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Category: AD Agencies

  • “Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show saw a rise in participation from media and creative companies”: Ajay Kakar

    “Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show saw a rise in participation from media and creative companies”: Ajay Kakar

    Mumbai: The 55th edition of the Abby Awards powered by One Show marks a milestone in the recognition of excellence in advertising, bringing together the industry’s brightest minds and creative talents. This year’s awards showcase an increase in participation and entries, reflecting the growing competitiveness in the advertising community.

    Indiantelevison.com caught up with Ajay Kakar – Chairperson of Awards Governing Council Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show and Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club, where he shared a deeper understanding on the relevance of the event, judging process and much more!

    Edited excerpts

    On the relevance of conducting Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show

    We have remained contemporary and attuned to the changing times. We are the only awards that I know of which are for the industry, by the industry, and of the industry. While there are award shows that operate primarily as commercial platforms, our focus is on inspiring and recognizing our own industry.

    On the surge in participation and entries

    This year, the Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show saw a rise in participation from media and creative companies. The number of media agencies involved jumped to 73, up from 63 last year, while creative companies saw an increase from 181 to 198. The entries from media agencies surged to 1,258 from last year’s 1,019, indicating an engagement in the competition. Although the entries from creative companies slightly decreased to 2,248 from 2,282, the total number of entries reached an impressive 3,506 surpassing last year’s 3,301.

    On the introduction of new categories

    The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show introduced three new age categories – Digital, Mobile, and Technology, which garnered 626 entries from 75 companies. This addition reflects the evolving landscape of advertising, emphasizing the importance of innovation and technological integration in the industry.

    On the diverse and inclusive jury

    A panel of 23 jury chairs and 204 jurors across 23 categories ensured a rigorous and fair judging process. This year’s jury included 68 female judges, contributing to a 33:67 gender ratio, and out of the 23 jury chairs, nine were women, reflecting a commendable 40:60 ratio. The inclusion of 53 new, young, award-winning judges, constituting 26 per cent of the jury, underscores the bright and shining future for India.

    On the return of leading agencies

    Prominent agencies such as Lowe Lintas, McCann Worldgroup India, DDB Mudra, and Famous Innovations returned to compete, highlighting their influence in the advertising sector.

    On the rigorous judging process

    The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show employed a meticulous judging process, combining the renowned One Show system of shortlist and award rating with independent verification by KPMG. This rigorous approach ensures the highest standards of integrity and credibility in the selection of winners.

    On this year’s new and exciting categories

    This year’s awards introduced several new and exciting categories to acknowledge the latest trends and innovations in advertising:

    1.Best Use of AI: Added as a sub-category in both digital and technology verticals.

    2.Copywriting for Web and Digital Craft: Added in digital and digital verticals.

    3.Health Vertical: This new category includes sub-categories such as OTC Oral Medicines, OTC Products, and Nutraceuticals. Additionally, a new specialist agency award, Health Specialist of the Year, recognises the best performance by a company in this vertical.

  • Goafest 2024 unveils stellar line-up of speakers and sessions

    Goafest 2024 unveils stellar line-up of speakers and sessions

    Mumbai: Gearing up to present three days of learnings, discussions, and deliberations while celebrating creative excellence, Goafest 2024 presents a stellar line-up of speakers for its 17 edition. With sessions that discuss various facets of the festival’s theme ‘The Age of Adaptability’, Goafest 2024 promises to unpack and deliver practical learnings through topics that are of significant relevance through keynotes, discussions, masterclasses and more.  

    The festival will host over 50 speakers and entertainers, across 20 sessions in addition to 15 masterclasses.

    Tata Play’s managing director and CEO, Harit Nagpal and Sanjiv Mehta, executive chairman, L Catterton India are among the select few who will address attendees through keynotes.  

    Additionally, Tarun Puri, senior operating partner, Lighthouse Funds, Asha Kharga, chief customer & brand officer, Mahindra Group, Raymond Lifestyle’s Sunil Kataria, Maruti Suzuki’s Shashank Srivastava, Nestle’s Chandan Mukherjee, Tata Motors’ Shubhranshu Singh, The Good Glamm Group’s Sukhleen Aneja, Honasa’s Zairus Master, Darshana Shah from Aditya Birla Capital, among others will engage in conversations and discussions. Other prominent speakers include Dr Marcus Ranney, Manoj Bajpayee, Sourav Ganguly, Zeenat Aman, Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankar, Neha Dhupia, Tahira Kashyap and Neelesh Misra.

    In addition to Goafest sessions, Goafest 2024 will host the second edition of its talent showcase, ‘Advertising Rocks’. Moreover, making way for wholesome entertainment will be performances by Sukhwinder Singh and Harshdeep Kaur as well as an After Hours Party each day.

    On unveiling the stellar line-up of speakers and sessions, Goafest 2024 FCB Global partner and chairman of the content committee Rohit Ohri said, “Goafest 2024 is set to ignite minds, spark creativity, and explore new frontiers in the ever-evolving landscape of advertising and marketing. We are excited to offer a diverse array of speakers and sessions that celebrate creative excellence and emphasize the crucial role of adaptability in thriving within our industry. With warm hearts and joyful smiles, we eagerly anticipate welcoming all delegates and together redefining the future of our business.”

    Anupriya Acharya, CEO South Asia, Publicis Groupe, and Immediate Past President of The Advertising Agencies Association of India further added, “This year at Goafest, we are embarking on a transformative journey with the theme ‘The Age of Adaptability’. Our carefully curated speaker line-up reflects this ethos, showcasing how our industry must pivot and innovate in response to shifting landscapes. From insightful sessions to vibrant celebrations, Goafest 2024 will promise an enriching experience for all. With this, we are eagerly looking forward to welcoming our delegates, confident that together, we will navigate the ever-evolving currents of our industry with agility and ingenuity.”

    Visit https://www.goafest.com/goafest2024/event-schedule.php for the event schedule along with speakers, and sessions.

    For details and registrations for masterclasses visit, https://www.goafest.com/goafest2024/event-schedule.php#masterclass.

    Don’t miss out on attending South Asia’s foremost advertising and marketing festival. Register today by visiting  https://www.tecogis.com/goafest/client/Login.aspx

    For details on partnership opportunities, masterclasses, talent initiative ‘Advertising Rocks’ and more, visit goafest.com

    For more updates, follow Goafest 2024 on Instagram @goafestlive. Follow @theadclubindia on Instagram for updates on the Abby Awards 2024 Powered by One Show.

     

  • Ogilvy earns Network of the Year at the 2024 D&AD Awards

    Ogilvy earns Network of the Year at the 2024 D&AD Awards

    Mumbai: With 44 total Pencils and 52 Shortlists, highlighted by 1 Future Impact Pencil and 4 Yellow Pencils, Ogilvy was named Network of the Year at the 2024 D&AD Awards. It marks the first time Ogilvy has earned the honour at the D&ADs since 2020.

    Ogilvy’s global chief creative officer Liz Taylor said: “The D&AD Awards are among the most prestigious global award shows in our industry, so it’s a genuine thrill to be named Network of the Year. It’s a testament to all our brilliant people who are united by a belief in the power of creativity to create impact for our clients and in our communities around the world. We are particularly gratified to have been recognised for doing our best work on behalf of our biggest brands. We wouldn’t be where we are without our incredible clients, whose continued partnership and collaboration drive us forward.”

    “Filter Caps” for Baylor Foundation and the Colombia Red Cross from Ogilvy Bogotá earned a Future Impact Pencil, which is awarded to early-stage projects that demonstrate the potential to drive behavioural, environmental, societal, or policy change through creativity. The campaign created biodegradable caps which affixed to bottles of water to mineralize the water and make it safe for consumption. The caps were created via 3D printing and made from sweet corn starch-based resin—a sustainable and biodegradable option—which considerably reduces dependence on conventional plastics. The caps were distributed in Colombia to areas that lack access to clean drinking water.

    Two Ogilvy campaigns earned Yellow Pencils, which are given to “outstanding work that achieves true creative excellence.”

    “Michael CeraVe” for CeraVe by WPP Onefluence, led by Ogilvy PR North America, earned 3 Yellow Pencils—one each in Media (Social), PR (Use of Talent & Influencers), and PR (Integrated). The campaign, built on the internet rumour that actor Michael Cera was the mastermind behind CeraVe, was brought to life across multiple online platforms through influencer partnerships, before culminating in a Super Bowl TV spot that proved that CeraVe was actually developed by dermatologists. The campaign also earned 2 Graphite Pencils, 1 Wood Pencil, and 5 Shortlists.

    Dove’s “#TurnYourBack,” developed by Ogilvy UK and DAVID Madrid, won a Yellow Pencil in the Integrated (Large Enterprise) category. #TurnYourBack was created in response to the Bold Glamour filter on social media, with an influencer-led effort to address the psychological impact on girls and women’s confidence that invited women everywhere to fight the filter by not showing their faces.

    In total, the Ogilvy network earned 1 Future Impact, 4 Yellow, 11 Graphite, and 28 Wood Pencils, with 52 Shortlists. The D&AD Awards gather the world’s best creative work from across the commercial design, advertising, production and craft disciplines, judged by more than 300 global creative leaders, practitioners and innovators.

  • “Bad ads are spam but good ads are content”: Moloco India’s Siddharth Jhawar

    “Bad ads are spam but good ads are content”: Moloco India’s Siddharth Jhawar

    Mumbai: Ad personalisation isn’t just about tailored ads, it’s about transforming them into engaging content for enhanced user experience. Moloco, a multinational adtech company pioneering machine learning, is at the forefront of this revolution. In a strategic partnership with Viacom18 and JioCinema, Moloco’s advanced capabilities are reshaping the landscape of Indian advertising.

    From combating ad fraud to leveraging 5G for programmatic innovation, Moloco is driving tangible results for advertisers while prioritising user privacy. With success stories like Zupee’s 5x growth and significant user jumps for Rummytime, Moloco’s vision for India extends beyond market growth—it’s about fostering innovation and empowering businesses to thrive in a dynamic digital ecosystem.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with Moloco India general manager Siddharth Jhawar to talk about growing concerns about ad fraud and privacy in the Indian market, the future of programmatic advertising in India, and much more…

    Edited Excerpts:

    On Moloco addressing growing concerns about ad fraud and privacy in the Indian market

    We believe that complete transparency, constant vigilance, & working with trusted partners are critical to ensuring that advertisers and customers are protected from fraud and privacy concerns.

    Moloco ads reports advertising spends to the most granular level, which empowers advertisers to pressure-test the quality of their traffic for any suspicious activity. For instance, we capture timestamp data and then analyze whether the time taken between viewing an ad, clicking on it, installing an app, and making a purchase are coherent with expected customer behaviour. It certainly helps if an advertiser works only with reputed channels, because it minimizes the risk of fraudulent activity.

    First-party data is critical for a machine learning engine to become intelligent in identifying high-value users of an advertiser. Hence it becomes even more important to adopt the highest standards of safety and privacy to help companies grow while ensuring their customers’ privacy.

    On Moloco envisioning the future of programmatic advertising in India, with the advent of 5G

    Moloco ads processes seven million requests per second. We take 14 milliseconds to make a deep neural network prediction. Building this kind of infrastructure has taken us more than a decade, and it helps that network speeds are improving. The advent of 5G will support the nature of innovation that we do in terms of speed and efficiency of computational infrastructure.

    On Moloco’s approach to ad personalisation and its impact on user experience

    Bad ads are spam but good ads are content. If an ad can be hyper-personalised to a user and their context, it improves the customer experience and also gives better returns to an advertiser.

    The trends we see today are that customers want great but inexpensive service without being bombarded with ads, advertisers want maximum returns on every rupee spent, and platforms want to grow fast while also being profitable. Personalized ads address these needs by enhancing the customer experience, delivering measurable outcomes to advertisers, and boosting advertising revenue for platforms. But this is easier said than done. There are almost five billion internet users in the world today. We can not expect any two customers to be exactly the same. But when the scale is massive, 1-1 targeting becomes computationally tough. This is when companies need world-class machine learning systems to support them. Moloco uses machine learning that works on an advertiser’s first-party data and helps them show hyper-personalised ads to users while also optimising bid prices and probabilities in real-time – that is tough, but when done right, can be valuable to both advertisers and customers.

    On the strategies that Moloco employs to effectively integrate in-game and mobile advertising for maximum engagement

    Showing relevant and hyper-personalised ads to a user on a gaming app improves their engagement levels on the app. India’s gaming industry makes about one-fifth of its revenue from in-app advertising, and this trend is expected to grow further.

    On Moloco’s approach to operational machine learning and its significance in optimising ad campaigns

    Operational machine learning is special in four ways – it is autonomous, it involves real-time predictions, it can work at massive scale, and it is highly adaptable to the context. While machine learning and artificial intelligence have become household terms now, building an operational machine learning system at scale is a problem that very few companies in the world have effectively cracked.

    We use this operational machine learning system to train on an app’s first party data, identify high-value users, and efficiently bid for them on the open internet – this helps the app acquire more high-value users which can grow their revenue and profitability.

    On Moloco’s partnership with Viacom18 and JioCinema exemplifying its commitment to revolutionising the ecosystem in India

    Viacom18 is building one of the largest streaming platforms in the world and we are proud to be their ad-tech partners. The platform has immense scale and saw 32 million concurrent users during IPL 2023 – we use Moloco’s machine learning and ad-serving capabilities to serve relevant ads at astronomical scale on JioCinema.

    On any success stories or case studies where Moloco’s solutions have driven tangible results for advertisers in India

    Within a matter of 18 months, we have created a measurable impact on several industries and digital platforms in India. Moloco ads works with nine of the ten largest gaming apps in India and we have driven high-quality user growth for them. Our partner Zupee attained 5x growth and 3x return on ads spend targets using our ML engine. Rummytime from the Gameskraft group saw a significant jump in their high-value users. We also used our monetisation solution for CityMall to help them build an in-house advertising business and increase ROAS by 900 per cent. There are over 40 apps who have benefited from Moloco’s machine learning in India.

    On Moloco’s plan to further expand its footprint and partnerships in the Indian market moving forward

    India is a unique region for Moloco. Not only is the India market a small yet fast-growing region, India is also emerging as an innovation hub of Moloco. The entrepreneurial activity and scale in India make it an exciting place to develop machine learning products. For this reason, we are also building a global engineering centre in Bangalore, so that we can build products in India that can be scaled to the rest of the world.

  • Weekend Unwind with Admatazz’s Samyaak Jain

    Weekend Unwind with Admatazz’s Samyaak Jain

    Mumbai: With another weekend upon us, it is time to unwind with the latest Q&A edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind—a series of informal chats that peek into the minds of business executives through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.

    In this week’s session, we have Admatazz head- client relations & business growth Samyaak Jain.

    Without further ado, here it goes…

    Your mantra for life

    It’s based on a tattoo me and my wife share – give without remembering and receive without forgetting

    A book you are currently reading or plan to read

    I recently developed the desire to read. Currently reading ‘Never Split the Difference’ by Chris Voss.

    Your fitness mantra

    Working out four days a week along with playing a sport twice a week. All of this physical activity while being conscious about what you eat is pretty much what I aim for

    Your comfort food

    Rice and sambhar with aloo fry

    A quote or philosophy that keeps you going when the chips are down

    Great things happen to those who don’t stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.”

    – Roy T. Bennett

    Your guilty pleasure

    Pizza, for life!

    The last time you tried something new

    Pickle ball. It’s very addictive and I ensure playing two-three times a week.

    A life lesson you learned the hard way

    You have to push yourself, especially when you don’t want to be pushed.

    What gets you excited about life?

    The infinite possibilities for growth, learning and discovery. The diversity of experiences, perspectives and knowledge in the world is fascinating. Whether it’s uncovering a new idea, solving a problem, or simply sharing in the beauty of human connection, life is full of exciting moments waiting to be embraced.

    What’s on top of your bucket list?

    To travel to at least five different countries with my wife, experiencing new cultures, cuisines, and adventures together.

    If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

    Read. There’s nothing else that can help you grow.

    One thing you would most like to change about the world

    Humanising the world more while the world is trying to machine everything. Given the current state of the world, I would also like to increase empathy and compassion among humanity.

    An activity that keeps you motivated and charged during tough times

    Working out or playing a sport

    What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

    Music. It is therapeutic for me.

    Your go-to stress buster

    Playing FIFA with friends.

  • Praful Akali and Ashish Khazanchi appointed as jury chairs for Abby Awards 2024

    Praful Akali and Ashish Khazanchi appointed as jury chairs for Abby Awards 2024

    Mumbai: Medulla managing director and founder Praful Akali and Enormous, founder and chief creative officer Ashish Khazanchi join as jury chairs for Health category and Still Print category respectively, at The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show.

    Medulla managing director and founder Praful Akali has been appointed Jury Chair of Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the newly created Health category.

    Praful is among the most awarded healthcare creative professionals globally since 2015. He has had close to 50 shortlists and over 20 awards including a Grand Prix at the leading global awards Lions Health, Clio, Global, London Festival, and Spikes.

    As one of the few creatively renowned professionals that has also worked as a client, last at Pfizer, Praful demonstrates how creativity and effectiveness work together.

    In 2016, the Last Words campaign was published in the Gunn Report as one of the only 15 campaigns globally that won gold at the Lions and a marketing effectiveness awards show like the Effies. In 2017, Medulla repeated the feat with Last Laugh work which won a Grand Prix at Clio and two Gold at the APAC Effies.

    Praful has led Medulla to win the Healthcare Agency of the Year in 2016 at Cannes Lions. Medulla has been the only agency globally to feature in the top three agencies of the year, each of the first three years of Lions Health. Medulla is also the only healthcare specialist agency in the list of the World’s Leading Independent Agencies 2018.

    Praful has served as a jury member at Cannes Lions, LIA, Clio, Effies and the Global Awards. He has been a speaker at Cannes and other forums and his opinion pieces have appeared in several advertising and business publications.

    In 2018, he spoke on the motto of Lion’s Health, life-changing creativity on the Lions Health Inspiration stage.

    Enormous founder and chief creative officer Ashish Khazanchi has been appointed Jury Chair of Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Still Print category.

    Ashish has worked in most of the major agency networks and on some of the biggest global, and Indian brands. He has taken Enormous from a startup to one of the leading independent creative agencies in the country. Ashish led Enormous to become the first independent agency to win a Grand Effie in the country this year.

    Prior to this, Ashish was the National Creative Director, at Publicis Ambience. An MBA graduate from IIM Bangalore with over 30 years in advertising, he has created the iconic Jingalala campaign for Tata Sky and many others.

    He has won over 300 awards with many international ones like the One Show, D&AD, Spikes and Cannes.

    Ashish has held leadership roles in agencies like Y&R, Ogilvy, McCann and Publicis.

    The Abby Awards powered by One Show will be held on the 29, 30, and 31 of May during Goafest 2024.

  • Madan Bahal, Prateek Bhardwaj, and Amit Sharma appointed as Jury Chairs for Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show

    Madan Bahal, Prateek Bhardwaj, and Amit Sharma appointed as Jury Chairs for Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show

    Mumbai: Madan Bahal, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, Prateek Bhardwaj, Chief Creative Officer and Head of Creative (India) at Lowe Lintas and Amit Sharma, Founder Director of Chrome Pictures join as jury chairs for Public Relations category, Direct category and Video Craft category respectively, at The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show.

    Madan Bahal, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, has been appointed Jury Chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Public Relations category.

    Adfactors is India’s largest and most recognised public relations firm. Founded in 1997, Adfactors PR is also the youngest and the only independent firm in its peer group in India.

    Over the last 25 years, Madan has had the privilege to serve as a lead communication counsel in many of the milestone events of Corporate India, including fundraises, M&As, disputes, litigations, issues, and crises. The firm currently serves over 500 retained clients, including many of India’s leading conglomerates, corporations, unicorns, financial institutions, and NGOs.

    In 2022, the Arthur W. Page Society inducted Mr Bahal into its Hall of Fame. Some of the prominent recognitions that he has received so far include: International Communications Consultancy Organization’s (ICCO) Hall Of Fame (November 2017), PRovoke’s Individual outstanding achievement in Asia-Pac (September 2013), Communicator of the Decade by the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), and the Life Time Achievement Award by the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI).

    In October 2020, PRovoke recognised his firm as one of the seven global agencies of the decade.

    A vocal advocate of continuous learning and development for PR practitioners, Madan is regarded for providing leadership in the Indian PR industry during major adverse events such as the global financial meltdown during 2008 and the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Prateek Bhardwaj,Chief Creative Officer and Head of Creative (India) at Lowe Lintas has been appointed Jury Chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Direct Category.

    With over 20 years in the business, Prateek has earned a slew of prestigious awards including the Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and Jay Chiat Awards, and the coveted Black Pencil at D&AD.

    Prateek is ranked India’s No.1 most awarded creative for 2018, according to various sources, including CampaignBrief Asia.  Prateek was the Creative Director behind the much acclaimed recent work on Nescafé (stammering comedian and RJ Rishi), Ministry of Public Health, Afghanistan (Immunity Charm), and Incredible India.

    His other notable work includes long-running campaigns for Dettol and PayTM and the still-famous launches of Sprite (Bujhaye only pyaas), Kinley, and Chlor-mint.

    Prateek has also been a creative entrepreneur and founded Eleven Brandworks in 2008.

    Amit Sharma, Founder Director of Chrome Pictures, has been appointed Jury Chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Video Craft category.

    Amit is a leading ditrctor of ad films and now feature films. Some of his groundbreaking TVCs are Pooja Didi – Facebook, Dove #StopTheBeautyTest, Lifebuoy – Help A Child Reach Five, Silent National Anthem, Google Reunion and many more.

    Amit has bagged several prestigious awards including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Spikes Asia, Adfest, London International Awards, Abby among others.

    Amit’s style of filmmaking has always revolved around topics that question the society at large and challenges its norms. For instance, his National award winning feature film, Badhaai Ho (directed and produced under his banner Chrome Pictures), addresses the issues that a middle aged couple, with two grown sons, face when they get pregnant at the age of 51.

    His latest film “Maidaan”, a biopic starring Ajay Devgn on the Indian football coach Syed Abdul Rahim has done well at the box office.

    With a focus on choosing subjects which are path breaking and unconventional, Amit believes in telling stories which are relatable, relevant and thought provoking.

  • Leo Burnett India announces the elevation of Vikram Pandey and Sachin Kamble as chief creative officers

    Leo Burnett India announces the elevation of Vikram Pandey and Sachin Kamble as chief creative officers

    Mumbai – Leo Burnett India, part of the Publicis Groupe India has announced changes to its senior creative leadership with the elevation of  Vikram Pandey and Sachin Kamble from National Creative Directors to Chief Creative Officers for Leo Burnett, South Asia. They will continue to report into Publicis Groupe – South Asia and Chairman CCO and Leo Burnett – South Asia Rajdeepak Das.  

    As national creative directors, Sachin and Vikram have been an integral part of Leo Burnett India’s success story which includes the winning of accolades across national and global platforms for its outstanding work. As Chief Creative Officers, they will lead the creative growth for the agency across its offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru to elevate its creative output and contribute to the agency’s strategic initiatives.

    Commenting on the announcement, Das said, “This is a huge moment for Leo Burnett. Sachin Kamble and Vikram Pandey have both spent years alongside me enhancing our creative talent. They have been my co-conspirators as we led Leo Burnett to its current glory.  As leaders, they exemplify the Leo Burnett value system, centred around people and purpose, powered by creativity to deliver impactful work for our clients. There are no two better individuals to lead Leo Burnett’s creative growth and I am looking forward to seeing them create even more magic together.”

    Adding further, Leo Burnett – South Asia CEO Amitesh Rao said, “We have always believed in offering growth opportunities to our people and both Vikram and Sachin have proven themselves to be incredible talents, well deserving of the promotion. Their calibre and commitment to creative excellence sets them apart from their peers and I am delighted to recognise their leadership as Chief Creative Officers.”

    Speaking about the elevation, Leo Burnett – South Asia CCO Sachin Kumble said, “For the past decade, we’ve invested heavily in cultivating a creative culture. Our vision is clear: to be the best in the world by prioritising new-age work and championing young talent. For us at Leo Burnet, everything revolves around our Humankind work ethos and ideas which will impact a billion. I’m incredibly excited to take on this new role and feel fortunate to have an exceptionally talented co-captain for this journey.”

    Adding further, Leo Burnett – South Asia CCO Vikram Pandey said, “We’ve had a really good run in last 3-4 years. We’ve won top honours at all international award shows, we manage some of the biggest businesses and most sought-after brands, and we have an enviable, talented bunch working with us.  I feel we are completely aligned to deliver on the promise of modern creativity and I am absolutely delighted to lead it from the front. There couldn’t be a better partner to do this with, than Sachin, we both go back a long way and the next chapter is only going to be most interesting.”

    Pandey has been with Leo Burnett for the past 16 years. He started as a Junior Copywriter at Leo Burnett and over the years, he has been responsible for creating market-moving, category redefining work, be it launching and creating brand Spotify in India, making Acko a new-age insurance brand or more recently developing one of Leo Burnett’s most awarded campaigns – Airtel’s 175 Replayed.

    Kumble has been with Leo Burnett for almost a decade and has been instrumental in creating some of the agency’s biggest work, including the Bajaj V campaign for which Leo Burnett went on to win India’s first effectiveness award at the prestigious Cannes Lions. 

  • Niraj Ruparel, Chandani Samdaria, Chandni Shah, Senthil and P G Aditya appointed as jury chairs for Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show

    Niraj Ruparel, Chandani Samdaria, Chandni Shah, Senthil and P G Aditya appointed as jury chairs for Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show

    Mumbai: Niraj Ruparel, Emerging tech lead for WPP and head of mobile at GroupM, Chandani Samdaria, executive creative director at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Chandni Shah, COO of FCB Kinnect, Senthil, CCO, VML and P G Aditya, CCO and co-founder of Talented, join as jury chair for Technology category, Red Abby category, Mobile category, Integrated category and Digital category respectively, at The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show.

    Niraj Ruparel, Emerging Tech Lead for WPP and Head of Mobile at GroupM, has been appointed jury chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Technology category.

    Niraj is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in Generative AI, Metaverse Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Voice Marketing, XR marketing, consumer platforms, brand communications, and marketing analytics.

    Niraj has been instrumental in developing cutting-edge creative technology solutions for agencies and clients in India.

    Niraj is a go-to expert for all things related to voice, technology, mobile, and digital platforms. His work has won several awards, including FOMG, WARC, Cannes, and I-com Data Creativity Awards. In addition, he has been personally recognised for his achievements, including winning the prestigious inaugural WPP Ignite awards, Niraj has been listed in Campaign Asia’s Top 40 Rising Talent and has been featured as a top digital marketing leader in 2022 by CMO Asia.

    Niraj was recently awarded for his contribution to Metaverse & AI industry at IAA Tech Plus 2023.

    Niraj is a true industry maverick shaping the future of digital marketing. Additionally, he’s also a die-hard fitness fanatic, hula hooper and an affectionate father.

    Chandani Samdaria, executive creative director at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, India has been appointed jury chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Red Abby category

    Chandani has been a National Gold Medalist in Figure and Artistic Skating.  She then smoothly transitioned from gliding on wheels to gliding through ideas, campaigns and briefs.

    With a career spanning over 14 years, she has honed her skills at agencies like Lowe Lintas, Leo Burnett and now L&K Saatchi &. Saatchi.

    Chandani was awarded 40 under 40, 2023 by Social Samosa.

    Chandani has created campaigns for giants like Vicks, Head & Shoulders, Nivea, Tide, Ariel, Amazon Audible, Knorr, Closeup, Kwality Wall’s, Axis Bank, Hotstar, and more.

    For every brand, her forever mantra has been to conceive campaigns that weave powerful ideas through cultural insights.

    Chandni Shah, COO of FCB Kinnect has been appointed jury chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Mobile category.

    Chandni heads a team of over 400 talented #Kinnectors across multiple cities. Her charisma is unmatched and she’s a torchbearer for the next generation. Her all-guns-blazing attitude has forged strong client relationships, attracting an enviable roster of blue-chip companies.

    Under her leadership, FCB Kinnect has won some note-worthy global industry accolades, such as Cannes Lions, One Show, Spikes Asia, Grand Clio and many more.

    She was one of IMPACT’s 50 Most Influential Women. She was also the recipient of the SHE 2022 award by Agency Reporter. Chandni has also been listed in Campaign South Asia’s prestigious 40 Under 40 Award and the Young Business Leader Award for the South Asia region.

    While having contributed to almost all their large clients, she works closely with HDFC Bank, Amazon, Tata Motors, TVS, Aditya Birla Capital Group etc.

    A young woman leader herself, Chandni grooms her #Kinnectors to break the ceiling and #GetGreatShitDone.

    Senthil CCO, VML India has been appointed jury chair in the Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Integrated category.

    Senthil is the spearhead of the creative team at VML, the world’s largest creative company that’s powering the business of ideas and inspiring growth for several international brands and national market leaders, working with multilingual creative and digital teams across the country.

    Senthil believes in leading by example and leading from the front with insightful ideas that have built legendary local brands like Wipro, The Times Of India, Tata Steel, Tata Gluco Plus, Himalayan, Apollo Tyres, Hero Motors, Aditya Birla Fashion, Murugappa Group, Nestle Munch, Star Sports and leading global brands like Nike, Levi’s, Puma, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, KitKat, Johnnie Walker, Google, Facebook, Rotary International, Shell, Unilever Radiant and Unicef.

    THE ECONOMIC TIMES gave Senthil the coveted title of ‘Lion Hunter’ for winning India’s first Gold Lions in Film & Film Craft at the Cannes Lions International Festival. He has also won India’s first One Show Gold Pencils in Film, Film Craft and Film Innovation and several D&AD, Spikes, Clio Awards and New York Festival Gold Medals.

    With over 300 International Awards, Senthil is the most awarded writer, creative director and film director in Indian advertising, while leading the company to several ‘Agency Of The Year’ and ‘Campaign of the Year’ titles. Senthil has been voted ‘Copywriter of the Year’ and ‘Film Director of the Year’ several times at the National and Asia Pacific regional creative festivals.

    P G Aditya, CCO and co-founder of Talented has been appointed jury chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Digital category.

    PG Aditiya is the creator of India’s most awarded campaign ever: The Unfiltered History Tour, an undercover tour of the British Museum’s disputed artefacts – for VICE.

    Talented is an employee-owned creative agency founded by PG Aditya prior to which he was the CCO of Dentsu Webchutney until February 2022.  His work is responsible for India’s only “Agency of the Year” title so far at Cannes Lions.        

    PG Aditya has helped elevate the country’s credentials at international stages through campaigns like Why is this a Swiggy Ad?, Travel on Cleartrip and Flipkart’s Hagglebot. PG was also recognised as APAC’s #1 CCO by the One Show & as  Creative Agency Leader of the Year by the IAA

    The Abby Awards will be held on the 29th, 30th, and 31st of May during Goafest 2024.

    For more details on The Abby Awards, visit https://abbyawards.com/

  • Advertising Rocks to electrify Goafest 2024

    Advertising Rocks to electrify Goafest 2024

    Mumbai: Following the success of its inaugural edition, Goafest 2024 is set to bring back ‘Advertising Rocks’, an initiative that offers a unique platform for India’s advertising, media, and marketing community to showcase their musical talents. Embracing the spirit of collaboration and innovation, the organising committee invites solo performers to submit their entries. Selected participants will have the exclusive opportunity to captivate audiences at Goafest 2024, solidifying their presence at South Asia’s premier and largest creative festival.

    With two solo categories – Indian and International – Advertising Rocks 2024 promises a global showcase of musical talent. Four shortlists from each category will have the esteemed opportunity to perform for a distinguished jury and delegates at Goafest in Mumbai.  The ultimate champions will be determined through a combination of jury evaluation and live voting by Goafest attendees, ensuring a fair and thrilling competition.

    Winners in each category will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000, while the first runners-up will receive Rs 25,000.

    On ‘Advertising Rocks’, Havas Media Network India CEO and Goafest 2024’s co-chair Mohit Joshi said, “Advertising Rocks is back with another exciting edition at Goafest 2024 to celebrate the musical talents of our fraternity. As a fellow music enthusiast, I can’t wait to witness the exceptional performances this year. Looking forward to this unforgettable showcase of talent.”

    Former BBH CEO and curator of ‘Advertising Rocks’ Subhash Kamath, further added, “Advertising Rocks was a big hit at Goafest last year and we’re hoping we’ll have a lot more participation in 2024. There’s so much musical talent in our industry. They deserve a platform to perform and Goafest is the perfect place for it.”

    The deadline for submitting entries for Advertising Rocks is May 15, 2024. Entries by solo performers only belonging to the Advertising, Media, and Marketing fraternity will be considered.

    Submit your entries for Advertising Rocks here.

    Presented by The Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club, Goafest 2024 is scheduled to take place on 29, 30 and 31 May 2024 at The Westin Mumbai Powai Lake, Mumbai.