R K Swamy Hansa has announced the elevation of S Swaminathan, Co-founder and CEO of Hansa Customer Equity (Hansa Cequity), as Executive Director – Group Strategy, from January 1, 2021, to build a ‘Total Digital’ blueprint and drive integration of its offerings for the benefit of Clients.
Commenting on the appointment, Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman of R K Swamy Hansa Group said: “We recognised very early the rising adoption of technology and analytics in marketing and were first off the block 13 years ago on this journey. R K Swamy Hansa aims to be at the forefront of the integration of marketing communications, technology, digital and analytics. We recently opened our office in Singapore and have a presence in the US. We plan to take our offering across geographies as the blueprint gets ready.”
Said Shekar Swamy, Group CEO: “Hansa Cequity has a strong client portfolio, professional talent, and an experienced management team led by Neeraj Pratap Sangani as COO at the helm. The company is well-recognised by clients in Martech & Analytics in India. We have built strong capability across multiple disciplines in the Group. We have a compelling offering to add value to clients and their brands globally, in an increasingly technology, data-rich & digital first world. Swami is the ideal leader for this. He will continue to be on the board of Hansa Cequity and provide strategic direction to Hansa Cequity.”
We’ve held back on the communiques that we have received around Hansa in the past. But this one is important. Hansa Research has stated that it has had no business dealings with Republic TV and no payment has been made to the channel nor received from the channel. This was in response in a statement reported in the media, where the Mumbai police has alleged that Hansa Research has made a payment of Rs 32 lakh to Republic TV which is incorrect.
Said Shekar Swamy, Group CEO Hansa, in the statement: “Our group company Hansa Vision India Pvt Ltd is in the advertising business. It purchases advertising time and space in various TV channels, newspapers, radio, digital platforms, and other media regularly for its clients. This is normal, routine business. The last time Hansa Vision has purchased advertising time in Republic TV was two years ago for the period from Sept 2017 to Oct 2018 for a value of Rs 108 lakhs. The Mumbai Police is perhaps incorrectly linking this with the current TRP related investigation.”
Asserts the statement: “In the past two years, as part of its business, Hansa Vision has purchased TV advertising time from 55 TV channels for a total value of Rs 13.42 crs on behalf of its clients. In 2019 and 2020, Hansa Vision has not bought any advertising time from Republic TV.”
Swamy also added that: “The Hansa Research CEO and team have been repeatedly called by API Mr Sachin Vaze of the Crime Branch, and asked to stay till late hours. They are cooperating with the investigation and have submitted various documents as asked for. Hansa Research and the people working for this company, have nothing to do with the advertising activities of the group company Hansa Vision.”
Hansa Customer Equity Pvt Ltd, part of the R K Swamy Hansa Group, has appointed Neeraj Pratap Sangani as the Chief Operating Officer.
Commenting on the appointment, S Swaminathan, Co-founder & CEO of Hansa Cequity said: “Neeraj is a big believer of the Hansa Cequity vision and has been working relentlessly to drive thought leadership, client-centricity culture, execution focus & process excellence. He has more than 25 years’ experience in business & marketing consulting, brand building, strategic marketing, and digital marketing. He has strong domain knowledge of Customer Experience Management, having developed and executed data-driven marketing programs, data integration projects including customer life cycle management, customer segmentation and customer engagement programs for clients across different verticals.”
Added Shekar Swamy, Group CEO of R K Swamy Hansa said: “Neeraj moved to Hansa Cequity three years ago from R K Swamy BBDO. We have seen him grow in professional capability for 20 years. He is well placed to execute the Group vision of the emerging convergence of technology, analytics, digital & marketing services for brands and companies. With his energy and focus, Hansa Customer Equity will continue to serve clients well.”
Sundar told me about it casually, like he usually does. He could well have been telling me “I am going to get a cup of coffeeâ€. I accepted the news casually, mumbling something like “Good, congratulationsâ€. I can’t recall if I shook his hand. No theatrics from either side. Both of us were there when our father accepted the same award 22 years ago. May be both of us knew this was going to happen.
Enough will be said and written about his various activities in the industry, so I am not going there. In my mind, no one else deserves it more. He has been tireless, period. The only thing about this news was that I didn’t hear about it from the driver, who somehow always seems to know more about Sundar’s whereabouts, and happenings relating to him, than I do.
Our growing up years in Chennai were pretty unremarkable and middle-class to the core. Busy father. Housewife mother. Grandmother and an aunt always at home. Six siblings, who as I think about it, were all pretty well-behaved, perhaps even boring. Lots of cousins and family around. Home was a place to be shared. The front door was hardly ever shut, except at night. One day in the ’70s there was a lot of hushed talk. My father and his elder brother, and the wives, were in a huddle. I later learnt that my dad had quit his job, which was his life. He was to do something on his own. The import of it hardly made a dent to my teenage senses. Over the next few months, lots of people kept coming and going. There was a sense of urgency and preparation. The puja happened, and R K Swamy opened shop in his brother’s house, I suspect because he could delay rents as much as he wanted.
A vintage pic of the Swamy brothers: Shekar (left) with Srinivasan Swamy
The rest of it was a whirl. So many people working so hard to meet so many unreasonable deadlines. Sundar finished his MBA, and went into the business, five years after it started. Comments were heard. “He is looking after his father’s business†was a common refrain, like he was literally sitting in the shop. Little did people know.
R K SWAMY the agency was never meant to be another shop. The DNA from ever was to build a lasting institution. The ambition stretched beyond the Chennai roots, which in itself was unusual. In this, Sundar played a strong role, running around from city to city, often trailing behind Mr Swamy. As one of our colleagues put it, if Mr Swamy was the Account Director, then Sundar was the Account Supervisor carrying artworks around. Clients always came first, people always had to be respected and family interests came thereafter.
BBDO joined hands in the mid-80s. We kept building the core advertising business. We recast the Research activity. We created a Television programming game. We expanded into diversified marketing services. We pioneered the Analytics and Customer Marketing space, embracing marketing technology. We ventured to build a US presence, on our own.
All of this underpins Sundar’s ability to take that risk, and continue with the DNA of building the institution. He is a serial entrepreneur – no angel investor or VC here – on his own dime. He has been in the lead, helping fashion the foremost Indian-owned and controlled advertising and marketing services group, by itself a serious contribution to the industry.
Sundar no doubt grew up in the business. But his participation stretches way beyond to very many social causes. He gives, more than he takes, again and again and again. There is a lesson there, somewhere. Perhaps awards come when one does this without nary a thought.
The financial inclusion program of the Government of India labelled “Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana” is being formally launched by the Prime Minister on Aug 28, 2014 in New Delhi. The launch communication mandate for this has been assigned to R K Swamy BBDO, who is charged with developing a fully integrated creative and media communication package. A Committee comprising of the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, several leading Banks and the Indian Banks Association led the agency selection process.
The program encompasses all Media including TV, Radio, Newspapers, Outdoor, Internet and Social Media. The launch communication for this program commenced on Aug 23 in newspapers and on Aug 25 on the medium of television across the country. An animated television commercial shows a lot of people carrying their money into the bank and easily opening their bank accounts. In the end, the people join hands and morph into the logo.
Shekar Swamy, CEO, R K SWAMY BBDO commented, “The Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana is so crucial for the welfare of millions. As an organisation, we place the top most priority to support such nation-building projects. We are privileged to be associated with it, and we are sparing no effort to ensure that the program is successful.”
