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Category: Media and Advertising

  • Adman Chetan Shetty hops over to Publicis Groupe as managing director

    Adman Chetan Shetty hops over to Publicis Groupe as managing director

    JAKARTA: Chetan Shetty, a seasoned advertising executive, has switched allegiances from McCann Worldgroup to Publicis Groupe, taking up the role of managing director at the French advertising conglomerate’s Jakarta office in September.

    The move marks the end of Shetty’s five-and-a-half-year stint at McCann Worldgroup, where he served as managing director since March 2020. During the same period, he also held the managing director position at FCB Global, suggesting he juggled dual roles across the Interpublic group agencies.

    Before his McCann days, Shetty spent nearly two years as partner for content at WPP’s Wavemaker, following a substantial five-and-a-half-year tenure at FCB Global where he climbed from group account director to head of digital.

    His career portfolio reads like a who’s who of multinational brands. At FCB Global, Shetty orchestrated campaigns for Beiersdorf’s Nivea and Mondelez’s Oreo across southeast Asia, whilst winning new business from Unilever (Pepsodent, Zwitsal), Fonterra (Anlene, Anmum), and Standard Chartered Bank. His digital-led integrated campaigns earned him the Citra Pariwara Indonesia award for best digital campaign.

    Earlier in his career, Shetty cut his teeth at MEC (now part of GroupM) during the inaugural seasons of the Indian Premier League, managing Citibank’s sponsorship for the tournament’s first five editions. He also crafted partnerships for Mercedes-Benz, HDFC, and Colgate across television and digital platforms.

    The appointment signals Publicis Groupe’s continued push to strengthen its southeast Asian operations with experienced local talent who understand both global brand strategies and regional market dynamics.

  • Maddys 2025 celebrates creativity with record entries and global reach

    Maddys 2025 celebrates creativity with record entries and global reach

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Club Madras proudly announced the successful completion of the 43rd edition of Maddys, presented by Dinamalar and powered by Peps, marking a grand celebration of creativity, media, digital, design and strategy under the theme “AI vs AI: Awesome Ideas vs Awesome Ideas.”

    The gala evening brought together the best of India’s creative, digital, and media industries and witnessed one of the most competitive editions in the award’s storied history, with 929 entries across 155 categories from over 106 agencies and clients spanning India and Nepal.

    Advertising Club Madras, secretary, Surej Salim said, “Maddys 2025 was an incredible celebration of ideas that inspire culture and transform businesses. Congratulations to all the winners whose creativity continues to be the heartbeat of our industry.”

    Demonstrating its credibility and fairness, Maddys 2025 employed a two-stage judging process, with each entry independently scored by at least three jurors in the first round and then deliberated upon in the second round by panels chaired by respected leaders, under the guidance of eight jury chairs, 27 industry experts, and jury convenor and process auditor Gokul Krishnamoorthy.

    This rigorous system resulted in 340 shortlisted entries and ultimately 184 awards, including four Grand Prix, 31 gold, 61 silver, 76 bronze, and 12 special recognitions across creative, media, digital, design, print, film, and audio categories, making this year’s edition a milestone in scale and competitiveness.

    With its legacy of 68 years and an active calendar of more than 50 programmes in just the past two years ranging from adtalks to student initiatives, the Advertising Club Madras reaffirmed its role as a driving force in the creative ecosystem, and through Maddys 2025, proved once again that this is where legends begin.  
     

  • Adani declares victory over Hindenburg storm as profits soar in letter to shareholders

    Adani declares victory over Hindenburg storm as profits soar in letter to shareholders

    MUMBAI: Gautam Adani has emerged from his regulatory bunker swinging, declaring the Hindenburg Research controversy a “defining inflection point” that strengthened rather than weakened his sprawling business empire.

    In a defiant letter to shareholders, the Indian billionaire framed last week’s Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)  clearance as complete vindication, proclaiming “truth has prevailed” after nearly two years of scrutiny following the short-seller’s damning January 2023 report.

    The Adani Group chairman marshalled impressive financial firepower to support his narrative of resilience. Portfolio EBITDA rocketed from Rs 57,205 crore in FY23 to Rs 89,806 crore in FY25—a staggering 57 per cent absolute growth representing a two-year compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent.

    Asset expansion proved equally dramatic, with gross block swelling from Rs 4,12,318 crore to Rs 6,09,133 crore over the same period. That Rs two lakh crore addition marks a 48 per cent surge whilst the group battled accusations of accounting manipulation and stock price inflation.

    Adani positioned his conglomerate’s infrastructure achievements as proof of substance over speculation. The group commissioned India’s first container trans shipment port at Vizhinjam, added six gigawatts of renewable capacity including the world’s largest single-location renewable project at Khavda, and completed what it claims is the world’s largest copper smelter.

    The rhetoric veered between wounded pride and renewed ambition. Hindenburg’s assault wasn’t merely corporate criticism, Adani argued, but “a direct challenge to the audacity of Indian enterprises to dream on a global scale.” The implication: attacking Adani amounted to attacking India itself.

    Looking forward, the chairman promised to “further strengthen governance standards,” “accelerate innovation and sustainability,” and “double down on nation building”—language that suggests the controversy has hardly dented his expansionist appetites.

    The letter’s tone reflects broader themes in Indian corporate culture, where business leaders frequently cast commercial success in nationalist terms. For Adani, surviving Hindenburg’s onslaught becomes not just corporate vindication but validation of India’s global ambitions.

    Whether Sebi’s clearance truly closes the book on governance questions remains to be seen. But Adani’s defiant missive makes clear he views the storm as survived rather than merely weathered, with ambitious expansion plans intact.

  • WPP Media places Mindshare veteran to steer Fulcrum’s south Asian operations

    WPP Media places Mindshare veteran to steer Fulcrum’s south Asian operations

    MUMBAI: WPP Media has nabbed Vinish Mathews, former chief strategy officer at Mindshare India, to head its team Fulcrum operations across south Asia. The appointment marks a homecoming of sorts for Mathews, who previously orchestrated strategic planning for Hindustan Unilever’s sprawling personal care empire during his decade-long stint at Mindshare.

    Mathews arrives with 22 years of battle-tested experience spanning India, China and Southeast Asia. His CV reads like a tour through advertising’s most cutthroat markets—from steering Nestlé and PepsiCo campaigns in China’s digital-first landscape to managing Unilever’s 30-brand portfolio including Dove, Lux and Fair & Lovely in India.

    The 45-year-old executive cut his teeth at The New Indian Express before climbing the ranks at The Media Edge and Mindshare. His most recent role saw him as managing director of Mindshare China, where he juggled marquee accounts including Royal Caribbean and Tourism New Zealand whilst leading Alibaba’s outbound business across Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.

    At Essence, Mathews served as vice-president and client partner for Google across India and Southeast Asia, cementing his reputation as a digital media heavyweight. His expertise spans the full spectrum from FMCG giants to fintech upstarts, with forays into automotive, tourism and consumer durables.

    WPP Media’s decision to bring Mathews aboard signals its intent to capitalise on south Asia’s booming advertising market. The region has become a crucial battleground for global agencies as brands chase the spending power of India’s burgeoning middle class and the digital transformation sweeping across emerging markets.

    Mathews will now task himself with driving growth and transformation for team Fulcrum’s client roster, leveraging his cross-cultural expertise and proven track record in building “immersive consumer connections.” For WPP, it represents a strategic coup in the ongoing war for talent between the world’s largest advertising groups.

  • PM hails Sharma’s re-election as NBDA chief with newsworthy praise

    PM hails Sharma’s re-election as NBDA chief with newsworthy praise

    MUMBAI: The news just broke and fittingly, it’s about the man who’s been breaking news for decades. Prime minister Narendra Modi has congratulated India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma on being re-elected as president of the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA), calling his leadership “newsworthy” at a time when the media and digital landscape is undergoing seismic shifts.

    In a personal letter, the prime minister lauded Sharma’s decades-long contribution to journalism, describing his credibility and deep subject knowledge as invaluable to the industry. “The Association will benefit from your decades-long experience in journalism, your deep understanding of various subjects, and your credibility. Your guidance will be particularly effective in the media and digital world, undergoing modern transformation,” Modi wrote.

    The prime minister further expressed confidence that under Sharma’s stewardship, the NBDA would raise the standards of journalism to “new heights” while continuing to play a meaningful role in the interests of society and the nation. “Once again, I wish you all the best for this new term and your future endeavours,” he added.

    Sharma’s re-election as president for the 2025–26 term was confirmed at the NBDA’s Board meeting on September 19, 2025. He continues to head India’s largest body of private news broadcasters and digital media players at a time when the lines between legacy and digital journalism are blurring more rapidly than ever.

    Alongside Sharma’s re-election, the new NBDA leadership team was also announced. MV Shreyams Kumar, managing director of Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing, has been appointed vice-president, while Anuradha Prasad Shukla, chairperson & managing director of News24 Broadcast India, has been named Honorary Treasurer.

    The reappointment cements Sharma’s place as one of the most influential figures in Indian news media. Having steered India TV to become one of the country’s most-watched news channels and leading NBDA through earlier terms, Sharma’s presidency comes at a crucial moment as the sector grapples with challenges of regulation, digital disruption, and audience trust.

    For Sharma, who has spent decades building his reputation as one of India’s most recognisable news anchors and media leaders, the latest endorsement from both peers and the Prime Minister underscores not just his personal clout but also the pivotal role NBDA plays in shaping the future of journalism in India.

    And as Modi’s words suggest, the coming year may see Sharma not just reporting the news, but redefining how India consumes it.
     

  • Dentsu crowns new creative kings as Dhruv Tiwari and Zubin Jauhari join

    Dentsu crowns new creative kings as Dhruv Tiwari and Zubin Jauhari join

    MUMBAI: Two sharp minds, one bold mission Dentsu Creative Isobar has doubled down on its creative firepower with the appointment of Dhruv Tiwari and Zubin Jauhari as group executive creative directors. The move, announced this week, signals the agency’s intent to marry creativity with culture and commerce, shaping campaigns that don’t just win awards but win hearts across India. Both will report to Dentsu Creative Isobar chief creative officer Abhijat Bharadwaj and will lead a 150 plus strong creative team charged with pushing boundaries for some of the country’s most ambitious brands.

    Dhruv Tiwari arrives from DDB Mudra, where he transformed the North office into a creative powerhouse with work for McDonald’s, Royal Enfield, Kent RO and DLF Mall of India. His campaigns blended cultural spark with business impact and earned recognition at Adfest, The Abbys and Kyoorius. As he quipped: “I’m here to stir things up to craft work where creativity, tech and culture collide. Work that earns attention, sparks conversation, and maybe even rewrites the rulebook. If the shiny metals follow, well… we won’t complain.”

    Zubin Jauhari, meanwhile, is making a homecoming to dentsu. Over the past decade, he has worked on everything from Swiggy and Flipkart to Google, Facebook and Ola Electric, turning brands into cultural icons. His trophy cabinet features Cannes Lions, a Spikes Asia Grand Prix and a Kyoorius Black Elephant. On returning, he said: “It feels incredible to return to a place that shaped some of my fondest professional memories. I’m here to create work that resonates far beyond the industry, help define the future of creativity, and build a team that everyone can’t stop talking about, all while having a ton of fun doing it.”

    For Bharadwaj, the appointments cap a year-and-a-half-long talent build: “Now that the bottom and middle levels of our structure are solidly in place, it’s time to crown the top of this creative pyramid. I can’t think of anyone better than Dhruv and Zubin. Zubin is an award-winning creative who is an expert at new-age creativity and Dhruv is an excellent leader with a vast portfolio of successful campaigns. We’re in the fight and gunning for greatness.”

    Dentsu Creative Isobar CEO Sahil Shah echoed the sentiment: “The future of creativity lies in fusing culture, technology, and influence to deliver impact at scale. Dhruv and Zubin embody this new-age thinking and inspire those around them. Backed by a hugely talented team of 150 plus creatives, they will craft transformative work for brands and society while nurturing a culture that empowers our people to dream bigger and create bolder.”

    Together, Dhruv and Zubin are expected to deliver campaigns that channel India’s diversity and dynamism, harnessing technology to amplify culture and content to drive influence. The duo’s remit aligns with Dentsu Creative’s global mission: building work that’s emotionally resonant, culturally rooted and commercially meaningful.

    As the agency puts it, this is not just about crafting ads, it’s about “celebrating Bharat while speaking to modern India”. With this creative power pairing, Dentsu Creative Isobar seems ready to script its next blockbuster chapter.

  • Mars appoints Nitin Guleria as head of media to lead global strategy

    Mars appoints Nitin Guleria as head of media to lead global strategy

    MUMBAI: Mars has announced the appointment of Nitin Guleria as its new Head of Media, effective September 2025.

    With more than 15 years of experience across global media, marketing, and communications, Guleria brings a wealth of expertise to the role. He joins Mars from Samsung Electronics, where he served as deputy general manager for over seven years, leading media and marketing initiatives across mobile and consumer electronics.

    Prior to Samsung, Guleria held leadership positions at Groupm’s Essence, where he directed cross-media planning for Google’s hardware division, and at Interpublic Group’s Cadreon, specialising in programmatic media strategy. He began his career with Optimise Media Group and Shoogloo, gaining early experience in business development, client servicing, and performance-driven marketing.

    At Mars, Guleria is expected to strengthen the company’s media strategy, drive integrated communications, and deliver impactful consumer engagement across key markets.

  • Times OOH chief gets billboard industry throne

    Times OOH chief gets billboard industry throne

    MUMBAI:The billboards plastering India’s chaotic streets have found their new overlord. Narayanaswami Shekhar, chief executive of Times OOH, has been crowned chairman of the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association, handing the Times Group executive sway over an industry grappling with digital revolution and regulatory squeeze. Earlier the vice-chairman, he takes over from Jagran Engage COO Pawan Bansal.

    Shekhar’s ascent to the top of IOAA puts him at the helm of a lobby group that corrals more than 80 per cent of India’s leading outdoor media barons and boasts 220-plus members scattered from Mumbai’s traffic-choked arteries to Bangalore’s tech corridors. The association’s bread and butter involves fending off municipal crackdowns whilst championing the interests of companies that transform India’s urban jungle into a kaleidoscope of consumer messaging.

    The appointment comes as India’s outdoor advertising sector—worth billions of rupees—faces an existential reckoning. Digital screens are rapidly displacing static hoardings, whilst smartphone ubiquity threatens the traditional model of ambushing commuters with roadside pitches. Meanwhile, courts and municipal authorities have launched periodic crusades against “visual pollution,” threatening the very billboards that fund the industry.

    Shekhar’s new perch positions him as the industry’s chief evangelist at a pivotal moment. His Times OOH stable operates across India’s major cities, where the company’s digital displays compete for eyeballs against everything from Hindi film posters to political propaganda. The challenge now is ensuring outdoor advertising remains relevant in an increasingly screen-saturated landscape.

    For the Times group, Shekhar’s industry chairmanship represents a strategic coup. The media conglomerate can now influence regulations and standards that directly impact its outdoor advertising arm, whilst positioning itself as the sector’s thought leader.

    The association’s core mission—protecting and promoting outdoor advertising interests—takes on fresh urgency as Indian cities grapple with beautification drives that often view billboards as urban blight rather than legitimate business infrastructure.

  • Madison Media’s Vikram Sakhuja takes over as chairman of MRUC

    Madison Media’s Vikram Sakhuja takes over as chairman of MRUC

    MUMBAI: Madison World, partner group ceo, Madison Media & OOH, Vikram Sakhuja has been elected chairman of the MRUC (Media Research Users Council of India). The MRUCI board approved his appointment at its annual general meeting, with Sakhuja succeeding Shailesh Gupta of Jagran Media. He had been vice-chairman of the body since 2024.

    Joining him on the new leadership slate, Dhruba Mukherjee, director at ABP Network, has been elected vice-chairman, while Shashi Sinha, executive chairman of IPG Mediabrands, will head the IRS technical committee, a role Sakhuja previously held.

    An alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta, Sakhuja brings nearly four decades of experience across marketing, media and advertising. He has held leadership roles at P&G (Procter & Gamble), Coca-cola, Star TV, Mindshare, Groupm and Maxus Worldwide, before taking over at Madison in 2015. 

  • Rakesh Jha steps in as Eyeota’s unit sales head for North

    Rakesh Jha steps in as Eyeota’s unit sales head for North

    NEW DELHI: Eyeota has tapped Rakesh Jha to lead sales across northern India, a hire aimed at bulking up the Dun & Bradstreet subsidiary’s reach in the country’s fastest-growing advertising corridor.

    Jha spent more than seven years at Times Internet, climbing from senior officer to senior manager of ad sales. He managed headline clients including CoinDCX, Atomberg Technologies, The Sleep Company and Optimum Nutrition, and cut deals with agencies such as Dentsu, Mindshare, Havas Media and Edelman. His remit covered everything from native and programmatic media buys to content-marketing projects on platforms such as Spotlight and Colombia Ads.

    Before Times Internet, Jha worked on publisher alliances at LocoVida, helping more than 120 publishers across 11 languages drive audience engagement and programmatic revenues. Known for a forensic eye on CPM, CPC and CPL models, he has a record of negotiating high-yield contracts, running multichannel campaigns and squeezing extra performance from digital budgets.

    At Eyeota, Jha will marshal revenue growth and data partnerships across Delhi and neighbouring states, marrying his pitch-perfect sales craft with Eyeota’s audience-enrichment and targeting tools. The company sees India’s northern belt—home to the country’s biggest advertisers—as a critical frontier for its global expansion