MxMIndia

Tag: VMLY&R

  • India leadership will be announced in Q1 2024

    VML announces new leadership APAC, no names yet for India

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    In the world of politics in India, names of Chief Ministers (and not too long ago, even a Prime Minister) doesn’t always happen as per expectations. It could take days, often some weeks.

     

    Which is what’s happening at VML, the new agency that will be born on January 1, 2024 with the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R. The agency has announced its new in-market leadership team for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, except for India. Yes, not for India.

     

    Notes a communique: “Uniting more than 5000 employees across 25 offices in 13 markets in APAC, the new structure has been designed to provide best-in-class support for VML’s clients across the region, featuring market leaders with robust local knowledge and deep expertise spanning customer experience, brand experience and commerce.”

     

    VML is being the world’s most advanced and largest creative company.

     

    Under the leadership of newly appointed VML APAC Co-CEOs Audrey Kuah and Yi-Chung Tay, and with its regional principal offices in Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney, the restructure sees the appointment of the following market leaders (by region) from January 1, 2024:

     

    ANZ

    In Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Tom Tearle, VMLY&R ANZ CEO, is appointed to the role of CEO, VML ANZ. Gavin Bain, Wunderman Thompson CEO for Australia, moves to the role of VML Chief Consulting Officer, ANZ and Managing Director, Perth, Australia.

     

    Southeast Asia

    Singapore: Nimesh Desai, Wunderman Thompson CEO for Singapore, has been appointed as VML CEO, Singapore. Rhys Taylor, VMLY&R Managing Director, Singapore, takes on the role of VML Chief Client Officer, Singapore, focused on ensuring the new VML is providing the full suite of capabilities to its clients.

     

    Indonesia: Samir Gupte, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Indonesia, has been appointed CEO, VML Indonesia.

    Malaysia: Kenni Loh, CEO, VMLY&R Malaysia, has been appointed CEO, VML Malaysia.

    Philippines: Golda Roldan, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Philippines, has been appointed CEO, VML Philippines.

    Thailand: Parattajariya Jalayanteja, CEO Wunderman Thompson, Thailand has been appointed CEO, VML Thailand.

    Vietnam: Ha Nguyen, VMLY&R CEO, Vietnam, has been appointed CEO, VML Vietnam.

     

    East Asia

    In China, Kevin Zhu, VMLY&R China CEO, has been appointed CEO VML, China, and Carter Chow Wunderman Thompson CEO for Greater China, steps into the role of President, VML China.

    Hong Kong: Maggie Wong, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Hong Kong, has been appointed CEO, VML Hong Kong.

    Japan: Ichiro Ota, CEO, VML & Ogilvy Japan remains in his position; while Akira Suzuki, CEO, Wunderman Thompson Japan, moves into the role of COO, VML Japan.

    Taiwan: Even Teng, CEO, Wunderman Thompson, Taiwan has been appointed CEO, VML, Taiwan.

     

    South Asia

    India:  No names yet. The communique says: “India is a key market for VML and we are taking the time to ensure that our teams are led by the most capable leaders for our employees and clients. We will announce India’s leadership in Q1 2024.”

     

    Said Audrey Kuah, Co-CEO, VML APAC: “We are thrilled to introduce our new APAC leadership team, who represent the cream-of-the-crop across two of the most awarded creative agencies in the region. As we unify our storied agencies, there is an exciting opportunity to redefine the possibilities of creativity and set the stage for more innovative and effective work.”

     

    Added Yi-Chung Tay, Co-CEO, VML APAC: “At VML we are dedicated to creating connected brands which matter to the consumer and drive growth for our client partners. Working closely with our leaders across our APAC network, we are well positioned to provide the best possible solutions to our clients’ most pressing business problems via an integrated suite of capabilities which are unsurpassed in the region.”

     

    Meanwhile, there is speculation around who will head VML in India. Saurabh Saksena, CEO of VMLY&R or Shamsuddin Jasani, Chief Executive Officer, Wunderman Thompson South Asia. Consider the explanation given: “India is a key market for VML and we are taking the time to ensure that our teams are led by the most capable leaders for our employees and clients. We will announce India’s leadership in Q1 2024.”

    So, are all other markets in APAC not “key”?

    Taking the time to ensure teams are led by the most capable leaders. Uff, is the current leadership not capable for “employees and clients”?

    Well, while we keep ‘wundering’, suffice to say that such delays do not augur too well for both clients and staff.

    An insider in one of the two (actually four) agencies sent us this:

     

    In the realm of ads and creative glee,

    VMLY&R joins hands with Wunderman Thompson, you see.

    But in India, oh what a mystery,

    No leader yet, just a vacancy.

     

    They search high and low, far and wide,

    For a capable chief to take the stride.

    A leader to steer, with talent and pride,

    Till then, in suspense, we all abide.

     

    In the world of mergers and agency lore,

    The missing leader, we can’t ignore.

    VML, oh who could ask for more?

    A chiefless ship, on an unknown shore.

    Grrr!

     

  • VML will be the world's largest creative company, notes a communique, combining brand experience, customer experience and commerce

    Wunderman Thompson + VMLY&R = VML, effective Jan 1, 2024

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP has  announced the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R. The combined entity will be known as VML and will be the industry’s largest creative company, notes a communique. VML – in the new avatar – will be operational from January 1, 2024.

     

    VML unites the two creative agencies each with  commerce, customer experience and marketing technology capabilities. VML will be equipped to support clients on creative brand growth strategy and transformation initiatives, all powered by data operations, technology platforms and partnerships with leading technology companies. It will also provide an exceptional offer for healthcare companies and B2B marketers.

     

    “Respective client bases, functional expertise and geographic strengths mean the agencies are highly complementary and the combined company will have more than 30,000 people in 64 markets,” noted a communique, adding:  “Jon Cook becomes VML Global CEO and Mel Edwards VML Global President, with the broader management team bringing together strong leaders from across both companies. “

     

    Said Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “Scale matters in today’s world as AI and technology transform marketing and global clients look to simplify their relationships. VML will combine world-class creativity with deep expertise in data, marketing technology and platforms to deliver competitive advantage for ambitious brands. It’s another important step forward for WPP as we continue to reshape our offer for the future, simplify our business and unlock further benefits of scale. Separately, Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R are two of WPP’s strongest and best-performing agencies. Together, they will deliver an even wider, fully integrated suite of capabilities to our clients in every market. Marketers today expect seamless links between their brand advertising and technology solutions and platforms. VML provides an immediate solution to this business imperative.”

     

    Added Jon Cook, Global CEO: “The future of building strong brands and businesses requires the interconnectivity of brand experience, commerce and customer experiences. We recognised the immediate opportunity to create what every consultancy and advertising agency aspires to build with the formation of VML. We’re especially excited to present our new offering to the industry as we don’t believe there is another company as creatively awarded with our depth in customer experience and commerce.”

     

    Sid Mel Edwards, Global President: “This is the right suite of capabilities, offered at just the right moment, at unprecedented scale. It’s incredibly exciting because with this new agency we have the chance to shape the future of modern marketing in every key market around the world. The opportunities it affords our people and the growth we can deliver for our clients at a global scale make this a real game-changer for each business and the wider industry.”

     

    mmediate leadership appointments include Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer; Eric Campbell, Global Chief Client Officer; Juan Pablo Jurado, CEO LATAM; Ewen Sturgeon, CEO EMEA; and Audrey Kuah and Yi-Chung Tay, Co-CEOs APAC.

     

    Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R have also partnered globally across clients such as Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company and more.

     

  • To expand tech-powered creator content capabilities

    WPP acquires social influencer marketing agency Obviously

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP today announced the acquisition of Obviously, a technology-led social influencer marketing agency based in New York, with operations in San Francisco and Paris.

     

    Obviously offers a full stack of end-to-end services, including marketing strategy, influencer identification, content creation, campaign management, and reporting and analysis. Its team of nearly 100 people will join VMLY&R’s network, accelerating the WPP agency’s investment in award-winning data and social media work.

     

    Mae Karwowski, CEO of Obviously, said: “Obviously’s ability to match each client’s unique needs while delivering at a global scale has made us a leader in influencer marketing. Our unique approach to creator-led marketing combined with our proprietary technology has resulted in explosive growth. This acquisition is the best of both worlds; we retain our agile and entrepreneurial culture while benefiting from VMLY&R’s depth of experience and global scale – resulting in accelerated growth for all. We couldn’t be more excited to join the WPP network.”

     

    Jon Cook, CEO of VMLY&R, added: “Bringing Obviously into our VMLY&R family is a clear win as clients demand more intelligent data and results in the influencer space. Obviously’s tech and data capabilities are highly innovative, and its ability to scale creator content quickly and efficiently, and in every language, makes it instantly prepared to be leveraged globally. I’m elated to start working with Mae, Max and the entire Obviously team. We’re excited for what’s to come and the many creative opportunities we’ll unlock together for our client partners.”

     

    Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “The creator economy has experienced huge growth in recent years, and it plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer behaviour. The Obviously team brings an exceptional range of global influencer marketing capabilities and a world-class technology platform that will further strengthen our offer to clients.”

     

  • To drive the integration of VMLY&R’s capabilities across India

    VMLY&R India appoints Saurabh Saksena as CEO

    By Our Staff

     

    Saurabh Saksena
    Saurabh Saksena

    Global brand and customer experience agency, VMLY&R, appoints Saurabh Saksena as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VMLY&R India. He will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Hari Ramanathan, CEO- VMLY&R, South and South-East Asia and Japan.

     

    In his new role, Saksena will drive the integration of VMLY&R’s capabilities across India – from creative excellence to transformational solutions at the intersection of brand and customer experience (BX & CX), data, platforms and commerce.

     

    Hari Ramanathan, CEO, VMLY&R South, and South-East Asia and Japan said: “India is an anchor market for us in Asia and with a breadth and depth of offerings that are unmatched in the industry, VMLY&R India, under Saurabh’s leadership, is all set to help clients get their ‘unfair’ share of growth in a vibrant market. Saurabh represents our continued investment in India, as we believe it’s a market with boundless opportunity and a growth story that is waiting to be unlocked.”

     

  • To highlight the effective approach towards language proficiency test

    VMLY&R creates campaign for Pearson Test of English

    By Our Staff

     

    VMLY&R India has conceptualised and enabled a campaign for Pearson, the British multinational education company, on the Pearson Test of English -“PTE Kar, Befikar‘’.

     

    Said Nikita Parmar, Creative Director – VMLY&R India: “PTE is different. An unbiased test which is more like a friend or a mentor who pushes you to do your best while you stay stress-free or ‘Befikar.’ The aim is to make PTE synonymous with being stress-free, so we thought what is it that resonates with ‘Befikar,’ and the whistle tune was born. We tend to whistle when we are at our relaxed best. PTE’s signature tune will remind and assure people to appear worry-free for the test and pursue their dreams.”

     

     

  • Passport is a leading brand design agency based in Southern California

    WPP acquires branding agency Passport

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP has announced the acquisition of Passport Brand Design, a leading brand design agency based in Southern California.

     

    Said Eric Campbell, VMLY&R Global President: “Our ambitions for network growth reflect the best-in-class range of capabilities we continually offer our clients. This move will expand our network’s brand design expertise, which is essential in determining how brands visually show up in compelling new ways in the world and build a connected consumer experience.”

     

    Added Natalie Taormina, CEO of Passport: “It is a great honour to join a global team of passionate branding and business experts. Nearly twenty years ago, we founded Passport on the mission that great creative output is a result of a great team connection and respect. When the agency is happy, the client is happy. VMLY&R shares this ethos, and with the strength of its global network and WPP’s vision, Passport intends to continue that mission.”

     

    Said Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “With consumer expectations at an all-time high, defining a brand’s characteristics and identity has a major impact on its ability to succeed in today’s world. Passport brings extensive experience in delivering strategic positioning and creative execution across all touchpoints that will greatly benefit our clients. I’m delighted to welcome its people to WPP.”

     

  • VMLY&R Commerce will be WPP’s new end-to-end Creative Commerce Company

    Geometry hooks up with VMLY&R to set up VMLY&R Commerce

    By A Correspondent

     

    WPP has announced the launch of VMLY&R Commerce, a new end-to-end ‘Creative Commerce Company’ combining the talent and scale of two thriving global offerings. VMLY&R Commerce will operate as a distinct company within the VMLY&R global network. VMLY&R Commerce will be fully operational from January 1, 2021, and the integration of the agencies’ teams and assets will continue through 2021.

     

    Notes a communique: “WPP agencies Geometry and VMLY&R will bring together their respective commerce capabilities to provide world-leading expertise and delivery for clients at a time of unprecedented global growth in ecommerce. VMLY&R Commerce will be led by Global Chief Executive Officer Beth Ann Kaminkow, currently Global CEO of Geometry. VMLY&R Commerce will be central to the VMLY&R network’s total brand and customer experience offering. It will help connected brands grow by unifying client strategies around commerce to drive both brand equity and conversion.”

     

    Said Beth Ann Kaminkow: “Consumer experiences today are centered on commerce, making it increasingly important to our clients’ marketing and media decisions. As the pandemic accelerates new consumer behaviors and expectations, commerce is fast becoming the next channel for the most creative engagements and experiences. With the launch of VMLY&R COMMERCE, we can now offer our clients creative commerce at scale, harnessing data and technology to build brands and sell products across channels.”

     

    Added Jon Cook, VMLY&R Global CEO: “I’m thrilled to work with Beth Ann on the evolution of our collective commerce offering through VMLY&R Commerce. We have been partnering closely across many clients and it is clear we share a vision and belief in the role commerce plays in a consumer’s journey and creating connected brands. Importantly, we both have a deep passion for leading our businesses with a focus on culture – both internally and with our client partners which is essential in creating a new company built for the future.”

     

    Said Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “2020 has seen explosive growth in ecommerce as brands adapt to a new reality. This new company will offer outstanding creativity, industry-leading commerce expertise, and sophisticated data and technology skills to help brands grow in an omni-channel world. It also meets clients’ needs for simple, tightly integrated propositions from their marketing services partners.”

     

     

  • The Glitch acquisition by GroupM was announced in February 2018

    Glitch moves from being part of GroupM to VMLY&R

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading digital-led creative agency The Glitch has joined forces with global experience agency VMLY&R. Earlier, it was part of GroupM, when it was acquired in February 2018.

     

    The Glitch and VMLY&R India will continue to operate distinct brands and organisational structures while working together. This will allow clients to experience their combined proposition of marketing talent, capabilities, and experience, while maintaining the simplicity of their current communication cadence with each agency. In a sense a similar message was sent out in Feb 2018: “The Glitch will continue to operate as an independently positioned brand, while taking advantage of GroupM’s larger infrastructure and agency ecosystem.” We don’t know the reasons, but we now have a realignment.

     

    The integration will see The Glitch become a part of the nearly $1 billion global VMLY&R network, which employs over 7,000 people across 75+ offices across the world. These include three offices in India, based in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

     

    The Glitch senior leaders, including CEO Pooja Jauhari, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Rohit Raj, and Co-Founder & Content Chief, Varun Duggirala will now report into Tripti Lochan, Co-CEO of VMLY&R Asia. In addition, the Glitch leadership team along with VMLY&R India CEO Anil Nair, will form an India leadership council to manage strategic decisions for both companies. The council will be headed by Anil Nair.

     

    Said CVL Srinivas, Country Manager, India, WPP: “WPP’s aim is to provide clients with a simplified and integrated offer to help them grow their businesses holistically. The Glitch over the past 10 years has grown to become a digital and content powerhouse, and when combined with VMLY&R’s capabilities in digital transformation and customer experience, can help clients make an impact in their transformation journeys.”

     

    On joining the VMLY&R Network, Pooja Jauhari, CEO, The Glitch, added:: “We have flourished alongside WPP in the past 3 years. The founders and I are delighted that we’ve now found a great permanent home for our brand, our company and most importantly, our people. The Glitch is a gender blind, inclusive and progressive high-performance workspace and with this marriage, we’ve found kindred spirits in VMLY&R when it comes to driving the same vision. We’re eager to explore our complementary capability sets for the benefit of our clients’ businesses. With this union, we believe we are in the best position to help our clients be more agile, sharper and ready for whatever the future may bring.”

     

    Added Anil Nair, CEO, VMLY&R India: “This union spells great news for clients looking at building digital-first brands. In addition to cutting edge solutions such as customer experience (CX), commerce , technology, innovation, AI/ML, data, media innovations and good old culture impacting creativity, we will now be able to add new weaponry to our arsenal, including powerful capabilities in brand experience, new-age content, youth  marketing, connections thinking, brand publishing, and live creativity amongst others. This makes us the most relevant agency group in the market with best possible capabilities to help our clients future-proof their businesses and succeed in the new paradigm.”

     

     

  • The campaign witnessd participation from leading brands such as Fevikwik and Policybazaar and over 1000 influencers

    VMLY&R launches Doritos campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CEbEjNInkj_/

     

    Establishing itself as the ‘Fuel for Disruption’, Doritos has launched its latest digital campaign #BlameItOnCrunch. With this campaign, the brand has created a series asking people to capture moments of disruption that they see around themselves everyday and #BlameItOnCrunch of Doritos.

     

    Speaking on the campaign, Dilen Gandhi, Senior Director and Category Head- Foods, PepsiCo India said: “#BlameItOnCrunch is a simple idea that reflects the product proposition of Doritos in the brand’s own style and humour. The intense flavour and tooth-rattling crunch resonated seamlessly with the Doritians who shared their moments of disruption caused by the power of a Doritos crunch. Consumers have appreciated the campaign as more than 95% influencers have posted organically showcasing various creative renditions and having fun while doing so.”

     

    Added Amandeep Singh, Business Director, VMLY&R, shedding light on the sheer simplicity yet boldness of the campaign:  “VMLY&R is a huge believer in the KISS principle- Keep it simple & silly. We wanted to establish the BOLD tonality that Doritos carries internationally with its crunch in the Indian market as well, so our creatives took the simplest route possible- every distortion you see around yourself is the crunch effect, so simply #BlameItOnCrunch”.

     

     

  • It will provide a clean new interface that showcases the brand philosophy “Think Tomorrow.”

    VMLY&R to revamp digital presence of Bajaj Group

    By A Correspondent

     

    VMLY&R India has been appointed by Bajaj Group to refresh its digital platforms to convey the brand’s heritage, with a clean new interface that showcases the brand philosophy “Think Tomorrow.”

     

    Swati Bhattacharya

    Said Swati Bhattacharya, Chief Communications and Brand Officer of the Bajaj Group: “This is an exciting time for us as a group. Our businesses are on a growth trajectory and we continue to impact millions of lives through our Foundation initiatives for farmers by developing grassroots infrastructure. Our new brand identity gives shape to our vision of building a unified Bajaj Group brand that leverages synergies across group businesses and drives a common culture based on our heritage and future ambitions. We feel like VMLY&R understands how to manifest this brand philosophy in the digital space through various touchpoints starting with the website and bring to life our brand ethos of “Think Tomorrow” effectively.”

     

    Saurabh Mathur

    Added Saurabh Mathur, Business Head, Experience & Technology at VMLY&R India: “Bajaj Group has a rich history full of stories. It has been a pleasure designing these stories into digital experiences that allow Bajaj’s partners and consumers to truly understand the brand and feel their promise of “Think Tomorrow” as deeply as Bajaj does. We look forward to launching first their new site, followed by the rest of their digital ecosystem, to help them connect with their community across every touch point.”

     

     

  • ‘Extraa Wali Diwali’ tells consumers not to hesitate or hold back during their festive shopping

    VMLY&R India and Big Bazaar tell customers to shop without restrictions

    By A Correspondent

     

    Given the slowdown concerns, VMLY&R and Big Bazaar hacked into the moment marketing phenomenon by expressing moments of frugality through frugal storytelling. It manifested in the form of a series of Thumbstopper films to remind customers of where they can fulfil their festive shopping desires. ‘Extraa Wali Diwali’ tells consumers not to hesitate or hold back during their festive shopping, because of the offers they can find at Big Bazaar.

     

    Said Abbas Mirza, Associate Creative Director, VMLY&R: “These films are a product of mapping the customer journey in- store, including how consumers interact with their mobiles while shopping. In this world of connected consumer experiences where offline shopping can be influenced in real-time by online ads, we used Facebook’s new storytelling platform for Extraa Wali Diwali, which tells people they don’t have to hold back because of the great offers available. Through this campaign, customers realize they no longer need to juggle between indulging themselves and being mindful of their budgets during festive times, solving a conflict for the consumer as well as for our client.”

     

    Added Pawan Sarda, Group Head – Digital, Future Group: “Festival is one of the most important consumption periods for the retail sector. We want to let our customers know that Big Bazaar understands their needs and has the right offers to make their Diwali Extra special. We took the route of ‘thumbstoppers’, which is native to Facebook and through real-life instances built short stories that move to bring out the action.”

     

     

  • He joins VMLY&R from Leo Burnett

    VMLY&R India appoints Kevin Lobo as ECD 

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kevin Lobo

    VMLY&R has announced the appointment of Kevin Lobo as Executive Creative Director, VMLY&R India, adding to the rapidly expanding creative team put together by Venkatgiri Rao, CCO, VMLY&R SEA & India. He joins VMLY&R from Leo Burnett.

     

    Lobo brings more than a decade of experience driving campaigns for global and Indian brands such as Diageo, Unilever, Bajaj Motorcycles, Bajaj Allianz, Parle, Maybelline, Parachute, Cadbury’s and Adidas.

     

    Said Rao: “Kevin is a delightful, creative thinker and a sharp strategic brain, with a focus on work that works – a rare and powerful combination. His experience on bold, new-age campaigns is why he is perfectly suited for an idea-first agency like VMLY&R, which leads with digital thinking while doing integrated work for brands. Also, the sheer energy and learning he brings to the game every day is inspiring. Making him a perfect mentor for our young talent looking to learn the business.”

     

    Commenting on his new position, Lobo added: “VMLY&R is consistently in the Top 10 on Adage’s Agency A-List, rubbing shoulders with the best of the best in the world, so it was a no-brainer for me to join. The lines between mainline and digital advertising are blurring fast, and at VMLY&R, I see that at work every day. Young creatives here are not just creating integrated campaigns for local brands but for top brands in Singapore and Indonesia as well. The energy is infectious! With solid tech and innovation capabilities and great ambition, I hope I can contribute to VMLY&R India joining the A-list soon.”

     

    Said Tripti Lochan, Co-CEO, VMLY&R Asia: “Kevin brings an inspired view to every piece of work, and with experience leading teams to success, I am confident that he is a great addition to VMLY&R. As we build our presence in India, we are excited to have his perspective and expertise driving success for our clients.”