ITV

Category: People

  • Publicis appoints Sirish Suveer as VP for India biz

    Publicis appoints Sirish Suveer as VP for India biz

    MUMBAI: Publicis India has appointed Sirish Suveer as vice president.

    To be based out of Mumbai, Suveer will manage the business and growth for multiple brands at the agency. He will report to Publicis Ambience COO Paritosh Srivastava.

    An experienced advertising and brand management professional, he joins Publicis India from Mullen Lintas where he was instrumental in developing branding, communication and marketing solutions for a host of brands including Dabur, Gionee, Vistara, Honda among others. Suveer also played a key role in the planning and execution of all marketing and brand deliverables across multiple media platforms.

    Commenting on the appointment, Srivastava said, “Sirish Suveer joins us at an opportune time wherein our agency is on a terrific growth path and in the thick of exciting action on many brands. He has a balanced head, a very human heart and a way to charm people around. His proven track record of building effective brand strategies and executing complex projects with ease will bolster our communication capabilities further. I wish him the very best for his journey at Publicis India.”

    Sirish is armed with over 14 years of professional experience and has worked in senior roles across various agencies including Mullen Lintas, JWT, Lowe Lintas, Grey Worldwide and others. He has even donned the marketing hat while he worked at Max Life insurance and was an integral part of the team that worked on the transition from Max New York Life to Max Life Insurance. Some of the brands that he has worked on over his 14-year journey include PepsiCo, Sonata, Fastrack, Britannia, Kingfisher, Dabur, Airtel, Flying Machine among others.

    Sharing his thoughts on joining Publicis India, Suveer mentions, “There is talk nowadays about how advertising is moving towards an integration model between mainline and digital, but after I met Paritosh Srivastava and Srija Chatterjee, I realised how Publicis India was ahead of this curve making it a future-ready organisation. I am excited to begin this new chapter and help achieve bigger milestones for the agency and lead the next wave of growth for our clients.”

    Publicis Worldwide is part of Publicis Communications in India. The agency also includes the recently launched Marcel India, Publicis Groupe’s international creative hotshop. In India the agency works with an impressive array of clients that include Nestle, Citibank, Makemytrip, Garnier, Heineken, Nerolac, Skoda, Malaysia Tourism, HDFC Mutual Funds among others.

  • Sumit Negi joins Dentsu Impact as ECD

    Sumit Negi joins Dentsu Impact as ECD

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Impact, the creative agency of Dentsu Aegis Network, has further strengthened their creative function with the appointment of Sumit Negi as an executive creative director.  In his new role, he will operate out of the Gurgaon office and will report into Anupama Ramaswamy, the national creative director.

    Sumit’s key responsibility would be to take care of the creative output for Maruti Suzuki. Negi brings with him more than 18 years of experience which includes brands like Mortein (India and International), Microsoft, Telenor, Del Monte India, MAAZA, Samsung Mobile Phones, Grey Goose Vodka, Whirlpool, NIIT, MOTOROLA, Hutch, Hyundai and LG.

    Commenting on the new role, Negi said, “Dentsu Impact is where things are on a roll. It’s great to be a part of an organisation which exudes positive energy. Cars have always fascinated me, and having to mainly work on a brand which has been a leader for decades, and is transforming itself, is an exciting challenge. Nurturing creativity to reach business milestones, is what I will be aiming at Dentsu Impact. Being a team player, I look forward to helping in raising the bar and adding to the spirited environment in this place which Soumitra and Amit have kept alive. With Anupama at the helm of things, it is going to be a drive on top gear.”

    Ramaswamy said “Sumit is a rare blend of calmness and energy. He understands the automobile category and knows the pace of the account. He is talented, passionate, and at the same time mature. I believe he will help us in this journey of growing Dentsu Impact to new heights.

    Commenting on the same Dentsu Impact chief creative office Soumitra Karnik added, “Sumit’s maturity, calm demeanour and the manner in which he leads his team is what sets him apart. His passion and knowledge on cars gives Dentsu Impact an added edge. We are very happy to have him and wish him a fabulous future.”

    Previously, he has worked in various agencies such as HAVAS, Leo Burnett, Contract, Ogilvy, DDB Mudra and Grey.

  • Vivek Gupta joins Ipsos as MD

    Vivek Gupta joins Ipsos as MD

    MUMBAI: Ipsos has appointed Vivek Gupta as managing director to steer its Mumbai business. Gupta will report directly to Ipsos India CEO Amit Adarkar.

    In his new role, he will be focusing on managing and growing all Mumbai based client relationships, though he will be closely involved in strategy formulation and implementation for other geographies. 

    Commenting on his appointment Ipsos India CEO Amit Adarkar said, “Donning an archetypical business head’s hat, Gupta will be aggressively going after lucrative, new accounts and servicing existing large accounts with attentiveness and detailing, underscoring Ipsos’ glocal strategy of providing global know-how and backing with local depth of knowledge and sectoral experience.”

    “Business potential is huge and lies under-tapped across our expertise areas of brand health tracking, customer experience, quantitative, shopper behaviour, product testing, market strategy and understanding, public affairs, corporate reputation, qualitative, ethnography, field and tab, among others. Gupta has a huge task cut out for Mumbai market,” he added

    “Ipsos is already a well-entrenched player and growing at a frenetic pace, much faster than the MR industry. I see myself as a mercenary salesman proactively pitching for large accounts and opportunities, to spur growth in Mumbai market, which already accounts for Ipsos’ 40 per cent of revenues,” says Gupta.

    Gupta brings with him more than half a decade of work experience across the entire gamut of market research.

    Prior to this, he was chief sales officer and senior executive director at Kantar IMRB. Gupta started his career as an associate manager at Mudra Communication.

  • Indra Nooyi steps down as PepsiCo boss after 12 years

    Indra Nooyi steps down as PepsiCo boss after 12 years

    MUMBAI: Indian origin Indra Nooyi has decided to step down from American multinational food, snack, and beverage company PepsiCo after heading it for 12 years.  

    She is currently serving her notice period and will leave the position on October 3. Nooyi will however remain Pepsico’s chairman until early 2019.

    Recently elevated PepsiCo president Ramon Laguarta will fill in Nooyi’s shoes to be the new CEO. Laguarta has been with the corporation for over 22 years.

    In a statement issued by the company, Nooyi said, “Growing up in India, I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company. Guided by our philosophy of Performance with Purpose — delivering sustained performance while making more nutritious products, limiting our environmental footprint and lifting up all the communities we serve — we’ve made a more meaningful impact in people’s lives than I ever dreamed possible. PepsiCo today is in a strong position for continued growth with its brightest days still ahead.”

    Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 as senior vice president of strategic planning and has since donned many hats at the company. 

    A Yale University alumni, she shattered the glass ceiling by becoming PepsiCo’s first female CEO.

  • Dentsu Webchutney appoints Aalap Desai as senior creative director

    Dentsu Webchutney appoints Aalap Desai as senior creative director

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Aalap Desai as senior creative director.

    He will work closely with Pravin Sutar, executive creative director and they will take charge of the Mumbai creative team. They will report to Nishi Kant, EVP and branch head for Mumbai.

    Previously, Desai was a creative partner at Hotstar and has also been a part of the team at Leo Burnett, JWT, DDB Mudra, Ogilvy and Ambience Publicis. He has handled brands like McDonald’s, Complan, HE Deo, Nerolac, Huggies, Rin and more. 

    Welcoming Desai to the agency, Kant said, “Over the last few years, we have been doing some good work for our biggest brands. Aalap comes in at the right time. His mandate is to keep raising the creative bar and partner with Pravin and me in leading the agency into the new age of creativity. With Aalap’s diverse experience across verticals and mediums coupled with his can-do fire, I foresee happy clients and meaningful partnerships.”

    Commenting on his joining Desai said, “A digital narrative for ideas is making campaigns more memorable and relevant. That’s exactly why it’s a great time to join Dentsu Webchutney. The clients are exciting, the work is great and the energy is phenomenal. I’m eager to add to the creative strength in Mumbai and work with Nishi, Pravin and the team here in creating work we’ll all be proud of.”

  • Madison Media appoints Shan Jain as chief strategy officer

    Madison Media appoints Shan Jain as chief strategy officer

    MUMBAI: Madison Media has appointed Shan Jain as its chief strategy officer. She will handle national responsibilities based in New Delhi.

    Madison Media & OOH partner & group CEO Vikram Sakhuja said, “We are excited to have Shan join us as CSO. She is just the right person to help clients navigate their way through a complex media environment that straddles legacy media with digital and manage the realm of data and technology.”

    A Mathematics (Hons) graduate with a Masters in Operations Research from St Stephens College, Jain comes with more than 25 years of rich and diverse experience across media, account planning, strategy and account management and has worked with Mindshare, RK Swamy BBDO, The Media Edge, FCB Ulka, Lowe, McCann and Ogilvy.  Her last stint was with Publicis as managing partner – business transformation practice. Some of the key clients she has led and contributed to are Unilever Personal Care, Unilever Foods and Beverage, GSK, Nestle, Sun Pharma, ITC, Maruti and Gillette.

    Jain’s strength lies in capturing consumer insights, converting them to action, which are data driven and human centric. She has to her credit multiple awards including Festival of Media Global, Festival of Media Asia and Spikes.

    Says she: “We are in the beginning of the 4th revolution. Industry 4.0 is altering the way in which people live, work, and connect with one another unlike any other revolution before it. It is the times of exponential change, fuelled by the way people are connected almost 24×7. Change is occurring in every industry and this is creating a seismic shift in the lives of consumers and businesses alike. Marketers need a new model for success. My endeavour will be to craft frameworks and processes that enable short and long term strategies for change and transformation to cater to this connected- consumer times.”

  • Triton Communication appoints Shripad Kulkarni as media operations head

    Triton Communication appoints Shripad Kulkarni as media operations head

    MUMBAI: Triton Communications has appointed Shripad Kulkarni as head of media operations. Prior to this, Kulkarni was MD at Vizeum India. He started his career as a media planner at Contract India.

    Kulkarni brings with him over 25 years of experience  of professional exposure in the media industry, were he worked with Oigvly, Carat India, Percept Media etc.

    Shripad was also a member of Media Research User Council (MRUC). He was also with the technical committee for India’s first outdoor research survey IOS.

    Kulkarni holds a masters degree in statistics from the Mumbai University, an MBA degree from JBIMS, and a diploma in Operations Research from the Operations Research Society of India, Kolkata.

  • Wieden+Kennedy appoints Gautham Narayanan as MD for Delhi biz

    Wieden+Kennedy appoints Gautham Narayanan as MD for Delhi biz

    MUMBAI: Wieden+Kennedy has appointed Gautham Narayanan as the new managing director for its Delhi office. 

    Narayanan will work alongside executive creative directors Molona Wati Longchar and Shuchi Thakur.

    The position was previously held by Siddarth Loyal, who left the agency earlier this month. 

    Narayanan, who is currently based in South Africa, will relocate to Delhi and take his post in September. The transition is being managed by W+K alum Patrick Cahill, who spent nearly seven years with the agency in New York and Delhi, where he held the managing director role from 2015-17 before starting his own creative consultancy CAHILL&PARTNERS.

    Narayanan has spent the majority of his career at BBDO, most recently as regional director for BBDO Africa and managing director, BBDO South Africa, where he helped land several new business wins, including Google Africa, and focused on talent development across the agency’s four African offices. 

    Narayanan is credited with spearheading the recent business turnaround at BBDO South Africa by driving revenue growth and doubling profits in just three years.

    On his appointment, Narayanan says, “I have always admired the simplicity and smarts of Wieden+Kennedy’s work, from afar. For me, W+K’s ability to infiltrate popular culture has been the key to their success. It’s a simple formula that drives fame for the brands they serve, which in turn, drives commercial success for their clients’ business.”

    “I consider myself lucky to have worked for BBDO my whole career, and I can honestly say Wieden+Kennedy was the only agency network I considered leaving BBDO for. W+K’s independent culture and belief in compelling ideas, paired the opportunity to partner with extraordinary clients and lead an office in my country of birth, was too tempting to resist,” he adds.

    W+K chief operating officer Neil Christie mentions, “We’re delighted that Gautham will bring his experience, energy and enthusiasm for groundbreaking work to Wieden+Kennedy Delhi. I am confident that under Gau’s leadership W+K will go from strength to strength in India.”

    W+K Delhi opened in 2007 and works with a number of blue-chip global and local clients, including Airbnb, Audi, Dalmia, Fabindia Home, IndiGo Airlines, Nike and Royal Enfield. Famous for award-winning work like Nike DaDaDing, creating the potent brand voice that made IndiGo India’s largest airline and telling the authentic stories that helped build Royal Enfield into a global cult brand, W+K Delhi has grown in the past year with the addition of Indian icon Fabindia as well as global clients such as Airbnb. The agency is committed to pushing these clients into new territories in the digital and experiential space, a speciality of the Delhi office.

  • Google elevates Aditya Swamy to head of agency partnerships

    Google elevates Aditya Swamy to head of agency partnerships

    MUMBAI: In a recent development, Google has elevated Aditya Swamy as head of agency  partnerships. In 2017 Swamy joined the company as industry head.

    Adtiya has a experience across technology, e-commerce, M&E and CPG and he is also an active member of BARC and The Adclub of India. He started his career with CocaCola as a sales manager based in Bangaluru. He was with CocaCola India for 8 years.

    Before joining Google, he was senior director at Flipkart where he led the digital and content marketing agenda. Prior to that, Swamy was executive vice president, Viacom18 Media and business head, MTV and MTV Indies. At MTV, he was responsible for growing the channel’s footprint across TV, web, mobile and the live spaces.

    Swamy holds a postgraduate diploma in marketing management from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai.

  • Ashish Bhasin elected as president of AAAI

    Ashish Bhasin elected as president of AAAI

    MUMBAI: Media veteran Ashish Bhasin has become the new president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2018-2019. Bhasin takes over from Nakul Chopra who will now be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI executive committee.

    Publicis Media India CEO Anupriya Acharya was elected vice president of the association.

    Bhasin has been a part of AAAI as the vice president and has now taken up a much larger role. He is also the chairman and CEO South Asia for Dentsu Aegis Network and a member of the Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific Executive Board.

    Outgoing president Mr Nakul Chopra stated, “I have been privileged to lead AAAI for two years – my sincere thanks to all my fellow members for their support. Hearty congratulations to Ashish on his election as President. He is not only a key influencer in our industry but also a AAAI veteran. I am sure that AAAI will only grow from strength to strength under his tutelage.”

    The announcement was made today at the St. Regis hotel, with Ram Sehgal being conferred with the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2018. 

    The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honour to be given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the Advertising Industry.

    The award was presented to Sehgal in recognition of his outstanding leadership and contribution to the advertising industry in literally establishing Delhi as a premier centre for advertising in India.

    It was this foundation that later led JWT Delhi to become the largest office in India and among the biggest in the world. Sehgal also helped in moulding Contract Advertising into one of the finest agencies and for leading AAAI and establishing one of the finest training programs in the industry ever. 

    AAAI is the official, national organisation of advertising agencies, formed in 1945, to promote their industry interests. The Association promotes professionalism, through its founding principles, which uphold sound business practices between Advertisers and Advertising Agencies and the various media. AAAI consists of small, medium and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80 per cent of the advertising business placed in the country.

    Indian Television Dot Com exclusively spoke to the man of the evening, Ashish Bhasin to understand his goals for AAAI and the Indian media current state. 

    Goals you have set for yourself as president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India?

    Its a huge honour for me to be elected as the president of AAAI as we are in our 74th year. People who are so illustrious and stalwarts have occupied the position. My immediate past president Nakul Chopra has done a great job, So, the first goal is to live up to their standards.There is a complete change in the Media and Advertising industry and we have to change and adapt with times to make sure we continue to represent all constituents of our industry. And those constituents are constantly changing. Digital is now becoming pretty important today and we should encourage more digital agencies to be a part of AAAI. We also need to agile to the changing dynamics of the media industry and take up the industry’s issues as and when needed. 

    We also need to bring in younger people in the industry and also have more women on board. The vice president of the association this year is a female leader after a very long time. Anupriya Acharya is a very competent lady and its great to have her on board. 

    How do you view the current Indian advertising industry and what do you think are the challenges for the advertising industry?

    There is a complete momentum of change in the marketing and services business across and not just A&M. While there is an interplay between consumers going increasingly digital but we are lucky to be one of those few counties where all medias are increasing. Print and TV are still growing steadily in India. We also have to get out of the procurement and squeezing mindset so that enough resources are available with the agencies to invest in talent which they can use for their client. It is a period of change globally.  AAAI and the Indian industry should take this up as an opportunity and that’s where our focus will be. 

    What will the focus areas for AAAI this year?

    We want to be the apex body that best represents the advertising agencies along with other industry associations, the government or any other organisation. 

    AAAI is said to be the Big Boys Club. While we know there are fewer women in top leadership roles in the advertising industry, over the years we have never seen women as leaders or even participating much in AAAI. Why is that?

    It is a perception and we have to correct it. Some even call AAAI as “The Old Guy’s Club”. In an organisation, we need to have diversity and more women in the business as managers who take active roles. I am extremely pleased that after several years, we have  a female vice president and I hope and will work towards having many more women in the association. I hope our new EC will be a judicious mix of young and experienced because you need to have experienced people to have that continuity and wisdom which is gathered over the years. But we also need fresh and young blood in the organisation. We also want to include other agencies, be it big or small, so we are not labelled as a “Club”.