MAM

Communication more important than advertising: The Store WPP, David Roth

Published

7 years ago

September 10, 2018

MUMBAI: Local is the way forward. India is at an interesting cusp right now where we see a lot of homegrown brands stealing the thunder of MNCs. The Indian retail industry is witnessing rapid transformation with new technology driving businesses and changing shopper behaviour.

Indian brands get local nuances right which is the key to great marketing and brand building exercise. Interestingly, in the recent BrandZ report by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown, the top 10 brands are all Indian homegrown companies. The list saw HDFC Bank, LIC, Tata Consultancy, Airtel, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Reliance Jio, Flipkart and Paytm make it in the top 10, the first time ever.

It speaks volumes about Indian brands’ credibility, the modern Indian shopper’s behaviour and choices. New technologies are dramatically re-shaping the marketing, entertainment and retail industries. With data-infused in everything, the boundaries between content and commerce continue to blur.

The Store WPP CEO EMEA and Asia David Roth is known as a man whose love for marketing is evident in every statement he makes. Roth loves India, Indian brands, the local retail sector here and is optimistic about the growth in the country.

The Store is WPP’s global retail practice. With offices in London and Chicago, the company shares best practice in retail across WPP’s group companies to facilitate leading-edge thinking and deliver extra value that supports client initiatives.

As a knowledge hub, The Store draws insights from the group’s unparalleled understanding of consumers, retailing, brands, technology and shopper marketing. The Store interprets learnings and insights to a broad audience inside and outside of WPP in the form of conferences, articles, webinars, guest lectures at universities and digital content.

Indiantelevision.com caught up with David Roth where he spoke to us about industry challenges, increasing brand loyalty for Indian brands, way forward for e-commerce and more.

Excerpts:

What are brands and agencies focusing on right now?

I think they are spending more time understanding the consumer better and understanding the consumer journey, from awareness to purchase. They are working out where along that consumer journey is the best place to communicate with them and to give them new information. Brands and agencies are working very hard on innovating in a useful way for the customers.

If we see the recent BrandZ report, HDFC bank retained its pole position for the fifth consecutive year but we haven’t seen too much advertising activity from the brand. Isn’t advertising equally important along with creating brand loyalty and being innovative?

Advertising is clearly important but communication is exceptionally important. There are ways in which brands can now communicate with customers and potential customers as well. The combination of communicating with customers on a one-to-one basis along with brand building communication is the best and cost-effective way to build stronger brands.

What are the things that e-commerce players in India should focus on right now to get more customers on board?

The market currently is a land grab where it is exceptionally hard to get the customer attention and get them to try your products once or twice. For e-commerce companies, most of the effort needs to go in increasing the level of trials and it is equally important to have a promise of providing a seamless experience and a good physical delivery experience. E-commerce platforms have growth opportunity in India and it will only occur if the actual proposition and what they promise to the customers is delivered in reality. The most important metrics for me are acquisition, the cost of acquisition and the per cent of customers they acquire who become their loyal customers.

What are the challenges in the retail industry globally and do you see a growth in the business going forward? Will retail continue to flourish or will we see fewer stores?

Retail is a very challenging business globally at the moment because of the fundamental economic model of retailers that are coming under pressure due to the cost of space. The real estate prices are soaring high around the world and that is not being offset by their ability to raise prices and contain their cost. In addition, they have to invest heavily in new technologies, e-commerce, delivery and that puts a big cost on their structure. However, I believe that physical retail stores are going to stay in the future. I think there will be fewer stores but those stores will be better focused on customer experience.

What’s interesting is that Amazon also has its own store now and other Indian e-commerce players have also started opening brick and mortar outlets…

Amazon, Alibaba and other major e-commerce platforms are all opening up physical stores. This shows the importance of having a mix of both physical stores and virtual shopping in the future, especially grocery stores. In India, the strength of grocery stores is far too much as compared to other parts of the world. It will take a lot for e-commerce to displace them, especially as they deliver most of the e-commerce benefits such as personalised service, fast delivery and they also have an added advantage of giving customer credit.

Everyone talks about how the millennial consumer is fickle about their buying options. How can brands woo this new generation of consumers?

I don’t think the millennial consumers are fickle. I think they know what they want and they are much more prepared to try things. If somebody comes with a new idea, product or innovation in the market, they are much more likely to try it. The millennial consumers are slightly less loyal though because of that, but they value brands and they buy into brands. It is just that they are more difficult to reach but once you reach them, and once they have tried your products, you have every opportunity to make them loyal customers.

Recently, we are seeing an emergence of homegrown Indian brands. Is the Indian audience finally willing to accept and believe in homegrown companies?

It all comes down to a strong consumer proposition and really understanding who the customer is and then being very fast and agile. We are seeing that local brands have the ability to do that quickly and swiftly and that is a distinct advantage when consumers are more fickle about what they choose.

What are some of the key industry problems according to you and how can they overcome them?

The foremost challenge for the industry is the fast-changing consumer and to anticipate those changes. The second challenge is that all companies need to start acting like startups and be agile, quick moving. The third challenge is that consumers are available across different mediums and you just have to find the right mix while creating tailor-made communication for the consumers.

While everyone talks about video being the way forward and how ADEX is shifting towards creating more digital ads, the truth remains that it’s annoying after a point of time. Facebook and Youtube now also have pre-rolled ads that you can’t skip and that’s why we are getting “ad-blocked”. How can the industry skip being ad blocked?

I think brands have to be very good at communication and it all comes down to that. The advertising needs to be timely, appropriate and relevant. We as brand custodians, have a duty to make sure that we are reaching customers in ways that they don’t find it annoying. The more we bombard them with unnecessary ads, the more likely they are to click the skip button and install ad blockers. The ad industry owes it to itself to make sure that we act appropriately and not be ad-blocked by our acts.

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Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

7 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

7 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

7 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.