MxMIndia

Tag: Shashi Sinha

  • Star India and Vodafone crowned Client of the Year as Madison-Asian Paints win Grand Emvies

    GroupM agencies top Emvies leaderboard

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    It was what one would call a Kodak moment. As the leaderboards were being announced by emcee Brian Tellis, it was evident that the crown of the Agency of the Year could well rest on the all-new head of the recently established Wavemaker agency, set up by the merging of Maxus and MEC. Or of course the good oi’ Mindshare, winner of the crown for some 10 times thus far. The suspense grew when it was Madison that bagged the Grand Emvie, and not the two GroupM agencies.

     

    On the stage when the winner was being announced were Sam Balsara, Shashi Sinha, Vikram Sakhuja and CVL Srinivas. For Srinivas, as CEO, GroupM South Asia, it’s never an easy task when one sibling is  pitted against the other. It’s like the Williams sisters competing with each other on centre court.

     

     

    Srinivas put his hand on his eyes, as Tellis was set to unveil the Agency of the Year winner. Mindshare is the old warhorse and hence deserved to win, but for the all-new player Wavemaker, it would’ve been the perfect beginning.

     

    Adjudged by a jury of around 211 industry leaders through intensive judging sessions across the country, Emvies 2017 saw over 816 entries. Note the entire Publicis Groupe’s media and digital agencies stayed away from the awards given the global decision to be off all awards for a year.

     

    The Client of the Year which has seen Hindustan Unilever bagging the title comfortably over the last few years saw joint winners in Star India and Vodafone. Interestingly Star India works with Mindshare and Vodafone is with Wavemaker. The marketing heads of both commended the excellent partnership with their agencies as a contributor to their winning the title.

     

    Meanwhile, there was much happiness for both Prasanth Kumar, CEO of Mindshare and Kartik Sharma, CEO of Wavemaker.  For, even though Sharma’s team did not clinch the title, it went back home with a clear indicator to the world that it’s a significant force to reckon wit.

     

    Speaking about the changing dynamics of campaigns and the importance of being relevant, Punitha Arumugam, 2017 Awards Chairman for EMVIEs, said, “India has been at the forefront of many ingenious campaigns that showcase high effectiveness and the Emvies remain committed to recognising such outstanding communication stories. Being one of the most trusted and coveted awards in the category, the Emvies continue to scale with increased participation and representation from across industry stakeholders.” Arumugam has been spearheading the Emvies for five years now.

     

    Elaborating on the scale and the entries, Partha Sinha, 2017 Awards Co-Chairman for Emvies said, “The Emvies 2017 has successfully contributed towards recognizing high impact media campaigns that have made a difference. It continues to be one of the most coveted awards within the industry.”   For Sinha, who confessed that he wasn’t exposed to the Emvies much thus far because the awards event is out of bounds for creative agencies, co-chairing Emvies 2017 has been an enriching experience.

     

    In his welcome address on Emvies night (Friday, October 13), Vikram Sakhuja, President of The Advertising Club said: “In its 17th year now, the EMVIEs has continued to grow in scale and strength, emerging as the gold standard amongst media awards. With a jury consisting of over 211 distinguished industry leaders from across the country, this has been a transparent process to select transformational work.  We are engaging with some top global content sites to showcase the best of our archives to the world.

     

    Colors was presenting sponsor yet again for Emvies 2017, as MTV, Rishtey Cineplex and Republic TV powered the event.

     

    EMVIE 2017 CLIENT OF THE YEAR TALLY

    EMVIE 2017 RESULTS

  • D. Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO PepsiCo India Holdings P. Ltd. was elected as the Vice-Chairman and Shashidhar Sinha, CEO, Media Brands Pvt. Ltd. was re-appointed as the Honorary Treasurer

    Abanti Sankaranarayanan is Chairman of ASCI

    By A Correspondent

     

    Abanti Sankaranarayanan

    At Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy & Corporate Affairs Officer at Diageo India and former Vice Chairman, Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has been elected as Chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

     

    D. Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO PepsiCo India was elected as Vice-Chairman and Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands was re-appointed as the Honorary Treasurer.

     

    Other members of the Board of Governors are Al Rajwani (Managing Director & Chief Executive, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd.), Benoy Roychowdhury (Executive Director, HT Media Ltd.), Gurmit Singh (Vice President  India Business, Oath), N.S. Rajan (Global Partner & Managing Director, Ketchum Sampark Pvt. Ltd.), Narendra Ambwani (Director, Agro Tech Foods Ltd.), Prashant Singh (Managing Director, Nielsen India Region), Raj Jain (Chief Executive Officer, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.), Rohit Gupta (President – Network Sales & International Business, Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd.), Sandeep Kohli (Executive Director & Vice President, Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.), S.K. Palekar (Adjunct Professor & Advisor – Executive Education, Institute of Management Technology), Srinivasan K. Swamy (Chairman & Managing Director, R K SWAMY BBDO P. Ltd.), Subhash Kamath (Managing Partner, BBH Comms India Pvt. Ltd.) and Sunil Lulla (Chairman & Managing Director, GREY Group  India).

     

    Said Swamy, who is the outgoing Chairman of ASCI: “2016-17 has been an interesting year for ASCI as it marked some impressive advancements. In a noteworthy achievement, ASCI received positive re-enforcement for the role it plays as a self-regulatory body in a landmark Supreme Court Judgement. Renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) which is currently on its third year, and the signing of two new MOUs with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Ministry of AYUSH, has collectively proven credibility ASCI enjoys with the Government. Other noteworthy aspects include ASCI being included as an Expert Committee member to look into matters pertaining to advertising of High Fat Sugar and Salt (HFSS) foods and Sugar Sweetened beverages (SSBs), and as a key stakeholder in the committee constituted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). ASCI is now a part of the Executive Committee of International Council on Ad Self-Regulation (ICAS). Interestingly ASCI was a Gold winner at Global EASAs Best Practice Awards for its mobile app, a service that was introduced in 2016. Another significant step was introduction of an Independent Review Process by a retired Supreme Court/High Court Judge, when CCC decisions are sought to be reviewed by affected advertisers. Guidelines were issued relating to Celebrity endorsements of products/services given the importance consumers attach to such association.   Im delighted to have been an enabler for this years journey for ASCI and Im sure the Council will take proactive steps in the cause of self-regulation in advertising.”

     

    Added Sankaranarayanan: “ASCI has seen a remarkable year on year progress through formalised collaborations with various regulators, notable recognitions from eminent external organisations, further facilitation of robust codes and guidelines and swifter processes to promote the cause of self-regulation in advertising. I feel privileged to be elected as Chairman of ASCI and Im elated to take over as the torch bearer for several more successful initiatives and significantly contribute to effective self-regulation in advertising. Its heartening to see ASCIs relentless efforts being recognised by the judicial body, prominent regulators and government bodies and we shall take all efforts to continue to keep it so. Core to ASCIs mission to ensure protection of the interests of consumers, through supporting Honesty, Decency, Responsibility and Fairness in Advertising, ASCI shall carry on to keep true with its consumer focused tagline, So you can trust advertising.”

     

  • But buying at IPG Mediabrand agencies will continue to also be led by individual teams

    IPG Mediabrands launches Magna in India, to spearhead centralised buying…

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    IPG Mediabrands, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc, has launched Magna in India. Magna is the centralised IPG Mediabrands resource that will develop intelligence, investment and innovation strategies for agency teams and clients. The agency will utilise key insights, forecasts and strategic relationships to provide clients with a competitive marketplace advantage.

     

    IPG Mediabrands India will roll out Magna  in India from August 2017. Two senior IPG Mediabrands captains, Hema Malik, COO, Lodestar UM and Arun Sharma, Managing Partner, Initiative, will become joint heads of Magna  in India in addition to their current roles.

     

    While insights and forecasts are key, what’s noteworthy is that Magna will aggregate spends across all IPG agencies to drive beneficial rates and maximum value for the clients. With $37 billion of clout in the global market, and $17 billion in the US, Magna will control not just the price but also the quality of the clients’ investments. Magna’s Sports & Live Events is the dedicated sports investment division that manages media spends on behalf of the clients across all sports and entertainment outlets.

     

    So will Magna be like the Central Trading Group of GroupM? No, we were told by an industryperson. In fact buying at IPG Mediabrands agencies will continue to also be governed by individual agencies and/or client teams. Magna will however leverage better pricing for key and large clients. There will be no buy-and-sell or bulk-buying.

     

    Meanwhile, as data and technology continues to transform the advertising and marketing industry, the Magna Innovation team will  identify, understand and activate new media buying approaches, notes a communique. Magna Intelligence, on the other hand, is an information repository on advertising and media. Magna’s ad forecasts are published regularly, including by MxMIndia.

     

    Said Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands India: “We spent the last five years integrating and aligning the IPG Mediabrands businesses in India and in the process we have consolidated ourselves at the second largest media investment network in the country. Going forward, our aim is to make IPG Mediabrands the most sophisticated and cutting-edge media holding company in India. Therefore it will be our endeavour to bring in new line of global services to the country that will deliver better results for our client’s businesses,” adding: “While we have firmly placed ourselves as the #2 media network in the country, the ambition is to further improve our market share in India. One of the ways of doing that will be launching the most advanced and pioneering services in India that will help us transform the entire media business in India.”

     

    Talking about the launch, Hema Malik, said, “I am extremely charged up on this new responsibility.  Our scale backed by market intelligence and strong relationship will give us a competitive advantage in the dynamic media marketplace.” Added Arun Sharma:“There is lot of latent potential within the agency that’s going to be unraveled with launch of Magna for the betterment of the whole ecosystem, i.e., our clients, media partners and the agency. I believe the timing is just right and I am absolutely delighted with the new responsibility.”

     

  • The contract will be effective June 1 for a period of two years and will involve the agency to serve the gamut of product categories which includes Bravia, Xperia, Audio, Digital Imaging and Professional Solutions

    Sony India appoints Initiative as its media agency

    Sony India has announced the appointment of Initiative Media, part of IPG Mediabrands network, as its new media agency for India market following a comprehensive pitch process.Initiative Media will be responsible for managing the media planning for the brand going forward. The scope of services will also include providing media planning and buying across platforms. Others in the pitch included incumbent Carat and MediaCom.

    The contract will be effective June 1 for a period of two years and will involve the agency to serve the gamut of product categories which includes Bravia, Xperia, Audio, Digital Imaging and Professional Solutions.

    Said Yuichi Hasegawa, Head of Marketing Communication & Retail, Sony India: “Our decision to appoint Initiative Media is reflective of the agency’s capability of understanding brand Sony and providing a strategic approach to widen audience and strengthening the market position of our brand portfolio. We look forward to working with Initiative Media and have a strong belief that together we can create success and drive our premium brand story forward” .

    On the appointment, Shashi Sinha, CEO,  IPG Mediabrands, India said: “We are delighted that Sony, an extremely prestigious marketer and brand is back with Initiative. We would like to thank Sony India for reposing their faith in us. Initiative stands committed to delivering the very best for Sony’s success.”

  • Industrypersons believe the decision is regressive and could set the advertising clock back for news channels irreparably

    Future Shock?! Channels opting out of BARC could lose ad revenue

     

    By A Correspondent [updated thrice, last update: Saturday, May 20]

    The decision of certain English news channels to opt out of BARC measurement could lead to a huge negative fall-out. The channels which do it stand a chance of advertisers renegotiating their deals and even stopping advertising forthwith.

    MxMIndia spoke to a cross-section of the community, and they believe the decision is regressive and could set the advertising clock back for news channels irreparably. Earlier in the week, News Broadcasting Association (NBA) complained to the TRAI about Republic TV’s alleged usage of multiple LCNs for distribution. It later appealed to BARC, urging it to not release data for English news channels pending the verdict from TRAI. And when BARC chose to release the data yesterday (Thursday), the association secretary general sent a mail to BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta as per an Economic Times report. The mail noted: “Given your indifference to the serious situation at hand, we are left with no option but to advise some of our aggrieved members to opt out of BARC’s watermarking system with immediate effect until there is appropriate redressal of our grievance.“

    A reference was made to how print advertising has gone down in the absence of a currency (IRS) over the last two years. “While the advertising for English nosedived, regional is still holding fort,” a senior industryperson told MxM, hours after the news of the NBA’s surprise mail to BARC was shared with select media.

    Shashi Sinha, CEO of IPG Mediabrands and Chairman of the BARC technical committee, was visibly upset with the development. “I don’t know what the hoopla is all about,” he said, adding: “Everyone has done it on different occasions – around their launch or on special days. If at all anyone has not done it, it’s NDTV,” he said.

    Another senior industryperson told MxMIndia that if the English news channels were so aggrieved, they should have opted out of BARC measurement before the data was released. “Now the world knows that Republic TV is ahead of all others, and there has been enough noise about it on the channel and in terms of advertising on other media,” she said.

    And how will media agencies react to the decision? A senior buyer who requested on anonymity as he is not authorised to speak said that if it’s a one- or two-day gimmick, it’s fine. But if it continues, there’s a problem as there is a lot of accountability in terms of deliverables. So if there is no viewership data, advertising may exit from channels who are not able to supply data.

    Industry captains we spoke with also dismiss the decision to look at multiple distribution points (LCNs) as a marketing tactic around launches or induce sampling. “After a few days or weeks, the real picture shows up, and this is what the aggrieved channels ought to have done.”

    Meanwhile, from the BARC India point of view, it has a steady policy on the matter, we were told. And this has been displayed on the measurement body’s website.
    http://www.barcindia.co.in/resources/pdf/Policy%20for%20Measuring%20Viewership%20of%20Channels%20Available%20on%
    20Multiple%20Frequencies-%20Sept%202016.pdf

    On previous occasions too – when a channel has relaunched, or done a special campaign around the UP elections or around the Union Budget, BARC has reported the data in its entirety. However many be the distribution points.

    BARC has been consistent, a senior industryperson told us. But networks haven’t been so. For instance, while a leading business news channel chose the multiple LCN route around the Union Budget this year, it has now opted out of BARC ratings for its general news channel. A case of double standards, perhaps.

    Meanwhile, BARC has issued a statement (Friday, May 20, 5.20pm). Here goes:

    “BARC India was set up with the mandate to measure What India Watches, and our measurement system delivers exactly that.

    We have a transparent policy on the matter of measuring channels, (which is available on our website http://bit.ly/2dllmIp). This policy has been consistently applied to all channels who subscribe to our measurement.

    The fact is that this is a common distribution strategy among various TV channels, particularly News Broadcasters, to place their channels on multiple LCNs and across genres in the past, and they continue to do so even now.

    Based on information collected from various monitoring agencies we have seen that multiple English news channels on different occasions have placed themselves on multiple LCNs viz across 64 distribution networks during rebranding/revamp, across 16 networks during budget coverage, across 12 networks during UP elections etc. It has become a usual practice.

    We are clear about our position – we measure viewership of channels basis their unique Watermark ID, irrespective of the platform the channel is available on or the number of instances within the platform. For channels having same watermark on more than one LCN, viewership gets aggregated and reported as a single channel and not multiple channels. BARC India neither monitors channel placements across the various DTH platforms/cable head-ends in the country, nor does it have the mandate to do so.

    In the past, we have measured multiple LCN instances of channels as per our policy, and reported them as one channel and the same principle has been applied to our data released yesterday. BARC India is not the regulatory body for resolving issues concerning multiplicity of LCNs for a channel.

    Ideally these issues should be sorted among broadcasters themselves rather than dragging BARC India into these.

    BARC India will continue to measure what India watches.”

    MxMIndia also spoke with Nakul Chopra, senior industryperson and President of the Advertising Association Agencies of India, the apex body of advertising agencies in the country, and this is what he said: “It’s one industry. Differences will always be there. It’s better to let things settle down, take a deep break and let sanity prevail. Having said that we are a 100% behind BARC and what  BARC has said in its statement.”  When asked on what the AAAI advice would be to member-agencies on the decision to advertise on channels that have pulled out of BARC measurement, Chopra said: “We are discussing amongst ourselves and with the ISA (the Indian Society of Advertisers) and will give our formal response very soon.” Any timeframe, we asked. “Next week,” he said.

    And this is what Sunil Kataria, President, Indian Society of Advertisers, the apex body of advertisers: “Any advertiser wants to put money behind TV media which delivers audience viewership and that metric is available through TV ratings. Hence TV ratings are the sole metric for making advertising spend decisions. BARC has already issued a statement on their policy of measuring what India watches and  hence measuring the viewership as per their stated policy. We are closely monitoring the situation and hope the issue gets resolved. In the meanwhile, we are also in talks with AAAI and would come with our formal statement next week .”

     

     

  • Captains of print media and advertising Industry and marketers get together under the Audit Bureau of Circulations to evangelise print

    Print still rules in India, despite TV & Digital

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a show of strength, captains of the print media and members of the advertising and marketing sectors have got together to evangelise the print media.

     

    Their view: Yes, television exists and digital is growing rapidly, but print is growing fast too.

    Gathered in a central Mumbai hotel, under the aegis of the Audiot Bureau of Circulations, a near-70-year-old organisation that certifies circulation figures of member publications twice a year. The trend of certified circulation figures by ABC show that the print medium (member publications of ABC) is thriving, growing and expanding in India inspite of stiff competition from all other mediums namely, Television, Radio and Digital, notes the ABC.

     

    As on date, ABC certifies 910 Daily and Weekly Newspapers, 57 Magazines and Annuals. Other members of the ABC include media and ad agencies, print media advertisers, government organisations and the DAVP. The total number of ABC members is 967.

     

    Few reasons why print publications are growing in circulation:-

    :: Impact of education – Growth in literacy and education have created substantial 
headroom for growth of newspapers.

    :: Advantage of India’s Economic growth – It is believed that the growth of newspapers in India is directly related to urbanisation leading to higher aspirations, heightened interest in buying assets etc.

    :: Reading newspaper a part of daily routine combines well with ease of reading at your own time.

    :: Easily accessible and available at home – newspapers are home delivered in India, unlike in the West

    :: Competitive pricing – newspapers are the cheapest source of news.

    ::Customised sections and pull outs cater to various segments of readers together 
with localized content.

    :: Power of the written word – Newspapers have continued their strong traditions over the years to provide accurate and reliable news to their readers.

     

    As compared to the world print market, India is one of the brightest spots in the print media: India one of the few countries where print advertising revenue is growing,India’s paid-for daily circulation is growing whilst most other countries are declining, Number of paid-for titles in India highest in the world and growing while number of titles in other countries declining

     

    Print is growing at an incredible 4.87% increase in CAGR over a 10-year period. As many as 2.37 crore copies were added in the last 10 years accompanied by an increase of 251 publishing centres. Largely regional language newspapers have contributed to the growth, we were informed.

     

    Leading the presentation made by ABC was Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands, India. While highlighting the above along with Girish Agarwal, Director, Dainik Bhaskar group, he quoted KPMG India figures to show that in terms of advertising revenues, print is thriving (see table above).

     

    Print is Growing Presentation

  • Other than IPG Mediabrands CEO Shashi Sinha, Jonah Goodhart will address the engaging subject of "Viewability: The Big Challenge of Digital measurement"

    The Ad Club’s Media Review back on Oct 13

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Club’s annual Media Review will see Jonah Goodhart, CEO and Co-Founder, Moat and Shashi Sinha, CEO IPG Mediabrands India do the honours. This edition of the review is to be held on Thursday, October 13, 2016 at 6.15 pm at St Regis Hotel in Mumbai.

     

    Goodhart will address the engaging subject of “Viewability: The Big Challenge of Digital measurement” while Sinha will speak on “Growing India’s Adex with Measurement”. The review will throw light on the growing significance of viewability in the digital advertising industry.

     

    Speaking about this the impact of the Media Review, Raj Nayak, President – The Advertising Club said, “The media environment is very dynamic and constantly evolving with new trends and innovations. It is imperative for us to stay ahead of the curve on adopting new trends while also pioneering new game changer ideas and initiatives. Knowledge platforms like the Media Review is a great enabler and allows all who are part of this industry to be aware, stay innovative and stay relevant.

     

    Speaking about the need for measurement in the context of this edition’s discussion, Shashi Sinha, CEO IPG Mediabrands, India said: “An impactful campaign is one that is creative, innovative and aligns to the business objectives. Measurement is imperative to be able to assess value and impact of the campaign in effectively delivering on the brands message. Also measurement helps provide qualitative insights allowing brands  to fine tune their messaging and achieve significant optimization for their spends.”

     

  • … according to the report, in 2017 India Adex will grow +15.7%.

    IPG Mediabrands revises 2016 Adex forecast from 18.4% to 16.2%

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    IPG Mediabrands India has revised its Adex forecast for 2016 made in December 2015 of 18.4% to +16.2% .The size of the industry, is expected to touch 9 billion USD or 564 billion INR equivalents. This half-yearly report is put together by MagnaGlobal, the strategic global media unit of IPG Mediabrands.

     

    Magna Global also reports an early prediction of the India Adex in 2017, which it says will grow +15.7%. India pips Italy to get into Top 10 list this year and estimated to move up 4 ranks to become the 6th largest advertising market by 2020.

     

    India will retain its position as the fastest growing economy with real GDP (gross domestic product) growth of +7.5% in 2016. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), India is likely to maintain the same GDP growth in 2017 as well. Consumer inflation slightly outside of target will force the central bank to hold onto its policy rates. However, the earlier reduction in rates gave the much-needed impetus to automobile, housing, durables and education sectors. The farm sector, if favoured with a good monsoon, will set to rebound its output. The report estimates private consumption to mirror the growth rates and push for higher marketing spends.

     

    This year, events like T20 World Cup, State elections, UEFA Euro 2016 will generate incremental spends. In addition, the 4G landscape destined to explode will make both service providers and handset manufacturers press the ad spend accelerator and Government investment on infrastructure and social awareness projects will hit a new high. E-commerce and automobile will continue to occupy significantly larger media space.

     

    Said Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands: “The outlook is extremely positive as globally India remains one of the fastest growing markets. In fact, India is now one of the top ten advertising markets in the world.”  Talking about the revised forecast, S Venkatesh, EVP, Director Intelligence Practice, Magna Global – India, said: “Basis our initial read of the emerging trends we had envisaged a stronger headwind across digital formats on the mobile platform while the real numbers for H1 2016 suggests a lesser significant acceleration”

     

    SECTOR WISE DATA

    Television with 42% market share will grow +17%. The biggest contributor to revenue will be the T20 World Cup, Indian Premier League (IPL) and non-cricketing leagues buttressed by E-commerce, Telecom, Auto and CPG advertising. Addressable television and expansion of the measurement into rural India equips advertisers to reach more consumers and broadcasters to monetize now counted audience. Measurement will evolve to include addressable TV audience and though connected TV currently doesn’t pose a threat to linear advertising, it will open doors for more on demand content access. Mushrooming of both domestic and international OTT (over-the-top) players will eventually fragment TV viewing time.

     

    Print will continue to be the second biggest medium in India with 35% market share and ad sales growth of +8%. Conventionally print heavy advertisers in CPG, BFSI, Automobile and now E-commerce contributes to the segment growth.

     

    Digital formats continue to disrupt traditional with the highest growth at +40% and increasing its share of market by 2 points to 13%. Videos will be the fastest growing format driven by consumption on mobile devices. Screen time will only increase as smartphones get bigger with better displays and faster bandwidth. Trailing this trend expect advertisers to ear mark higher promotional budgets.

     

    Radio through foot print expansion along with increase in volume is estimated to grow +18% in 2016.

     

    OOH will grow +15% in 2016. Both these segments will hold onto their market share of 4% and 6% respectively.

     

  • Nitin has been with FCB Ulka since 1986, when he joined the agency as a Management Trainee

    Nitin Karkare appointed CEO of FCB Ulka

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO FCB Ulka Group has announced the elevation of Nitin Karkare to the position of Chief Executive Officer, FCB Ulka Advertising. Prior to this Nitin worked as Chief Operating Officer, FCB Ulka – Mumbai & Bengaluru.

     

    Nitin has been with FCB Ulka since 1986, when he joined the agency as a Management Trainee. Over the years at FCB Ulka, he has worked on some of the oldest agency brands like Amul, Zee, Tata Motors, Wipro, ITC, Zodiac, Nerolac and many more.

     

    Commenting on the elevation, Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO FCB Ulka Group said, “My first priority in my new assignment is to ensure that we have the right people in the right leadership roles. Nitin’s passion for advertising, his love for the Company, his deep bonds with our clients and, of course, his charming, and affable work style make him the right person for the position of CEO, FCB Ulka Advertising. He has an impressive track record of building some of India’s most loved brands. His commitment to our clients is true testimony to FCB’s spirit of partnership. I’m confident that Nitin will lead FCB Ulka Advertising to new heights and will be a great partner to me in realizing our vision for the Group.”

     

    Nitin combines an easy going nature with a keen creative eye to forge an effective partnership with his creative team, who is ever ready to give their best for him at all times.

     

    Shashi Sinha, CEO – IPG Media Brands India, added “I have worked with Nitin from 1986 and am thrilled that he will lead FCB Ulka advertising – he knows the clients, the people and more importantly the culture. This is true testimony to growth from within.”

     

    Nitin Karkare

    Speaking on his new role, Nitin Karkare, CEO – FCB Ulka Advertising said, “From starting out as a management trainee at Ulka Advertising to becoming the CEO of FCB Ulka Advertising, it has been an exhilarating journey. FCB Ulka has been built on the foundation of long term partnerships with its clients and its people. I would like to build on this legacy while infusing a new creative energy into the system.”

     

  • He will report directly to Global CEO Mauricio Sabogal who was incidentally Global CEO of BPN before getting into Kinetic

    Suresh Balakrishna quits IPG, to join WPP’s Kinetic

    By A Correspondent

     

    Suresh Balakrishna, CEO of the IPG Mediabrands agency BPN (short for Brand Programming Network) who also led media agency Initiative’s non-global accounts as well as Rapport, the out-of-home agency of the group, has resigned. He is set to join WPP’s out-of-home agency Kinetic India as CEO South Asia and Middle East in January 2016. For Balakrishna, although it’s a shift from a manifaceted CEO of a media agency to an essentially outdoorsy company, the regional role is definitely a huge plus. Plus his reporting will be directly to Global CEO Mauricio Sabogal who was incidentally Global CEO of BPN before getting into Kinetic.

     

    Confirming the development, Shashi Sinha, CEO – India, IPG Mediabrands said: “I am sorry to see Suresh go. He’s been a great asset to the company and an excellent professional.”

     

    Said Balakrishna: “I have had four very exciting and fulfilling years here. Having said that I am looking forward to my new role. WPP is the world’s largest advertising group and Kinetic is India’s largest OOH company, so taking an established company to greater heights in the South Asia and Middle East region will be a challenge which I am looking forward to.”

     

    Balakrishna who has donned many hats in media and advertising has been with IPG since January 2012.He will be with IPG till December 31.

     

  • Srini takes over from Hormusji Cama who was Chairman of RSCI for the past two years

    CVL Srinivas appointed Chairman of RSCI

    By A Correspondent

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI) announced that CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia has been nominated as Chairman for a period of two years with immediate effect. Srini takes over from Hormusji Cama who was Chairman of RSCI for the past two years.

     

    RSCI was set up when the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) and the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) agreed to undertake joint readership studies as equal partners. The RSCI is governed by a 20 member Managing Committee consisting of Publishers representing the print media, Advertising Agencies’ representatives and Advertisers. The managing committee of RSCI sets up the Technical Committee to work on the IRS. In a recent development N.P. Satyamurthy was made the head of the Technical Committee to work on the new IRS.

     

    Shashi Sinha

    Shashi Sinha Chairman of ABC said “From an ABC standpoint we are delighted that Srini has taken over as Chairman RSCI, as there can’t be better person with this stature to guide RSCI especially as we kickoff IRS 2016.”

     

    Commenting on this development, I. Venkat Chairman MRUC said, “Srini brings over two decades of rich and varied experience in media planning and buying having worked in some of the best known agencies. I am confident that Srini, ably assisted by N.P. Satyamurthy who has recently taken charge of the Technical Committee will help us bring out an improved IRS 2016 with a 3,30,000 sample the largest such study anywhere in the world.”

     

    Srini was till recently the Chairman MRUC, stepping in to complete the term of his colleague Ravi Rao who moved to Dubai in May 2015.

     

  • Colors CEO Raj Nayak is the new President of the Advertising Club

    Raj Nayak is new Ad Club President

    By A Correspondent

     

    Raj Nayak

    Colors CEO Raj Nayak is the new President of the Advertising Club. At a thinly attended Annual General Meeting of the premier club of advertising, media and marketing professionals, Raj Nayak was elected President, with Pratap Bose’s term drawing to a close.

     

    While Bose and earlier Shashi Sinha are credited with having brought the credibility back to the Creative Abby, Nayak can be expected to make the Ad Club more active in terms of events through the year.

     

    At the time of writing, Nayak was out of the country.