ITV

Category: Media and Advertising

  • Rajiv Mishra joins Samsung as VP- media

    Rajiv Mishra joins Samsung as VP- media

    NEW DELHI: Senior journalist Rajiv Mishra, who held the post of chief executive officer of Lok Sabha for about three years until he left some months ago, has been appointed as vice president (media) of Samsung’s south west Asia office in Gurgaon.

     

    Mishra began his 21 year long career from Hindustan Times and later switching over to electronic media.

     

    He began as manager – programming in Star, then joined Zee TV as senior manager – corporate, Reliance Infocomm as general manager – corporate affairs, News 24 (BAG Films and Media) as COO and director and India News as COO. He launched Times Now of the Times of India group in USA as India Now while working for CineMaya Media of USA.

     

    Mishra was with Lok Sabha TV as CEO in an official rank and status of additional secretary.

     

    He is also the founder and first president of Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI). AROI is the industry representative body of all FM Radio Broadcasters/Stations of India. He also founded Association of Regional Television Broadcasters of India.

  • Management shuffle at HUL

    Management shuffle at HUL

    MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has announced key changes in the management committee of the company. Subject to Unilever Indonesia’s external board approval, Hemant Bakshi, currently executive director – home and personal care, will be appointed as executive vice president (EVP) of Unilever Indonesia.

     

    The home and personal care (HPC) business will now be organised into home care and personal care businesses in India. Samir Singh, currently global brand vice president Lifebuoy and vice president – personal care lead, south Asia cluster, Unilever, will be appointed as HUL executive director – personal care and Priya Nair, currently vice president – Laundry, HUL, will be appointed as executive director – home care. Both Nair and Singh will be part of the management committee of HUL and their appointments are effective 1 October 2014.

     

    HUL CEO & managing director Sanjiv Mehta said, “I wish to take the opportunity to express my deep appreciation for the significant contribution that Hemant has made to the India business, both in his current role as executive director – HPC and his earlier role as executive director – CD. I would like to congratulate Hemant on his move to Unilever Indonesia and wish him all the best in his new assignment.”

     

    Nair joined the company in the consumer insights team in 1995, where she brought with her a diverse and rich experience including customer development and marketing. In her earlier roles, she has worked across various brands such as Dove, Axe, Rexona, Closeup, Pepsodent. As VP home care she has been leading the entire detergents portfolio of HUL. More recently, she has led the launch of HUL’s path breaking rural mobile marketing initiative ‘Kan Khajura Tesan’ which received three Gold Lion awards at the 2014 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

     

    Singh on the other hand joined Unilever in 1997 as a management trainee in India. He has worked across many brands including Fair & Lovely, Vaseline, Ponds and has also worked in Foods in Customer Development in India.

     

    For the past four years Singh has been the global brand vice president for Lifebuoy and a member of the Global Category Leadership Team for skin cleansing. In this role, he has led global strategy, innovation and communication for Lifebuoy in more than 30 key countries across the world. He was also the personal care cluster lead for south Asia in 2014.

     

    “We have reorganised the home and personal care business into two separate businesses to ensure focus on the growth drivers for each of these businesses. I am pleased to welcome Priya and Samir to their new roles. Both bring with them rich and diverse marketing and business experience in Unilever. Priya joined HUL in 1995 and has worked in roles across marketing, customer development and CMI. Samir joined HUL in 1997 and has worked in various roles in HUL and across the regional and global Unilever organisation,” he added.

  • Quasar hires Rasika Bamba as head of digital media, north and east

    Quasar hires Rasika Bamba as head of digital media, north and east

    MUMBAI: Part of WPP Group, Quasar, a full service digital agency, has appointed Rasika Bamba as the new regional head, north and east.

     

    She will be in charge of scaling up new business initiatives and to strengthen existing relationships in the region. She will additionally be responsible for the media practice at Quasar. Bamba will report into the agency’s business head Gaurav Nabh and will be based out of New Delhi.

     

    With over 10 years of digital experience, Bamba joins the Quasar team from Hungama Digital Services (HDS) where she was heading business development and servicing – defining the digital roadmap for several key clients at the agency. She spearheaded client relationships like Hindustan Unilever, Microsoft, Mahindra, ACC, SBI MF and was also in-charge of the media practice. Prior to Hungama, she has been associated with brands like Yahoo India and Affle.

     

    Nabh said, “Rasika is a thorough digital professional, with experience across various industries. Over the years she has handled some tough clients and mastered her skills in managing tough situations. With her deep understanding of the medium, she has been instrumental in convincing brands to venture into the digital medium. We look forward to Rasika’s invaluable inputs as she leads our client relationships and grows our specialised media practice.”

     

    Bamba said, “I am excited to come on board lead the business and build the media practice at Quasar. Given the growth path the company has chalked out for the next 18 to 24 months, this is a great opportunity for us to deliver true value to our existing clients and bring on new ones to our roster.”

     

    Bamba brings to the table vast domain knowledge, a keen understanding of integrated media requirements and enjoys working with various facets of digital media to ensure thorough execution of the core business strategy to deliver results.

  • Publicis WorldWide acquires stake in Arcade

    Publicis WorldWide acquires stake in Arcade

    MUMBAI: Publicis WW has acquired a minority stake in Asia’s fastest growing digital network, Arcade.

     

    Publicis Worldwide CEO Arthur Sadoun said, “Asia is a strategic priority for us. The Arcade team’s core values of creative excellence, entrepreneurship and digital innovation are a perfect match for Publicis Worldwide, as we strive to be the preferred partner of our clients in their digital transformation.”

     

    Arcade CEO and founding partner Nick Marrett said, “The worlds of marketing, entertainment and information are colliding. Arcade’s entrepreneurial approach to creativity helps brands find new ways to thrive in this new and challenging environment. We are thrilled to be joining forces with Publicis as we accelerate our development across the region into key markets like China, Africa and India for the benefit of our clients, and strengthen our Asian credentials. The chemistry and alignment with Publicis was incredibly strong right from the outset.”

     

    Headquartered in Singapore with offices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Jakarta, Arcade currently employs more than 100 professionals across the region. Some of its key clients include Clear, Close Up, Pond’s, Rexona, IKEA, Coca-Cola, Bango, WeChat and Google.

     

    Publicis WW CEO APAC Loris Nold added, “Arcade has built a unique model that allows them to create global and incredibly innovative work out of Asia. Our key clients have made Asia a global hub for some of their brands and we are increasingly working with Asian brands that have global ambitions. To partner Arcade’s founders, Nick, Gary, Mark and Matt, across the region is fantastic news for us.”

  • Hidesign appoints Narresh Mehtta as COO

    Hidesign appoints Narresh Mehtta as COO

    MUMBAI: Hidesign, a luxury brand, has appointed Narresh Mehtta as its chief operating officer. He will be based in Mumbai and report to the company’s president Dilip Kapur.

     

    Mehtta, a postgraduate degree holder in management, joins Hidesign with 25 years of experience spanning across various industries such as FMCG, engineering, healthcare, apparel and retailing. In his new role, he will be responsible to oversee the daily operations, provide company-wide alignment and help shape the company strategies.

     

     “We are very pleased to have Narresh on board with us. He brings with him immense experience and we are sure he will play a significant role in the continued profitable growth of Hidesign along with increasing customer value,” said Kapur.

     

    Mehtta brings with him extensive operations expertise, strong leadership and organisational skills along with a successful record of time management. In the past, he has also been sponsored for prestigious programmes such as the Strategic Management Programme by Ross School of Management, Michigan University.

     

    “Narresh is the right person to help implement systems and processes and be a part of the leadership team as the brand enters a phase of rapid growth into new geographies and categories.” added Vikas Kapur, who manages Hidesign’s international businesses.

     

    Mehtta has been associated with various companies such as Godrej, Blue Star and Oracle Finance. His last assignment was at Raymond as director-business development and franchise retail operations.

  • Spuul introduces ‘Comedy Club’

    Spuul introduces ‘Comedy Club’

    Get set to laugh out loud, as Spuul, the popular online streaming service for Indian cinema and television, has added comedy show ‘Jay Hind!’ to their existing library of popular television shows. The show can be viewed for free by fans worldwide.

     

    Jay Hind! is a popular Indian stand-up comedy show that showcases dark humour around some of the most powerful people of the society and the latest trends, news and politics. Hosted by actor and stand-up comedian, SumeetRaghavan, Jay Hind! features a stand-up routine followed by quick one-liners about current events and brief comedy sketches, impromptu street interviews, celebrity interviews and performances. One of the main attractions of the show is ‘Savita Bhabhi Ke Sexy Solutions’. Jay Hind! hasa television version called ‘ The Late Night Show’ as well as an English-language international version called ‘Better Late Than Never’ that caters to global issues. It is the world’s first full format TV show exclusively for the internet.

     

    Speaking on this development, PrakashRamchandani, Chief Content Officer, Spuul said, “Spuul has always been consistent with content innovation and believes in delivering the best.  We are delighted to add Jay Hind!as it is a unique block of content which is tailored for the internet that will create immense value to our line-up”

     

    The users can now have hassle – free entertainment at home or while travelling with offline sync for free. Spuul, ensures that the Internet connectivity is no longer a hindrance in the movie watching experience.  We are working behind the scenes to bring you the best in Indian entertainment so stay tuned for more!

  • Grey Group India gets Projit Sarkar on board to head its Kolkata Office

    Grey Group India gets Projit Sarkar on board to head its Kolkata Office

    MUMBAI: Grey Group India has appointed Projit Sarkar as head of Kolkata operations.

     

    Sarkar brings with him an experience of nearly 13 years in brand and marketing communications. His last stint was with Amrit Group of companies where he was heading the brand and marketing department. The other agencies he has worked with include Genesis, Mileage, Mudra, O&M and Madison BMB.

     

    At Grey, Sarkar will report to the newly appointed chairman and managing director Sunil Lulla.

     

    Lulla said, “Grey Group is delighted to welcome Projit back to lead the growing operations of eastern India from Kolkata. His familiarity with the market place, clients and consumers coupled with his experience in brand and marketing communications will add tremendous value and benefit both the agency and clients based in the market. We look forward to him enabling Grey Group to be even more famous and effective, in the east of India.”

     

    Sarkar said, “Coming back to Grey Group is a homecoming.  I see and believe that there is a lot of opportunity to create value for internal and external stakeholders through meaningful effective marketing communication. Grey Group is the place where it can be done from. ”

     

    Projit has worked on various brands across categories like Telecom, Insurance, Banks, Retail, Cement, Tourism, FMCG, Footwear, Paints and Foods. His experience will enable the current roster of clients, which include West Bengal Tourism, Score Information Technologies, Tea Board of India, Mani Group, Philips Carbon Black and Haldiram’s, amongst others.

  • DDB Mudra North appoints Subhashish Dutta as senior CD

    DDB Mudra North appoints Subhashish Dutta as senior CD

    MUMBAI: Subhashish Dutta has joined DDB Mudra North’s formidable creative force as senior creative director (Art). He will be reporting to creative head Sambit Mohanty.

     

    After completing his BFA from College of Art (Delhi), Dutta’s advertising odyssey started out with Capital Advertising. In a career spanning 15 years, he has worked for leading agencies like Bates, Contract, Mudra and McCann before joining DDB Mudra (his second stint here). His diverse experience in various categories spans from Consumer Durables, Telecom, Automobiles and Hair-Care to Social Advertising. Subhashish has been actively involved in the creation and evolution of various brands like Nokia, Wrigley’s, Philips, Volkswagen, ESPN Star Sports, Jaypee Group, LG, Electrolux, Domino’s, Honda, Maruti, Dabur, Emami, NIIT, UNICEF, Videocon, Reebok and more.

     

    Dutta said, “It feels great to be part of DDB heritage where you get to work with such a young team with full of energy and enthusiasm. And I’m looking forward doing some fantastic work too.”

     

    Mohanty said, “Subhashish is a fantastic guy both in terms of talent and spirit. With him in place, our senior creative leadership is complete. His cheerful presence will undoubtedly make a positive difference to our work and workplace.”

  • OOH industry needs a common research currency: Haresh Nayak

    OOH industry needs a common research currency: Haresh Nayak

    MUMBAI: Remember posters all across the city walls, telling us which film to watch, where to shop or even which party to vote for? Times have changed since then. Today, from just being a reminder medium, the out-of-home business has grown manifold.

     

    Over the last decade, the sector has seen an accelerated evolution of the outdoor business in India. OOH has truly evolved from posters buying to outdoor planning and buying where it is about OOH communications i.e. consumer centric holistic thinking. 

     

    Keeping in mind that the medium can be used effectively, both strategically and tactically, to achieve brand communication objectives, Posterscope, has changed and quickly evolved to the changing needs of the market.

     

    The OOH communication group, which is growing over 60 per cent y-o-y, has launched its new tool Prism Creative across Asia Pacific. The tool, which helps clients gauge how their creative will look on the OOH medium, will reduce the amount of errors, thus helping clients to visualise their campaign better.

     

    The tool, now available to Posterscope clients across the region, will visually show if an advert isn’t suitable for OOH media – with too much text, unsuitable colours or layout errors, and campaigns can be changed before they run.  Prism Creative has the facility to switch from day to night visuals, play digital videos and do a distance check of creative.

     

    A team of five people worked for almost six months talking to clients, vendors and agencies in 10 countries, taking their feedback and then worked with the development team to get the tool rolling. “Simple, useful tools such as these are instrumental in growing our clients businesses as we grow our own and differentiating ourselves in market place so we have a stronger offering,” says Posterscope Asia Pacific regional director Haresh Nayak.

     

    As per FICCI-KPMG 2014 report, the OOH industry has grown by 5.5 per cent CAGR from 2007 to 2013. “Tier II and III markets have been the focus for the last year. And this continues to grow this year as well showing deep penetration to the audiences in rural to create brand awareness supported with innovations and new media,” highlights Nayak while adding that last year OOH was ruled by real estate and BFSI.

     

    This year post elections, it will continue to be real estate with development in regulation of property. “Besides, FMCG has grown with the sector and will further get reactivated with the launch of products and variants,” he adds.

     

    When asked how important is OOH today in a brand’s communication plan? Nayak answers, “Customer engagement is the new mantra for advertisers and the OOH space is no different resulting into high impact, high reach and high recall. Brands want a way to create differentiation and outdoor agencies are working towards creating innovative and creative outdoor solution further competing with new advertising mediums such as digital, mobile and social media through media integration which will only increase in the future.”

     

    Even though, the OOH industry in India is growing at a stable rate, it can grow exponentially if the sector is able to get a few things right. For instance, the sector does lack good research and accountability mechanism in India. “Though a lot of agencies have their own research but the industry needs a common research currency. Also, good trade practices will go long way. Things like quality benchmarking, trade licensing etc if mandated and standardised will only help the industry to grow further,” Nayak believes.

     

    Also, as cities grow, the clutter in outdoor media will only increase and this is a genuine concern for trade professionals. In India with the increase in clutter, the quality of media is not improving and hence, it will kill the medium in the long run. The two key elements needed to stand out in this medium are innovation and engagement sustaining the brand message. “With the changing scenario where consumers are spending a lot of time out of home, the crucial thing is to be consistent with the brand value, to ensure that the message is delivered effectively  and to be as innovative as possible to reach out to the consumers in the cluttered environment,” concludes Nayak.