenge lies is whether the judges at Cannes will understand what INS Vikrant meant for the country. Will they get the narrative and the story? That is going to be the challenge, we feel.

     

    You have been to Cannes over the years. What do you think works very well with the jury there?

    I think what works at Cannes is one of the toughest questions faced by all of us. First, I believe it is really about work which is purposeful. There has to be purpose in whatever we do. Second, it has to be surprising. It has to be an idea which makes you go ‘Ahh!’. And third, it has to be scalable. So in our minds, it has to be purposeful, surprising and delightful. It has to be something which uses technology, media and creativity to have an impact on business. Those are the things which we would like to look at, at Cannes.

     

    You have been taking a large team to Cannes every year. Apart from the awards, the Cannes Lions are also about consuming a lot of knowledge, interacting with a lot of people internationally and such. What, according to you, do the Cannes Lions mean for the advertising fraternity in India?

    Every year we have people going to Cannes. It is a big investment for us and it is not just spent on the senior leadership team. We take young planners and account management people, and they all experience Cannes. For us, it is actually the best learning ground. This is an opportunity where 25 people are exposed to the Cannes experience and to the best from around the world. It is about understanding differences, [generating the] best ideas and it is also about understanding where the industry is moving, and then working together with this team to share what we want to build here as Leo Burnett India. I think that is the opportunity and possibility that Cannes offers. And for us, it is one of the most critical things we do in the year, in terms of exposing our young teams to the best works. So their benchmarks and world view changes, and ultimately they start giving shape to the work that we believe is needed for us to evolve as an industry.

     

    Would you like to make any predictions about the Lions?

    My prediction is that we have some great work coming out of India. We have the Khali ad, which is from Publicis, and we have ‘Share the load’, and these are real, honest and big pieces of work for brands. I think we, as a country, will do really well this year. That is my prediction.

     

  • iStrat consolidation with Indigo Consulting to strengthen Indigo’s position amongst leading digital agencies in India

    Publicis iStrat + Indigo Consulting = Indigo iStrat

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leo Burnett India has announced the merger of Publicis iStrat with Indigo Consulting. The Delhi-headquartered iStrat will be rebranded Indigo iStrat and will continue to operate out of Delhi.

     

    Established in the year 2000, Indigo Consulting became a part of Leo Burnett (Publicis Groupe) in 2012. It  Based in New Delhi and Gurgaon, iStrat was cofounded by Navneet Sahni and Sonya Sahni in 2003 and provides solutions across all digital touch points. The merged entity, Indigo iStrat will encompass a combined strength of over 300 employees across India and will have capabilities across user experience, technology, creative and strategy. The merged entity will partner with all Publicis Communications companies in India including Leo Burnett, Publicis Ambience, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, MSLGroup, Orchard Advertising and Publicis Capital.

     

    Harshad Hardikar, Chief Operating Officer at Indigo Consulting will lead the merged entity. Navneet Sahni and Sonya Sahni, cofounders of iStrat, will work closely with Harshad Hardikar to grow this business in Delhi.

     

    Commenting on this merger, Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Leo Burnett South Asia said, “We wanted to create a digital powerhouse in India. Indigo Consulting is already a Centre of Excellence for us across the region and the merged entity will give clients access to the finest digital offering in the country. Our focus remains building deep expertise across disciplines and integrating our services to solve our client’s problems. Harshad Hardikar will lead this combined entity and Navneet and Sonya will partner him in growing our business in Delhi. The combined entity with more than 300 specialists makes Indigo Consulting a compelling proposition for our clients.”

     

  • The two-day event attempted to ‘untangle’ some of the marketing obstacles and show a smooth road ahead for digital marketing

    Day 2 of IAMAI Marketing Conclave: The Digital story continues

     

    By Anuka Roy

     

    It was the twelfth edition of the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)’s annual marketing conclave. And as the proceedings concluded on Thursday, some of the takeaways from the two-day event were: focus on context and content, understand your target group, utilise social media tools properly and mobile marketing will be the next big thing.

     

    The digital storytelling journey continued on Day 2 of the Conclave. Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer- South Asia, Leo Burnett Group, carried forward the topic of ‘Art of Storytelling with Digital Marketing’, which was touched upon a little on Day 1. In his presentation, Varma emphasised on the point that organisations need to find a purpose and once they find that everything falls in to place. He also cautioned that in the process of getting the act and purpose right, brands sometimes become too noisy while implementing their plan, which should be avoided. “We need more human brands, especially in digital,” stated Varma. He focused on the need for the right content and context, which eventually helps a brand to be successful. This was explained through two videos, one by Gatorade which paid tribute to a retiring baseball player and the other was Bajaj V, which showed motorcycles being made from the metal of, now dismantled, INS Vikrant. By giving examples of these two videos, he tried to reason that if the context and content of the brand are in proper place, everything gets going for a brand. Varma also spoke about ‘Functional integration’, something which is followed in his company and it pushes agencies to focus more seriously on client needs. He also pointed out that Social tools need to be used more efficiently.

     

    In a marketing conclave which has been mostly dominated by discussions about digital marketing, how can a discussion focused on social media not take place? Karthik Nagarajan, National Director- Content and Social Media, GroupM moderated the discussion on ‘Social Media- Marketing through Videos’, with Sameer Pitalwalla, Chief Executive Officer, Culture Machine, Malay Dikshit, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky, Vijay Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Only Much Louder and Shreyas Rao, Senior Vice President, #fame as his panelists. Before the discussion, each panelist made a short presentation on the same topic. Pitalwalla presented the case study of ‘Being Indian’- a brand which they are associated with. Through the case study he showed how this brand expanded using different social media platforms. Taking the unconventional route, just like the videos that Nair’s company makes, he chose to just talk about the topic rather than showing a PowerPoint presentation. Jain stated, “Creators are going to be the agencies themselves and content marketing should not be confused with advertising.” Dixit’s presentation highlighted the fact that very soon traditional media platforms will merge with internet. The presentation ‘Video is the new text’ by Rao showed how just through videos and live video streaming his company made an impact within one year of its launch. The panelists agreed to the attention required for correct content and context, just like Saurabh Varma did in his session. Another very important change in today’s scenario that surfaced in the discussion was that due to the plethora of digital platforms, consumers give their feedback almost immediately and they can be brutal. So, brands need to be very careful about what they are offering. This pre-lunch discussion definitely gave the audience some great food for thought.

     

    The session on ‘Programmatic Marketing- Make the best out of it’ was moderated by Nadeesh Ramachandran, Vice President- Sales and Strategy, Vserv. The panelists of the session were Ashish Sahni, Head- Digital Marketing (Passenger Vehicle Bussiness Unit), Tata Motors, Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, Craftsville.com, Hitesh Malhotra, Chief Marketing Officer, Nykaa and Henry Stokes, Vice President of Client Development- APAC, Xaxis. When the moderator asked the panelists to define programmatic marketing, Kalra was quick to reply, “It is a jargon and basically, the use of technology that enables marketers to target right people at the right time.” The discussion was mostly about how advertisers should know their audience and should be clear about the target group. This discussion was carried forward by Stokes, who made a presentation about the same topic immediately after the discussion, explaining the concept of ‘Programmatic Marketing’ more extensively. “Take control, by defining and managing your own target audience,” he said in conclusion.

     

    From programmatic, the discussion moved to ‘Performance Marketing- pay for outcomes only’. The post-lunch session moderated by Siddharth Puri, Chief Executive Officer, Tyroo with panelists Sevantika Bhandhari, SVP- Marketing and Head Products, DHFL, Shivani Dhanda, Director Marketing, eBay, Nikhil Rungta, Chief Executive Officer, Housing.com, Venkatesh C R, Chief Executive Officer, Adatha, Atit Mehta, VP and Head of Media, Sequoia Capital and Vivek Singh, Sr VP- Marketing and Analytics, Firstcry, made sure the audience was attentive through their insightful discussions. Dhanda and Singh had contradictory opinions on the definition of Performance Marketing, as the former said: “From eBay perspective, performance marketing is when you are paying for a click or the end transaction that takes place, while negotiating with a vendor, the performance metrics come in to play” while the latter opined: “Performance marketing is the process in any kind of marketing. It is about having an end goal while using any form of performance marketing.” The discussion concluded with each panelist giving their view on what they will be discussing about in a year from now, the common consensus was “about integrated marketing devices.”

     

    The last panel discussion was quite a fiery one, with quite a few contradicting views on the topic ‘Using mobile marketing to build healthy brands’. The session was moderated by Chandranshu Mishra, Consultant, Tata Strategic Management Group and the panelists included Ritza Trivedi, Director- Marketing India and South Asia, Visa, Uday Sodhi, Executive Vice President and Head- Digital Business, Sony Pictures Network, Anuj Kumar, Co-founder and MD, Affle, Martin Nygate, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gentay Communications and Lavin Punjabi, President, Affinity. While discussing about mobile advertising, Nygate said that his company conducted a survey which should people are annoyed by mobile advertising. “We believe the industry is in crisis,” he said. Kumar disagreed and said, “I do not buy the survey. The data consumption aspect in terms of mobile ads is overrated. This platform is giving free content.” Punjabi was quick to ask in reply to the statement, “Are viewers ever going to be ready to pay for content?” But everyone agreed to the fact that the future of mobile advertising is brand and eventually the obstacles of this platform will go away. “Mobile content is getting very exciting now. It allows you to communicate to the individual directly. It is the fastest growing space in the advertising ecosystem.”

     

    Day 2 also had three case study sessions taking place parallel to the panel and individual sessions. The case study session on ‘Building a brand on digital’ was taken by Anindita Chatterjee, Senior GM Marketing, Spaces and Ajit Nair, Region Head, Quasar. ‘SME Advertising Market- Big opportunity, bigger challenge’- case study session was taken by Samir Chaudhary, Co- Founder, The Media Ant and another session was taken by Priya Jayaraman, Co-founder and Business Director.

     

  • An inspiring documentary with stories by the war veterans, who served aboard the invincible INS Vikrant

    Bajaj V and Leo Burnett launch Sons of Vikrant

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leo Burnett and Bajaj V recently unveiled #SonsofVikrant, an inspiring documentary that brings together untold stories of valour, respect and pride – shared by the war veterans, who served aboard the invincible INS Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier.

     

    The screening of the documentary took place at a tribute gala in Mumbai in presence of influential personalities from the media, marketing and advertising fraternity.

     

    War veterans who are featured in the #SonsOfVikrant documentary graced the event and recounted anecdotes of bravery and sheer passion in a panel discussion moderated by actor Neha Dhupia, daughter of a naval officer.

     

    Admiral Arun Prakash, Rear Admiral SK Gupta, Rear Admiral Peter Debras, Lt. Cdr. Ashok Sinha, Commodore Medioma Bhada, and Cdr. H.S. Rawat were among the war heroes who were part of the #SonsOfVikrant initiative.

     

    Said Sumeet Narang, VP, Marketing (Motorcycles), Bajaj Motorcycles, “We saw lot of social media conversations and media interest on the Bajaj V which contains the metal of INS Vikrant.  As we delved deeper into Vikrant and started talking to people who worked on it, we also realised that there are many untold stories and memories behind the naval battleship INS Vikrant and its heroes. And since we had brought back the essence of Vikrant in the form of V, we realised that the onus was also on us to bring these stories together and share them with the nation.”

     

    Said Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, Leo Burnett, “With Sons of Vikrant, our idea was to bring out the untold stories of INS Vikrant and the war veterans and share the feeling of Pride with millions.”

     

    He further added, “To create this documentary, we met many people who were part of the war to learn their stories. The footage ran into hours, which we had to bring down to 16 minutes.”

     

  • Dheeraj is the author of two books on the Indian consumer market: "India Reloaded – Inside the Resurgent Indian Consumer Market" and "Consumer India – Inside the Indian Mind and Wallet"

    Dheeraj Sinha to join Leo Burnett as CSO South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leo Burnett has announced the appointment of Dheeraj Sinha as Chief Strategy Officer. Dheeraj will be based out of the agency’s Mumbai office and will be responsible for planning across South Asia.

     

    In a career spanning 17 years, Dheeraj has worked with McCann Erickson, Euro RSCG, Bates and Grey. In his last role, he led the strategic planning function for Grey in India, South & South East Asia.

     

    Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer – South Asia, said, “We are really excited that Dheeraj is joining us at this critical juncture in our evolution as an agency. We have incredible momentum as a team and both Raj and I were in the hunt for a partner. We wanted someone who can join us in our crusade to change the communication narrative in India. With Dheeraj we hope to get radical convergence around our purpose and radical divergence around how to get there.”

     

    Dheeraj Sinha commented on his joining, “There’s great energy around Leo Burnett in India, and I am looking forward to be a part of it and adding to the momentum. In my conversations with Saurabh and Raj, what stands out is their commitment to the product and culture, leading to growth, rather than the other way round. There’s also a serious ambition to create work that’s in line with how the world has changed. They have evidence of having done such work in the recent past. I see this as an opportunity to collaborate and build something that we can all be proud of.”

     

    Dheeraj has worked on brands and businesses across markets such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. He has spent time across categories on brands like Sensodyne, Indian Army, Britannia, 3M, ITC Juices, Maybank, Telekom Malaysia, Grameenphone, Reliance Mobile, Colgate, MasterCard, LG, DBS Bank, Tata AIA, TVS, Virgin Mobile, Max Bupa, Fiat, Reckitt Benckiser, Emirates, Dabur, Marico and CavinKare.

     

    Dheeraj is the author of two books on the Indian consumer market:  “India Reloaded – Inside the Resurgent Indian Consumer Market” and “Consumer India – Inside the Indian Mind and Wallet”.

     

    He is also a three times winner of the prestigious Atticus Awards and has won several effectiveness awards, including the Jay Chiat Planning Award, the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Award, Yahoo Big Idea Chair APAC Effies and the Effie awards in India.

     

  • He is also instrumental in bringing Leo Burnett's best global practices to India

    Rajeev Sharma exits Leo Burnett

    By A Correspondent

     

    After spending more than 23 years at the agency, Rajeev Sharma, National Planning Director, Leo Burnett, has decided to move on to explore newer avenues.

     

    Rajeev joined Leo Burnett in 1994 as Vice President based out of the agency’s Delhi office and after three years in the role he moved to Mumbai to lead Planning as National Planning Director.

     

    For 23 years, Rajeev spearheaded strategy for many brands and partnered them in their success for years together. Some of the brands he has worked on include McDonald’s, Godrej Consumer Products, Bajaj Auto, Heinz, Complan, Glucon D, Thums Up, Maaza, Minute Maid, Limca, Reebok, Ariel, Ezee, Cinthol, Bajaj Electricals, HDFC Life, HDFC Bank, Anchor, Sony Entertainment Television, Tata Capital, Dabur, Pillsbury, Iodex, etc.

     

    Rajeev has played a significant role in building Leo Burnett’s reputation as India’s most trusted integrated communications company that has a sharp focus on strategy.

     

    He is also instrumental in bringing Leo Burnett’s best global practices to India.

     

    Says Rajeev Sharma, “After 23 years, it is time for me to bid a fond farewell to a fabulous organisation, amazing colleagues and equally amazing clients. I am proud of what the agency stands for, for what it has achieved and what it is in the process of becoming. The momentum we have gained recently will give us the scale and the capability to play a big role in the transformation the industry is going through. As I prepare for the next chapter of my life, I shall watch with great satisfaction, the success Leo Burnett is sure to notch up in the future.”

     

    Adds Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett, “Rajeev set up Leo Burnett’s planning function from scratch and since then has led a robust team that has grown many brands in complex market scenarios, in the process winning many awards. Under his leadership, we produced some of the most iconic and culturally rooted campaigns by approaching consumers through a human lens. I thank Rajeev wholeheartedly and wish him the very best for his future endeavours.”

     

  • Zindagi Chale Smooth is a human expression of the brand’s core offering

    Leo Burnett crafts new philosophy for HP Lubricants

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zindagi Chale Smooth, a modern narrative designed by Leo Burnett India for HP Lubricants, highlights the brand’s sheer strength and the role it plays through its superior technology in smoothening people’s lives. The company is able to achieve this through presence across various segments like automotive, defence, farming, mining, shipping industries, railways and more.

     

    Created by Leo Burnett, the new positioning Zindagi Chale Smooth marks a shift in the brand’s marketing focus from being perceived as an engine oil company to a humane brand; one that builds innovative products and technologies for today’s consumer.

     

    Zindagi Chale Smooth is a human expression of the brand’s core offering. An animation film is being used to launch the thought ‘A to Z, Aapke Kaam Aate Hum’, which breaks category codes and highlights the company’s diversified and large scale operations through which it touches the lives of millions, making HP Lubricants a super brand.

     

    Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett, said, “HP Lubricants had not undergone a brand refresh for a very long time. Given the current market scenario, we wanted our joint efforts to build a modern narrative that gives the end consumer an accurate idea about HP Lubricants. A company that has strong presence across sectors and not just engine oil.

     

    A to Z Aapke Kaam Aatey Hai helps build higher emotional affinity and rightly captures what the brand stands for, which is to power India. And this is not just a communication change, but a part of a larger exercise being undertaken by us to align this purpose right down to packaging design.”

     

    Raj Deepak Das, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, added, “Most people do not know the incredible products HP Lubricants has and the role the brand plays in our everyday life. We wanted to do that in a simple and human way.” Zindagi Chale Smooth is an integrated effort spanning across digital, print, retail, cinema, outdoor and TV.

     

    While the TVC has been launched, print, retail, cinema and digital campaigns are expected to go live post 8th March 2016.

     

  • The agency bagged the account serviced by BBDO India in a multi-agency pitch

    Leo Burnett wins General Mills

    Leo Burnett has bagged the integrated communications mandate for the entire product portfolio of General Mills in a multi-agency pitch. Most top agencies participated in the process, notes a communique. BBDO India serviced the account until this development.

     

    It may be rememebered that Leo Burnett was instrumental in launching the Pillsbury brand in India. According to sources, with Pillsbury facing the heat in the market, there is need for a new creative thrust and hence the need to look at change of agency.

     

    On the decision to choose Leo Burnett as the creative partner, Salil Murthy, Marketing Director, General Mills India, has said officially: “Getting the right creative partners on board is an important first step in realising our growth potential in India. There is incredible opportunity for us as Indian consumers are increasingly opting for better quality food products that make their lives healthier, easier and richer. Our products across Pillsbury Atta, Cake Mixes, Chocolate Spreads and RTC food mixes deliver exceptionally well on providing great taste and convenience in cooking with our unique quick and easy to prepare food solutions. Looking ahead, we will expand our product portfolio and back that with strategic communication to truly win with consumers. Leo Burnett is best placed with capabilities across the communication spectrum to deliver that and we hope to see some exciting integrated work.”

     

    Said Saurabh Varma, CEO – South Asia, Leo Burnett, “In the era of changing consumer trends and lifestyles, we have a clear mandate to redefine the purpose for General Mills and boost consumer preference and loyalty for all their brands, namely – Pillsbury, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker and more.”

     

     

  • Launches their recent integrated campaign promoting the bank's digital offerings

    HDFC Bank awards creative duties to Leo Burnett

    By A Correspondent

     

    HDFC Bank has awarded its creative mandate to Leo Burnett. The HumanKind approach of Leo Burnett helped it win the business.

     

    HDFC Bank is one of India’s premier banks providing a wide range of financial products and services to its 32.6 million customers across hundreds of Indian cities using multiple distribution channels including a pan-India network of branches, ATMs, phone banking, net banking and mobile banking.

     

    Leo Burnett is currently working on an integrated campaign titled “Har Zaroorat Poori Ho Chutki Mein, Bank Aapki Muthi Mein,” to reinforce the brand’s position as India’s premier digital bank in India. The new campaign talks about HDFC Bank’s products and offerings, from banking service to loans, investments, one click payments and one click shopping – all digitally accessible to customers through the bank’s mobile application.

     

    Confirming the win, Kartik Jain, Executive Vice President and Head – Marketing, HDFC Bank, said, “Customer centricity is key to our marketing success. Going forward we want to intensify our focus on highlighting how digital banking is enabling customer convenience. We have been at the forefront of launching services that use the latest technologies to benefit our customers. We wanted to partner an agency that understands consumer behaviour effectively and uses the power of integration to communicate Har Zaroorat Poori Ho Chutki Mein, Bank Aapki Muthi Mein positioning amongst our existing and potential customers.”

     

    Saurabh Varma

    Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Leo Burnett India, added, “As a HumanKind agency, we believe in unleashing the true potential of a brand by defining its purpose and creating communication that is strategic, meaningful and effective. We have a clear mandate to bring our multidisplinary approcah for creating an integrated narrative for HDFC Bank that would shine the spotlight on their digital offerings. This will help us partner HDFC Bank in achieving the change they are looking for in their business.”

     

  • Prior to his role as CEO of Leo Burnett India, Varma was the Chief Strategy Officer for Asia-Pacific where he oversaw all heads of strategy and planning directors in the region

    Leo Burnett promotes Saurabh Varma to CEO South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jarek Ziebinski, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Leo Burnett Asia Pacific announced the promotion of Saurabh Varma, currently CEO of Leo Burnett India, to CEO for the agency’s operations in South Asia. The appointment, effective as of November 17th 2015, sees Varma charged with responsibilities for Leo Burnett agencies across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

     

    “South Asia is an important region for Leo Burnett from our global strategy perspective. With Saurabh’s appointment, we want to further enhance connectivity of our operations across these dynamic markets to drive business growth for our clients and the agency” said Ziebinski. Continued Ziebinski,” Having been at Leo Burnett for close to a decade, Saurabh has consistently proven himself in his roles as the regional chief strategy officer and recently as CEO of Leo Burnett India. He is without a doubt, the best candidate to lead our South Asia operations to the next level.”

     

    Varma added, “We have incredible operations across Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. I look forward to working with some incredibly talented leaders to build new age specialist functions across all markets and create larger futures for our clients.”

     

    Prior to his role as CEO of Leo Burnett India, Varma was the Chief Strategy Officer for Asia-Pacific where he oversaw all heads of strategy and planning directors in the region. Since he took over the helm as CEO of Leo Burnett India two years ago, the agency has consistently delivered double-digit business growth. Under his leadership, Leo Burnett also doubled the size of Indigo Digital Consulting’s business and successfully expanded its operations, launching Indigo consulting in New Delhi. He also launched Leo Experience across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, and more recently shopper practice in Mumbai. As a result of his work, Leo Burnett now has a strong leadership team across all specialisations in India and solid plan for growth in the next three years. Varma was also instrumental in establishing the new affiliate partnership in Pakistan with AdCom, one of the largest independent advertising agencies in the market.

     

  • The move will redefine the company's brand purpose in line with its ambition and in keeping with changing market landscape and incredible opportunities in its field of operation

    Leo Burnett partners Sterlite Technologies

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sterlite Technologies Limited, a leading provider of solutions for high speed data and power transmission networks, has announced its association with Leo Burnett India to redefine the company’s brand purpose in line with its ambition and in keeping with changing market landscape and incredible opportunities in its field of operation.

     

    Sterlite Technologies recently completed the 100 per cent acquisition of Elitecore Technologies, a global telecom software product company in a bid to widen its telecom portfolio of offering to global customers. The company is enriching its solution offerings along with increasing its global presence at a quick pace and the need to communicate what it stands for is of vital importance.

     

    Commenting on the decision to partner Leo Burnett India, Dr Anand Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer, Sterlite Technologies, said, “In line with our current organizational demerger, we wish to redefine our core purpose and communicate clearly what we do, and how we make a difference in the life of every one who is connected to us. It is with this belief we have appointed Leo Burnett, which has a rich history of defining the purpose for many great brands and helping them grow in complex business scenarios. They will help us re-define and disseminate our purpose amongst our employees and other stakeholders, thus laying a robust foundation for future growth.”

     

    Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Leo Burnett India, added, “We are witnessing a tremendous change on a global and socioeconomic landscape, thanks to the evolution of Internet and a greater degree of connectivity. The services provided by Sterlite are at the very core of this spurt, impacting positively at micro and macro levels. It is very exciting to partner a company that is playing a key role in the changing dynamics of technology in our lives. We will deploy our HumanKind tools to re-define Sterlite’s human purpose and help create a sustainable brand identity amongst the company’s stake holders. We hope our rich experience in this field will eventually prove to be of great value to the organisation.”

     

  • Vandana Verma named Executive Vice President

    Leo Burnett launches Leo Burnett Experience

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Leo Burnett Group India announced the launch of Leo Burnett Experience, a specialist unit that will focus on rural marketing, activation, events and exhibitions across metros and 5,000 small towns and cities.

     

    Leo Burnett Experience has a pan-India presence with a team of 40 professionals working on some iconic brands in the country such as Dabur, Vodafone, Uninor, McDonald’s, ITC Foods, OnePlus, Amazon, P&G, Fiat, Axis Bank, Ruchi Group, and Bajaj Discover.

     

    Leo Burnett Experience offers a unique solution for brands and operates under its global philosophy of PLAY, BUY, SHARE. Vandana Verma, Executive Vice President, Leo Burnett Experience, will oversee the division’s operations. She will report to Group CEO Saurabh Varma and will be based out of Leo Burnett India’s Mumbai office.

     

    Apart from Vandana, the leadership team of Leo Burnett Experience includes Nishith Sharma (National Creative Director), Ankit Grower (Head of North and East), Pratik Maitra (Head of South), Sandesh Shetty (Head of National Operations) and Kiran Dodiya (Head of West).

     

    Commenting on the occasion, Saurabh Varma, CEO, The Leo Burnett Group India, says, “One of our key HumanKind pillars is participation. It is my belief that the future is in creating experiential platforms. Our unique methodology of PLAY, BUY, SHARE gives Leo Burnett Experience a truly differentiated offering. Already it is the fastest growing part our business. And our ambition is to add technology to create immersive experiences for consumers.”

     

    Vandana Verma, Head of Leo Burnett Experience throws some light on the division’s unique offering, “ROI is the biggest black hole in India’s experiential industry. None of the existing agencies seem to effectively manage crisis and identify likely risks that affect ROI. At Leo Burnett Experience we give foremost importance to foreseeing risks and managing real time crisis to maximize the output for clients. Our revenue growth has been significant in the last 18 months. Going forward we will build on this momentum and surpass the industry average growth of 25%. We define our objectives clearly and develop strategies based on HumanKind’s philosophy of building brands and changing human behavior using creativity. As for the most exciting opportunity – it is the rural markets, where brands are increasingly demanding strategy based experiential services – a big gap in the industry which we will address. These are surely exciting times at Leo Burnett Experience.”