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Tag: EssenceMediacom

  • WPP Media keeps Bayer Consumer Health account in South Asia after global review

    WPP Media keeps Bayer Consumer Health account in South Asia after global review

    MUMBAI: WPP Media has retained the integrated media mandate for Bayer Consumer Health across South Asia, following a global review, with Essencemediacom continuing to lead the business.

    The renewed partnership deepens a long-standing collaboration between the two firms, sharpening its focus on using AI, automation and data-led insights to accelerate brand growth and media efficiency across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The agency will also strengthen digital and e-commerce integration to drive measurable business outcomes.

    Bayer Consumer Health division country head Sandeep Verma said the partnership had “consistently evolved with the changing consumer and media landscape”. As Bayer expands its regional footprint, Verma said the focus would be on “future-ready media innovations that deepen consumer understanding and strengthen our brands’ role in everyday self-care.”

    WPP Media South Asia president – client solutions Navin Khemka added, “We cherish our longstanding partnership with Bayer Consumer Health. We remain committed to harnessing AI, data and technology to deliver campaigns that strengthen consumer connections and drive growth.”

    WPP Media is the global media collective of WPP, bringing together the group’s platform, people and partners to drive growth in a fast-changing media landscape.

  • Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    MUMBAI: Averill Sequeira has landed the plum job of chief strategy officer at Essencemediacom, the WPP Media brand, marking another step up the corporate hierarchy for the seasoned media strategist. The appointment, which began in July, caps a career spanning over 20 years in India’s bustling advertising and media planning sector.

    Sequeira’s ascent through the ranks reads like a textbook case of steady professional progression. Her journey began modestly in 2004 as a media planner at Madison Communications, before moving to Lodestar Universal where she cut her teeth on communication planning and media tools development.

    The real acceleration came during her lengthy stint at Mindshare, GroupM’s media agency, where she spent nearly six years climbing from senior director of business planning to principal partner for strategy. Her remit there included managing strategic units, delivering marketing solutions, and shepherding blue-chip clients like PepsiCo through the digital transformation.

    A brief entrepreneurial detour saw her founding TranSkills India, a skills development venture, in 2013—though the appeal of agency life proved too strong to resist for long. She returned to the media fold at Cheil India as general manager of planning, before joining EssenceMediacom India in 2021.

    At EssenceMediacom, Sequeira has worn multiple hats, serving first as chief product officer and later as head of creative futures, before her latest promotion to the top strategy role. Her expertise spans customer insight, creative problem-solving, and marketing communications—skills that will prove essential as media agencies grapple with an increasingly fragmented advertising landscape.

    The appointment signals WPP Media’s confidence in homegrown talent, particularly as multinational agencies face pressure to localise their leadership teams across key markets like India.

  • Sportskeeda CTO Sankalp Sharma exits after 10 years at the helm

    Sportskeeda CTO Sankalp Sharma exits after 10 years at the helm

    MUMBAI: You can’t spell Sportskeeda without code. And for the last decade, Sankalp Sharma has been the man behind the machine, the chief technology officer who took a broken codebase, a skeletal team, and a laundry list of experiments, and turned it into a battle-hardened platform serving millions of sports fans worldwide. Now, after 10 years and 7 months, Sharma is moving on, leaving behind a tech legacy etched into the site’s DNA.

    Sharma’s tenure has been one of audacious scale. From six hot codebases and a dozen services, his lean team engineered a system that now handles a billion API calls a day with near-million concurrency. As CTO since December 2020 (after stints as VP of technology and tech lead), he not only scaled from “0 to 1, 1 to 10, and on to 100” but also reshaped how Sportskeeda approached experimentation, reliability, and growth.

    Reflecting on his philosophy, Sharma describes his approach as “going wide, going deep, and going around” spotting unnoticed patterns, rolling up his sleeves to refine systems, and navigating future goals through the fog of war. Along the way, he fostered a culture of curiosity, killed fluff projects early, and championed open-source contributions. His earlier career saw roles at Essencemediacom, Mindshare, VML, Foxymoron, TCS, and even a freelance stint helping startups and Fortune 500 companies alike.

    From one-click deployments to site reliability engineering, from streamlining legacy microservices to mentoring LGBTQIA+ professionals and startup founders, Sharma’s playbook has been as much about people as it was about platforms. As Sportskeeda now looks ahead to its next growth chapter, it does so with a tech foundation built on Sharma’s decade-long vision of harmony amid chaos.

     

  • Shamik Guha takes charge at EssenceMediacom: From baby oils to big brands

    Shamik Guha takes charge at EssenceMediacom: From baby oils to big brands

    MUMBAI: Shamik Guha has swapped healthcare for high-stakes hygiene as he steps into the role of general manager – client services at EssenceMediacom, where he’ll now steer the media strategy for FMCG titan P&G.
    From baby oils to baby steps in data science, Guha’s journey reads like a masterclass in media evolution. With over 18 years of industry hustle—spanning Emami, Lintas, OMD, Dabur, Abbott, and now EssenceMediacom—he’s worn every media hat from planner to P&L boss.

    At Abbott, he helped nutritional juggernauts like Pediasure and Ensure bulk up in market share, while tightening cost controls and orchestrating full-funnel media. Before that, his time at Dabur saw him blend Ayurveda with mass-market savvy, launching new SKUs and managing crores in baby and women’s health categories.

    From pushing IPL impact buys at Freecharge to stoking strategy at Dabur and crunching data at Seagull, Guha’s career has been one long pitch-perfect campaign. Now, with P&G’s mighty portfolio on his media menu, expect the playbook to only get sharper
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    New gig, same hustle. Shamik Guha’s back on the agency side—and he’s not playing small.

  • Wavemaker India & ABP ride crest of Creative & Publisher Abbys by One Show

    Wavemaker India & ABP ride crest of Creative & Publisher Abbys by One Show

    GOA: One Show’s Abby  Creative Awards 2025 has crowned its champions, and Wavemaker India has surfed to victory with a staggering haul. The media powerhouse dominated the agency battlefield, amassing an eye-watering 124 points through a medal collection that would make an Olympian blush—six golds, eight silvers and four bronzes.

    In a ceremony held in Goa during Day one of the annual industry confab GoaFest 2025, the finest in advertising and marketing gathered to discover who had clinched advertising glory.

    Mediagencyoftheyear

    Mindshare India made a respectable splash, securing second position with 76 points through a balanced medal cabinet of four golds, four silvers and five bronzes. EssenceMediacom rounded out the podium with a modest 36 points.

    The competition saw ABP Pvt Ltd emerge victorious in the publisher category, netting 30 points through a crafty combination of one gold, three silvers, one bronze and—perhaps most impressively—no requirements for a calculator to tally their score.Publisheroftheyear

    Bennett & Coleman, the venerable media house, strutted away with 28 points, while Jagran Prakashnan Ltd secured a neat 22 points with two golds but a notably barren bronze cabinet.

    FCB India, despite having a worldwide reputation that could intimidate the competition, managed a humble 10 points, tying with TheHindu Group. Both proved that legacy doesn’t always translate to hardware.

    The ceremony, powered by One Show, continues to be the advertising industry’s moment to preen, posture and occasionally be  pleased that competitors are winning, delighted at the excellent work being rewarded.

  • Somnath Saha picked as MD of EssenceMediacom, south Africa

    Somnath Saha picked as MD of EssenceMediacom, south Africa

    MUMBAI: GroupM has has promoted Somnath Saha to managing director of EssenceMediacom, south Africa, effective January 2025.

    Saha, a two-time Cannes award winner and the most-awarded executive at GroupM, will leverage his data-driven expertise to drive client growth and talent development.

    “I’m honored to lead EssenceMediacom, addressing the convergence of media and data to reach client objectives,” said Saha. “I look forward to creating an inspiring and innovative work environment that makes our clients and people proud.”

    GroupM sub-Saharan Africa CEO Claudelle Naidoo welcomed Saha’s appointment, stating: “Somnath brings a wealth of experience in solving complex client challenges and converting them into growth opportunities, marking an important milestone in our journey to deliver greater value and growth to our clients.”
     

  • EssenceMediacom & GroupM ESP renew A23’s partnership with Celebrity Cricket League for season 10

    EssenceMediacom & GroupM ESP renew A23’s partnership with Celebrity Cricket League for season 10

    Mumbai: EssenceMediacom, GroupM’s newest and largest media agency along with GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports, and sports division of GroupM successfully facilitated the dynamic partnership renewal between A23, India’s leading skill-based gaming platform, and the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) for its 10th season.

    Marking another exciting chapter in this collaboration, A23 returns as the presenting sponsor, building upon the success of their partnership last year. This strategic alliance leverages the shared passion for entertainment and excitement inherent in both brands,  promising an unparalleled experience for the audience.

    GroupM South Asia head of sports, esports, and live entertainment Vinit Karnik emphasized the strategic importance of the partnership, stating, “Celebrity Cricket League sits at the crossroads on sports and entertainment bringing together the length and breadth of India’s entertainment industry. With a robust distribution plan spanning regional and national sports channels alongside JioCinema; CCL 2024 is poised to break all its previous records. We’re proud to facilitate the dynamic partnership between A23 and CCL  for 2nd year in a row. Building on last seasons’ successes, we’re confident of a rewarding  season of the league for A23 in the coming weeks.”

    Celebrating its 10th year, CCL is the ultimate “sportainment” spectacle, seamlessly blending the worlds of cinema and cricket. As the only sports league in India uniting over 200 actors from eight different languages, it transcends regional boundaries and fosters a sense of national unity. The upcoming season, commencing on February 23rd in Sharjah and continuing with 20 action-packed matches across India, promises electrifying entertainment for a diverse audience.

    A23 VP-marketing, head digital works Gunnidhi Singh Sareen expressed excitement about the renewed collaboration, stating, “We are thrilled to announce our renewed collaboration with Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), a partnership that seamlessly aligns with the essence of A23. CCL, with its massive and diverse fan base spanning across the nation,  breaks all barriers and boundaries, creating an experience that fosters the feeling of  ‘playing together.’”

    Last season, CCL garnered an impressive cumulative TV and digital reach, captivating over  250 million viewers throughout the country. This year’s edition, CCL Season 10, promises to be even grander, bringing together the most beloved film celebrities under one platform for an unmatched entertainment extravaganza.

    Celebrity Cricket League founder Vishnu Induri stated, “We are happy to have A23 as the presenting sponsor for the 10th season of CCL. A23 has been a committed partner for  CCL since the last season sharing our passion towards talent and the spirit of cricket. With their continued support CCL is scaling and we are looking forward to our biggest season this year.  

    As EssenceMediacom and GroupM ESP facilitate this dynamic partnership between A23 and  CCL for the second year in a row, all stakeholders anticipate a rewarding season filled with entertainment, engagement, and unforgettable moments both on and off the field.