More jury chairs for Abby One Show 2023 have been announced. Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick, Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO & Co-founder, Gozoop and Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder and Director of Elephant Design, join as Jury Chair for Public Relations category, Jury Chair of Mobile Category, and Jury Chair of Design category respectively.
Said Ashwini Deshande: “It is an absolute privilege to be judging the Design category at Abby One Show Awards. India is a unique playground for brands and consumers. I define Design as a creative way of solving a challenge. I am hoping to see great work based on real life insights that solve a challenge in a delightful way.”
Weber Shandwick has announced the appointment of Nikhil Dey as Vice Chair of the firm’s India operations. Dey will focus on shaping the firm’s employee experience, strengthening existing client relationships and creating opportunities for global clients in India.
Dey, who joined the organisation late last month, will be part of the firm’s India leadership board, working with senior leadership across the Asia Pacific region – including Valerie Pinto, CEO of Weber Shandwick India – to build synergies and service outcomes.
We asked a spokesperson at Weber Shandwick on what the reporting of Dey and Pinto will be – whether they will be at the same level or will Dey report to Pinto or vice versa. The response we received was in line with what sources in the industry told us — that both will report to the APAC leadership and for the now there will be a joint leadership of India operations. Weber Shandwick did revert to MxM – albeit two days after publication of this report. The response: “Valerie is CEO Weber Shandwick India. Nikhil is Vice Chair, India. Operating within a matrix structure, both Valerie and Nikhil are part of the firm’s India leadership board and report into Baxter Jolly, CEO, Asia Pacific. They will work with senior leadership across the Asia Pacific region to build synergies and service outcomes for Weber Shandwick teams in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.”
“With Nikhil’s depth of knowledge and experience, we aim to significantly grow our talent base, revenue streams and continue to lead with a client-first approach to deliver stronger and higher value to our clients,” said Baxter Jolly, CEO of Weber Shandwick Asia Pacific. “We are also tremendously proud of our achievements in India under Valerie’s leadership and are extremely bullish on our potential in the India market. We believe this combination of strengths will be unbeatable in the market and will enable us to grow significantly in India.”
Commented Pinto: “Building Weber Shandwick as a strong employer brand with a work environment that attracts the best talent to our profession is an integral part of our growth strategy in India. Our people are an essential part of the firm, and creativity is the foundation of everything we do. Nikhil, with his unmatched knowledge and expertise will help us further build our culture of creativity and collaboration. Along with this, he will help the agency to continue to provide our clients with unique solutions and a forward-thinking approach to their communications challenges.”
MxMView: It’s good to see two seasoned professionals at the helm at Weber Shandwick India. However, joint leadership amongst professionals doesn’t work too well in the short or long run. While one can dream up a countless designations, there’s got to be a clear Big Boss. And clear accountability.
Weber Shandwick has announced the appointment of Cyrus Jogina as the Head of Operations at Weber Shandwick India.
Jogina joins the firm with over 19 years of experience from varied industries including Travel & Tourism, Technology, and Corporate & Marketing Communications. Based in Gurgaon, a large part of his role will focus on building ideation platforms, client engagement as well as strengthening processes, systems and internal structure.
“It’s an exciting time for us in India and we couldn’t welcome Cyrus into the Weber Shandwick family at a better time,†said Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick India. “We continue to be committed to evolving our agency offering to solve a multitude of client challenges and are well on track to becoming one of the most creative and engaging firms in the country. Cyrus has an impressive track record of inspiring high performance people, teams and client programmes.â€
Weber Shandwick announced that following an open tender process which saw participation from leading agencies within the country, Population Services International (PSI) India has appointed it as its communication partner.
Said Pritpal Marjara, Managing Director, PSI India: “For us, it was all about finding a communication partner that understands us in all aspects, right from our heritage to our specific communication mandate. The idea was to work with an experienced team and Weber Shandwick’s proposal was the unanimous choice for us. We look forward to our alliance and are certain that Weber Shandwick’s expertise in the domain will help us build a sound communication process which would be a value addition to PSI’s operations in India.â€
Added Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick India: “We are pleased to be the partner of choice for PSI India. Having rich expertise and experience in the social impact sector, we look forward to exceeding PSI India’s expectations and are set for a long and fruitful partnership.â€
Mattel Toys, the wholly-owned subsidiary of American multinational Mattel Inc, has awarded its integrated communications business to Weber Shandwick following a competitive multi-agency pitch. The appointment will see Weber Shandwick roll out integrated communications solutions for the entire portfolio of brands encompassing corporate reputation management, media relations, creatives, social and digital marketing communications.
Commenting on the appointment, Lokesh Kataria, Head – Marketing, Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd. said “India is a growing market for Mattel and our consumers & shoppers both are unique here compared to any other market around the globe. With changing media consumption habits and evolving consumer trends, we were on lookout for a partner who can work with us for effective, engaging and immersive communication to Indian audience, especially millennial moms. Weber’s strategy to address this growing audience stood out amongst the other agencies that participated in the pitch process. We are excited to build campaigns with Weber Shandwick that are driven by advocacy, brand communications and conversation management through creative content. We look forward to working with Weber Shandwickto drive and expand our presence and own the thought leadership position in India.â€
Commenting on the association, Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick India, said: “We are honoured and delighted that Mattel Toys has chosen us as partners to further their business objectives. Our content first approach with the integration of digital has paid off big dividends and has been appreciated by our clients. This partnership is testament to the strength of our network and integrated media capabilities, and we are confident that we will drive the desired impact and outcomes for Mattel Toys.â€
Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd., the wholly-owned subsidiary of American multinational Mattel, Inc. has awarded its integrated communications business to Weber Shandwick following a competitive multi-agency pitch. The appointment will see Weber Shandwick roll-out integrated communications solutionsfor the entire portfolio of brands encompassing corporate reputation management, media relations, creatives, social and digital marketing communications.
Commenting on the appointment, Lokesh Kataria, Head – Marketing, Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd. said “India is a growing market for Mattel and our consumers & shoppers both are unique here compared to any other market around the globe. With changing media consumption habits and evolving consumer trends, we were on lookout for a partner who can work with us for effective, engaging and immersive communication to Indian audience, especially millennial moms.
Weber’s strategy to address this growing audience stood out amongst the other agencies that participated in the pitch process. We are excited to build campaigns with Weber Shandwick that are driven by advocacy, brand communications and conversation management through creative content. We look forward to working with Weber Shandwick to drive and expand our presence and own the thought leadership positionin India.â€
Commenting on the association, Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick India said,“We are honoured and delighted that Mattel Toys has chosen us as partners to further their business objectives. Our content first approach with the integration of digital has paid off big dividends and has been appreciated by our clients. This partnership is testament to the strength of our network and integrated media capabilities, and we are confident that we will drive the desired impact and outcomes for Mattel Toys.â€
The scope of the business covers all brands such as Fisher Price, Barbie, Hot Wheels along with Toy box range and spreads across creative, digital, social and traditional forms of communication.
Weber Shandwick has announced Arpana Kumar Ahuja as head of integration, strategy and marketing development for Weber Shandwick India. Based in New Delhi, Arpana will report to CEO Valerie Pinto and is positioned to lead the firm’s strategy towards integration and focus on driving a cultural change in order to build a future-ready agency.
A veteran communications professional with over 25 years’ experience, Ahuja is a well-networked and respected professional within the PR industry in India. Most recently, Ahuja was chief growth officer at PR Pundit, prior to which she was the director of communications at Encyclopedia Britannica.
“We’re well within our journey to become one of the most creative communications firms within the industry and continue to aggressively look for talent that can shape our culture and bring fresh perspective to the business. Arpana brings to the table a freshness, maturity, client network and aggression that will further enhance our growth positioning in the country,†said Pinto on the appointment.
Commenting on her announcement, Ahuja said, “Weber Shandwick is setting benchmarks world over and have established their position as one of the most relevant PR firms changing the face of the industry, globally. The work and focus that the agency has today is one that inspires me. Weber Shandwick is clearly one of the most exciting agencies to work with today and I am looking forward to the journey,â€
Superbrands has announced the launch of SuperStartUps for India. Superbrands invites entries from startups in India to be part of the SuperStartUp honour. This initiative will enable startups to differentiate their brands from an idea perspective and engage users in their brand journey. Startup brands can aim to stand a class apart by being recognised not just for their idea, but also presentation, execution and user satisfaction.
The SuperStartUp Council in India will be led by brand builder turned online entrepreneur, Shivjeet Kullar. It will also features names like ad-film maker Prahalad Kakkar, Deep Kalra, Founder, Make My Trip, Sanjiv Bikchandani, founder Naukri.com, Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick and Anmol Dar, Founder, Superbrands India amongst others.
Speaking on the launch of the initiative, Dar said, “India is fast rising as the startup destination in the world. With the burgeoning of more than 700 brands each year it has become extremely important to differentiate, with credibility and understand from users themselves. We have chosen to partner with Shivjeet in this ecosystem as he not only understands brands and their architecture but is also an entrepreneur in the startup world himself who is keenly aware of the challenges and nuances of being in the ecosystemâ€.
Commenting on the initiative and launch in India, Kullar stated, “We are truly excited with the opportunity to bring SuperStartUps to India. Superbrands simply put, sets the standards for trust, respect and breakout performance. We aim to work with netizens from across the country who will shortlist and score startup brands. Letting consumers be the true judgeâ€.
