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Tag: Ajit Gurnani

  • Rajiv Gopinath named chief product & solutions officer at Publicis Groupe

    Rajiv Gopinath named chief product & solutions officer at Publicis Groupe

    Mumbai: Publicis Media Services has bolstered its leadership team and elevated Rajiv Gopinath to the position of chief product and solutions officer. The company has also promoted Ajit Gurnani to chief growth officer, media services.

    Gopinath steps up as a chief product and solutions officer from being a chief client officer at Starcom, where he has been instrumental in building strategic functions and upscaling the business. In his new mandate, Gopinath will be leading product development and fortifying the existing offerings while acquiring new products at Publicis Media Services. He will also be helping brands to strengthen their digital offerings, enabling data partnerships, data collection, research, and tools said the agency.

    While Gurnani was spearheading the role of chief client officer at Zenith. In his new role as chief growth officer, Publicis Media Services, he will drive the ‘Power of One’ initiative with non-media entities and agencies of Groupe. 

    The new appointments are part of the agency’s goal to realign its media capabilities and strengthen its growth vertical to create a single-minded focus on new business development. The structure is strategically built to encompass clients and drive the synergies between data, tech, and digital to deliver scaled media solutions, the agency said in a statement.

    Publicis Media Services CEO, Tanmay Mohanty, said, “I am delighted to have Rajiv Gopinath and Ajit Gurnani as a part of Publicis Media Services. Their deep understanding of data, digital, tech, and media tied with a proven track record in business growth will help us in the realignment of our media services. In our continuous efforts to strengthen our team, we are confident that Rajiv and Ajit’s expertise and vast experience will add significant value to the organization.” 

  • Guest column: Looking back at 20 to look ahead at 21

    Guest column: Looking back at 20 to look ahead at 21

    MUMBAI: Many media and entertainment industry professionals would have already activated their “OOO” messages, while the others would be counting down to call time on what would have been the craziest year yet in their careers. However, before we do that, a little bit of looking back and some amount of looking ahead to 2021 is par for the course.

    For many of us (including me), the dominant sentiment is: did you ever imagine?

    For no one predicted the onset of the pandemic, and even when we started accepting the new “strange”- it continued to surprise us basis how it played out. What mattered was the vantage point and the ability to be both adaptively agile and resilient at the same time.

    Here is a bit of crystal ball gazing even at the risk of falling flat on my face, given how unpredictable and unchartered the waters seem to be. These observations are based on conversations with marketers and experts, and my personal experiences of the last nine months of seeing media and brands in various stages of lockdown and unlock phase. 

    1. Resilient television (linear – let us call it LTV) will continue to be the highest reach, most brand-safe medium in the near term. However, LTV’s babies – connected TVs, streaming and OTT – will start to make their impact felt with advertisers demanding “video neutral” planning that drives incremental reach. With media owners offering viewership, optimisation and brand lift measurement (a la Star’s Sirius); this may become a reality sooner than later. Also, with programmatic and addressable options eventually opening up, measurement and DSP integration will be the key.

    2. Fickle subscription behaviour will finally begin to change, thanks to the fillip provided by Covid2019’s last few months, with urban audiences willing to pay for content behind the paywall. It will be visible on video as well as be heard on audio and consumed on digital avatars of erstwhile print and upcoming digital offerings. So Disney+ Hotstar will continue to dominate the space that Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are increasingly winning with deep pockets of locally produced content. Spotify playlists and substack subscriptions will start showing signs of choice overload and the role of the algorithm (no prediction can be complete without mentioning these and AI) to make better quality recommendations will become critical. 

    3. Enter retailer and e-commerce media  will become key lines on media plans thanks to increased online shopping which saw 25 to 30 million new shoppers giving the addressable size a lift to 150 million. With large numbers (>70 per cent) of e-consumers willing to continue during the unlocking, this growth and behaviour seem irreversible. The opportunities for social commerce (Meesho, Instagram/Facebook shops) and D2C brand investments will further open up opportunities for consumer experiences and conversations with voice, local/vernacular content and video becoming key components.

    4. Doctors and healthcare professionals will be a video call away, giving telehealth/telemedicine a huge shot in its arm. While this part of the advertising landscape is regulated and is unlikely to change, given the sheer magnitude of the opportunity and its big data/ technology ramifications- this may lead to a transformation in pharma/wellness/healthcare communications and demand generation.

    5. News as a genre will continue to find consumption and advertising growth. Given the uncertainty and unpredictability of the environment, consumers will gravitate towards established news platforms and the tussle between social media and legacy news giants will lead to an “infomedic” with fake news and ways to counter toxic, harmful, misleading content gaining more urgency.

    (The author is CCO, Zenith. Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to his views.)

  • Publicis Media ropes in Mimi Deb to lead platformGSK

    Publicis Media ropes in Mimi Deb to lead platformGSK

    New Delhi: Publicis Media has hired Mimi Deb to lead its dedicated bespoke unit platformGSK. In this role, Deb will manage end-to-end responsibilities under media investment management for GSK India, and work towards using media as a driver of brand and business growth. platformGSK brings together diverse talent with expertise across areas such as media, healthcare, consumer strategy and business transformation from across the Publicis Groupe for the FMCG giant GSK.

    Deb is a media veteran who comes with a wide spectrum of experience of over seventeen years across the media agency business and almost six-years of marketing & sales experience in the Middle East. 

    She has led and managed prominent FMCG, CPG & Digital-first brands like Dabur, Perfetti, Mother Dairy, RSPL, Amway, McCain Foods, OLX, GoDaddy and Shopclues, to name a few. Her last stint was with Wavemaker, earlier to which she has also worked with Universal McCann, OMS & Hakuhudo Percept in key roles.

    Zenith India CCO Ajit Gurnani says, “platformGSK is a market-leading, end-to-end platform for FMCG major GSK and given her experience and skills Mimi is the ideal person to lead the mandate by focusing on value creation, innovation, media excellence and product differentiation. I am confident that she will drive significant and measurable media, brand & business outcomes for platformGSK and GSK CH.”

    Deb said that she’s excited to be taking on the new role, and looks forward to building and executing marketing transformation for GSK. “I am delighted at the opportunity and look forward to harnessing the power of innovative media strategies for the continued growth of GSK CH. I am committed to accelerating platformGSK’s capabilities, driving business results and keeping our offering competitive, impactful and well-ahead of the curve.”

  • Zenith India creates new COO & CCO roles

    Zenith India creates new COO & CCO roles

    MUMBAI: Jai Lala has joined for the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO) at Zenith and will oversee operations, structure and expansion in addition to the scaling up of specialised, future-facing offerings for the agency. The focus will be on areas where Zenith is already market-leading such as data, dynamic content, tech, analytics, performance and programmatic.

    In addition, Zenith has elevated its managing partner and head, West & South Ajit Gurnani to the newly created role of chief client officer. He has already had a great role in firming up client relationships for Zenith and will continue to interface with key clients, bringing in new and critical perspective on businesses and enhancing Zenith’s overall strategic product and delivery.

    Jai Lala has over two decades of experience across media planning, buying, research & sales. He is has worked in organizations such as UTV, ESPN Star Sports and leading media agency groups. His last stint was with MediaCom as chief strategy & growth officer. He has serviced clients across the country such as Unilever, PepsiCo, GSK, ICICI, Castrol, Lenovo, USL, Coke, Marico and many more in various capacities. He has created multiple & unique trading practices in the industry.  Jai is also a visiting faculty at ISB & MICA.

    Elaborating on the appointments, Zenith India group CEO Tanmay Mohanty said, “ Zenith stands at an important growth juncture; we have witnessed an absolutely spectacular year so far in terms of new business wins and performance on key client businesses. In our endeavour to build further on our ROI+ offering, delivering transformational growth to our clients, we are announcing two big appointments at senior levels. Jai Lala needs no introduction and has over 20 years’ experience in media planning and buying. He will aid me in client deliveries,  keeping up the scale and momentum of operations,  integration of existing talent and new hires and the expansion in the overall footprint for Zenith. Ajit, on the other hand, has been with us for over three years and brings in huge expertise and value to every client conversation. He has transformed the way we deliver to clients and will shape our client relationships further. Both these appointments will help Zenith put out passionate, exciting and compelling work.”

    Jai Lala said, “I am delighted at this opportunity. Zenith has market-leading expertise in data, technology and innovation. Offering a strong, long-term consultative approach to clients, Zenith is already working on what lies at the corner tomorrow; whether it is automation, machine learning or artificial intelligence. Its pedigreed A-list clients, outstanding work and motivated teams make me excited about the possibilities.”

    Ajit Gurnani says, “ Zenith with its ROI push and accent on business deliverables, truly leverages the power of integrated communications and media-neutral solutions.  As part of my role, I will look to cement and enhance Zenith’s existing client relationships in addition to forming new connections.  I look forward to driving results, and creating award-winning, business -building work.”

    Ajit Gurnani has 20 plus years of work experience across client leadership, brand management and media investment management.  He has worked as a brand and media custodian at Marico and IIFCO, and has driven media investment management for The Aditya Birla Group and its companies, Mercedes-Benz, NIVEA, Zee TV, Unilever and Colgate Palmolive in previous stints with agencies. At Zenith, he has led the media investment mandate for businesses such as Parle, Toyota, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Tourism Board, HDFC Life among others.

  • ZenithOptimedia India appoints Ajit Gurnani as managing partner & branch head, west

    ZenithOptimedia India appoints Ajit Gurnani as managing partner & branch head, west

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia India has roped in Ajit Gurnani as its managing partner and branch head, ZO west.

     

    ZenithOptimedia India managing director Hari Krishnan said, “ZenithOptimedia is making rapid progress in Mumbai especially with its expanding new-age client list such as Faaso’s, Ziffy, TImesaverz and many others yet to be announced. We needed somebody with rich experience and robust background spanning both agency and client side experience. Ajit, with his experience across markets, clients and verticals was best suited for the role. It helps us to strengthen our offer to all our businesses and prospective clients.”

     

    Gurnani added, “I am excited to be part of ZenithOptimedia and really like the agency’s proposition of Live ROI and all the proprietary tools and knowledge they have built around it. I am also excited with their superior offering in digital and performance marketing through Performics, Resultrix and the Business Analytics offering through Ninah. I hope to embrace these at the soonest and apply it to the clients I will be handling.”  

     

    Gurnani has over 18 years of work experience in the fields of media, brand management and marketing. His media exposure has been with advertising agencies like HTA (now Mindshare / JWT), Rediffusion DY&R (TME), Mindshare and MEC on clients like Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Aditya Birla Group and Mercedes Benz among others.

  • MEC India appoints Ajit Gurnani as head, West

    MEC India appoints Ajit Gurnani as head, West

    MUMBAI: MEC India, a media and planning agency and founding partner of GroupM, has appointed Ajit Gurnani as head of MEC West.

    The post-graduate from the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA), Gurnani will be reporting to MEC India managing director T Gangadhar.

    Speaking about the appointment, Gangadhar said, “Mumbai is our biggest office by far and I am pleased that we have found a quality leader like Ajit to head our operations here. Given his rich vein of experience, I have no doubt that Ajit will make valuable contributions – to clients and staff alike.”

    Gurnani has more than 16 years of experience in the field of media and marketing. Prior to this, he was with Mindshare as principal partner, was a part of Jagran.com and Starcom Digital.

    On his new role, Gurnani said, “I am excited about the opportunity and challenge that this assignment provides to me. I look forward to working with the team and help create business building work that wins accolades and recognition.”

    MEC is a media agency whose services include media planning and buying, digital media, mobile, search, performance marketing and social media management, among others. The agency has a global headcount of 4,500 people with domestic and international clients across 84 countries.