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Tag: Dentsu

  • Next by Rediffusion names Asheesh Malhotra as executive director

    Next by Rediffusion names Asheesh Malhotra as executive director

    MUMBAI: Next by Rediffusion has roped in Asheesh Malhotra as its executive director. Asheesh joins the Rediffusion group from Dentsu. The launch of Next was announced by Rediffusion on 15 August.

    With over 25 years of experience in the advertising industry, Asheesh has worked in leadership roles at Dentsu, Ogilvy, Lowe and Bates. He has straddled strategy and business functions on global & local businesses alike. He helped launch India’s first private life insurance company, ICICI Pru. He led global business hubs for Castrol and BP across Europe, Asia and also the business of Unilever beverages.

    Asheesh has over the years won the prestigious Effie awards for Unilever, ICICI Pru, Mondelez in India and APAC regions. He has also worked on the launch of Royal Enfield Meteor and Classic and Malabar Gold’s Brides Of India campaigns.

    Additionally, he teaches marketing and advertising students at institutes like SP Jain and Northpoint Center of Learning. He is also on the advisory councils of a couple of universities, and an active member of Intach.

    Asheesh did his schooling at St Edwards in Shimla and went on to pursue his higher studies at Delhi University. Thereafter, he attended the New York Film Academy and studied film and content development. Asheesh is also a certified apple orchardist having grown up in the pristine Kullu valley.

    Welcoming Asheesh Malhotra to Next by Rediffusion, Rediffusion group managing director Dr Sandeep Goyal said, “In Asheesh, we have a true blue-blooded professional who has worked across categories, domains, brands and geographies. I have personally worked with him during his earlier stint at Rediffusion when he was handling the Taj hotels business nearly 20 years ago. We again worked together when he led the Toyota business in Bangalore at Dentsu. Asheesh is client-focused, strategically strong and very good with creative teams. The assignment at Next by Rediffusion is just right for him – a combination of innovation and experience”.

    “This is my second innings at Rediffusion. I love the easy informality at the agency. Also, the wide canvas afforded everyone to do their best. Next by Rediffusion is a rare opportunity for me to create a completely new metaphor in advertising and communication. All soonicorns and unicorns, despite their size and apparent success, need a lot of help with brand building and ideation. We will do just that at Next by Rediffusion”, added Asheesh Malhotra.

    Asheesh Malhotra will be based in Mumbai. Next Rediffusion aims to have offices pan-India in the next 18-24 months.

  • Havas Media Group India appoints Balachandran V as EVP – Buying North

    Havas Media Group India appoints Balachandran V as EVP – Buying North

    MUMBAI: Havas Media Group India, the media experience agency of Havas Group India, has appointed Balachandran V as executive vice president of buying north. Based out of Gurgaon, Balachandran will be responsible for media investments of all north clients. He will be reporting to R. Venkatasubramanian, president of investments and head – Havas Sports, Havas Media Group India.

    Balachandran’s appointment comes at a critical juncture and will further strengthen the agency’s media investments and buying team, said the agency in a statement.

    Commenting on the appointment, R Venkatasubramanian said, “Bala is a seasoned media professional, and this is his second innings with Havas, having previously worked for the agency (then Euro RSCG) in 1997 as the Media & Administration lead for the Chennai market and later on led the investment portfolio for the Reckitt Benckiser Business in Delhi. We are delighted to have him back, this time to lead HMG India’s North Investment operations, one of our largest business units. I am confident Bala will drive the team forward and further strengthen our investment function by hiring talented professionals with domain expertise. We wish Bala a happy homecoming!”

    Balachandran V said, “I am excited to join Havas and lead the media investments function for one of its biggest markets i.e., North. Havas Media Group India has been growing at a phenomenal rate over the years, and I look forward to working with the legacy and new-age brands, collaborating with media partners, and delivering the best ROI for clients by adding value.”

    With over 25 years of experience in media across different verticals like trading, buying strategy, and client servicing, Balachandran has managed clients across categories viz. retail, FMCG, automobile, lifestyle, government etc. Prior to joining Havas Media Group India, he worked with agencies like Dentsu and GroupM. Some of the leading brands he has worked with include Reckitt Benckiser, GSK, INC, Mother Dairy, Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Wakefit, Bata and more.

  • Taproot dentsu’s Titus Upputuru launches own company

    Taproot dentsu’s Titus Upputuru launches own company

    MUMBAI: After eleven plus years at Taproot dentsu, national creative director Titus Upputuru has moved on to launch his own advertising and films firm – The Titus Upputuru Company. Upputuru was with dentsu since April 2011 and was elevated as national creative director in March this year.

    “I have been in this industry for 25 years now. I thought a silver jubilee is perfect time for me to launch this company,” Upputuru said. “Its time now to look ahead and I am so excited about this brand’s new journey. In my career, I have always been interested in the craft of writing, art direction, design, and photography. Over the last decade or so, I have also had the opportunity to direct ad films and short films for brands. I wanted to combine these skill sets and offer the last mile in execution too, because execution is what the audience ultimately sees,” he further said.

    Talking about the importance of video content, Upputuru  added, “We all know that video sits right on top of the marketing tools that marketers are using today across the world. So, along with brand strategy and static creative solutions across mediums and platforms, we will offer our expertise in video too”.

    To announce the entrepreneurial venture, the agency came out with a five-film campaign. The company has released a set of short, intriguing films that aim to establish the identity. Each film begins with the initials TU and goes on to form a different face, that has correlation to the drama occurring in the video and audio.  

    The 12-second films use illustration, design, music, and drama to bring out the unique identity of the company.

    Embed Links to the films:

    “We are excited to tell stories using different mediums. The idea is to keep human at the heart of it and manifest empathy. People still choose brands that have a certain quality about them, that profess a certain human belief; brands that move people, that respect them. As a Creative led company, we will wish to partner such brands, while obsessing about craft.”, the founder added.

    A two-time gold medalist in English Literature, Upputuru got interested in advertising after he saw a billboard that said, ‘Looking for top 10 writers in India’. After getting selected, he spent 25 years in advertising, film making, brand building and in helping grow businesses, while working with some of the best global networks including Ogilvy & Mather, Publicis, TBWA and Dentsu.

    Besides winning the DadaSaheb Phalke Award, Upputuru has won several national and international awards, including The One Show, British Design, the New York Festival, Adfest, Spikes Asia and the Abby’s.

  • Abhinav Kaushik moves on from dentsu after 9 years

    Abhinav Kaushik moves on from dentsu after 9 years

    MUMBAI: Taproot Dentsu’s executive vice president & head of office – Delhi & Mumbai, Abhinav Kaushik has stepped down from his role at the agency. Having joined Dentsu Marcom in 2013 as vice president in account management, he was just one year short of completing a decade.

    In his nine years at the agency, Kaushik handled a gamut of leadership roles at Dentsu, working on many successful brand initiatives and multi-stage integrated campaigns across the funnel for brands like Honda (Honda Cars & Honda Two Wheelers), Dulux, Airtel, Microsoft, Shell, Oppo, Canon, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Nokia, CP Plus, Fast&Up, Jack & Jones, Dainik Bhaskar, and Toshiba.

    Sharing the news on his LinkedIn page, Kaushik wrote: “My 9 years at dentsu international india & Taproot Dentsu (A dentsuMB Company) have truly been a rollercoaster ride. What has made this ride special is the stellar team of some immensely talented people who have helped me learn every single day.”

    “As they say, great things are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people. So gratitude to all my team members, colleagues & partners,” he further wrote, adding, “Over to the next chapter now.”

    Kaushik did not disclose his future plans in the post, though.

    Prior to dentsu, Kaushik was vice president and client services director at JWT for over six years, where he worked on brands such as Airtel, Sony, GSK, Pizza Hut and Microsoft.

    Previously, he has worked with agencies such as Contract and M&C Saatchi. He started his career in sales and marketing at GE Capital, working on the branding, integrated marketing, planning, strategising and repositioning exercises for brands such as Airtel, Sony (Bravia, Vaio, Cybershot, Walkman, Handycam), GSK (Boost portfolio), Pizza Hut, Dabur (Real Juices’ portfolio), NIIT, Microsoft, British Airways, Shell, Indian School of Business, Revlon, Godfrey Phillips, and Asian Paints.

  • Watconsult wins ORM & social listening mandate for Olx Autos

    Watconsult wins ORM & social listening mandate for Olx Autos

    Mumbai: WATConsult, a hybrid digital agency owned by Dentsu Creative India, has won the online reputation management and social listening mandate for OLX Autos.

    Following a multi-agency pitch, the account was won and will be managed by the agency’s Mumbai office.

    According to the mandate, WATConsult will be in charge of the brand’s response management, which includes monitoring, listening, responding to queries, and reporting to users online.

    OLX Autos’ marketing country head Siddharth Agrawal said, “We are excited to have WATConsult on board as our partner for ORM and digital listening mandate. It is a very important element in further accelerating our brand journey & reputation. We look forward to elevating our customer service and the overall platform experience through this engagement.”

    Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra, said, “We are delighted to have OLX Autos on board. The brand has fared remarkably well in recent quarters, and social listening will be critical to its future success. Our team is well-equipped to provide the necessary skills, and we are very much looking forward to assisting them on this journey.”

    WATConsult Managing Partner Sahil Shah said, “This addition solidifies our already strong offering on auto clients. OLX Autos being a new-age digital-first brand, just resonates very well with our go-to-market at many levels. I welcome OLX Autos to our esteemed list of clients and look forward to a great partnership with them.”

  • dentsu X India bags integrated media mandate for Tata 1mg

    dentsu X India bags integrated media mandate for Tata 1mg

    Mumbai: Media agency Dentsu X India, on Wednesday, won the media mandate for Tata 1mg – India’s largest digital healthcare platform.

    Dentsu X will oversee the brand’s planning and buying duties for traditional as well as digital media. The account will be serviced from the agency’s Gurugram office.

    Speaking on the partnership, Dentsu X India chief executive officer Roopam Garg said, “We are delighted to get the opportunity to work with a future focussed and trusted brand like Tata 1mg. At dentsu X, we answer ‘Why beyond What’, led by our people, data and tech. We look forward to helping the brand with solutions based on the same.”

    Tata 1mg co-founder Gaurav Agarwal commented, “We are excited to work with Dentsu X. Through their data-driven methodology, they have already established themselves as an integrated media firm and among the best in their industry. We look forward to collaborating with them on cutting-edge media innovations and opportunities.”

  • Dentsu Intl onboards broadcast vet Robert Gilby as APAC CEO

    Dentsu Intl onboards broadcast vet Robert Gilby as APAC CEO

    MUMBAI: His is a familiar face with the entire media and entertainment industry in India. More so in the broadcast sector, Singapore-based Rob Gilby – who is well-known for his fancy moves on the dance floor as he is for building organisations in Asia – will be joining Dentsu International as its APAC CEO come 5 September 2022. He will report to Dentsu International global CEO Wendy Clark.

    Rob has been mandated with overseeing the 11,600-strong Dentsu army of ad folks in 18 markets. He is stepping into the agency at a time when it has rolled out Dentsu Creative worldwide following accolades like it being awarded as the APAC regional network of the year and Dentsu Creative India being recognised as the global agency of the year at the recently concluded Cannes Lions. The agency has also been showing some fancy results with growths of 4.7 per cent in FY’21 and 5.2 per cent in Q1 2022.

    “Rob is an exceptionally well-rounded leader with a progressive approach that deeply understands the future of the industry and opportunities for growth, for our people, our clients and our business,” said Dentsu International CEO Wendy Clark. “Importantly, he demonstrated his long-term vision, values-based leadership style and passion for building high-performance, diverse teams that is fundamental to the way we do business at dentsu.”

    He has great credentials indeed with 30 years’ experience in the media and entertainment industry and has worked in Asia Pacific for over 25 years. He has a proven track-record of growing profitable businesses including WarnerMedia and The Walt Disney Co, with extensive experience in markets including Australia, China, India, Southeast Asia and Singapore.

    He joins dentsu from Nielsen where he is President, APAC responsible for building relationships with key media owners, brands and agencies to deliver audience insights across the media ecosystem. Prior to that he was CEO & founder, Blue Hat Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focussed on identifying and commercialising high-growth businesses in the digital media sector in Asia Pacific. He has held non-executive board and advisory roles at the ministry of communications & Information, the InfoComm Media Development Authority and the Singapore Media Festival.

    Robert said, “I was instantly drawn to dentsu’s compelling vision with its rich heritage as the only holding company born out of Asia. It is a privilege to be leading this region with the world looking to the Asia Pacific region as its GDP growth is forecasted to remain strong, the emerging middle-class booms and rapid digitization and investment in homegrown platforms leapfrog existing technologies. Dentsu’s ability to understand people better than anyone else and vision for horizontal creativity coupled with these market conditions creates an exciting opportunity for brands to thrive.”

  • Gurjot Shah Singh moves on from Dentsu after 8 years

    Gurjot Shah Singh moves on from Dentsu after 8 years

    MUMBAI: Isobar India’s Gurjot Shah Singh has stepped down from his role as executive vice president- media after an eight-year stint at the network. The development was confirmed by Dentsu to IndianTelevision.com.

    Singh’s next move is not yet known. Having joined the agency in 2014 as account director at iProspect, Singh served a stint of nearly six years at Dentsu Webchutney where he took on the role of executive vice president & national media head. He was elevated to his current role at Isobar India in January this year.

    A multi-dimensional digital marketer, Singh has been instrumental in the success of Dentsu Webchutney having built the media practice ground up at the digital marketing agency in the last few years. He has been a part of over 30 national and international award-winning campaigns in his career of 12 years, having worked on 200 plus brands, including Ather Energy, Honda bikes, Uber, Max life insurance, IndusInd Bank, Whirlpool, Canon, Flipkart, Under Armour, British council, Air India, Sony Pictures, to name a few.

    Recently, the network has witnessed a spate of high profile exits, even the Dentsu Creative Group India centralised its digital media services across all its agencies and capabilities under the Isobar India group.

  • Catch launches new campaign created by Dentsu creative Impact

    Catch launches new campaign created by Dentsu creative Impact

    Mumbai: DS Spiceco, a part of the DS Group has launched a new campaign for Catch Sprinklers, its flagship product. Designed by Dentsu Creative Impact, the ad film revolves around the similarities in identical twins, who have exactly the same genetic makeup and look and behave similarly, including how they dress up and what they eat and enjoy. However, when it comes to food and seasoning their palates are different with distinctive tastes that are satiated by Catch, which has a match for every taste.

    The film opens on two young identical twin boys coming out of the dressing room, wearing the exact same clothes and accessories to look identical. Even the shirts are tucked in the same style. They both admire their reflections in the mirror, flick their hair to the same side and high-five each other without looking. Later the twins are playing football and they both fall down at the same time and seem to have the exact same bruises on their face. This is followed by twins watching a horror movie with both having identical reactions to the movie scenes. Later, the twins are seen sitting across the dining table with a plate of food in their hands and reaching out for the Catch Sprinklers. There’s a moment of pause as both hands appear to go for the same sprinkler, however as the camera zooms out, one twin picks up the Chat Masala Sprinkler and the other the Black Salt one. They both raise their eyebrows at each other, as if questioning the other person’s choice. But then they break into a smile and continue to sprinkle the respective taste enhancers on their plate.

    The voice over in the films says “Aap kitne bhi same kyun na ho, taste to same kabhi nahin hota. Isliye Catch ke paas hai sabke taste ka match. 100 per cent.” You may be the same in all aspects but your taste will always differ. Catch has a match for every taste per cent.

    Commenting on the campaign, DS Spiceco business head Sandeep Ghosh said, “The flagship product of Catch, the sprinklers have enjoyed leadership in the category since its launch in the year 1987. The new commercial will further consolidate Catch’s leadership position in the table top category, which has expanded over the years and has a variety of salts, pepper & blends today. A taste enhancer for every palate indeed.”

    Speaking about the thought behind the campaign, Dentsu Impact managing partner & national creative director Anupama Ramaswamy said, “Who uses sprinklers? Someone who wants something extra in existing food. Now that’s simple. From here came the insight of how people may be similar but when it comes to the food and taste, people may be different. And how can we show this behaviour using a visual mnemonic which is memorable?”

    “So there came the creative device of twins. We all know twins are the same in most aspects. Except when it comes to taste. Of course, shooting with identical looking kids was challenging particularly when it comes to the exact reactions, but I must say, it was a commendable job done by the director Gaurav and the entire team at Good Morning Films,” she added.

    Dentsu Impact EVP Hindol Purkayastha said, “I can already see this campaign winning hearts among the TG. It is going to break the clutter and I am quite confident that this will create a new mark in the sprinklers’ category. May be a new trend of ‘how to beautifully use twins in communications.’’

  • Global advertising spend to grow over 15 per cent in 2023-2024, forecasts Dentsu

    Global advertising spend to grow over 15 per cent in 2023-2024, forecasts Dentsu

    Mumbai: Dentsu global ad spend forecasts indicated that advertising spending would increase globally by 8.7 per cent in 2022. Ad spending in Asia Pacific is anticipated to reach $250 billion.

    The advertising spending growth rate is predicted to be 16 per cent this year and is expected to increase 15.2 per cent in 2023 and 15.7 per cent in 2024.

    The reforecast of media investment is released in the context of escalating media price inflation, geopolitical tension, upcoming key elections, and one of the most anticipated global sports events of the year, the FIFA World Cup. Due to continued uncertainty, the current and historical comparison data has also been adjusted to remove Russian investment from the forecast, to better reflect the rest of the international ad spend trends and predictions.

    According to the forecast, spending on advertising in China is expected to rise by 4.0 per cent in 2023 and 5.4 per cent the following year.

    Speaking in this context, Dentsu international CEO media APAC Prerna Mehrotra said, “The latest Dentsu Ad Spend July 2022 points to a continued recovery despite another year of economic uncertainty, with APAC 2022 ad spend of $250 billion, based on a growth forecast at 5.1 per cent. However, continued lockdowns in key markets, geo-political tension and ongoing supply logistics issues could add pressure on businesses with a cascading impact on marketing spends.”

    Looking ahead, Dentsu expects the 2023 global advertising market to increase by 5.4 per cent to reach $778.6 billion followed by a further 5.1 per cent increase in 2024.

    Mehrotra added, “This year, India (+16.0 per cent), Malaysia (+11.0 per cent) and Hong Kong (+10.1 per cent) have all achieved double-digit growth. Digital continues to drive growth accounting for 60.7 per cent of all spending in the Asia Pacific with social, video and search predicted to lead to digital growth. Advertisers increase focus and resources into e-commerce, display, and search budgets to respond to the new consumption habits. Marketers need to better understand their audiences and meet their needs with relevant messaging as online behaviour surges in Asia. Use of first-party data to identify the most profitable customers, combined with third-party data to target the prospects in the most efficient channels will help drive efficiency and manage costs.”

    Dentsu International CEO- media and global clients Peter Huijboom said, “Even with everything which has happened in recent months, not least the protracted war in Ukraine and its international repercussions, the advertising recovery remains strong on a global scale. And, despite factors such as inflation putting pressure on household budgets, combined with 2021 being a tough comparative year, we have only marginally revised our 2022 global growth forecast by just 0.4 percentage points.

    “Despite global economic uncertainty, brands are continuing to prioritise their spend in channels which will give them both the digital flexibility and return they seek. It is through our clear and robust insight and understanding of the market we can work with clients to navigate what’s next and partner with them on their future investment,” he added.

    Overall ad spends growth in Asia Pacific is boosted by key sporting events such as Indian Premier League, FIFA World Cup, Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and country elections in Australia and India. Digital continues to be the powerhouse driving APAC ad spend, as the fastest growing medium at 11.5 per cent to reach $151.7 billion, a 60.7 per cent share of total ad spend. Fuelling this is the double-digit growth of programmatic (32.3 per cent), paid social (27.4 per cent), and digital display (13.3 per cent) in 2022. In Southeast Asia (SEA), TV spend is still significant, with the largest share (57.2 per cent) of total SEA spend (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam), and a growth rate of 4.6 per cent.

    Globally, out-of-home (OOH) and cinema will both see encouraging double-digit growth in 2022 (respectively 11.5 per cent and 19.6 per cent). Radio is also forecast to grow, much faster than initially considered with a new reforecast of 5.0 per cent for the year, up from 2.0 per cent in the January predictions – which is mainly due to faster return to office working. As with previous predictions, ad spend in newspapers and magazines will continue to decline.

    In 2022, America will be the top ad spend region at $329.6 billion and the most dynamic with spending increasing by 13.1 per cent. India at 16 per cent growth will stay ahead of the US at 12.8 per cent and Brazil at 9 per cent as the fastest growing market.

    Globally, industry-wise, the greatest growth is forecast for the technology sector (+11.3 per cent), which has benefited from people’s greater reliance on digital devices. Retail is one of the key sectors of spend growth at a rate of 11 per cent in 2022. The sector is driven by several factors including the significant growth of e-commerce, the entry of new players, and the introduction of emerging retail platforms. In Asia Pacific, technology, automotive and cosmetics and personal care are among the fastest growing sectors.

    This dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecast not only looks at the data from 58 markets, but also examines some of the key factors impacting ad spend shift, such as inflation increases, sustainability regulation, acceleration of gaming as an ad medium, doubling down on addressable media and also the importance of buying attention as core metric