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Tag: GroupM

  • Ketan K Bharati joins The House of Abhinandan Lodha to lead media

    Ketan K Bharati joins The House of Abhinandan Lodha to lead media

    MUMBAI: Ketan K Bharati, the marketing maverick who has shaped campaigns across telecom, FMCG, tech, and media giants, has now planted his flag at The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) as head – media strategy & performance marketing.

    With a career spanning nearly two decades and marquee brands like Truecaller, Reckitt, Vodafone, Disney Star, and GroupM in his rearview mirror, Bharati’s next chapter promises to blend data muscle, storytelling flair, and go-to-market wizardry for one of India’s most ambitious real estate disruptors.

    Bharati, was most recently VP – global marketing ops at Truecaller, where he steered GTM rollouts, global launches, and even lit up Times Square.

    Backed by stints managing Rs 500 crore media portfolios, landing Gold at Spikes Asia, and anchoring revenue surges at Fox International and Reckitt, Bharati is no stranger to performance-led growth. His Vodafone days saw him turn cricket carnivals into brand goldmines with the IPL and World Cup. At GroupM, he cracked efficiency gains for brands like Dove and PepsiCo with data-first media buying.

    At HoABL, he’s expected to fuse full-funnel performance with digital-first thinking, supporting the brand’s audacious land-tokenisation push and national expansion.

    In a world where land is being reimagined as a lifestyle asset, HoABL’s latest hire signals it’s not just playing the game. It’s rewriting the script.

  • Indian watchdog had reason to raid global ad agencies for price-fixing

    Indian watchdog had reason to raid global ad agencies for price-fixing

    MUMBAI: Even as India’s advertising industry executives were painting the town red at their annual jamboree in Goa, a Reuters exposé should have them reaching for paracetamol. The party-poopers at India’s Competition Commission have uncovered a cosy cartel that makes the old boys’ club look positively egalitarian.

    A confidential document dated 7 February reveals that global advertising giants have been caught red-handed coordinating the commissions they charge clients—a practice about as competitive as a rigged horse race. The evidence was so damning it prompted surprise raids in March at the Indian offices of WPP-owned GroupM, Interpublic, Publicis and Dentsu, along with three industry bodies that apparently forgot the first rule of cartels: don’t leave a paper trail.

    The Competition Commission of India’s  (CCI’s) sleuths discovered not one but three separate cartels operating through the Indian Society of Advertisers, the Advertising Agencies Association of India  (AAAI) and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) . It’s like finding out your local parish council is actually running the mafia.

    Since at least 2023, these agencies have been exchanging commercially sensitive information through WhatsApp groups. They agreed to stick to pre-decided commission structures with the discipline of a Swiss watch, the commission found.

    The AAAI, which represents the big four agencies, didn’t just coordinate prices. It organised virtual meetings to align on responses to clients and discussed “retaliatory action” against members who dared to break ranks. The group also “fixed the formula for fees in case of fee-based service to advertisers”, the commission noted—apparently unaware that price-fixing went out of fashion around the same time as top hats.

    None of the accused parties responded to Reuters’ queries, maintaining the kind of stony silence usually reserved for caught teenagers or politicians facing corruption charges.

    The case was triggered after Dentsu turned whistleblower—a move that proves there really is no honour among thieves. The revelations cast a shadow over India’s booming media sector, where Reliance-Disney and Sony are top dogs in a market worth $18.5 billion last year.

    The commission found that advertisers had “established a buyer’s cartel” whilst broadcasters engaged in “collective action to refrain from giving discounts.”. Another cartel lurks in the media segment, with attempts underway to establish one in the creative business too, because apparently one conspiracy just isn’t enough.
    In recent weeks, the AAAI  has privately advised members to avoid pricing discussions during meetings unless their legal adviser is present.

    The investigation comes as India’s advertising landscape shifts following last year’s $8.5 billion merger between Walt Disney and Reliance’s Indian media assets, creating a behemoth with an estimated 40 per cent share of the television and streaming ad market.

    India ranks as the world’s eighth-biggest advertising market, making this less a local spat and more a global reckoning. The CCI’s  investigation is expected to rumble on for several months before final findings emergE.

  • Pooja Tomar hops over to Publicis Groupe as senior director of buying

    Pooja Tomar hops over to Publicis Groupe as senior director of buying

    MUMBAI – Media maven Pooja Tomar is on the move again. After nearly three years as senior business director at Havas Media Group, Tomar has been snapped up by Publicis Groupe, stepping into the newly minted role of senior director, buying from April 2025. She will be based in India, working on-site.

    With more than a decade of navigating the labyrinth of media planning, buying and strategy across FMCG, e-commerce and technology, Tomar brings a bulging toolkit of cross-media skills to her new perch. Her career reads like a masterclass in media evolution — from digital hustle to broadcast muscle.

    Before Havas, Tomar clocked nearly five years across Starcom and Publicis’ ZenithOptimedia, sharpening her cross-platform planning chops. Earlier stints at Madison World and GroupM saw her navigating media buying with a keen eye on both budgets and ROI, across some of India’s top retail, telecom and tech accounts.

    Tomar’s trademark: an uncanny knack for aligning new technology with old-school brand strategy – and for chasing hard numbers with harder insights. Over the years, she has built a reputation for being a strategist who can not just plan campaigns but anticipate market moves, with a solid grip on consumer trends, media fragmentation, and the shifting sands of cross-platform engagement.

    Expect fireworks as she joins Publicis Groupe, bringing her “360-degree media brain” to a fiercely competitive Indian media marketplace.

  • Sugosh Iyer plugs into Mindshare to power Unilever’s digital future

    Sugosh Iyer plugs into Mindshare to power Unilever’s digital future

    MUMBAI:  Sugosh Iyer has hit the refresh button, stepping into the hotseat as head of digital trading at Mindshare earlier this year, leading the charge on all things digital for FMCG titan Unilever.

    In his new role, Iyer will pilot negotiations, data and tech partnerships, first-party data strategies, and turbocharge commerce conversations — stitching together the future of media buying across connected ecosystems.

    It’s been quite the pivot-packed journey. Iyer’s career, spanning over 17 years, has crisscrossed industries and continents: from banking at Kotak to media stints at NDTV Media, Starcom, Spatial Access, Flipkart, and senior leadership gigs across Madison, GroupM, and Kansai Nerolac Paints. Most recently, he helmed digital marketing for Grasim Industries (Pulp & Fibre), blending traditional business sense with e-commerce agility.

    Known for his customer acquisition chops, B2B savvy, and an eye for e-commerce acceleration, Iyer has consistently stayed ahead of the curve, whether in the bustling media hubs of Mumbai or navigating client leadership roles in Kuala Lumpur.

    With digital trading now the frontline of advertising wars, Mindshare seems to have found the perfect battering ram — a blend of finance brains, media muscle, and tech-first thinking — to storm the gates of tomorrow’s marketing battlefield.

  • Gaurav Saxena steps up as associate director at Havas Media Network

    Gaurav Saxena steps up as associate director at Havas Media Network

    MUMBAI: Gaurav Saxena is riding a wave of momentum at Havas Media Network, clinching a promotion to associate director after nearly four years of sharp planning, strategic buys, and delivering results that clients love to brag about.
    Armed with more than nine years of experience in optimising, negotiating, and snapping up prime media real estate across TV, radio, and print, Saxena has earned a reputation for mixing market insight with financial discipline — squeezing every drop of ROI from client budgets.
    His journey has criss-crossed some of the industry’s biggest names, with stints at Omnicom Media Group, GroupM, and Vizeum, before parking himself firmly at Havas, where he rose through the ranks from buying manager to media group head, and now associate director.
    Known for his calm critical thinking and strong vendor relationships, Saxena has consistently translated high-stakes briefs into high-impact campaigns. Whether crafting media plans or negotiating killer rates, he brings the same passion to every challenge — and it’s clearly paying off.

  • Streaming ahead of the curve with springserve’s ad tech revamp

    Streaming ahead of the curve with springserve’s ad tech revamp

    MUMBAI: Magnite is turning up the volume in the streaming ad world with the next-gen launch of its Springserve video platform, an upgraded OTT/CTV solution that fuses the precision of its award-winning ad server with the programmatic prowess of Magnite’s Streaming SSP. It’s a bold move aimed at simplifying ad delivery and maximising monetisation for major players like Disney, Roku, LG, Paramount, Samsung and Warner Bros. Discovery.

    Tailored for the evolving needs of global streaming giants, the platform now connecting buyers to 99 per cent of US streaming supply and has been validated by Jounce Media’s March 2025 Supply Path Benchmarking Report. For media owners, the new tech means smarter yield, streamlined workflows and real-time visibility across ad operations.

    “As the CTV space matures, there’s a significant opportunity to enhance the advertising process for media owners and buyers,” said Magnite president for revenue Sean Buckley. “We’re building this next generation of Spring Serve specifically to help our clients and partners stay ahead of these emerging opportunities. By unifying the programmatic layer as a complementary step in the buying process, not only does it give buyers greater transparency, predictability, and control over their ad placements, but it lays the foundation for more effective monetisation and yield management for media owners.”

    “Disney continues to expand our global streaming footprint in collaboration with Magnite—unlocking more premium inventory and making it even easier for advertisers to access our portfolio at scale,” said Disney SVP for addressable sales Jamie Power. “Together, we’re advancing a shared vision for innovation—one that prioritizes automation, flexibility, and smarter tools to help our partners drive meaningful impact in the live streaming space.”

    “Controlling demand sources and optimizing ad placements in real time is essential to our strategy,” said LG Ad Solutions SVP of operations Kelly McMahon. “SpringServe gives us the power to orchestrate everything in one platform balancing programmatic demand and direct deals more effectively, without compromising the viewer experience.”

    “Working with valuable partners like Magnite has enabled Paramount to further optimize our programmatic demand sources, driving greater efficiency and performance while preserving a seamless viewing experience for our audiences,” said Paramount SVP of partnerships Christopher Owen. “Continued advancements in programmatic play a meaningful role in our ongoing success both as a company and as part of the broader industry.”

    “Together with Magnite, we can create more opportunities for advertisers that offer platform transparency and flexibility across monetization, demand access, and user experience optimization,” said Roku SVP of global media revenue and growth Jay Askinasi. “SpringServe connects us more directly with DSPs, streamlining operations and augmenting revenue potential. This is an approach we believe will help attract greater advertising investment into the CTV ecosystem.”

    “Our long-standing partnership with Magnite has been instrumental in shaping our video monetization strategy, and we’re excited to partner with Magnite as they advance the SpringServe video platform,” said Warner Bros. Discovery SVP for revenue strategy and operations Jill Steinhauser. “We’re particularly looking forward to benefiting from the performance enhancements that enable faster ad loads and real-time pacing.”

    “Magnite helps fuel the premium, open internet,” said The Trade Desk SVP of inventory development Will Doherty. “Combined with tools like OpenPath, the next generation of SpringServe is accretive to advertisers and publishers and most importantly so consumers can continue to enjoy the content we all love like CTV, journalism and more.”

    “Magnite’s unified SpringServe platform offers significant clarity and cohesion in the streaming TV marketplace,” said Groupm US  chief media officer, Susan Schiekofer. “By providing deeper insight into the supply path and stronger alignment with premium inventory at scale, it empowers us to make smarter, faster buying decisions and ultimately deliver better outcomes for our clients.”

    “At OMG, we believe it’s a core right for advertisers to control and know where their ads deliver,” said Omnicom Media Group SVP of video and programmatic Ryan Eusanio. “Magnite’s SpringServe video platform helps us give our clients more control of their premium video strategy and enables better curation and targeting for campaigns.”

    The new SpringServe boasts a centralised deal dashboard, intelligent ad decisioning, automated routing for optimal ad delivery, and seamless integration with Magnite Access for data-driven targeting. It also simplifies operations with a revamped user interface and real-time reporting tools.

    As competition in CTV heats up, Magnite’s play positions it as the adtech partner of choice for streaming’s biggest names where precision meets premium, and innovation gets centre screen.

  • Rural India tightens purse strings, but swipes right on digital

    Rural India tightens purse strings, but swipes right on digital

    MUMBAI: Rural India, it seems, is having a bit of a digital dance while keeping a tight grip on its wallet. GroupM and Kantar’s Rural Barometer Report 2025 reveals a nation grappling with the ‘pinch-penny’ reality of rising expenses, yet diving headfirst into the digital deep end.

    Forget the quaint image of the village square; rural India is now scrolling, streaming, and swiping with gusto. Seven in ten rural consumers are now online, a whopping 28 per cent jump since 2022. Social media, video content, and instant messaging? They’re the new village gossip, especially among the young and the loaded. But hold your horses, television and newspapers still hold sway with the older crowd, proving that old habits die hard.

    Financial anxieties are playing a havoc with household budgets. Three out of four rural Indians are fretting about their finances. Younger, flashier spenders are cutting back on the big toys—durables and vehicles—while the older, thriftier lot are keeping things steady. Personal loans are on the up, suggesting a ‘bit of a pickle’ as folks juggle their cash. But, there’s a glimmer of sunshine; job security optimism is bouncing back..

    The government’s PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, especially the free rations, is a ‘real life-saver’, proving that a bit of state-sponsored generosity goes a long way.

    GroupM India managing director -OOH solutions Ajay Mehta said: “The Rural Barometer Report is a strategic compass for brands navigating this dynamic landscape. As media habits evolve and digital adoption deepens even in the heartlands, it’s clear that a dual-channel strategy blending the scale of traditional with the precision of digital is essential. At GroupM, we see this as an opportunity for marketers to go beyond surface-level reach and build meaningful, hyper-local engagement. This report not only helps decode rural mindsets but also empowers businesses to craft smarter, more inclusive growth strategies for Bharat’s next chapter.”

    Kantar director- specialist businesses, insights division Puneet Avasthi  added, “As rural India  becomes more connected and conscious, brands must rethink how they engage with this  audience. The new rural consumer demands relevance, value, and authenticity. Marketers must  move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to adopt hyper-local, digitally powered strategies,  while still leveraging the trust and familiarity of traditional media.”

    Brands must ditch the ‘one-size-fits-all’ claptrap. Rural India wants it real, relevant, and authentic. Go hyper-local, go digital, but don’t forget the old favourites.”

    In essence, rural India is a ‘right proper’ mix of caution and connectivity, a ‘digital dynamo’ with a keen eye on the price tag. Brands, take note: it’s time to get your digital act together, whilst still paying homage to the traditional.

  • GroupM banks on Vishal Jacob to choreograph its AI future

    GroupM banks on Vishal Jacob to choreograph its AI future

    MUMBAI: Digital marketing heavyweight Vishal Jacob has taken on a new role as president of AI & digital solutions at Choreograph India, part of the GroupM family, after nearly five years at Wavemaker India.

    The veteran, whose career has spanned the rollercoaster ride of India’s digital transformation from the dotcom crash to today’s data-driven marketing landscape, will now lead GroupM India’s artificial intelligence charter while crafting integrated digital solutions for clients.

    “I’ll be working closely with the digital leadership teams to drive smarter outcomes for clients,” said Jacob in his announcement. “I’m excited to be at the intersection of innovation and impact.”

    Jacob brings over two decades of digital marketing experience to the role, having served as chief digital officer and chief transformation officer at Wavemaker. His CV boasts an impressive list of past roles at GroupM, Maxus, The Upper Storey, Mindshare Interaction and Smile Interactive Technologies.

    His previous achievements include transforming an eight-member team into a 100-strong digital powerhouse that garnered recognition at global awards including the Festival of Media, M&M Global and World Media Awards.

    A certified coach from ICF with specialisations in transactional analysis and NLP, Jacob has built his reputation on connecting brands with consumers through integrated ecosystems of paid, owned and earned properties—a talent GroupM will now leverage as it dances into the AI era.

    As traditional agencies scramble to embrace artificial intelligence, Jacob’s appointment signals GroupM’s determination not to miss a step in the industry’s latest transformation jig.

  • WPP snaps up InfoSum, promising a data-driven bonanza for brands

    WPP snaps up InfoSum, promising a data-driven bonanza for brands

    MUMBAI:  WPP has bagged InfoSum, the data collaboration cutting edge solutions provider. This acquisition, a proper “data-licious” deal, promises to supercharge WPP’s AI-driven marketing arsenal, giving clients access to a treasure trove of data signals.

    “At WPP, we have been building the technology and data infrastructure that will give our clients a unique competitive advantage in the AI era. Bringing InfoSum into WPP is a major step forward for our data capabilities and the results we can deliver for our clients,” said WPP CEO Mark Read. “It allows clients to stay in complete control of their first-party data, while also giving them access to vastly greater quantities of high-quality, privacy-compliant data and pioneering technology that is not available anywhere else in the market today.”

    InfoSum’s patented cross-cloud tech allows brands to mingle their data with billions of signals from big hitters Channel 4, DirecTV, ITV, Netflix, News Corp, and Samsung Ads, as well as major retailers around the world and five billion identifiers through identity and data partners like Experian, TransUnion, Circana, Dynata, and NCSolutions. 
     
    “InfoSum’s mission has always been to reimagine how data powers marketing in a secure, privacy-first, and, most importantly, impactful way for advertisers and consumers. WPP and GroupM are the perfect partners to help us accelerate our impact on a truly global scale. We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with the team at GroupM as privacy and security become non-negotiables, and AI allows us to redefine what’s possible for advertisers and our network of media and data partners,” quipped InfoSum  chief executive Lauren Wetzel, who’ll now be pulling double duty as GroupM’s chief solutions officer.

    GroupM chief executive officer Brian Lesser was equally enthusiastic, stating, ” Directly integrating InfoSum’s global data network and technology infrastructure will allow our clients to create even more value from their first-party data and enable us to train client AI models against the most data, from the most places, at unprecedented scale and speed. Our approach recognizes the importance of identity data to today’s marketing strategies while allowing us to take advantage of the limitless opportunities for growth we can create by moving beyond them. As more and more clients leverage our AI-first solutions, every client model, every audience, and every campaign will benefit from network effects that will exponentially increase their intelligence and competitive advantage.” 

    The deal allows WPP’s clients to train custom AI models in secure environments, delivering smarter audiences, optimised campaigns, and better business outcomes. Basically, it allows the ability to get your hands on all the juicy information, without anyone else seeing your private bits.

    InfoSum’s network boasts hundreds of billions of data signals, and five billion identifiers, allowing for a level of insight that’s previously been the stuff of marketing fantasies. No more relying on those crumbling cookie-based systems, which are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

    This acquisition represents a bold leap into the future of predictive performance and AI-driven marketing intelligence. WPP is betting big on AI, and with InfoSum in its pocket, it’s ready to unleash a marketing storm that’ll leave competitors scrambling for cover.

  • Unilever ropes in Noopur Bapna as media and digital marketing lead for ice-creams

    Unilever ropes in Noopur Bapna as media and digital marketing lead for ice-creams

    MUMBAI: Noopur Bapna has taken the plunge into the frosty world of frozen desserts, nabbing the coveted position of media and digital marketing lead for ice creams at Unilever India.

    Bapna’s career path has been anything but vanilla, having most recently served as group media manager at Marico Ltd where she spent nearly three years climbing the corporate ladder. Prior to this chilling new appointment, she honed her digital chops at GroupM, where she rose from senior director to partner during a two-and-a-half-year stint.

    Her CV boasts an impressive medley of media roles, with previous positions at The Social Street, where she spent nearly five years as media supervisor, and earlier gigs at the Times Group and DDB Mudra, where she cut her teeth on brands such as BPCL, Kuoni and World Gold Council.

    Bapna’s has  a well-stocked toolbox of skills to her new role, including media strategy, digital strategy and social media expertise—all essential ingredients in today’s marketing mix. 

    Unilever’s ice cream portfolio, which includes global heavyweights such as Magnum, Cornetto and Wall’s, will now benefit from Bapna’s digital savvy as the company continues to battle for supremacy in India’s increasingly competitive frozen treats market.

    The appointment comes at a time when digital marketing for consumables is heating up, even for products that need to stay below zero. With summer approaching in the subcontinent, the timing couldn’t be more delicious for both Bapna and Unilever.