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Tag: Essence

  • Flipkart turns Bigg Boss house into a fashion battleground

    Flipkart turns Bigg Boss house into a fashion battleground

    MUMBAI: They said no one dresses well inside their house. The Bigg Boss housemates begged to differ—and proved it by ransacking a Flipkart fashion rack in record time.

    What unfolded inside India’s most-watched reality television house was part retail experiment, part feeding frenzy. When Flipkart installed its Fashion Studio inside the Bigg Boss residence and Salman Khan announced the Flipkart Fashion Icon contest, contestants descended upon the carefully curated collection with the urgency of shoppers at a clearance sale. Within minutes, the rack stood empty, its trendy offerings claimed, worn and paraded before millions of viewers.

    The audacious collaboration, timed to coincide with Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale bonanza, represented a watershed moment in Indian entertainment commerce. It wasn’t merely product placement or brand integration—it was retail theatre performed live, where the country’s biggest e-commerce player turned a television set into a functioning fashion outlet and contestants into unwitting style influencers.

    The machinery behind this spectacle involved three distinct organisations working in concert. Flipkart deployed a team led by Pratik Shetty and Akash Jain, alongside Nikita Prakash, Pooja Sha, Sneha Narang, Vijay Sharma, Rahul Valecha and Akshay Doshi. Creative agency Essence, steered by Sunny Rangwani and Tejashree R., handled the conceptual heavy lifting. JioStar’s production apparatus, including senior supervising producer Tanya Chopra—who served as creative lead for the Bigg Boss contingent—along with Sameer Tripathy, Nandita Ramesh and Patrick Ignatious, wove the commercial proposition into the show’s narrative fabric.

    The result was seamless, if slightly chaotic. As housemates draped themselves in Flipkart’s latest offerings, the boundary between entertainment and shopping dissolved entirely. Viewers watched contestants model, mix, match and compete in outfits that could be purchased with a few taps on their phones—a real-time fashion show with immediate purchase potential.

    For Flipkart, the payoff extended far beyond traditional advertising metrics. This wasn’t a celebrity endorsement or a sponsored segment; it was organic consumption captured on camera, complete with genuine reactions, styling choices and the implicit endorsement that comes from watching someone actually want to wear something badly enough to compete for it.

    The speed with which the Fashion Studio sold out suggested that Bigg Boss contestants, despite living under constant surveillance in a sealed environment, harbour the same fashion anxieties and aspirations as viewers watching from home. Perhaps everyone, regardless of circumstance, wants to dress well inside their house after all—especially when cameras are rolling and millions are watching.

  • Digital media veteran climbs WPP ladder in Indonesia’s booming ad market

    Digital media veteran climbs WPP ladder in Indonesia’s booming ad market

    JAKARTA: WPP Media has promoted Mohit Sharma to president of client solutions, elevating a digital media specialist who has spent nearly three years navigating Indonesia’s rapidly evolving advertising landscape.

    Sharma’s ascent reflects the growing strategic importance of southeast Asia’s largest economy for global advertising conglomerates. Indonesia’s digital advertising market has exploded in recent years, driven by rising smartphone penetration and the dominance of platforms like TikTok and Instagram among the country’s 270m inhabitants.

    Since joining WPP Media in October 2022, Sharma has led the Beauty Tech Labs unit, overseeing a 120-person team delivering integrated media solutions spanning traditional planning, performance marketing, e-commerce and influencer communications. His primary client has been L’Oréal, the French cosmetics giant that has made Indonesia a key battleground in its Asian expansion strategy.

    The appointment caps a career trajectory that mirrors Indonesia’s digital transformation. Sharma spent nearly eight years at MEC (now part of GroupM) in India before moving to Essence and then MediaCom, where he served as partner and head of digital and e-commerce for the Indonesian operation.

    His promotion comes as western advertising agencies grapple with shifting client demands and the rise of local competitors across southeast Asia. Traditional agencies have struggled to adapt to the region’s unique social commerce ecosystems, where platforms like Shopee and TikTok Shop blur the lines between entertainment, social networking and retail.

    Sharma’s expertise in e-commerce integration may prove crucial as brands increasingly demand seamless pathways from awareness to purchase. Indonesia’s social commerce market is projected to reach $43 billion by 2025, according to consulting firm Bain & Company, making it a critical testing ground for advertising strategies.

    The move also signals WPP’s confidence in its Indonesian operations at a time when many multinational corporations are reassessing their Southeast Asian strategies amid economic uncertainties and regulatory changes. Indonesia’s advertising market, worth approximately $4.2 billion annually, remains one of the region’s most attractive despite periodic challenges from currency volatility and political shifts.

    For Sharma, the promotion represents validation of a bet on Indonesia’s long-term growth potential. His focus on data-driven strategies and digital-first approaches has aligned with local market dynamics, where mobile-first consumers have largely bypassed traditional desktop experiences.

    Whether his success can be replicated across WPP’s broader southeast Asian operations remains to be seen. The region’s fragmented markets, diverse regulatory environments and varying levels of digital maturity present ongoing challenges for global agencies seeking scalable solutions.

    Yet Indonesia’s importance to WPP’s Asian growth strategy seems assured. With the country’s advertising market expected to grow by 8-10 per cent annually over the next three years, elevating local expertise makes strategic sense—even if it means promoting from within rather than importing talent from established markets.

  • L’Oréal India names digital pro Aniket Basu as chief digital officer

    L’Oréal India names digital pro Aniket Basu as chief digital officer

    MUMBAI: L’Oréal India has appointed Aniket Basu as chief digital officer for its consumer products division, tapping the experienced digital marketing specialist to spearhead the beauty giant’s digital transformation strategy in one of Asia’s most dynamic markets.

    Basu joins the Indian operation after nearly three years as digital media lead for L’Oréal’s  south Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa regions, where he was based in Singapore and responsible for digital strategy across 15 markets.

    The appointment marks a homecoming for the Ohio State University graduate, who began his career in India before building an impressive 12-year international résumé spanning multiple markets and agencies.

    “India is a market of immense dynamism, where digital innovation and consumer engagement are evolving at an extraordinary pace,” Basu said of his appointment. “The opportunities to drive impact, scale transformation, and shape the future of growth are limitless.”

    Prior to joining L’Oréal in 2022, Basu served in senior leadership roles at WPP-owned agencies, including senior director positions at Essence in Singapore, where he focused on technology and e-commerce. He also spent over seven years at Wavemaker, progressing from business executive in India to associate digital director for the Asia-Pacific region.

    His expertise spans strategy and planning, data analytics, adtech deployment, search optimisation and first-party data strategy – skills that will prove crucial as L’Oréal seeks to capitalise on India’s rapidly expanding digital beauty market.

    Basu holds an MBA from Singapore Management University, where he made the Dean’s List in 2021, and completed specialised training in premium and luxury brand management at IE Business School.
    Industry observers note that his appointment comes as L’Oréal intensifies its focus on e-commerce and digital engagement in India, where online beauty sales have surged over 300 per cent since 2020.

  • In partnership with Airtel, Big Boss Marathi announces new plot-twists and innovative brand integrations

    In partnership with Airtel, Big Boss Marathi announces new plot-twists and innovative brand integrations

    Mumbai: Bigg Boss Marathi has partnered with Airtel to install a phone booth inside the ‘house’ through which the contestants can connect with anyone outside the show.

    Essence, the global data and measurement-driven media agency behind this innovation, has left no stone unturned in creating a one-of-a-kind experience for both contestants and viewers of the unrivalled show.

    The phone booth also plays the signature Airtel song, transporting viewers on a nostalgic journey.

    For the first time, Airtel ran a Bigg Boss contest in which the lucky winner was chosen from millions of Airtel customers to be a part of the ‘house.’ For the first time in Marathi television history, a unique brand association like this has resulted in a commoner winning a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of this magnitude.

    Bigg Boss Marathi is in its fourth season, hosted by the versatile actor-director-producer Mahesh Manjrekar, and features an exciting mix of 16 housemates who make the season an entertainment extravaganza.

    This season promises nonstop entertainment, exclusive cuts, round-the-clock content drops, and a 24-hour live feed from the house, exclusively on Voot, Monday through Friday.

    Viacom18 Regional Entertainment revenue head Bikash Kundu said, “We are thrilled to join hands with India’s leading telecom company, Airtel, through an innovation-driven marketing concept. While the phone booth became a huge hit on the show, the contest received a humongous response across traditional and new-age media. We reached out to the combined user base of Airtel and Colors Marathi through TVCs, on-ground activations, push messages, recorded announcements and messages, among other initiatives, making the campaign a massive success.”

    Essence managing director (India) Sonali Malaviya commented, “As Airtel’s integrated media agency of record, Essence is excited to partner with Viacom18 and Colors Marathi on this custom content innovation initiative. Leveraging the popular reality television show Bigg Boss, the idea and execution have enabled us to help drive increased consumer engagement and brand consideration for Airtel in the market. We look forward to collaborating on even more creative opportunities and breakthrough experiences to help Airtel win in the dynamic telecommunications category.”

  • WPP acquires remaining stake in MediaCom India from Sam Balsara & Lara Balsara Vajifdar

    WPP acquires remaining stake in MediaCom India from Sam Balsara & Lara Balsara Vajifdar

    Mumbai: WPP announced that it has purchased the remaining 26 per cent stake in MediaCom Communications in India from Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara Vajifdar. 

    According to the deal signed, Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara Vajifdar entered into a discussion with the network agreeing to exit MediaCom in the interest of its clients to enable the merger.

    Sam Balsara and his family first entered into a contract with WPP in 2008 under which the Balsara family held 51 per cent. The Madison promoters sold 25 per cent of the business in 2017.

    Speaking on the agreement, Sam Balsara said, “This innovative partnership we invested in nearly 15 years ago has been a great success for all parties. It has established MediaCom in India as a fast-growing and highly respected agency by advertisers.”

    MediaCom Global CEO Nick Lawson commented, “It has been a pleasure working with Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara as we grew this successful business in India. We will build on that legacy to deliver the agency model our clients want for the future – founded on brilliant strategy and brand-building capabilities, with pioneering digital expertise running throughout.”

    This acquisition is a part of WPP’s strategy of investing in fast growth markets, new media and digital. On 26 April 2022, WPP announced that global agencies MediaCom and Essence would merge to form EssenceMedia.com. 

  • Rebel Foods appoints Essence as its integrated media agency in India

    Rebel Foods appoints Essence as its integrated media agency in India

    Mumbai: WPP by GroupM’s media agency Essence on Thursday announced that it has been appointed as the integrated media agency of record by Rebel Foods in India. Led out of its Mumbai office, Essence’s scope of work includes strategy, analytics, media planning and media activation for the internet restaurant company’s brand marketing activities.

    As part of the partnership, Essence’s first few activities for Rebel Foods include campaigns for Faasos targeting fast food lovers and Sweet Truth celebrating midnight cravings, along with integrated communications plans for Behrouz Biryani and the company’s food court on an app experience, EatSure, in key markets.

    Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Mumbai, Rebel Foods is home to brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story Pizza, Lunch Box, Mandarin Oak, The Good Bowl, SLAY Coffee, Sweet Truth and Wendy’s.

    With a network of over 4,000 restaurants across over 450 kitchens in more than 70 cities spanning 10 countries worldwide, the company has developed its own operating system of culinary innovation, robust supply chain and full-stack technology, through which food brands are launched and scaled up in a very short period of time.

    Rebel Foods currently operates over 45 own and partner brands, ranging from startups to global majors, to cater to consumers’ different food missions.

    Commenting on the partnership, Rebel Foods co-founder and India CEO Ankush Grover said, “We are on a journey to build the world’s most exciting and delightful food company, serving the highest quality of brands across customer food missions in every neighbourhood in the world. Keeping our vision in mind, it is inevitable for our brands to have a communication strategy that focuses on customer-first offerings, while complementing our brand promise. Over the years, our communication has been authentic, relatable, creative, innovative, and at the same time, has reflected the brand’s core value. We believe Essence is an ideal partner to help us in our journey with an insight-led analytical approach, while bringing a unique style of creativity and innovation. We are looking forward to collaborating with Essence on some exciting campaigns and strategies.”

    “Rebel Foods is a revolutionary, fast-growing cloud kitchen operator with multiple food brands in its portfolio. With our data-driven approach to strategy, analytics and media, focused on delivering value to brands and consumers through innovation, we see opportunities to help Rebel Foods drive greater synergies and efficiencies across its brands, while defining bespoke growth paths for each brand,” said Essence managing director, India Sonali Malaviya. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Rebel Foods on its exciting growth journey and become its ally in achieving its growth goals.”

    Rebel Foods joins Essence’s diverse portfolio of clients across its Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai offices, covering a mix of high-growth, technology-driven startups as well as established local and global companies.

    Since Essence’s entry into India in 2016, the agency has seen an increasing demand by companies for its transformational data-driven approach to marketing, use of media and creativity to deepen relationships with consumers, and expertise in accelerating brand and business growth.

  • Essence bags integrated media mandate for Plum

    Essence bags integrated media mandate for Plum

    Mumbai: A global data and measurement-driven media agency WPP’s GroupM, Essence has won the integrated media mandate of beauty brand Plum in India. Essence will work on this mandate out of their Mumbai office. 

    As a part of this partnership, Essence will manage strategy, media planning and media activation for Plum’s brand marketing activities. With its pioneering expertise in data, technology and creativity, the agency will help scale the brand across categories and drive enhanced return on investment.

    With over 180 SKUs, Plum has steadily built its customer base on both online and offline platforms. In addition to being among the top new-age beauty brands online, Plum now reaches over 250 towns and cities in India, through more than 1,000 assisted outlets and over 10,000 unassisted outlets – growing month-on-month. It is also one of the fastest-growing beauty and personal care brands on key online marketplaces.

    Now it joins Essence’s diverse portfolio of clients across its Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai offices, covering a mix of high-growth, technology-driven startups as well as established local and global companies. Since Essence’s entry into India in 2016, the agency has seen an increasing demand by companies for its transformational data-driven approach to marketing, unified use of media and creativity to deepen relationships with consumers, and expertise in accelerating brand and business growth.

    Speaking of this association, Plum chief marketing officer Shivani Behl said, “Consumer behaviour is ever-evolving, and reaching out to the new-age digital consumer is a process that involves constant learning and feedback. With this context, it is imperative to keep a keen eye on data, and expand our reach to newer audiences and cater to the ever-changing demands of our existing ones. Hence, collaborating with Essence to leverage their expertise in technology, media and marketing was a logical next step. We are looking forward to this association and we hope it helps us in achieving the business vision we have chalked out for ourselves.” 

    Essence India managing director Sonali Malaviya commented, “Plum is an exciting, fast-growing and purpose-driven beauty brand, which shares Essence’s commitment to data-driven growth and marketing that adds value to people’s lives. Leveraging our cutting-edge use of analytics and technology, we are looking forward to collaborating with the team at Plum as its strategic partner, to help create new growth opportunities for the brand and the business.”

  • Bharti Airtel launches multiplex on Partynite metaverse platform

    Bharti Airtel launches multiplex on Partynite metaverse platform

    Mumbai: Bharti Airtel has launched a multiplex on Partynite metaverse platform. The Xstream multiplex is an extension of Airtel’s Xstream premium offering.

    Airtel’s Xstream multiplex will be a 20-screen platform with access to content from leading OTT partners available on the application. The multiplex will enable sampling of top original shows and movies with content pieces such as the first episode of an OTT original or initial minutes of a movie in regional languages, besides English and Hindi.

    The idea was conceived by Essence, Airtel’s media agency of record, and developed by Gamitronics, the creator of blockchain-powered digital parallel universe Partynite. “The Xstream multiplex offers an immersive content experience with multiple engagement layers, which allow users to interact on Partynite Metaverse,” said the statement.

    “Airtel’s Xstream multiplex provides a larger-than-life experience, which brings together Web 3.0 apps and immersive storytelling, and an assortment of content from our partners,” said Airtel director – marketing Shashwat Sharma. “We all know people’s love for movies and entertainment in India. Through the metaverse, we are looking to tap into a larger audience, giving content enthusiasts an opportunity to sample Airtel’s Xstream Premium offering and, thus, aiding in driving higher adoption.”

    “We are delighted to partner with Airtel and bring alive India’s first multiplex in the metaverse. Airtel Xstream Premium’s multiplex experience is one of the most scalable use case scenarios for the metaverse,” said Partynite (Gamitronics) founder Rajat Ojha. “Future opportunities here include movies, music, live events and premium sports streaming. Apart from the robust scope, it will also allow social engagement, open up newer methods of content delivery and, of course, provide an immersive experience at the core of it.”

    Recently Airtel reported that its OTT platform Xstream reached two million subscribers within 100 days of its launch.

  • GroupM merges Essence and Mediacom, integrates Mindshare with Neo

    GroupM merges Essence and Mediacom, integrates Mindshare with Neo

    Mumbai: WPP’s media investment group GroupM announced on Wednesday its plans to merge Essence with MediaCom and Mindshare with Neo in its latest steps to transform and further simplify its operations. The moves, which build on the April 2021 launch of Choreograph, WPP’s global data and technology company, will create a new 9,000-strong cross-channel performance platform built on AI technology, it said.

    Additionally, Finecast, Xaxis, and GroupM Services – GroupM’s global community of activation experts – will be brought together to form media performance organisation, GroupM Nexus. Xaxis Global CEO Nicolas Bidon will oversee GroupM Nexus as Global CEO.

    Essence and MediaCom will merge to form EssenceMediacom, a new agency offering fusing the digital and data-driven DNA of Essence with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise.

    MediaCom Global CEO Nick Lawson will lead newly formed EssenceMediacom as Global CEO. Kyoko Matsushita, after eight years at Essence, is promoted to a new role as WPP’s CEO in Japan as the company continues to invest in expanding, high-growth markets.

    Mindshare will complete the integration with global performance agency Neo, wherein both will operate under the Mindshare brand but will retain and scale Neo’s operating model, focused on pureplay performance solutions at its heart, integrating this into Mindshare’s full-funnel offering.

    Neo’s 1,200 digital-first, performance experts and consultants will be integrated with Mindshare’s 10,000 media specialists and Neo’s digital-first services will be fully embedded into Mindshare and GroupM’s offering, stated the agency.

    With this reorganisation, GroupM’s five agency brands will be streamlined into Mindshare, Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, GroupM Nexus and Choreograph.

    “The future of marketing is outcomes-driven, supported by audience-first planning and continually improving, AI-enabled performance standards,” stated GroupM Global CEO Christian Juhl. “Through GroupM Nexus and our agency powerhouses Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom we are building a tech-enabled future, side-by-side with our clients, that is accountable to advertisers’ growth goals and to our vision for an advertising ecosystem that works for everyone. I also want to congratulate Kyoko, who has grown and strengthened Essence in her time as Global CEO, on her exciting new role as WPP’s CEO in Japan. We will continue to work closely together to strengthen the position of our agencies across APAC.”

    The merger of Essence and MediaCom builds on a record of strong business growth for both agencies, according to the agency. Comvergence ranked MediaCom first in the industry for new business wins in 2021 with $2.87 billion in new billings attributed to wins, while Essence has continued to grow and expand its remit with Google and other key clients.

    “The formation of EssenceMediacom builds on the strong and proven relationship between the agencies to create the agency model our clients want for the future — one founded on brilliant strategy and brand-building capabilities, with pioneering digital expertise running throughout,” said EssenceMediacom CEO Nick Lawson. “EssenceMediacom will not only help our clients see the bigger picture and reimagine what’s possible; it will also provide opportunities for our people to upskill and train in new areas, further enriching and enhancing their careers.”

    “Today’s global marketers need both agility and scale from their agency partners to properly support their businesses across international markets. Bringing together Essence and MediaCom – each with their own celebrated histories of excellence – will create a truly unique combination of agile innovation and global scale in a single agency,” added Kyoko Matsushita.

    GroupM Nexus will comprise 9,000 practitioners around the world, collectively responsible for the activation of more than two million campaigns managed by GroupM each year. This global community represents the industry’s leading team of experts in digital channels and platforms, search, social, programmatic, AI, cross-channel optimization, and data-driven technologies and software.

    GroupM Nexus unites GroupM’s addressable content and TV, AI technology (Copilot), and omnichannel solutions from Finecast, Xaxis, and GroupM Services into a single unit. The global organisation will be underpinned by a new cross-channel performance platform and international delivery hubs to set new benchmarks for performance innovation and efficiency for GroupM’s agencies and clients.

    “GroupM Nexus unites leading media talent, digital services excellence, cutting-edge AI technology and unique scaled partnerships into a new cross-channel performance organisation with one purpose: power growth for our people, our agencies and the amazing brands they represent. We cannot wait to innovate together and unlock new opportunities for everyone,” said GroupM Nexus CEO Nicolas Bidon.

    “This is a journey we’ve been on for the past year with many clients who have been demanding more diverse media services to drive their growth,” commented Mindshare Global CEO Adam Gerhart. “The merger delivers seamless access to Neo’s digital-first capabilities and a relentless focus on performance models to accelerate Good Growth. For our teams it means more opportunity and the ability to create greater impact across the world. I’m delighted to partner with Neo CEO Nasreen Madhany as we complete the integration of the two businesses and move into a new future together.”

  • Essence India bolsters services & presence with three key appointments

    Essence India bolsters services & presence with three key appointments

    Mumbai: Essence, a global data and measurement-driven media agency that is part of GroupM on Wednesday announced three new leadership appointments to strengthen its services and presence in India. 

    Based in Bengaluru, Bharati Joshi will lead the agency’s product offering as India vice president – product. Kunal Danda will head the agency’s Mumbai office as India vice president – client services. Based in Delhi, Vinish Mathews will lead the agency’s partnership with key client Google as India and Southeast Asia vice president- client services. All three of them will report to India managing director Sonali Malaviya.

    “Bharati, Kunal and Vinish’s appointments are key in strengthening Essence’s India leadership team. I am delighted that we are able to attract exceptional talent who share and are excited about our vision to reimagine what is possible for India. I am looking forward to partnering with Bharati, Kunal and Vinish in their new roles, and driving continued growth for our people, capabilities, clients and business across India,” said Malaviya.

    Joshi brings with her over 17 years of industry experience, joining from Initiative where she was assistant vice president, strategy and insights. Previously, she held practice and client leadership positions at GroupM’s Wavemaker and Maxus.

    “Essence is currently in a very interesting space with a client roster of established as well as new age brands. Leading their growth charter with our differentiated products, platforms and thinking, all rooted in data, technology, analytics and creativity, is what I am really looking forward to doing. I am excited to head the charge for our product offering in India, along with the most talented and energised bunch of people in the industry,” said Joshi.

    Danda comes with more than two decades of media and marketing experience in India and the Middle East, working at agencies such as OMD, Edelman and Digitas, and organisations such as DBS Bank, Energy Central, and Arab Insurance Group. Most recently, he served as a principal partner at Mindshare in Mumbai, heading digital media, integrated marketing, and business development.

    “Essence’s industry-leading capabilities are rooted in data, analytics, and technology. Here, we also have brilliant talent with a special culture of testing and learning, collaboration, as well as integrated media strategy and planning, with client-centricity at the core of everything we do. I am incredibly excited to be part of the Essence family, and driving the next stage of growth for our Mumbai office,” said Danda.

    With over 18 years of industry experience in China and India, Mathews joins from Mindshare, where he was most recently managing director, overseeing teams across Beijing and Shanghai. With a proven track record in leading client relationships across sectors such as e-commerce, fast-moving consumer goods, tourism, and vision care, his capabilities in strategic brand management, media investment planning, and communications campaign design have helped brands build immersive consumer connections using media.

    “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead Essence’s relationship with Google in India and Southeast Asia, and drive the agency’s integrated media offering for all of Google’s business and consumer products in these markets. I am looking forward to collaborating with some of the smartest people in the industry,” said Mathews.