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Tag: Arvind Sharma

  • Media pros find TAM blackout inconceivable; but readying for chaos

    Media pros find TAM blackout inconceivable; but readying for chaos

    MUMBAI: That Television Audience Measurement‘s (TAM‘s) ratings are battling for survival is common knowledge. But how this will affect the advertising process on television? And also what will happen if broadcasters force their hand and have TAM‘s ratings shut down, if but for a while? How will media professionals buy and sell? Definitely questions that are worth taking a looksee.

    And we spoke to that breed of professionals who create the ads, plan and do deals which go to make up the Rs 14,000 crore TV advertising spend in India – the ad agency pro, media planner and buyer.

    Most expressed outright discomfort about the possibility of there being no TAM ratings; some even went so far ahead, disregarding it as speculation which will not come to pass.

    AAAI president & Leo Burnett India south Asia chairman & CEO Arvind Sharma says: “We are crystal clear that advertisers will not work without the TAM ratings. There is no possibility that TAM ratings will be shut down.”

    Seconding Sharma, Maxus worldwide CEO Vikram Sakhuja states: “TAM shutdown for now seems to be speculation. We are not considering this scenario and will be looking for TAM ratings for media buying.”

    Mediacom MD Debraj Tripathy proffers his view: “Let‘s say hypothetically that I agree that there is a basic problem with the ratings. This doesn‘t mean that TAM has to be made to stop functioning. We have to address the problem instead of shutting down TAM. I am not open to discussion led by the mass and a unilateral decision. Any initiative against TAM has to be backed by data and research.”

    Tripathy, however, said if it is found that there is data insufficiency or incorrect data being dished out by TAM, then “it (shutdown) is permissible for a while, until TAM can make some perceived changes or until some other currency starts.”

    Most of them shuddered when they were told a TAM shutdown for a period is quite the way the broadcasters want to go. “There will be a chaotic situation,” says Vivaki Exchange COO Mona Jain. “Chaos,” shivers Tripathy. “I am not in favour of a unilateral decision by anyone as it will lead to utter chaos,” echoes Madison Media COO Karthik Laxminarayan.

    But nonetheless they have braced themselves for it and are open to using other methods to plan and buying for critical advertising buying decisions.

    Says Jain: “In the interim period when there will be no ratings, we will either go with earlier data; if not, for new shows that are being launched we will go by assumptions and gut-feel.”

    Agrees Laxminarayan: “In case of no TAM, I will refer to earlier data or general assumptions.”

    Is it possible that advertisers will hand TAM a life belt to allow it to stay afloat even though broadcasters are attempting to sink it, albeit temporarily? Sharma said, “Let‘s not get into that question because it is obvious that funds are needed for TAM; and worldwide, broadcasters have funded the TV ratings. The industry needs to find out a solution collectively.”

    Hopefully. Until they do, it would be wise for all in the TV advertising value chain to get ready for a chilling TV-rating-free vacation.

  • AAAI comes out in support of TAM

    AAAI comes out in support of TAM

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has come out strongly in support of TAM and stated that discontinuing its ratings service as the broadcasters have been wanting to do is not a good step.

    “Ratings are absolutely central to conducting advertising business with TV channels. Their absence will lead to chaos in the short term and to a decline in TV advertising in the medium term,” says AAAI president Arvind Sharma.

    AAAI president Arvind Sharma TAM should continue; BARC is sometime away

    Sharma points out that through the last three decades and across media, clients have preferred to invest in media where there is reliable measurement. “It is therefore in the best interests of broadcaster, agencies and advertisers not to disrupt the current system until the alternative BARC system starts bringing out data. I would urge the constituents to continue to support the current system until then,” he reiterates.

    Media observers have lauded Sharma‘s and AAAI‘s support. But old-timers pointed out to indiantelevision.com, that a stronger response is needed to a very strong IBF.

    To read the official release: Click here

  • ASCI bags Best Practices Silver Award for National Advertising Monitoring Service

    ASCI bags Best Practices Silver Award for National Advertising Monitoring Service

    NEW DELHI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), which is recognised by the government as the primary body for checking misleading commercials, has bagged the Best Practices Silver Award for establishing a National Advertising Monitoring Service on the print and TV ads.

    The award was given at the European Advertising Standards Alliance‘s (EASA) annual meeting held in Milan, Italy. The EASA Best Practice Award is presented each year to the self-regulatory organisation that has most effectively implemented an element of the EASA Best Practice Model-a set of operational standards for advertising standards bodies.

    ASCI chairman Arvind Sharma said, “ASCI through NAMS has done path breaking work in tracking down and removing ads which make misleading, false or unsubstantiated claims. And the EASA Best Practice Silver award is recognition by the global ad self regulatory organisations (SRO) that ASCI not only follows global best practices but also helps in innovating new ones.”

    He added: “This recognition encourages us to further strengthen the professional and ethical standards in the ad industry to ensure responsible advertising and thereby protect the interests of the consumers.”

    Proactive monitoring of NAMS on the print and TV ads has helped in tracking a large number of misleading ads and the number of ads against which complaints were received and processed by ASCI went up almost five times from 177 in 2011-2012 to 784 in 2012-2013.

    ASCI is a self-regulatory voluntary organisation of the advertising industry. ASCI along with its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) deal with complaints regarding advertisements which are considered as false, misleading, illegal, leading to unsafe practices or unfair to competition and consequently in contravention of the ASCI Code for self-regulation in Advertising. They receive complaints both from the consumers and the industry.

    In May 2012, ASCI introduced NAMS in order to strengthen the process of tracking and reducing misleading advertisements which harm the interests of consumers. NAMS which comprises of the AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research and with the support of trained personnel from the ASCI keeps a continuous check on all the newly released TV and Newspaper print ads to see that they are not violating any ASCI‘s advertisement code related to unsubstantiated, misleading or false claims.

    On an average, 1,500 TV and 45,000 newspaper ads are monitored monthly. If after persistent reminders, certain ads are not altered and are still being aired in the same manner, then the ASCI reports this to the relevant statutory authorities for action.

    In order to fasten the decision making process and to handle the recent jump in the number of complaints received and processed, the ASCI introduced the Consumer Complaint Council (CCC) and appointed Shweta Purandare as chief operations officer (COO) to drive the investigation of complaints besides heading the complaint redressal and follow up process. The meetings are being conducted every week instead of every fortnight so as to reduce the average complaint adjudication time.

  • ASCI takes pro-active initiatives; hires COO

    ASCI takes pro-active initiatives; hires COO

    MUMBAI: With the government and consumer bodies making noises about titillating and misleading TV ads, the Indian advertising industry is working on getting its act together.

    Take the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a body which works as the industry watchdog. Today, it announced that it was taking a few measures to ensure that it becomes more effective.

    One it said that, it has now started tracking – through National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS) – print and TV ads nationally against which complaints are upheld.

    And it says it is ready to crack the whip on violators – it has highlighted that it will report them to the relevant statutory authorities, if they choose to ignore its directions and continuing airing ads without removing or changing objectionable portions.

    The second initiative it has undertaken is to speed up the decision making process in the face of a spurt in complaints by introducing an additional consumer complaints council (CCC) which will allow weekly meetings instead of the fortnightly cycle as is the norm now. This will further reduce the average complaint adjudication time.

    Thirdly, it has appointed Shweta Purandare as chief operations officer (COO) to drive complaint investigation, redressal and follow-up.

    “ASCI has been continually innovating to protect the interests of the consumers and all these initiatives are steps towards that,” says ASCI chairman Arvind Sharma. “The proactive tracking by NAMS earlier, of all newly released ads in print and TV and now of all upheld complaint ads and reporting non-compliance to statutory bodies is likely to help substantially in moving towards the goal of eradicating misleading ads. Appointment of a COO and an additional CCC will go a long way in ensuring speedier and more effective complaint redressal process.”

  • AAAI version of net billing resolution with IBF

    AAAI version of net billing resolution with IBF

    MUMBAI: Broadcasters, facing tax liabilities on account of non-deduction of TDS on agency commission, had stopped airing ads. This was because advertising agencies did not agree to their proposal to move to net billing. AAAI continues to maintain that the tax demands made on some broadcasters are bad in law. It has committed that it will attempt to get a circular from CBDT.

    A circular that clarifies that broadcasters like other media are not required to deduct TDS from agency commission since broadcasters do not pay the agency commission.

    In a meeting that lasted over seven hours, representatives from IBF and AAAI last night arrived at an elegant solution that meets the needs of broadcasters and at the same time assures agencies of their legitimate earnings.

    As a result, advertisers‘ ads will be back on air starting May 3rd.

    Says Arvind Sharma, President AAAI, “We are happy that we have resolved the impasse. Advertisers‘ spots will be back on air starting today. We ensured that both broadcasters‘ and agencies‘ business interests are protected. We are happy that the solution we have found will meet the needs of our member agencies in terms of their transactions with their clients.”

  • Creative Abbys 2013: McCann and Grey claim a grand prix each

    VARCA, GOA: It‘s raining metals at the Abbys in Goa. Joining Interface Business Solutions in the advertising hall of fame at the 2013 Creative Abbys, Grey Worldwide and McCann Worldgroup have each picked up a grand prix for their work in the integrated category (sub category clothing, innerwear, footwear and accessories) and print category (sub category business and home services) respectively.

    McCann Worldgroup finished this year‘s campaign with 56 Abby statuettes; seven gold, 15 silver and 33 bronze Abbys apart from the grand prix. Grey pocketed 14 metals in all adding seven silver and six bronze honours to the grand prix.

    A total of 442 metals were awarded this year to 73 winning agencies. Calling it a celebration of creativity, Leo Burnett India and South Asia CEO Arvind Sharma said, “It is not only the number of entries that has increased, but the number of agencies participating has also seen a hike. This shows the confidence that every member of the advertising fraternity has in the Abbys.”

    And a celebration it is going to be at the Publicis Groupe’s creative hotspot as Leo Burnett picked up 71 metals with nine gold, 35 silver and 28 bronze Abbys, though the grand prix eluded the agency.

    The agency won one gold in the integrated (media and publications) category for its work on SET India‘s game show KBC-6, one in the film category (media and publication) for SET India’s Girl Child campaign, one in the outdoor category (public service, appeals and charity) for Indian Red Cross Society’s Gift Blood this Christmas, two in the radio category – one for Tata Salt Lite’s Society campaign in the subcategory food and one for creating the KBC Anthem for SET India in the subcategory media and publications, two in the radio craft category – Tata Salt Lite Society campaign and the KBC Anthem for SET India(subcategory writing), one in the print craft (illustration) for its work on the Heinz Tomato Ketchup brand and one in the design category (environment design) for the reflection of music installation it created for MTV’s Coke Studio.

    Leo Burnett Solutions, the creative agency’s digital arm also bagged three metals (two silver and one bronze), taking the network’s tally to 74.

    Despite the withdrawal of 13 entries at advanced stages of judging, JWT India bagged 48 Abby metals this year including five gold, 17 silver and 26 bronze awards. ideas@work advertising took home 29 metals with one gold, 14 silver and 14 bronze Abbys.

    Other agencies to pocket a gold include Taproot India, The Dentsu Group, BBDO Proximity, Bang Bang Films, Contract Advertising, DDB Mudra Group, Scarecrow Communications and Publicis Communications.

    The creative Abbys received a staggering 4300 entries (50 more than last year) from nearly 173 agencies.

    This year saw the inclusion of of a new category in the creative Abbys in Branded Content. The category had 12 winners in its first year with two entries winning gold, five winning silver and five winning bronze. JWT India took one gold for Zinkdagi Abhi BAki Hai for Birla Sun Life Insurance and the other went to Scarecrow Communications for the brand B’LUE’s Reveal Yourself: 1 song, 1500 lyricists.

    “With the inclusion of this category, we have opened the doors of partcipation to not only creative and media agencies but also entities like broadcasters, content companies and production houses,”said Percept Ltd’s Ajay Chandawani.

    This year, the creative Abbys had its fair share of controversies. First leading agency and consistent award winner Ogilvy and Mather declared that it would not participate in the awards. Last year, Ogilvy emerged the leading award aggregator with 51 metals, including a grand prix for its work on Fox Crime. The next scam to erupt was the Ford Figo poster campaign conceptualised by JWT that started the debate on scam ads and the accountability issue in the client-agency relationship anew and saw the exit of Bobby Pawar from his post as managing partner and chief creative officer at JWT India.

    JWT India‘s entries for its campaign for Ford Figo were withdrawn from the awards.

    As a consequence of this development Creativeland Asia (CLA) founder Raj Kurup decided to withdraw his name from all the juries in the creative Abby judges process and also requested that all entries from his agencies be revoked. The latter request was however denied since the judging process was almost 90 per cent complete. CLA completed its run at the Abbys this year with seven metal – three silver and four bronze.

    Summing up the creative Abbys this year Sharma said, “In the end, its been a successful year. Let us look at this way – this year, we have recognised and awarded over 400 creative ideas which i believe is a great thing for the industry.”

    We will raise a toast to that! Sante!

    Click here for Award Telly:

  • Goafest’13: How to make client-agency relationships work

    VARCA,GOA: When Arvind Sharma was asked to kick off the Advertising Conclave at Goafest 2012, he said one line, which turned out to be more prophetic than he would have imagined. He started his speech saying “Some of the most meaningful conversations one has, are the ones he avoids the most.” He was referring to this year’s theme at the Advertising Conclave which was ‘Time to Listen’.

    The first day of the annual ad fest in Goa on 4 April witnessed advertisers across categories address an audience filled with the cr?me de la cr?me of the advertising world. They frankly shared their perceptions of the shortcoming of ad and media agencies and where the latter were not living up to their expectations.

    HUL MD Nitin Paranjpe delivered an insightful narration where he pointed out what in his experience are the kinks in the client and agency relationship. He started off admitting that it is not just the agency that should be held responsible; the entire marketing environment that needs to be looked at hard to find some answers.

    According to him, the biggest challenge today is the abundance of choice. There is an abundance of options for each product in the market and brands are vying for the TG’s attention in a heated environment. On the other hand, media itself is facing the tyranny of abundant choice where the audience is becoming increasingly fragmented and engaging it is very tough. “What we have is scenario where choice is abundant, but there is very little to choose between each,” Paranjpe explained.

    This has led to an urgent need for brands to differentiate themselves which in turn possibly leads to desperate measures. Tata Sky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal‘s view in this regard was that “in order to be different, it is necessary to actually be different rather than just standing different.” He supported this this statement with a picture of five zebras where the one in the middle had its rear facing the camera.

    Another point that was unanimously pointed out by all the advertisers was that the 30 second television commercial is becoming redundant and agencies need to strategise innovatively to factor in this change. The rise of social media also needs to be accounted for when planning in today’s environment.Amul MD RS Sodhi spoke from his experience with agencies – DaCunha Communications (outdoor), Draftfcb Ulka (creative) and Lodestar (media). He expressed that for any marketing strategy to work, there needs to be a long-standing relationship between the agency and the client. This builds the basis for trust and understanding that is required in any marketing relationship. It also offers consistency, which is paramount to maintaining a brand’s identity among the TG.

    “According to me, what agencies need to remember today, is that the goal of advertising is to sell the product and not the creator of the campaign. What the product stands for, what the audiences relate to with the product and the brand should be the first consideration,” he elucidated. “Accolades for the creator should not be the reason behind creating any campaign.”

    He also added that the whole concept of advertising awards should either be discontinued or be revisited and reworked upon. “These awards look at and honour work that is created by the industry and judge by the industry. What is the point? Either discontinue them or ask the clients and the audience to rate the ads,” he suggested. His suggestion was met with a thunderous applause fom the audience.

    SBI Capital Markets MD & CEO Arundhati Bhattacharya spoke about the importance of research. “It is important to understand both the brand personality and the TG profile in order to come up with a relevant campaign,” she said. She also feels that advertising should be done in order to further the business and it should be kept simple and short. It is the consumer whose minsdset has to be appealed to,she further said.

    Arunabh Das Gupta of BCCL feels that the death of planning as a practice in the industry has led to a lot of complications. Today one sees a gap in the marketing research done by agencies and this leads to a shortfall of breakthrough creatives. He also offered that creative agencies need to look at talent retention seriously since their employess are the touch points that the clients deal with and form the basis of building a relationship between the two.

    Tata Sky‘s Nagpal begged to differ from the rest on a couple of points. While most of the speakers felt that the fragmentation of the advertising agency into media, creative and account planning has led to a decrease in efficiency of client servicing, Nagpal feels that hiring specialised personnel for specialized work is the order of the day and if need be, this talent should be imported.

    He added that there should be clarity regarding wha the agency and the client expect from each other in order to have an efficient and fulfiiling working rapport. Suresh Bandi from Panasonic pointed out that what matters to a clients is the value that an agency gives them for a given price. “The way I see it, when an agency increases its fees, the value the agency brings to me decreases,” he said.

    Nagpal on the contrary feels that clients should not look at cost-cutting every time. Specialized work comes at a certain cost and while agencies in a bid to compete and win clients may lower their rates, it may lead to a lowering of quality. It is the basic princliple of “Itne mein sirf itna hi milega.”

    Another grievance recorded by each advertiser was that while the pitch process is spearheaded by a known senior agency executive/professional, once the pitch is won, the clients end up dealing with newbies who are not trained enough to handle the account or have no clue of the pitch in the first place. This creates a disjunct and gap in the dynamics and is often the reason why most client-agency relationships fail.

    In conclusion, the panel agreed that while agencies and clients needs to introsopect and make some changes, the key takeaway was that the relationship between the agency and the client is what decides the effecniency of a campaign. An integrated team will function much better than a fragemented one and a team that knows each other is the one that will take the brand all the way.

  • 2012: Industry unites to avert deadlocks : Arvind Sharma, Chairman of Leo Burnett India Sub-Continent

    2012: Industry unites to avert deadlocks : Arvind Sharma, Chairman of Leo Burnett India Sub-Continent

    As the ancient Chinese proverb goes – May you live in interesting times! 2012 was certainly an interesting year. Worsening economic conditions caused India‘s GDP growth rate to fall dramatically and its credit rating to be downgraded (much has been written about its causes and remedies). The telecom industry survived the impact of an unprecedented cancellation of 122 licenses. Clients approached life with what is euphemistically called ‘cautious optimism‘. In the middle of all this action, there were a number of good campaigns and a number of unorthodox marketing initiatives – Goafest is round the corner and we‘ll celebrate these soon. These included an unlikely one by Arvind Kejriwal. I was amused that his party‘s name came out of a slogan I had written for the 2004 Congress election campaign, ‘Aam Aadmi ko kya Mila?‘

    Each one of these topics is worthy of a piece in itself. However, in this piece I am writing about a new perspective. A perspective derived from a very unique situation that my industry colleagues put me in. I was requested to perform three industry level roles – each one of them probably a whole job in itself. The roles were that of the President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Chairman of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and a member of Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI).

    For the last several years, the broad view that industry bodies have been taking was that they represent special interest groups and they must confront associations and institutions which represent other groups. This philosophy has merits – it is fair and legitimate that all sections of the industry aggressively push their viewpoints and interests. However, demerits of this approach should be equally obvious. If every association is locked into an inflexible position of self interest, you only have deadlocks and ‘cliffs‘. 2012 was a year where my colleagues across associations, took a U-turn on this mindset. We were able to resolve a number of deadlocks that had dogged the industry for years.

    Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), promoters of erstwhile National Readership Survey (NRS), and Media Research Users Council (MRUC), owners of Indian Readership Survey (IRS), not only came together but actually agreed on all the improvements that were required in readership studies. They agreed on major methodological issues. They even agreed on choice of a new research agency to conduct the new IRS.

    On the TV measurement front, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and AAAI actually signed an agreement to create the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). And surprise surprise! Everyone agreed on the choice of the technical committee chairman! Hopefully, BARC will now move forward and deliver us a new TV audience measurement system in around a year.

    A few years ago, an attempt to introduce digitisation under the name of Conditional Access System (CAS) in metros failed miserably. One of the reported reasons for the failure was that under CAS, measurement data is bound to be unstable for some weeks which resulted in unexpected winners. The winners tried to make the most of their weekly bonanzas and the losers retaliated by withdrawing support for CAS. AAAI, IBF and ISA, looking at the big picture, agreed to suspend release of audience measurement data for a few weeks. Of course, the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Mrs. Ambika Soni‘s role in making digitisation possible has been recognised across the country. However, the role that the three associations collectively played to ensure successful implementation of this law has been critical.

    On regulation of advertising content, similar positive and collaborative dialogues are under way between ASCI and various other institutions.

    Various institutions and industry associations do represent interests of various segments of the society and business. However, in 2012, the wisdom that segments cannot improve their lots unless the whole improves, is the wisdom that prevailed. I fervently hope that this will continue to be the industry‘s mindset as we move forward to address many issues that the society at large and the industry face moving ahead.

    With some definite signals and many forecasts optimistic of a better year ahead, I eagerly look forward to 2013. I believe that it will not just be an interesting year but a year of growth and progress for all of us. Wishing everyone a happy 2013!

     

  • Nakul Chopra is Goafest Committee chairman

    MUMBAI: Publicis CEO-South Asia Nakul Chopra has been appointed as chairman of the advertising event Goafest 2013.

    Chopra was a part of the core committee team in 2012.

    Prior to Chopra, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) president and Leo Burnett Indian sub-continent chairman Arvind Sharma was taking care of the role.

    The details of the festival will be announced at an event on 10 January.

    Goafest witnesses eminent personalities in the advertising industry speaking on the podium, panel discussion on various topics and Abby Awards that are given away in both creative and media domain.

  • Leo Burnett India shuffles its team; Pops is creative head India Subcontinent

    Leo Burnett India shuffles its team; Pops is creative head India Subcontinent

    MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe‘s creative agency Leo Burnett India has announced a restructuring in its ranks in order to transform itself into a new age communication agency.

    Leo Burnett India NCD KV Sridhar, popularly known as Pops, will now hold the mantle of chief creative officer, India Subcontinent. Nitesh Tiwari has been promoted to take on the post of Leo Burnett India chief creative officer.

    Tiwari has been a part of the Leo Burnett family for almost a decade and has worked for a wide range of clients, including Tide, Heinz, Sony Entertainment Television, Reliance Mobile, McDonald‘s, Perfetti Van Melle and Bajaj Electricals.

    Pops said, “The core of our consumers across product categories is becoming younger and younger with every passing year. So it is only fair that we have young creative leaders who speak the language of youth and understand new-age challenges for brands and businesses.”

    Earlier for agencies in India TV advertising was the core of marketing plans and specialist services were bought from smaller independent shops. Their clients are now demanding new ways of approaching advertising suited to the rapidly changing environment.

    “They are demanding advertising platforms that truly integrate their brand communications across channels as diverse as traditional media, digital and modern retail. This transformation is extremely exciting. Changing our core while growing fast requires foresight, meticulous planning and its relentless execution,” said Leo Burnett India Subcontinent chairman and CEO Arvind Sharma.

    Leo Burnett Worldwide chief creative officer Mark Tutssel said, “The infusion of fresh new blood into our industry is vital for its long-term health and prosperity. This new generation is tomorrows‘ world thinkers- bold, brave and curious. They naturally defy the status quo and open up infinite possibilities for modern day communication.”

    Leo Burnett Asia Pacific president Jarek Ziebinski said, “Business growth in India is coming from innovative thinking that keeps the youth at the centre and technology as the backdrop. Our creative restructuring in India is in step with that growth story and I am completely convinced that the youth will fuel growth of India as well as of Burnett in the near future.”

    Other promotions at Leo Burnett include the elevation of Vikram Pandey (a.k.a Spiky) as executive creative director with focus on Tata Capital and HDFC Life. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has been promoted as executive creative director and will continue working on Sony Entertainment Television. Vicky Bhambhani takes on the new role of regional creative director on Tide.

    Abhishek Sinha, Nikhil Mehrotra, Piyush Gupta and Shreyas Jain have all made it to the creative director circle.

    While Sinha will be working on P&G Tide and Shiksha, Mehrotra will work on brands like Bajaj Electricals and Complan. Gupta will be working on Tata Capital as creative director and Jain will now focus on HDFC Life and Limca.

    Leo Burnett has also roped in talent from across the industry including Timsy Gupta, Rishi Agarwal, Sapna Aluwalia and Rajneesh Ramakrishnan. Gupta comes in from DDB Mudra Mumbai and has been appointed as creative director. She has worked across agencies like Grey Worldwide, McCann Mumbai, Contract Mumbai and DDB Mudra Mumbai and will be helping chalk out a path for Uninor as CD.

    Agarwal who joins from McCann Erickson Delhi has worked on campaigns like Coca-Cola ‘Jashnmana le‘, Nescafe Sunrise, Dulux ‘boxing gloves‘. Some of the other prominent brands that he has contributed significantly towards include HBO, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism and Dainik Jagran. He also joins as CD on Uninor.

    Ahulwalia has received wide recognition for the work she has done on brands like Fiat, Tata AIG, Virgin Mobile, BBC World and Birla Sun Life Insurance. She will be a creative director on McDonald‘s.

    Ramakrishnan has worked across various agencies including Ogilvy & Mather, Creative Land Asia and handled brands like Cadbury confectionaries, Bajaj Pulsar, Castrol, Odonil, Kotak Securities, Citigroup Global Services(e serve), Frooti, Bloomberg UTV. He has joined as a creative director on McDonald‘s.