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Tag: digital marketing agency

  • Cheil X ropes in Ankit Singh as national strategy chief to sharpen its creative edge

    Cheil X ropes in Ankit Singh as national strategy chief to sharpen its creative edge

    MUMBAI: In a calculated move to tighten its grip on the brand strategy reins, Cheil X has appointed Ankit Singh as its national strategy director. This appointment is the latest in a series of leadership upgrades as the agency revs up its transformation into a full-funnel powerhouse.

    Singh, a marketing veteran with over a decade of brand-building know-how, will report to Cheil X CEO Jitender Dabas. He takes on the ambitious task of steering strategic operations across all Cheil X companies in India, bringing with him a reputation for scaling businesses and unlocking creative muscle at past stints with Leo Burnett, BBH Delhi, and most recently, Hilton south Asia.

    At Hilton, Singh served as director – brand marketing for south Asia, where he played a pivotal role in firming up its brand presence across the region. Prior to that, he helped drive Leo Burnett Delhi into a strategy-led creative force, and oversaw the BBH Delhi expansion with cultural fluency and sharp insight. His strategic fingerprints can be found on campaigns for Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Reckitt, Uber, Tinder, Apple, Niva Bupa, and Unilever, among others.

    Cheil X’s latest talent coup is part of a broader vision to evolve from a traditional ad agency into a future-ready, connected experience firm. With an integrated model that straddles content, commerce, and brand experience, the agency is banking on Singh’s cultural intelligence and digital-first approach to fuel its next phase.

    “I’ve always believed that a strong strategic core doesn’t just solve business problems for brands — it shapes the agency’s ability to stay ahead of change. Ankit brings his expertise of partnering with big global and Indian brands and an astute understanding of what marketing and brands need today. We are building a winning team — and Ankit will be a key player in that formation”, said Dabas.

    A recognised industry thinker, Singh has been featured in WARC, CNBC, and Afaqs, and decorated with honours including the Effies, Cannes Lions, the Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, and Impact’s 30 Under 30.

    Speaking on his new role, Singh said, “Data and technology are reshaping how brands connect with people, and Cheil has long been at the forefront of this shift — creating connected experiences across the consumer journey. I’ve always been drawn to building new things, so when Jeetu shared his bold vision for Cheil X, it felt like the perfect moment and the right place to build a future‑ready agency that delivers impact at scale”.

    The appointment aligns with Cheil X’s broader mission of assembling a modern team of strategists, technologists, creatives, and experience designers to reimagine brand-building in an increasingly connected world. 

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  • First Care’s BuddsBuddy hands over social media duties to Team Pumpkin

    First Care’s BuddsBuddy hands over social media duties to Team Pumpkin

    Mumbai: Team Pumpkin has acquired the digital mandate of First Care’s brand, BuddsBuddy. The account will be handled by the agency’s team based out of Bengaluru.

    As a part of this digital mandate, Team Pumpkin will handle the social media marketing duties for BuddsBuddy and help in strategizing the brand’s digital activities. Speaking of this partnership, Team Pumpkin co-founder and CEO Ranjeet Kumar said, “We are delighted to have BuddsBuddy onboard with us. At Team Pumpkin, we believe in growing exponentially with upcoming trends and innovations while staying rooted in consistency. We plan to build a new and fulfilling path for BuddsBuddy as per their vision and enhance it with our creative and strategic planning.”

    BuddsBuddy is committed to providing baby care products across India with a mission to solve a parent’s baby-care challenges. Their approach is “Know, Sow, Reap, Resolve, and Repeat.” The approach stands for knowing the challenge, sowing effort to resolve the challenge, reaping the results from the community, resolving inadequacies, and repeating the process for ever-evolving baby care needs. From feeding & nursing to grooming and health & safety, BuddsBuddy offers a wide range of high-quality baby products at affordable prices.

    Expressing his views on this new association, BuddsBuddy co-founder and CEO Krishna Sighakolli said, “We are thrilled to work with Team Pumpkin as their vast experience in the baby care segment will help us with a distinct path to foray into this exciting industry. Their agency’s creative & strategic minds will take our brand to new heights.”

  • Havas Group India & Langoor decide to part ways

    Havas Group India & Langoor decide to part ways

    Mumbai: Havas Group India has decided to part its ways from Langoor, the full-service independent digital agency, according to a company statement.

    The digital marketing agency was acquired in 2019 by Havas Group. The rebranded entity was called Langoor Havas. 

    Havas Group India Group CEO  Rana Barua said, “The pandemic allowed us to re-evaluate our vision and some of our goals, and as we revisited the future plans, we realised that Langoor’s new plans were unique but different from ours. So, we came to a mutual decision to part ways. I wish its co-founders all the very best in their journey ahead.”

    Langoor  co-founder Venugopal Ganganna said, “In the ever-changing world of marketing transformation, we constantly innovate at the intersection of data, creativity, and technology & create new focus spaces and offerings that would deliver true business outcomes. The new refreshed vision and offerings were different from what we had originally envisaged with the Havas Group. Hence, we mutually decided to demerge this association and become independent again. We thank the Havas Group for the short partnership and wish them the best always”. 

  • 71% of IPL viewers get influenced by ads with Bollywood celebs: iCubesWire survey

    71% of IPL viewers get influenced by ads with Bollywood celebs: iCubesWire survey

    Mumbai: With Indian Premier League (IPL) fever spreading across India and marketers promoting the event as one of the biggest advertising ecosystem in the country, a whopping 71 per cent of the respondents surveyed said their buying decisions get influenced if there is a Bollywood celebrity in streaming ads. Digital marketing agency iCubesWire conducted a IPL marketing and advertising survey among 1,000 respondents from mid-March to mid-April.

    The survey further indicates that a significant 74 per cent of the respondents agreed that their buying decisions from IPL streaming ads get influenced by such ads that are targeted towards children or liked by younger age segment.

    “IPL is one of the biggest sporting event on the planet and lot of advertising money is spent on its broadcasting by brands to reach out to their target group,” iCubesWire CEO Sahil Chopra. “This survey has clearly indicated that brands are still banking on Bollywood celebrities to deliver their message to end users, a trend which we believe will continue to stay with many OTT celebrities also joining the fray.”

    As the country in the last few years has also been witnessing a major push towards getting back to Indian roots, 73 per cent of the respondents said they prefer watching ads that show Indian culture or legacy.

    Not surprisingly, Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we buy products and services with healthcare becoming the top concern for everyone. The healthcare sector including health insurance advertisements during IPL streaming has led to 78 per cent of the surveyed respondents to invest on their physical fitness and health.

    Other key findings are:

    ·  IPL survey says that 80 per cent of fans enjoy interaction over chat apps during live streaming.

    ·  Nearly 64 per cent people of the poll takers like to watch IPL matches on TV. On the other hand, 32 per cent of the people like to watch IPL matches on their mobile phones, a number that has been consistently growing over the last few years.

    ·  In terms of language, respondents preferred to watch ads in both English and Hindi equally at 47 per cent.

    ·  Fantasy cricket leagues have been gaining traction as one of the leading advertisers on IPL, and 69 per cent of the respondents agreed that they participate in such gaming leagues.

    ·  As fast internet has reached to almost all corners of India, 80 per cent of the respondents said they participate in community viewing virtually and chat with friends and relatives on the streaming apps.

  • Reliance Entertainment appoints Prabhat Choudhary to head WWO

    Reliance Entertainment appoints Prabhat Choudhary to head WWO

    MUMBAI : Reliance Entertainment has roped in noted marketing communications strategist, Prabhat Choudhary, to head World Wide Open (WWO), its in-house digital movie marketing & media buying arm.

    World Wide Open is a digital marketing agency specializing in social media marketing & media buying for the film industry. Over the years, WWO has worked on digital campaigns of films like ‘Simmba’, ‘Golmaal Again’, ‘Veere Di Wedding’, ‘Super 30’, ‘Dear Zindagi’, ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’, ‘ Saand Ki Aankh’, ‘Rabta’, ‘Stree’, ‘Half Girlfriend’, ‘Parmanu’, and more.  Besides being an agency on board for Reliance Entertainment, WWO has serviced production houses like Red Chillies Entertainment, Balaji Motion Pictures Limited, Maddock Films, Color Yellow, Sony Music India etc.

    The agency is equipped to provide end-to-end digital marketing solutions including creative strategy, creation of media assets and inventory planning and buying and digital media planning and buying. In 2017, WWO was named the 'Agency of the Year' at the Asia Pacific Customer Engagement Forum and Awards (ACEF).

    In 2019, the agency won the award for Best Interactive Piece of Content at Digies for the film, ‘Game Over’. WWO, known for its innovative marketing, launched the first-ever Target AR Filter in India and Bollywood, in print, for the film, ‘Super 30’.

    Prabhat Choudhary is the founder of the leading PR agency, Spice PR, and co-owner of the celebrity digital marketing agency, Entropy.  Choudhary is known to be a remarkable PR and digital strategist and at WWO, he will take forward the mantle of enhancing digital innovations, multi-platform reach, driving strategic partnerships & developing the media & entertainment client portfolio. 
     

  • VMLY&R INDIA APPOINTED TO REVAMP ANITA DONGRE’S WEBSITE

    VMLY&R INDIA APPOINTED TO REVAMP ANITA DONGRE’S WEBSITE

    MUMBAI: Fashion designer Anita Dongre’s label House of Anita Dongre has appointed VMLY&R India, a full-service global digital marketing agency, to work on the user experience and creative revamp of the website.

    In over thirty years as a fashion designer, Anita Dongre offers bespoke bridalwear, couture, pret, menswear and handcrafted jewellery by drawing her inspiration from Rajasthan’s rich heritage. Showcasing Indian aesthetics with a modern sensibility through its different collections, Anita Dongre’s brand is a tribute to India’s handrafted traditions and fashions them into contemporary tales. Recognized for her aesthetic of effortless luxury, Anita Dongre is currently revamping her stores in New York and simultaneously launching her brand’s website. Anita Dongre partnered with VMLY&R India to undertake this new challenge.

    As part of the win, VMLY&R has been tasked to revamp the user experience and visual journey on the website for both – a US luxury consumer looking to shop for sustainable contemporary fashion (Grassroot) as well as an Indian consumer looking for rich ethnic wear without alienating one user from the other.

    In revamping the user experience and visual journey on the website, VMLY&R India has to bear in mind Anita Dongre’s two main targets. On one hand a US luxury consumer, looking to shop for sustainable contemporary fashion and on the other hand, an Indian consumer on the lookout for rich ethnic wear. The main challenge lies in not alienating one user form the other.

    Commenting on the appointment, Udit Bhambri, Country Head, VMLY&R India mentioned  ”VMLY&R has always come up with innovative ways and we are geared to deliver a more desirable user experience and out of the box ideas to revamp the website. It has been a delightful experience by working together towards one goal and that is by giving a better, more personalized user experience.“

    Talking about the association, Deepikesh Hira, Head – Ecommerce, Label Anita Dongre said “Here the objective is to nurture our treasure chest of handcrafted traditions by reviving, sustaining and empowering the arts and artisans by ensuring continuous work and creating livelihoods. With our new vision, digital plays a leading role and we have found perfect partners in VMLY&R India to work and deliver a better user experience and revamp the website creatively to give it an innovative touch. “

  • Ravi Kumar elevated to a new role at AdLift

    Ravi Kumar elevated to a new role at AdLift

    MUMBAI: AdLift, a global digital marketing agency with offices in the US and in India has announced this year’s key elevation in its senior leadership team. The agency has promoted Ravi Kumar to Vice President, Business Development & Marketing. Based in India, he will report to Prashant Puri, CEO & Co-Founder, AdLift.

    “Ravi’s zeal and ardour to grow AdLift is invigorating. His commitment to drive strategies and achieve business objectives for our clients is unmatched,” said Prashant Puri. “We look forward to Ravi’s continued contribution to AdLift’s success.”

    A recognized thought-leader in the industry, Ravi has spoken at well-reputed conferences in digital marketing industry like IAMAI, Inkspell (DoD & MCube), COINS, iMedia, ad:tech etc. Recently, he was awarded the Top 50 most influential digital marketing leaders of 2017 by World Marketing Congress.

    Commenting on the appointment, Ravi Kumar, said, “I am very pleased to be appointed VP, Business Development and Marketing at AdLift. I look forward to working closely with our brands in delivering and achieving their business ambitions.”

  • Video content will be the game changer in 2019: Shrenik Gandhi, White Rivers Media

    Video content will be the game changer in 2019: Shrenik Gandhi, White Rivers Media

    MUMBAI: A young professional just graduated from an MBA college would be thrilled to join a reputed company like Future Group. But Shrenik Gandhi’s entrepreneur blood wouldn’t allow him to work under someone else.

    Within a year, he quit and started his own digital marketing agency White Rivers Media and propitiously the agency’s first client was Future Group who handed over the signing amount cheque during Gandhi’s exit interview at the company.

    Gandhi began his entrepreneurial journey in 2012 with his MBA batchmate Mitesh Kothari, who was then working for another digital agency WATConsult. What started off as a two-man operation today has a team size of over 75 people in its HQ in Mumbai. With the new office in DLF Cyber City, White Rivers Media is looking to localise all the digital, video and AI-driven e-commerce solutions for its NCR-based clients and more.

    With a strong hand over national and international clients from more than eight countries, it has worked with some of the top-valued brands in the country, executing many of their flagship campaigns and grabbing eyeballs internationally. The agency has worked across a range of industries and verticals, including brands like OnePlus, Viacom18, TATA Cliq, Zivame amongst others.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with White Rivers Media CEO and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi to discuss the company’s initial struggles, progress and how things are panning out today.

    Excerpts:

    What was your initial capital like when you started off White Rivers Media?

    Our initial capital was just a laptop and our collective brains and I think that is the good and bad thing about digital that there is zero inventory/investment. Today, anyone with a good laptop and internet connection and some brain can start a digital company. 

    How was the opening year for you? Was it hard for you to recover money from clients since you were a new agency?

    Yes, it was difficult to recover money but, luckily, acquiring clients was never a challenge for us because we made sure that the effort and passion we put in was 100 per cent. Our numbers grew only because of word of mouth. We hired a professional business development team only eight months back which only shows that our work spoke about the company for nearly four years. Today, we have 100 per cent growth year-on-year in terms of revenue. 

    Who were your initial clients? And do you think your clients have evolved over the time?

    Our first five clients are still with us. In the first year, we had less than 10 clients but today, we have on board 50+ clients. Most of our business comes from retainer clients and 60 per cent of our clients are retainers. Our clients have also evolved with us and gone are the days when people said that digital is the future. Digital is not the future. The future is now! Most of our clients have accepted that and give us the required freedom to come up with the best possible campaign for them. 

    You recently expanded your reach and opened an office in Delhi. What’s your team size there and was this the right time to expand?

    In Delhi, we currently have a team of four people but we are actively recruiting people to expand the team. Delhi is a big market and it only made sense to scale up and cater to our clients there, by physically being present.

    So is Bangalore the next step for you?

    Possibly!

    You are traditionally a digital marketing agency, but today agencies are looking at expanding their reach and getting more clients to have a diverse portfolio. Will you also be looking at doing traditional medium anytime soon or are you only going to focus on digital marketing?

    To be honest, going forward, I don’t see any offline campaign which will not be supported by digital. It will just not make sense. Yes, a newspaper article is very important but how do we measure it? The campaigns in future will have to be more integrated and digital by itself will not be always enough. As for us, we will do traditional stuff but the core will always be digital. If the offline campaign augments to digital we will definitely do it. 

    Will you be open to getting acquired at any time if a larger network approaches you?

    It is a difficult question to answer, but if it makes return on investment (ROI), we will but only if the ROI makes sense today, after a year and five years down the line. Being a part of something bigger will only make sense when whoever we talk to makes strategic sense and the acquisition helps us in getting a seat next to bigger brands to pitch better with the agency’s larger network. 

    Is it safe to say that India has become digitally evolved with the advent of Jio, free data and cheaper mobile phones?

    People in rural areas today are also using voice search, Google maps and internet. Kids as young as 10-12 years have their own YouTube channel. The younger generation has skipped the laptop and they have gone straight to using mobile phones.  If we look at the data, India consumed roughly 25 crore GB of data per month before Jio was launched. Just after six months of launch, data consumption has grown up to 6X. With over 125 crore GB data consumption in India, we are today the highest data consuming nation in the world. 

    Every brand today wants to be present on digital as that seems to be the latest trend. Do you think digital investment will go up in future?

    It will have to increase because brands will eventually realise that the amount they are putting in on hoardings is not yielding them with enough revenue. Clients might want to cut on the cost of two hoardings to invest on digital. Even if they see the same revenue coming in for the company, it is an ROI for them. You will see a lot of budget being shifted to digital. A lot of campaigns being devised for digital first. Gone are the days when people would say that lets create a digital strategy but the world today has become digital and agencies will have to create strategies which will ultimately be digital. 

    Which category do you think will make the most of digital for advertising?

    I think FMCG and automobile will invest majorly on digital. FMCGs have traditionally been pathbreakers in the use of digital and they will continue to bet big on the medium. Smaller brands, however, will have to scale up and divide their advertising budget accordingly. 

    On a parting note, what do you foresee to be the game changer next year (2019)?

    Without a second thought, it has to be videos. The video consumption in India has gone up rapidly. The consumption of short format six-second, 10-second and15-second videos is increasing. The micro video content consumption has become crazy because people have a lot of free data. Today, four out of 10 posts on your Facebook newsfeed will be videos. One would wonder what is the benefit for the social network in this? Well, it would result in better stickiness on the app and more chances of having videos with free data and better revenue for the social platform.