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Tag: Isobar

  • WATConsult celebrates 15 years of inception with NFT

    WATConsult celebrates 15 years of inception with NFT

    Mumbai: WATConsult, an Isobar company and hybrid digital agency from dentsu India has completed 15 years of its inception this month. To commemorate the milestone, WATConsult has created a digital artwork in the form of NFT (non-fungible token). Titled ‘Once a WATizen, always a WATizen,’ it consists of 1500+ names including existing employees as well as the alumni of the agency.

    The objective behind launching this asset is to express gratitude and evoke pride among those who are and have been instrumental in the success of the agency by leveraging a contemporary twist. WATConsult is the first agency in India that has created and launched an NFT of its own, the agency said in a statement. 

    “15 years is no small feat. We look back on our journey very fondly and we feel so proud to be celebrating this milestone,” said Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our people, even those who no longer work with us, for the positive mark they have left behind. The NFT is our humble attempt to showcase our appreciation and gratitude towards every WATizen. I hope this brings a smile to their face.”

    “I am also thankful to our clients for placing their trust in us for so many years, the dentsu family for treating us as true partners and most importantly, our founder, Rajiv Dingra, for building a legacy that will be cherished and remembered for years to come,” she further added.

    With an aim to celebrate the occasion and dedicate the artwork to every WATizen, the agency will soon be hosting a virtual party on YouTube, wherein the team will unveil the website and announce some cool takeaways for its members.   

    Speaking on the milestone and the NFT launch, WATConsult managing partner Sahil Shah said, “15 years of building this company and a lifetime of memories that we will all cherish forever. I want to thank each and every person who has collaborated into making WAT happen; all 1500+ WATizens across the world, all 600+ clients we have worked with, the countless number of partners & well-wishers and our extended family & friends at Isobar & dentsu international. While I look back at what we have achieved in the last 15 years, I am also looking forward to the various feats we will achieve in the next 15.” 

    In the past year, the company has registered double-digit growth ensuring great revenue momentum. In terms of the new client wins, the company had the best year so far with 59 new mandates and projects won in 2021 alone, said the agency.

  • 53% online shoppers favour social commerce owing to affordability, transparency & convenience: Report

    53% online shoppers favour social commerce owing to affordability, transparency & convenience: Report

    Mumbai: The combination of social media with digital commerce is seeing huge growth in India considering the benefit it brings to customers as well as businesses. Currently, there are 157 million social commerce shoppers, which is 53 per cent of the total shoppers in the country, according to a report by WATConsult, an Isobar company. This number is expected to grow at a rate of 45 per cent to reach around 228 million by the end of 2022.

    The hybrid digital agency, from the house of dentsu India has released ‘Digital Commerce in India – Social Commerce,’ the second report of WATInsights – digital commerce series. The report by Recogn, WATConsult’s research division that provides consumer & business insights, explores the consumer sentiments and attitude towards using social media platforms for shopping.

    For businesses, it brings cost-effectiveness and reach through digital marketing, as it connects them directly to their customers. At the same time, the recommendations and comments help customers make a buying decision. This ensures that products are offered at affordable prices with an ability to shop on the platform itself rather than switching to other e-commerce apps or websites.

    As per the report, most consumers use social media apps like YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram to shop online. Apart from YouTube, the younger customers prefer to shop on Instagram and Facebook, while the older customers prefer to shop on Facebook and WhatsApp. Social commerce users are very likely to make online purchases from ShareChat in the future, says the report.

    While a large majority of these customers are thrilled with the concept of browsing through social media platforms and shopping at the same time, the shopping behaviour varies between males and females, the report noted. Most male shoppers scroll through social media without any intention of making a purchase and if they end up making one, it’s because the marketing campaign initiated by the brand has played a vital role in influencing the buyer. On the other hand, female shoppers specifically search for their preferable brand on the app to either know more about the product/service or to validate their final choice.

    Social commerce is becoming popular as more and more Indian customers are moving online and discovering newer ways of shopping. Moreover, it includes a range of immersive shopping experiences, wherein consumers can buy customised products/services without switching apps.

    “Social media and e-commerce are paving strong inroads in the regular Indian internet users’ daily routine. Since the shopping environment on social media has ripened, there is huge potential to drive sales through these platforms. Hence, the need for an optimised system revolving around building customer trust and creating seamless experiences is critical,” said Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra. “With the customer being at the core of these platforms, focusing on rich customer feedback in the form of comments, opinions, reviews, etc. will help brands cater to their audience effectively and improve their brand consideration and loyalty. This issue of WATInsights reports the pulse of today’s shoppers and serves as an invaluable resource for anyone who intends to demystify social commerce in India.”

    WATConsult managing partner Sahil Shah added, “Shopping was, is & will always be social. Platforms, behaviour and mediums will keep evolving while more and more people will go online to shop. This report gives a deep view into what the current consumer behaviour is and highlights that social media in paid, owned and earned terms does get the maximum contribution across the funnel; especially where it matters the most, e-commerce.”

  • ‘Get Naughtier,’ says Skore in its latest campaign

    ‘Get Naughtier,’ says Skore in its latest campaign

    Mumbai: Skore, the sexual wellness brand from TTK Healthcare has launched a campaign titled ‘Get Naughtier’. The campaign, conceptualised by Isobar, the dentsu India digital agency, comprises two digital films that revolve around couples who are driven by enhancing pleasure while showcasing the range of Skore products.

    The insight behind the campaign was based on sales data and studies of social chatter that shows how couples are more than willing to explore intimacy and try something new. Additionally, the campaign positions itself as more than just a condom brand by exploring the naughty side to normal life via situational comedy that showcases the lovemaking adventures of different couples.

    “The category, though creatively fertile, invariably invites a lot more restrictions and censor from mainline media. I am just thrilled that the client was willing to explore a digital-only eco-space to market such never-before advertised products,” stated Isobar India national creative director Aalap Desai. “Not only are the media touchpoints relevant to the consumers for whom the products are meant for but also it’s one of those rare and truly integrated campaigns covering content, social media, performance, influencer marketing and OTT films via a singular narrative. In a way, the challenge thrown at us by the mainstream media only egged us to think naughtier!”

    “Skore has been one of our favourite clients to partner with given the kind of portfolio they have and the kind of campaign experimentation that they are willing to do. Today, a couple’s approach to pleasure has evolved. They are looking to maximising the experience and Skore’s diverse portfolio of Pleasure products gives them diverse ways of doing so. The insight of the campaign is very interesting as is the smart way of having this conversation around pleasure,” added Isobar India managing partner Rahul Vengalil.

    The ad films have been directed by Mukesh Sehgal and produced by Amol Sonawane of Take Two Production.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgUy1I4BgpQ

    To generate buzz over multiple touchpoints cohesively, the campaign has its legs on social media, influencer marketing, digital films and OTT media. The campaign also aims to drive up the conversational quotient further with branded content pieces in association with platforms like Alright and LBB, said the brand.

    TTK Healthcare Ltd head of marketing Vishal Vyas said, “We have consciously tried to create content that will resonate with young people. We wanted to communicate succinctly that we are more than a condom brand, offering interesting sexual wellness and pleasure products such as vibrating rings, flavoured lube variants, pheromone activating spray for men and pleasure gel for women. In a category that’s hard to advertise, stereotyped with sleaze and one that invites moral trolling, consumers are barely aware of the diverse offerings in addition to the large range of diverse condoms we have. This campaign deals with these smartly and tries to normalise experimentation and extended playtime for couples’ sans judgement or guilt.”

  • Isobar’s Shamsuddin Jasani joins Wunderman Thompson South Asia as CEO

    Isobar’s Shamsuddin Jasani joins Wunderman Thompson South Asia as CEO

    Mumbai: Wunderman Thompson has appointed Shamsuddin Jasani as chief executive officer for South Asia, effective 1 November.

    Jasani will report directly to Wunderman Thompson International CEO Ewen Sturgeon. “We are pleased to have Shams join our Wunderman Thompson leadership, and believe he is the natural successor to continue propelling our South Asia business forward,” said Sturgeon.

    The development comes on the back of chairman and group CEO – South Asia Tarun Rai moving into a new role as executive director of strategic initiatives, APAC.

    Jasani is a veteran of the industry, having launched Isobar in India in 2008 and growing it from a two-person team to over 300-strong across South Asia. Under his leadership, his team has been recognised as one of the top digital agencies under the Brand Equity Agency Reckoner and won multiple awards including ‘Digital Agency of the Year India’ for three times. Jasani was also awarded ‘Digital Agency CEO’ by Media Ace and has been featured on Impact Magazine’s ‘Digital Power 100’ list, two years in a row.

    “It’s a great honour, but an even greater responsibility, to join such an iconic brand as Wunderman Thompson, with an amazing legacy. I am really excited to not only continue this legacy but to take it to greater heights with the combination of creative, data, commerce and technology,” Jasani commented. “I believe at Wunderman Thompson we have all the ingredients to be the partner of choice for the growth and transformation of brands and business in India.”

  • Innovation, design & experience tech needed to meet consumer expectations in new normal: Report

    Innovation, design & experience tech needed to meet consumer expectations in new normal: Report

    Mumbai: It is widely accepted that Covid-19 has accelerated digitisation across every industry in every market. 2020 saw marketers double down on innovating their products and services specifically to pivot in response to Covid-19. 83 per cent of marketers agree that there can no longer be any disconnect between what a brand promises and what it delivers for its customers, communities, and employees, according to a new annual study by global creative experience agency Isobar, assessing the evolution of customer experience design.

    The report ‘Isobar CX Survey 2021: The Rise of Connected Experience’ with insights from over 800 global CMO’s indicates clear agreement between CMOs globally of a permanently transformed approach to marketing post-covid. 86 per cent of marketers agree that every touchpoint can and should tell the brand story, from comms to commerce. Innovation, integration of the brand promise, and delightful interactions enhanced by technology were named as the top three key ingredients needed in the creation of brand experiences. 82 per cent of marketers revealed they are investing or have already invested in creativity and digital technologies to create brand differentiation. Research was conducted in August 2021 via online questionnaires completed by 800 CMOs and marketing directors in eight markets, including India, for this purpose.

    Alternative sensorial brand experiences are on the rise with 86 per cent of marketers saying creating brand design systems for a multi-sensory world is increasingly important, and 36 per cent asking specifically for new craft skills designed for a multi-sensory world from their agency partner. In a first for the industry, Isobar has validated some of these assumptions with CMOs stating that creativity is critical to differentiation in this digital world, with the boundaries of content, commerce, and culture blurring irrevocably.

    The results reveal a ‘new normal’ for marketers, with the overwhelming majority in agreement that innovation, design, and experience technologies are needed to meet consumer expectations post-covid. The results overwhelmingly show an increase in creating new sensorial experiences, delivered through experience technologies and demanding a new set of craft skills that are imperative to creating differentiation.

    Touch-free technologies, gestural technologies, voice interfaces, and virtual brand properties including avatars, idols, products experiences, and configurators are all being increasingly adopted. This is an extension of the findings of the report from 2020 that saw significant marketer adoption of ‘experience technologies’ such as voice, AR, and IoT alongside a significant increase in the value CMOs placed on ideas and innovation in shaping CX strategy. 

    “What stands out is that experience has become an even bigger focus for how consumers are making choices around the brands they invite into their lives. The connected future has arrived—innovation and new experience technologies are now critical in creating differentiation and growth. But it’s a connected experience – creativity that crosses touchpoints, senses, and communities, and that is driving this future. This survey is a call to arms for everyone in the industry to step up or be lost in a sea of sameness,” said dentsu head of innovation and design and Isobar managing partner Sven Huberts.

    Authored by Isobar’s global teams of creative and innovation experts, the report aims to offer insight into how the marketing industry is responding to the changing needs of brands today and to provide inspiration and tools to help the creation of delightful and differentiated experiences of tomorrow.

    “The term ‘Experience’ has changed forever. In a post-pandemic world, for a brand to lead from a customer-centric position, experiences can no longer afford to be one-dimensional. The findings of the survey published in ‘The Rise Of Connected Experience’ report, will give readers a more comprehensive view of a customer’s journey and deep insights into what is driving customer experience,” added dentsu Creative India CEO Amit Wadhwa.

    The report describes the fundamental changes to the way brands are increasingly being built and uses global case studies from Isobar’s client partners including KFC, Philips, Beats, and Volkswagen to illustrate how marketers are shifting strategy. Some of the key changes are that there can no longer be any disconnect between what a brand promises and what customer experiences, and virtual experiences will become as real, human, and valuable as offline experiences. It also summarised that the boundaries between content and commerce, shopping, and storytelling will be blurred beyond recognition. The report also predicts that as digital experiences are called on to build distinctive brand encounters, a new skill set will be needed at the intersection of craft and innovation.

    “The pandemic upended a marketer’s playbook, challenging leaders to position themselves at the forefront of the longer-term shifts in consumer behaviour that result from disruption. However, even at this time of flux, it’s possible to regain a strong foothold and find familiarity by keeping a real-time pulse on evolving customer preferences. Customers are more trusting of what technology can do and they are seeking new experiences that line up with their renewed way of life. I believe the Isobar CX Survey is the ideal destination to source for insights on driving growth in a post-Covid world,” Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra commented. 

  • Dentsu India promotes Rahul Vengalil to Managing Partner, Isobar

    Dentsu India promotes Rahul Vengalil to Managing Partner, Isobar

    New Delhi: Isobar, the creative experience agency from dentsu India has promoted Rahul Vengalil to the role of managing partner.

    Vengalil will report into Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra and will be responsible for building the business with creative & experience as the key focus for future growth.

    Rahul’s digital expertise cuts across capabilities in business transformation, strategy, branding, experience, and innovation. Erstwhile, chief business officer (CBO), he has played an active role in driving the Isobar India growth story to newer heights and has added significant brands to the agency’s client roster, augmenting Isobar’s creative line of business exponentially, said the agency on Monday.

    His first stint with Isobar India was in the year 2011 when he joined the agency as senior group head, and expanded the agency’s footprint across India, and set up Isobar’s first South branch in Bangalore. He moved on from Isobar at the start of 2017 to launch his own Audit & Digital transformation company – What Clicks and returned to the agency in 2020.

    Speaking on the appointment, Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra said, “The solutions we offer are led by talents who possess extraordinary skillsets. Rahul is one of our finest resources with key domain expertise and with the thrill to set up new standards each time. His strategic-led, client-centric approach is in sync with our offerings. We are certain that he will accelerate Isobar’s growth trajectory for India.”

    Commenting on his elevation, Vengalil added, “I am extremely excited to begin this fresh chapter at Isobar India. My experience with Isobar has transformed my journey; and now is the time to set up new benchmarks. We have an awesome team of innovative and creative folks who are aligned with Isobar’s global vision of transforming into the most creative experience agency, worldwide. With our ‘Invent Make Change’ agenda, we are committed to being instrumental in creating an experience economy within India.”

  • Isobar India appoints Pragati Rana as senior VP- strategy

    Isobar India appoints Pragati Rana as senior VP- strategy

    MUMBAI: Isobar, the digital agency from the house of dentsu India, has named Pragati Rana as its senior vice president – strategy. As per the fresh mandate, Rana will head strategy for Isobar India and build an integrated planning team under her. 

    Prior to this, Rana was general manager- Strategy & Operations at dentsumcgarrybowen (dentsuMB) India. Armed with more than 10 years of experience, Rana has won over 50  industry accolades for her work, which includes Vice Media’s 8-bit Journo, Sony Pictures’ Angry Islands, MIB Agent Incognito, Thappad’s The Most Reported Trailer, Early Salary’s Month End Collection, Big FM’s Pride from Home campaigns, to name a few.

    In her previous stints, Rana has worked across categories such as food, haircare, entertainment, technology, start-ups, automobile, and finance. Additionally, she has worked on brands like P&G, Complan, Heinz Ketchup, Tata Salt, Vespa, Honor mobiles, MTV, Big FM, Sony Pictures, and Early Salary. Her integrated experience comes from amalgamating learnings of brand building from mainline agencies like Leo Burnett and coupling them with learnings on new-age brand fluidity from digital agencies like Dentsu Webchutney and dentsuMB India. She has also spent some time on the client-side as part of the marketing team in GlaxoSmithKline.

    Isobar chief operating officer Gopa Kumar said, “Isobar India is poised to become an innovation-first, fully integrated digital agency. We want people who not only understand the world of digital but also the world of brands and the world of the future, which is innovation, Pragati fits right in.”

    Isobar chief business officer Rahul Vengalil added, “The future of advertising is bringing together brand thinking & digital thinking to create an experience economy.  Pragati, with her experience and vision of creating a new age planning team, would help us to be the pioneers in this journey of creating an experience economy.”

    Elaborating on her new role, Pragati Rana said, “An agency is future-ready when digital people can think of brands, and when brand people can think of digital and when both can think of the future – culture and innovations. My task is to help in creating a new species of mutant planners who can think of culture, brand as well as digital, social, and innovations. I’m super excited about this task. Isobar India has a very ‘actively progressive’ culture built by the leadership team where people aren’t just open to learning but actually look forward to it. I, too, am looking forward to partnering with Isobar India in its upwards and onwards journey.”

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  • Isobar India appoints Aalap Desai as national creative director

    MUMBAI: Isobar, the digital agency from the house of dentsu India, has roped in Aalap Desai as National creative director (NCD). In his new role, Aalap will lead the agency’s creative team and report to COO Gopa Kumar.

    Aalap was previously associated with dentsumcgarrybowen (dentsuMB) India where he held the position of NCD. In addition to this, he also co-headed the creative team at Mumbai-based Dentsu Webchutney and was behind some of the agency’s most notable works. Aalap’s professional stints also include Disney+ Hotstar, Leo Burnett, JWT, DDB Mudra, Ogilvy, and Publicis Ambience.  

    Speaking on the appointment, Isobar South Asia managing director Shamsuddin Jasani said, “At Isobar, our motto is to ‘Invent, Make, Change’. We are striving to deliver innovative creative experience-led solutions for our brands in India. Aalap looks at tech as not something dry and lifeless but as something that can change lives and makes it work harder for brands. That’s a perfect fit with our philosophy and is the apt approach we need to make Isobar future-proof as a leader in innovations in India.”

    Gopa Kumar said, “We live in an age of clutter coupled with shrunken attention spans. For brands to rip through the noise and stand out is of paramount importance. Creativity is the only thing that can make that possible. It is not garnishing anymore. It is the meat. It is the substance, and it is the only way brands can take a leap. Aalap’s brand of creativity is just what Isobar India needs. Enjoyable and meaningful. I couldn’t think of anyone else better than Aalap to partner us in our next phase of growth.”

    Desai has won over 150 International & National awards and has also written feature film scripts, web series, and TV shows.

    Commenting on his joining, Desai said, “Digital is a creative mine that is still hugely under-explored. Solving brand challenges with a proper insight that is supplemented by digital intuition is an explosive combination that very few people are aware of and something that even fewer choose to tap into. This combination has always been part of the Isobar DNA, and I will work towards hyper-charging it. Also, the past year has been tiring. Work pressure has eclipsed the joy we derived from work. One of my top agendas will be to reverse that because I genuinely believe that a tiny, seemingly insignificant thing as joy is actually the only key that opens up many locks. It unlocks creativity, leading to unlocking fame, awards, and a thriving creative culture because all of these follow. Isobar has phenomenal energy and a brilliant set of people. I’m looking forward to having tons of fun.”