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Tag: Sidharth Parashar

  • Sidharth Parashar will be joining the APAC Mindshare leadership team as Chief Investment Officer, Mindshare APAC

    Sidharth Parashar, Ashwin Padmanabhan elevated @ GroupM

    By Our Staff

    GroupM India has announced that Ashwin Padmanabhan will be taking on an elevated role as President – Investments, Trading & Partnerships, GroupM India. Padmanabhan, who earlier led ‘Trading’ and ‘Partnerships’, will now be also taking on the ‘Investments’ portfolio from Sidharth Parashar. Parashar will be joining the APAC Mindshare leadership team as Chief Investment Officer, Mindshare APAC and will now be based out of Singapore.

    Said Prasanth Kumar, GroupM South Asia CEO: “Sidharth has had a phenomenal career journey where the organization has witnessed his evolution from a practice expert to a leader over the last 18 years with GroupM. He has successfully led the investment mandates across all media and has elevated the practice through innovative products and delivering exceptional value for our clients. I would like to wish him the very best and will continue to work closely with him as he drives regional investment strategy for Mindshare,” adding: “I am also excited to see Ashwin taking over this additional role. He has a deep understanding of the business, and we continue to benefit from his knowledge of the media ecosystem. Focusing on cutting-edge innovation backed by his solid process orientation is a value add for clients. His ‘start up’ mindset has helped GroupM venture into new practices, deploying creativity to our Products and Solutions keeping client delight at the helm.”

    Parashan will report to Helen McRae, Chief Executive Officer, Mindshare APAC, and work on enhancing Mindshare’s local market investment strategy and driving thinking and the opportunity of Good Growth and Intentional Investment for the region.

    Added Helen McRae, Chief Executive Officer, Mindshare APAC: “I am very pleased that Sid will be joining our regional team. He brings a tremendous depth of expertise and will be a great champion of Good Growth for our clients.”

    Said Parashar: “It has been an amazing journey at GroupM, and I am delighted to now take over this new Mindshare APAC investments role. I look forward to this opportunity in new markets to build value for our client’s business.”

     Added Padmanabhan: “GroupM, has been a fertile ground for innovation and creating value in a highly entrepreneurial environment. This expanded remit motivates me to renew my focus on the GroupM value proposition for our clients, media partners, and technology partners. We want to keep the momentum up with these relentless efforts toward improving today for a better tomorrow.”

    Padmanabhan will continue to report to Prasanth Kumar and be based out of the Gurugram office.

  • Digital will be the largest medium, taking up 45% marketshare in 2022

    GroupM forecast for 2022: 22.2% AdEx growth

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP-owned media investment conglomerate GroupM has  announced its  advertising expenditure (AdEx) forecasts for 2022. As per the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2022, the adspends are estimated to reach 107,987crs in 2022. This represents the estimated growth of 22% for the calendar year 2022. India will be the fastest-growing market among the top 10 global markets and retains its 9th rank in 2022, as per the report. See GroupM TYNY2022 deck.

     

    Commenting on the TYNY 2022 report, Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia said, “The pandemic has pushed the envelope towards digital and has hence topped the pie, with advertisers keen to explore more of it. Ecommerce and Telco will drive the economy, we also expect FMCG and auto to slowly catch up and contribute towards this growth.”

     

    Added Tushar Vyas, President – Growth and Transformation, GroupM South Asia: “With the pivot to digital by consumers and companies alike, digital emerges as the largest medium in 2022 with an estimated share of 45%.  Digital is estimated to grow by 33% in 2022. As digital capabilities enhance and connectivity becomes omnipresent, technology will further poise and change almost every sector of India’s economy.”

     

    Said Parthasarathy Mandayam, Chief Strategy Officer, GroupM South Asia: “With consumers gravitating towards themes like sustainability and sensitivity, brands are adapting rapidly, and media has the power to lead this change. Flexible, specialist and distributed teams are the order of the day and this trend will be further enhanced with the arrival of 5G. The emphasis on performance marketing has further accelerated and is at the very core of marketing. Intelligent & responsible leverage of first-party data will be critical for brands & marketers in driving this.”

     

    Said Atique Kazi, President – Data, Performance & Digital Products, GroupM India: “Marketers will have to bring together innovation, intelligence and integration in their strategy to win on Digital. In 2022; we will also see addressable TV coming to India in some scalable form and connected tv surge with smart TV sales and new fibre/broadband connections will be on the rise. Focusing on eCommerce, performance marketing, outcome-based media and addressable data is winning formula in 2022.”

     

    Added Sidharth Parashar, President – Investments & Pricing, GroupM India: “While digital is set to take the larger pie, we are expecting a noteworthy revival for OOH & cinema too after a tough period. Advertising on e-commerce, the rise of influencers and short format videos along with OTT has witnessed growth in 2021, which would continue in 2022.”

     

    Said Ashwin Padmanabhan, President – Partnerships & Trading, GroupM India: “The rapid digital transformation of companies, brands and the way they connect with consumers is reflected in the global advertising spends as well as the way even traditional media is expanding with their digital extensions. India in 2022 will see a rapid manifestation of these Global trends and thus fundamentally altering the media industry.”

     

  • The elevations are all of internal resources holding key buying functions

    GroupM restructures Central Trading Group leadership

    By Our Staff

     

    GroupM India has announced a restructure of its media buying function- Central Trading Group (CTG).

     

    Sidharth Parashar
    Sidharth Parashar

    Said Sidharth Parashar, President – Investments and Pricing, GroupM India: “This restructure is a part of evolving transformation for GroupM. We constantly recognise and invest in talent across functions for our team members who have helped evolve key areas like the media buying practice. The relentless commitment to delivering value to its client’s business is what truly defines team CTG, and I am privileged to lead a multi-dimensional team of leaders who are passionate about media and our client’s business. I am delighted to see these leaders grow and take on larger responsibilities in shaping the GroupM CTG transformational journey.”

     

    Rahul Satoskar
    K Srinivas Rao
    Muralidhar T
    Pratik Rathod

    Pratik Rathod who has been successfully leading buying for Wavemaker will be taking on an elevated group-level role of National Broadcast Head, GroupM India.

     

    Muralidhar T is taking on an elevated role of leading buying function for the whole of Mindshare.

     

    K Srinivas Rao takes over the Wavemaker buying mandate from Rathod. Rao has been leading the Mediacom buying function for the past few years.

     

    Rahul Satoskar, currently the region buying lead for Mindshare west, gets elevated to lead Mediacom buying nationally.

     

  • In this role, Shankar will be responsible for leading digital trading and partnerships

    GroupM appoints Karthik Shankar to head digital trading

    By Our Staff

     

    GroupM India announces the appointment of Karthik Shankar as Head of Digital Trading, GroupM India. In this role, Shankar will be responsible for leading digital trading and partnerships.

     

    Sidharth Parashar
    Sidharth Parashar

    Said Sidharth Parashar, President – Investments and Pricing, GroupM India: “Karthik has a proven track record of managing tech & media partnerships, digital trading, e-commerce and leading brand safety initiatives. We believe that Karthik would play a pivotal role, as we partner with our esteemed clients in their digital transformation journey”.

     

    Karthik Shankar
    Karthik Shankar

    Added Shankar: “These are exciting times for digital advertising which is witnessing hyper-growth in all spectrums including video, commerce and data. Clients and partners seek guidance and support in navigating this complex ecosystem. This role has the right mix of understanding, access and ability to collaborate with the ecosystem to streamline media investments. I am excited to join and be part of the GroupM family.”

     

     

  • Ad investment expected to reach Rs 80,123 crore, notes the This Year Next Year report

    Achche Din… GroupM forecasts 23.2% in CY2021

    GroupM share of adspend

     

    By Our Staff

     

    GroupM India has announced its advertising expenditure (AdEx) forecasts for 2021. As per the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2021, India will see a major ad recovery in 2021 given the downfall of ad spends in 2020 due to the pandemic.

     

    TYNY forecasts India’s advertising investment to reach an estimated Rs. 80,123 crores this year. This represents an estimated growth of 23.2%, for the calendar year 2021. India is the 2nd fastest growing market in the top 10 countries and will be the 6th largest contributor to incremental ad spends in 2021 globally. While India was ranked 9th in the global ad spend rank in 2019, it dropped to 10 in 2020 and is likely to regain its 9th rank this year.

     

    Prasanth Kumar, CEO - GroupM South Asia
    Prasanth Kumar

    Commenting on the TYNY 2021 report, Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia said, “2020 was an unprecedented year. The pandemic impacted across sectors and it, therefore, affected the media investments too. As we are aware, the year that went by had a mixture of lockdowns, many restricted market momentum and overall threw a challenge and impacted multi-industry economies. The ad industry too had its challenges and 2020 witnessed a steep drop in the overall media investments. However, we have witnessed a month-on-month upturn in the industry starting Q3 last year and we are quite optimistic about the revival that 2021 will see. With the gradual easement of the lockdown backed by seasonal spends and big-ticket events like IPL, we expect 2021 to continue to build on that momentum. While the global ad spends are estimated to see a rise of 10% in 2021, digital is expected to take 67% of ad spends. With the help of technology, marketers have adapted to pandemic-proof ways by constantly innovating, staying relevant and offering digitally charged solutions to brands.”

     

    Digital was the only medium to witness a gain of USD 27bn globally in 2020. Digital as a media vehicle will continue to skyrocket due to the increase in digital dependency and changing consumer patterns.

     

    Tushar Vyas, GroupM
    Tushar Vyas

    Added Tushar Vyas, President – Growth and Transformation, GroupM South Asia: “2021 will see 90% incremental ad spends on digital globally. The massive switch to digital reliance over the past 1 year has been a major driver for this shift. Brands have been forced to think big and different to transform their businesses, match the newer expectations and overcome the challenges faced. The post-pandemic era will continue to see this upsurge in digital demands. The crisis has brought about a sea change in mindset, adoption, and role of technology in doing business. Brands are seen renewing their business models and are constantly ideating to find better ways to connect with the consumer on a digital tangent.”

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan
    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    While Covid-19 resulted in an overall slowdown in the global economy, Indian adspends will continue to see a month-on-month recovery considering the overall media landscape. Said Ashwin Padmanabhan, President – Partnerships and Trading of GroupM India: “Based on a strong foundation built on the back of FMCG and e-commerce, 2021 is expected to see growth across sectors like auto, telecom, consumer durable, retail and education. Manufacturing, which was severely impacted by the pandemic, is now stabilising and moving toward a positive outlook enabled by automation, technology and supply chain optimisation. 2020 has accelerated the adoption of agile, cost-effective business models, which will help brands and marketers offer better products, services and experiences to consumers.”

     

    Sidharth Parashar, President - Investments and Pricing, GroupM India
    Sidharth Parashar

    Added Sidharth Parashar, President-Investments and Pricing of GroupM India: “Along with digital, television saw a spike in consumption during the lockdown. With acceptance on the subscription bandwagon increasing, OTT will continue to witness a constructive growth and is likely to develop with more players attracting users by investing in content. Print & Radio expected to be backed by local advertisers and certain categories with marketeers leveraging the brand solutions that these media offer. We expect OOH and cinema to see double-digit growth after a difficult year. Given the uncertainty and cautiously spending consumer, brands are realising the importance of being present wherever consumers are. Hence along with continued relevance of television & other mass media, we will witness advertisers leveraging relevant platforms to reach out to its audience.”

     

    GroupM TYNY Key Highlights

  • As per the This Year, Next Year report, digital will secures #2 position in adspends in 2020

    10.7%: GroupM forecast for AdEx 2020

     

    By A Correpondent

     

    GroupM formally announced its advertising expenditure (AdEx) forecast for 2020.  As per the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2020, India will continue to top the list as the fastest-growing major ad market in the world. TYNY forecasts India’s advertising investment to reach an estimated Rs. 91,641 crores this year. This represents an estimated growth of 10.7%, for the calendar year 2020.

     

    India will continue to be the third-highest contributor to the incremental ad spends, only behind UK and USA while China drops to the fourth spot and the eight fastest-growing country with respect to ad spends across the globe.

     

    Commenting on the TYNY 2020 report, Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia said: “We expect the global AdEx to grow by 5.1%. The Indian media landscape is constantly evolving, will continue to witness the fastest growth of 10.7% to reach Rs 91,641 crores. While we expect sustained and stable investment across media in India, Digital to garner 65% of incremental ad spends in 2020. In 2020, India faces challenges and uncertainties across sectors just like other markets. However, this also brings opportunities for brands to innovate because of which we see an evolving media stack. This will be propelled by greater use of technology and better content across media.”

     

    Digital secures #2 position as the most used media vehicle and is estimated to reach 30% of adspend in 2020 with growth coming from 3Vs (video, voice, vernacular-Indic) and advertising on e-commerce. The growth of digital is set to soar high because of changing consumer habits.

     

    Added Tushar Vyas, President Growth and Transformation – GroupM South Asia: “There are multiple advancements happening in technology which is transforming digital advertising and other mediums. India being a diverse country, digital will keep growing, especially with the rise of content platforms and its availability in multiple languages powered by the growth of 3Vs. From a predominantly ‘at home’, ‘urban’, ‘English print’ & ‘TV’ consuming market, the Indian media consumer evolved to include ‘on the move’, ‘rural’ & ‘regional’ counterparts, experimented with digital media in the early 2010s’, adopted social media in middle of the decade and started consuming digital videos voraciously after 2016.”

     

    Even with an overall slowdown in the global economy Indian media spends are expected to be between low to moderate in H1, with robust growth anticipated in H2 2020.

     

    Said Sidharth Parashar, President – Investments and Pricing of GroupM India: “The format of print storytelling is changing but the content is still the strongest. With print media organizations undergoing transformation across India. Publication houses have invested heavily in promoting digital subscriptions and have started limiting access to digital versions of epapers. We believe that this would pave the way for newer business models. Print will continue to remain relevant to advertisers wanting to build credible brands. Television will continue to grow at a steady pace. This year, the growth rate for TV is estimated to be 7% and Radio is expected to grow at 6%. While cinema and OOH will grow at 15% and 6% respectively in 2020.”

     

    OTT has seen a faster evolution in India, which is now complementing television. OTT hybrid models looking at both advertising and subscription will continue to be an effective model.

     

    Speaking on the trends for the year, Ashwin Padmanabhan, President – Partnerships and Trading of GroupM India said: “While there are challenges and uncertainties in the market, it is a world of abundant opportunities in the content eco-system. This gives us vibrant options to reach and engage with consumers. It necessitates us to be agile, invest in new-age talent and technology while keeping an eye on the future. The key is to be always prepared while we are shaping the media landscape.”

     

     

  • Both Parashar and Padmanabhan will join the GroupM Executive Committee

    GroupM India elevates Sidharth Parashar & Ashwin Padmanabhan

    By A Correspondetn

     

    Sidharth Parashar
    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    GroupM India, the media investment group of WPP, has announced the appointment of Sidharth Parashar as President – Investments and Pricing, GroupM India and Ashwin Padmanabhan as President – Partnerships and Trading, GroupM India. As part of this elevation, both Parashar and Padmanabhan will join the GroupM Executive Committee.

     

    Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO of GroupM South Asia: “The elevation of both Sidharth and Ashwin is a testament of GroupM’s continued investment in its talent which has helped build a strong leadership pipeline, creating leaders to take our business into the future. In this ever-evolving integrated media ecosystem, we understand the importance of having leaders across key client focus areas like media investments and trading. Both Sidharth and Ashwin are astute leaders and I am confident that they will continue to drive client delight and expand GroupM’s reach across platforms.”

     

    Prasanth Kumar

    Both Parashar and Padmanabhan have been leading GroupM’s pricing-investment and partnerships trading practices over the years and they will take over their respective new roles effective this month (November 2019). Parashar has been with GroupM for over 15 years and Padmanabhan joined GroupM from Reliance Broadcast Network where, as the COO he led the network’s Radio and Television business. Both Parashar and Padmanabhan will continue to be based out of the GroupM’s Gurugram office and will report to Prasanth Kumar, CEO GroupM South Asia.

     

     

  • Mindshare appoints Prasanth Kumar as CEO, South Asia to take over Ravi Rao who is rumoured to be moving to sandier pastures

    It’s PK as the new Mindshare South Asia boss!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The poster of the Aamir Khan film PK was the first thing that came to our minds when one of the A&M media’s favourite sources alerted us of the winds of change that were blowing across the GroupM South Asia headquarters in North Mumbai.

     

    Expectedly, the otherwise very responsive dramatis personae clammed up. Calls and text messages received no reply. Whatsapp messages got those two blue ticks, but not even the ‘typing’ indicator in response. But while we were sure of the news, we couldn’t carry it without a confirmation. So it waited from Wednesday to Thursday to the weekend.

     

    There were also other things that were also grabbing our attention.

     

    Prasanth Kumar
    Ravi Rao

    And then on Sunday evening, our inbox alert beeped. The message curiously asked us to embargo the news till 9pm. The news confirmed our earlier info: Leading media agency network Mindshare has appointed Prasanth Kumar as CEO, South Asia. He will take charge with effect from March 1, 2015. Ravi Rao, who is currently CEO, will be transitioning into a new role within GroupM, the details of which are to be announced soon.

     

    So where’s Ravi Rao going? Back to the Gulf, we were told. If not within the fold, outside of it. The communiqué says he will transition to a new role within GroupM, but which clearly means negotiations are still on.

     

    CVL Srinivas
    Gowthaman Ragothaman

    Kumar or PK, as he’s known in the fraternity, is currently Head of WPP-owned GroupM’s Central Trading Group and a member of the South Asia Executive Committee. As Mindshare South Asia leader, he will report into CVL Srinivas, CEO GroupM South Asia and Gowthaman Ragothaman, COO of Mindshare Asia Pacific. And who takes over from him, we asked the GroupM spokesperson. There are no names yet, but last year Jai Lala and Sidharth Parashar were elevated in the CTG team.

     

    Meanwhile, this is what Srinivas on the announcement: “Prasanth was a unanimous choice for this role.  In the past 10 years, he has played a stellar role in ensuring GroupM’s scale is leveraged to maximise value for our clients. I’d like to thank Ravi Rao for his contribution and wish him the very best in his new role within the network.”

     

    And here’s what Ragothaman (better known as GMan) commented on the change: “Ravi has done a fantastic job in growing our business in India in the last three years. India is at the inflexion point on digital, content, analytics, e-commerce and measurement and in Prasanth we have a seasoned veteran to lead Mindshare to the next level. And I am particularly happy that we continue to groom and grow talent from our larger GroupM ecosystem with diverse talent and experience to leadership positions, which speaks highly about our talent in the market place. In the past 10 years Prasanth Kumar has done a tremendous job scaling up GroupM’s CTG practice in South Asia, and developing strategic partnerships for GroupM that contribute to the successes of all GroupM agencies.”

     

    Big Story image inspired by poster of the Raj Kumar Hirani film PK. Imaging by Rafiq, Poster courtesy: PK, the film, poster