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Tag: Vikas Mehta

  • LinTeractive would be offering a host of solutions including creation of a new website, SEO, SEM, etc

    LinTeractive wins digital marketing responsibilities for Saint-Gobain Gyproc

    By a correspondent

     

    Saint-Gobain Gyproc India, which manufactures an extensive range of Gypsum boards and plasters systems and solutions for partitions, wall panels, ceilings and internal wall linings has announced the appointment of LinTeractive as its digital AoR.

     

    Gyproc has been working with Lowe Lintas as its creative agency for some time now and found it fitting to pass on the digital mandate to the agency’s digital arm, LinTeractive. LinTeractive would be offering the following suite of services to Saint-Gobain Gyproc India Ltd. including creation of a new website, SEO, SEM, Digital Media Planning & Buying, Social media marketing and Digital campaign creation.

     

    On choosing LinTeractive as its digital agency, NE Subramanian, Head of Marketing at Saint-Gobain Gyproc India Ltd. said, “The choice of LinTeractive was influenced by the fact that it is a partnership with Gyproc’s ATL agency (Lowe Lintas). This was seen as an important factor in ensuring the work across mediums was integrated and spoke the same language to the consumer.”

     

    Adding further on the partnership, Subramanian said that the teams handling Gyproc across both agencies, LinTeractive and Lowe Lintas, are working closely to ensure that the brand message is being delivered seamlessly. “This includes creating a 360 degree campaign for Gyproc where the mass media work creates awareness and leads consumers to the Gyproc website where they are given more specific information that helps them in their decision-making journey. The campaign has been developed with this on and offline interaction as the focal point, making the partnership with LinTeractive integral to its success,” noted Subramanian.

     

    Vikas Mehta

    Commenting on the association with Gyproc, Vikas Mehta, CMO – Lowe Lintas + Partners & Head of LinTeractive said, “Gyproc is another great opportunity for us to build a seamless brand story on and offline. It’s tempting to assume that a category like gypsum boards should be largely B2B and hence boring. We believe Gyproc has the potential to move the conversation from Gypsum boards to great-looking-ceilings. We are delighted to partner Gyproc in the journey and look forward to playing a role in creating business success for the brand.”

     

    Gyproc India is part of the Euro €43 billion Saint-Gobain Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of ceilings, drywalls and gypsum plasters. The company is a pioneer in introducing lightweight interior construction practices in the Indian market, and its products and systems are the preferred choice of companies, builders, interior decorators and end consumers.

     

  • Apart from the Special Award, agency also wins a Grand Prix and 5 other metals at the Awards show

    Lowe Lintas + Partners crowned APAC’s ‘Most Effective Creative Agency’

    By a correspondent

     

    Lowe Lintas + Partners emerged victorious yet again in the ‘Effectiveness’ category as it was bestowed the ‘Special Award: Effectiveness Creative Agency of the Year’ at Tambuli Awards. The agency was also the recipient of the coveted Grand Prix award for its work on ‘Help a Child Reach 5’ under the Insights and Strategic Thinking category for its client Hindustan Unilever Ltd. The awards were held last week in Philippines.

     

    Along with the two wins, Lowe Lintas + Partners also won 2 Silvers for ‘Help a Child Reach 5’ under the Established Brand category and for ‘Mobile – From a Wall to a Bridge’ under the Integrated Mobile-Led Program category. Both the awards were for campaigns done for Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

     

    Sharing his excitement on winning the big awards at Tambuli, Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “I am absolutely thrilled that we are carrying on in 2014, where we left off in 2013. We were declared Most Effective Agency in India in 2013 and now, the most Effective Agency in Asia Pacific. This is testimony yet again to the shared philosophy and belief in the type of work we and our clients believe in.”

     

    Apart from the above recognition, the agency also won 3 Bronze metals for work on ‘Help a Child Reach 5’ under the Creative Effectiveness category, ‘100% Natural. Seeded.’ under the Small Budget Brand category and ‘100% Natural. Seeded.’ under the Integrated Promo and Activation-Led Program category.

     

    Vikas Mehta, CMO, Lowe Lintas + Partners added, “Tambuli is a special award, because it recognizes, not just effectiveness, but also the social impact brands create. At Lowe Lintas +Partners, we see brands as agents of positive social change. Winning the top honour at Tambuli is a great reinforcement of our philosophy. We are thankful to our clients for their support and the University of Asia & Pacific for these awards.”

     

    The accolades at APAC Tambuli Awards come on the back of a series of wins that Lowe Lintas + Partners won at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy Awards, held in Singapore recently. The agency had won the Platinum award for work on ‘Lifebuoy – Help a Child Reach 5’ for its client Hindustan Unilever Ltd. along with three more medals at the prestigious award show.

     

  • LinTeractive will add a layer of brand and consumer engagement expertise on top of the usual capabilities offered by most digital agencies

    Lowe Lintas & Partners’ digital division – LinTeractive, relaunched

    By a correspondent

     

    Post its association with IPG’s full-service digital agency Interactive Avenues last year, Lowe Lintas & Partners has announced the relaunch of its digital division – LinTeractive.

     

    Apart from its focus on offering solutions to clients across digital platforms, what will set LinTeractive apart will be its focus on brand strategy and creative throughput that will form the core of its digital strategy. The end offerings will be delivered seamlessly across multiple platforms by teams of domain specialists comprising strategists, technologists and creators.

     

    LinTeractive will be managed by Mr. Vikas Mehta, Chief Marketing Officer, Lowe Lintas & Partners, who has been entrusted with an additional responsibility of heading the relaunched division.

     

    Speaking about the relaunch activity, Mr. Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas & Partners said: “The relaunch marks Lowe Lintas & Partners’ broader vision of strengthening its group offerings and our proven ability to deliver in-market success for our clients. LinTeractive will work closely with brand teams and Interactive Avenues in conceiving and executing ideas that consumers want to belong to and get involved with.”

     

    Outlining the agenda for LinTeractive in India, Vikas Mehta, CMO, Lowe Lintas & Partners said: “With LinTeractive, we are making a decisive move towards mainlining digital and embedding it into the core of all our offerings including advertising, PR, activation, brand consulting and so on. We believe that digital disciplines have become too crucial to brand success to be treated like a specialist-only function.”

     

    LinTeractive will add a layer of brand and consumer engagement expertise on top of the usual capabilities offered by most digital agencies including search, social, web|mobile, technical development, analytics, campaign activation and digital media.

     

    The new division will work with existing clients of Lowe Lintas & Partners on digital integration as well as with independent clients as a full-service digital agency. Interactive Avenues would continue to partner ‘LinTeractive’ for execution in areas like SEO, SEM, technical development, and online media planning and buying.

     

    The relaunched division would function with offices in Mumbai and Delhi with plans to open the Bangalore arm soon.

     

  • GlaxoSmith-Kline's demand for sign-on bonus from advertising firms to do business with it seems to have divided the Indian advertising and marketing fraternity into two camps on the social media.

    Pharma giant GSK’s sign-on bonus demand leaves adland divided

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    UK pharma major GlaxoSmith-Kline’s demand for sign-on bonus from advertising firms to do business with it seems to have divided the Indian advertising and marketing fraternity into two camps on the social media.

     

    While GSK’s move is being condemned by international advertising agencies that have termed it ‘scandalous’, ‘lazy’ and ‘bullying’, some industry veterans in India support the rebate, saying it will put a leash on media agencies that, they allege, discreetly charge over 10% commission and show 2-3% on record.

     

    Following an Economic Times story on the matter on Monday, advertising veteran Preet Bedi, who has worked with Rediffusion Y&R and Lintas, wrote on his Facebook wall, “The concept of a sign-on bonus payable by agencies to clients is a masterstroke. As an agency man, I would obviously have opposed it but from the outside, I know it’s a great idea.”

     

    His reasons – “one, it forces agencies to pitch only for brands they really wish to be associated with and vice versa. Secondly, it forces agencies to make upfront investment in the new business; currently agencies spend peanuts on new client acquisition. Thirdly, it will force transparency in agency remuneration.”

     

    He also says that the move will lay bare a fraud, media agencies often perpetrate. “U (sic) will find media agencies agreeing to pay more than one or two year’s declared revenue as sign-on bonus. How? Because the actual margins are often double or even triple the declared margins. Quite brilliant; Martin has met his match,” Mr Bedi posted on Facebook.

     

    This sparked a virtual debate on Mr Bedi’s Facebook wall. Harit Nagpal, managing director and CEO, Tata Sky, supported GSK’s move saying, “Why are agencies complaining? If none of them is willing to pay, it won’t happen. And if even one of them is willing, and the client goes for it, disregarding the agency’s merit, he deserves it.”

     

    Kedar Anil Gadgil, principal consultant at Druid System, however, called the concept “an oligopoly of rich, established agencies creating a moat around their castle to protect it from the outsiders” and added that agencies should knock the door of competition lawyers to safeguard their interest.

     

    Mr Bedi, however, opined that nothing can stop sign-on bonus from getting implemented. “…don’t waste your money trying to fight it. If clients want it. (sic) It will happen,” he commented.

     

    He also wrote that while a client contributes an average of Rs 10 crore to an agency’s revenues, “the input on winning a brand is miniscule.”

     

    Vikas Mehta, head of Euro RSCG, Oman, countered it, “The average client does not give an average revenue of (Rs ) 10 crores. Even in the top 5 Delhi agencies, average client revenue will be less than (Rs ) 5 crores and average brand revenue still less. Not workable.”

     

    The fear of many advertising agencies is that if GSK is successful in implementing this, then other marketers may follow suit. In the UK, before GSK made its demand for sign-on bonus, Premier Foods that owns brands like Bisto and Hovis had parted ways with its media agency Starcom MediaVest over “investment payment”, head of an advertising agency said. “So it seems more and more marketers are warming up to it,” the person added, requesting not to be named.

     

    Industry bodies have come out against the sign-on bonus concept. While the Advertising Agencies Association of India has already said it should be “discouraged strongly”, International Advertising Association’s India chapter president Srinivasan K Swamy, said it is an “impractical concept.”

     

    “No marketer or a right thinking person would ask an agency to pay a sign-on bonus. A buyer has to pay for the goods and services he buys and it could not be the other way round,” said Mr Swamy who is also the chairman of RK Swamy BBDO. “If I have signed a contract with my client that says that if sales drop then I will have to pay a penalty then that could be worked out. Otherwise, why should an agency pay a penalty?” A mail sent to Indian Society of Advertisers chairman Hemant Bakshi, who is also the executive director, home & personal care at Hindustan Unilever, remained unanswered till late on Tuesday.

     

    R Ramesh Chandran, co-founder at Xtravision Media Associates, wrote on Mr Bedi’s Facebook wall that Reckitt Benckiser had tried something similar three years ago, with some tough demands such as fee to pitch for the business and penalty for not meeting CPRP targets.

     

    “…nobody pitched…it fell into ZOD’s lap due to international alignment… the situation at ZOD is quite a common knowledge now…Reckitt account is up for grabs again,” Mr Chandran wrote.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • This is a newly created role and is part of the Lowe Lintas and Partners management team.

    Lowe Lintas appoints Vikas Mehta as CMO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lowe Lintas and Partners has appointed Vikas Mehta as Chief Marketing Officer. This is a newly created role and is part of the Lowe Lintas and Partners management team. Mr Mehta joined the agency in May 2013 and will report to Joseph George, CEO Lowe Lintas and Partners.

     

    Mr Mehta’s appointment follows his success as the Regional Growth Officer, Lowe Asia Pacific, where he helped take Lowe among the top 10 agency networks in Asia leading new business and strategic growth initiatives.

     

    In this key leadership role, he will play a pivotal role on driving group strategy for organic and inorganic growth, strengthening Lowe’s brand equity in the market place among marketers and practitioners and building the company’s innovation funnel of new offerings. Additionally, the role includes working with prospective clients by aggregating group offerings.

     

    Mr George commented, “Our growth ambition needs to be pursued in conjunction with further enhancing the thought leadership and agency reputation in the market. It is towards delivering on this objective that Vikas joins us.”

     

    Speaking on his appointment Mr Mehta said, “The business of advertising agencies is going through a transformation and we believe it will be a significantly different ball game soon. The mandate is to help our business capitalize on these changes. The purpose behind creating the marketing function at Lowe is to drive our corporate strategy at a group level.”

     

    Speaking on the challenges that come with this role Vikas believes, “The hardest bit is to try and explain what a CMO is doing in an ad agency. It’s a phenomenon I call ‘too many services and too few solutions’. Every discipline in the marketing spectrum today is being sold as a specialist vertical. As a result, a typical client has a specialist partner each for advertising, digital, search, social, CRM, PR, activation and so on. The biggest challenge is to create a solution that drives medium-agnostic brand strategy, and goes on to build a brand-narrative that straddles all areas of consumer engagement.”

     

    An alumnus of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Mumbai, Mr Mehta brings with him experience across international markets. Prior to his stint in Singapore, he was Managing Director of Lowe Vietnam, heading the agency’s country operations. Before joining the Lowe network in 2006, he worked with advertising agencies such as Publicis and Leo Burnett.

     

    Over the years, he has handled brand portfolios for companies such as Unilever, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, Vinamilk, Total Lubricants, Pernod Ricard, Vietnamobile, Intel, Cathay-Pacific, P&G, Beiersdorf, Raymond, Coca-Cola, Heinz, Diageo and Indian Oil.