Tag: Hari Krishnan

  • ZenithOptimedia’s Equinox bags UrbanClap’s media mandate

    ZenithOptimedia’s Equinox bags UrbanClap’s media mandate

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia Group’s Equinox has won the media planning and buying mandate of UrbanClap, which is inclusive of out-of-home and digital.

    UrbanClap has operations in major metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. It has over 36,000 professionals on the platform, servicing 4,000-5,000 requests each day across 125 categories. Almost 50,000 customers are using the platform on a monthly basis and this number continues to grow each month.

    ZenithOptimedia MD Hari Krishnan says, “The digital medium has re-wired the relationship between consumers and localised service professionals. We are very happy to associate with UrbanClap, which is a well-known on-demand services market place. This is a prestigious win for us. UrbanClap is ambitious and future-facing and is looking at extensive expansion across geographies, categories of services and talent. We will provide them with the right scale, insights and touch points in order to fuel their growth plans.”

    UrbanClap co-founder Varun Khaitan added, “We started this company with the vision of making localised services accessible to the Indian consumer, in view of a fragmented and unorganised industry. UrbanClap is really about convenience and comfort, and more importantly, about trust. We needed a credible media partner, one that understands our zeal and approach to the services business and is able to bring in the same kind of fresh thinking to our media plans. ZenithOptimedia has proven expertise in the e-commerce area, and brings in rich consumer insights and data driven planning in order to strengthen our brand further. We look forward to a rewarding partnership with them.”

  • ZenithOptimedia’s Equinox bags UrbanClap’s media mandate

    ZenithOptimedia’s Equinox bags UrbanClap’s media mandate

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia Group’s Equinox has won the media planning and buying mandate of UrbanClap, which is inclusive of out-of-home and digital.

    UrbanClap has operations in major metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. It has over 36,000 professionals on the platform, servicing 4,000-5,000 requests each day across 125 categories. Almost 50,000 customers are using the platform on a monthly basis and this number continues to grow each month.

    ZenithOptimedia MD Hari Krishnan says, “The digital medium has re-wired the relationship between consumers and localised service professionals. We are very happy to associate with UrbanClap, which is a well-known on-demand services market place. This is a prestigious win for us. UrbanClap is ambitious and future-facing and is looking at extensive expansion across geographies, categories of services and talent. We will provide them with the right scale, insights and touch points in order to fuel their growth plans.”

    UrbanClap co-founder Varun Khaitan added, “We started this company with the vision of making localised services accessible to the Indian consumer, in view of a fragmented and unorganised industry. UrbanClap is really about convenience and comfort, and more importantly, about trust. We needed a credible media partner, one that understands our zeal and approach to the services business and is able to bring in the same kind of fresh thinking to our media plans. ZenithOptimedia has proven expertise in the e-commerce area, and brings in rich consumer insights and data driven planning in order to strengthen our brand further. We look forward to a rewarding partnership with them.”

  • Olivier Legrand to succeed Hari Krishnan as LinkedIn APAC MD

    Olivier Legrand to succeed Hari Krishnan as LinkedIn APAC MD

    MUMBAI: LinkedIn has appointed Olivier Legrand as its managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, effective 1 January, 2016.

     

    He will succeed Hari Krishnan, who is incidentally LinkedIn’s first employee in Asia. Krishnan, who has been managing director for the Asia-Pacific region since January 2013, is leaving the company after a stint of six years. Prior to his most recent post, he served as LinkedIn country manager for India from November 2009 to December 2012, Krishnan is slated to join PropertyGuru Group as president and chief business officer.

     

    Krishnan oversaw business in the region that continues to post healthy growth, including a member base that more than doubled to 78+ million (as at Q3 2015) in less than three years. This includes 33+ million in India, 7+ million in Australia and 15+ million in S.E. Asia.

     

    The Asia-Pacific region, home to some 40 per cent of the world’s professionals, is a key growth region for LinkedIn. More than 1,000 LinkedIn employees in 10 offices (across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore) serve members and clients such as Singapore Post, Toshiba, HCL Technologies, Li & Fung and ANZ.

     

    “The Asia-Pacific region continues to be a key economic player in an increasingly connected and digital world where new opportunities emerge every day,” Legrand said. “I am excited about the opportunities for LinkedIn to help our members and clients become even more successful. While LinkedIn has come a long way in the region since establishing our presence here in 2009, there’s still a long runway for growth ahead for us.”

     

    Legrand will have a dual role, continuing to serve as head of marketing solutions for LinkedIn in the region.

     

    Singapore-based Legrand, who joined LinkedIn in 2012 to drive the marketing solutions business in the Asia-Pacific region, is a senior executive with more than a decade of leadership, marketing and business development experience in the region.

     

    Before joining LinkedIn, he was General Manager of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network for Asia.

  • ZenithOptimedia India appoints Ajit Gurnani as managing partner & branch head, west

    ZenithOptimedia India appoints Ajit Gurnani as managing partner & branch head, west

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia India has roped in Ajit Gurnani as its managing partner and branch head, ZO west.

     

    ZenithOptimedia India managing director Hari Krishnan said, “ZenithOptimedia is making rapid progress in Mumbai especially with its expanding new-age client list such as Faaso’s, Ziffy, TImesaverz and many others yet to be announced. We needed somebody with rich experience and robust background spanning both agency and client side experience. Ajit, with his experience across markets, clients and verticals was best suited for the role. It helps us to strengthen our offer to all our businesses and prospective clients.”

     

    Gurnani added, “I am excited to be part of ZenithOptimedia and really like the agency’s proposition of Live ROI and all the proprietary tools and knowledge they have built around it. I am also excited with their superior offering in digital and performance marketing through Performics, Resultrix and the Business Analytics offering through Ninah. I hope to embrace these at the soonest and apply it to the clients I will be handling.”  

     

    Gurnani has over 18 years of work experience in the fields of media, brand management and marketing. His media exposure has been with advertising agencies like HTA (now Mindshare / JWT), Rediffusion DY&R (TME), Mindshare and MEC on clients like Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Aditya Birla Group and Mercedes Benz among others.

  • Lowe LDB Sri Lanka appoints Hari Krishnan as CEO

    Lowe LDB Sri Lanka appoints Hari Krishnan as CEO

    MUMBAI: Lowe + Partners Worldwide has appointed a new CEO for Sri Lanka. A former protégé of the group, Hari Krishnan has been appointed as the Lowe LDB Sri Lanka CEO. He will report to Lowe Lintas + Partners, India CEO Joseph George.

     

    Commenting on Krishnan’s appointment, George said that having learned the nitty-gritty of the business since his formative days at Lowe coupled with his vast exposure across other agencies in senior roles, Krishnan is perfectly placed to lead the agency in Sri Lanka. “It’s good to have Hari back into our fold after all these years. Over the last five years, Sri Lanka has seen high GDP growths and the country is at an exciting inflection point now,” he said.

     

    Krishnan added, “I started my career with Lintas in India in ’96-97 and learnt my fundamentals from the great University of knowledge that is Lowe Lintas. So I’m extremely happy and thrilled to be back. It’s a homecoming of sorts in that sense. It’s an honour and a challenge to lead such an operation and I’m really looking forward to partnering the young, talented team there in driving the philosophy of ‘Populist Creativity’ and taking Lowe LDB to greater heights.”

     

    Krishnan joins the agency from Grey where he was the SVP and business head for South. His new mandate would be to drive Lowe LDB Sri Lanka into being a leading creative powerhouse in the country. The only ‘Superbrand’ in the advertising category in Sri Lanka, Lowe LDB manages a diverse portfolio of brands across various categories from Detergents to Insurance to Telecom.

    The agency was also the most awarded agency at the Effies in 2013 and together with Unilever is the most awarded partnership in the history of Effies in Sri Lanka.

     

    Krishnan has almost two decades of work experience; nearly all of it in advertising besides a stint with Star TV as VP, marketing. He has experience across multiple categories/consumer segments, in leading large multi-functional teams and in leading a P&L operation to success.

     

    In his last job at Grey India as SVP and business head, he spearheaded the transformation of the agency operations in South including leading the agency to a spree of new biz acquisitions including DELL India, ITC Foods, Stovekraft, Fortis Healthcare amongst others.

  • ZenithOptimedia bags media duties of Junglee Games

    ZenithOptimedia bags media duties of Junglee Games

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia has bagged the media duties for Junglee Games in a multi-agency pitch.

     

    The mandate covers all aspects of the brand’s media planning, advisory and buying across print, TV, digital and outdoor.

     

    ZenithOptimedia managing director Hari Krishnan said, “This is a significant win for ZO with the tech and mobile sector gaining momentum in the overall advertising space. It is indeed a matter of pride for us to be partnering with Junglee Games.”

     

    Junglee Games chief marketing officer Satya Mahapatra added, “We are glad to partner with ZenithOptimedia who have demonstrated excellent understanding of the Internet and mobile audiences. I am sure this will go long-way in the success of our brands.”

     

    Junglee Games’ new multimedia campaign will break this month.

  • ZenithOptimedia hires Hari Krishnan as MD

    ZenithOptimedia hires Hari Krishnan as MD

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia Group has roped in Hari Krishnan as ZenithOptimedia India managing director.

     

    Based out of Gurgaon, he will be taking charge of the agency’s pan-India operations.  ZenithOptimedia India Group CEO Anupriya Acharya said, “Hari’s appointment is in line with our strategy of seeking diverse talent in order to accelerate our transformation agenda. The market and marketers are fast evolving to keep up with the convergence in the marketplace and the changing, more complex, consumer journeys. We have excellent specialist capabilities across media, research, data and analytics, content, experiential, performance marketing and the like. Hari’s rich experience in brands and integrating different verticals will add immense value to our clients and the Group that comprises ZenithOptimedia, Performics, Resultrix, Newcast and Ninah.”

     

    Krishnan moves in from Cheil Worldwide SW Asia where he was chief operating officer. He has spent over 22 years in advertising agencies including Bates, Ogilvy, Grey and JWT and has worked across product categories on brands such as Samsung, PepsiCo, Vodafone and Nokia. He led WPP’s first co-located, integrated set-up for Ford in India, the Blue Hive by bringing together separate teams from JWT, Mindshare and Wunderman Digital. Subsequently he joined Cheil as COO where he was part of the massive growth and integration journey – from 135 people to 480 strong team; capability expansion from ATL to Digital, Activation, Visual Merchandising and Retail. He also worked closely with Lodestar UM to set up a joint Cheil- Lodestar operation.

     

    Krishnan said, “This is indeed an exciting opportunity. The consumer journey is ever-evolving and brands are being challenged on an hourly basis. ZenithOptimedia believes that these new trends and advances in technology will provide innovative communication opportunities for clients. Not many agencies take bold steps like this and I am glad to work among people who are embracing new thinking, new perspectives and new ideas.”

     

    ZenithOptimedia Group’s client list in India includes Nestle, OLX, Micromax, LVMH Group, Honda, Uninor, Jabong, Yatra, Toshiba, Viber and Fabfurnish. Performics and Resultrix also deliver digital strategies for MaxBupa, ICICI Bank, Airtel, Standard Chartered Bank, Star India, Birla Sun Life Insurance, Tata AIG Life Insurance, Musafir and Games 24X7.