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Tag: Joseph George

  • Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India wins its 75th award for the year

    Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India wins its 75th award for the year

    Mumbai: Starting with the Effie India 2014 to the recently concluded Campaign South Asia Agency of the Year awards, Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India has won a total of 75 honours last night, making it the most awarded agency in India in 2015. All the 75 awards were won either for market/campaign effectiveness, or on overall agency performance.

     

    The awards list this year includes the group’s performance at Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, where it won a grand prix, a gold, a silver and a bronze. The year culminated for the agency with a fine performance at the Campaign Asia Agency of the Year awards show where it was declared the ‘Best Creative Agency of the Year’, the Best New Business Development Team of the Year, Best Strategic/Brand Planner of the Year and Best Account Person of the Year.

     

    Commenting on the agency’s strong performance on the awards front, Mullen Lowe Lintas India Group CEO, Joseph George said, “It’s been a milestone year for us in India. We are glad to have ended the year on the same high that we started with. All this recognition is a result of all our key people putting up their hands, wanting to be counted and bringing value to the table. And this happened only because everyone thought of themselves as key stakeholders of the company. ”

     

     

    Adding his views on the agency’s achievement Lowe Lintas India CCO Arun Iyer said, “I’m proud of the consistency with which each of our offices has churned out some great work across a large and diverse client set. Our work has excelled on a portfolio that’s a combination of classical and progressive brands, from young upstarts to large market leaders. 2015 serves as a reminder of how setting the bar high is an everyday pursuit, and how successful teams are greater than the individuals.”

     

     

    Mullen Lintas India chairman and CCO Amer Jaleel added, “The best barometer of our work being appreciated is when it manages to bring about a shift in perception and thought among the people. That’s what we achieved with few of our brands that went on to redefine the way a campaign should be approached, and which ended up winning awards that were unique in nature. Special accolades for Indian brands such as Havells, Tata Tea and the others were something that no agency had ever received before, and we are proud to have set a trend by being the first.”

     

     

    Adding his views on the agency’s achievement Lowe Lintas India CCO Arun Iyer said, “I’m proud of the consistency with which each of our offices has churned out some great work across a large and diverse client set. Our work has excelled on a portfolio that’s a combination of classical and progressive brands, from young upstarts to large market leaders. 2015 serves as a reminder of how setting the bar high is an everyday pursuit, and how successful teams are greater than the individuals.”

     

    Mullen Lintas India chairman and CCO Amer Jaleel added, “The best barometer of our work being appreciated is when it manages to bring about a shift in perception and thought among the people. That’s what we achieved with few of our brands that went on to redefine the way a campaign should be approached, and which ended up winning awards that were unique in nature. Special accolades for Indian brands such as Havells, Tata Tea and the others were something that no agency had ever received before, and we are proud to have set a trend by being the first.”

     

  • Mullen Lowe Lintas India’s Joseph George given additional duties for South & SE Asia

    Mullen Lowe Lintas India’s Joseph George given additional duties for South & SE Asia

    MUMBAI: Lowe veteran Joseph George, who is currently Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India group CEO has been given the additional responsibility to South & Southeast Asia regions. 

     

    George will report to Mullen Lowe Group global CEO Alex Leikikh.

     

    George said, “I’m absolutely thrilled by the challenge of taking on an additional leadership role within the APAC region for the Mullen Lowe Group. Having worked within the network for over two decades, I clearly love the spirit: distinctive, entrepreneurial, collaborative and creative.”

     

    George has been with the Lowe network for 24 years – joining Lintas Mumbai in 1991 and spending the next 15 years between the Mumbai and Bangalore offices. He took over as the head of the Unilever business in 2006, and successfully led the growth of that business and a few specialist marketing services divisions until his appointment as deputy CEO in June 2010, and subsequently as CEO in January 2011.

     

    Leikikh added, “Joe is exactly the leader we need as part of our hugely dynamic Asia operation – he is a seasoned professional with a proven track record of growth. A key component of his role will focus on tapping into the resources of the robust India operation that he has built up in order to develop our hyperbundled offering across the Southeast Asia markets.”

     

    George added, “I’m absolutely thrilled by the challenge of taking on an additional leadership role within the APAC region for the Mullen Lowe Group. Having worked within the network for over two decades, I clearly love the spirit: distinctive, entrepreneurial, collaborative and creative.”

  • Virat Tandon roped in as Mullen Lintas CEO

    Virat Tandon roped in as Mullen Lintas CEO

    MUMBAI: Creative agency Mullen Lintas, which will officially launch on 1 August, 2015 has appointed Virat Tandon as its CEO. 

     

    Tandon will return to India after a three year stint with Mullen Lowe Group in Singapore where he was global business director for the Unilever brands Lifebuoy and Fair & Lovely.

     

    A part of the network for over a decade, Tandon first joined Lowe Lintas at its New Delhi office in 2004 and has undertaken numerous senior and leadership roles in the agency. A Unilever veteran of over 10 brands and 60+ countries, he has worked in India on clients including Maruti Suzuki, Nestle, Dominos, Sony Audio and Dabur among others. 

     

    Prior to joining Lowe Lintas, he worked with WPP agencies Rediffusion, Grey and Contract.

     

    Tandon said, “Mullen Lintas is born ahead of the curve and intends to remain a mash-up of the enduring and the emerging. Our founding team has the pedigree and the class of massive brand-successes under their belt. Big agencies are today, dealing with the new marketing landscape and adapting their offerings to it. Our advantage is that Mullen Lintas has no such baggage and that allows us to leap-frog this need to change and adapt. We understand that a great brand needs a great narrative that flows seamlessly through screens, experiences, shopping environments and conversations. We will equip ourselves to play a pivotal role for our brands.”

     

    Also joining the Mullen Lintas leadership team is Shriram Iyer, who takes on the role of national creative director. 

     

    Iyer said, “A great ambition for the agency and a wonderful team to work with, I am excited about what we can create. Our approach to enriching our capabilities is what we call ‘core plus one’. While we continue to practice our core skill sets, we will commit ourselves to adding people who bring with them a +1 skill or area of expertise. We believe this is critical and makes us ‘present ready’.”

     

    Currently ECD and creative head for the Delhi offices of Lowe Lintas, Iyer moves to Mumbai in this new role. He has been with the group since 1998 and has played various roles in the creative team at Lowe Lintas’ Mumbai and Delhi offices.

     

    Headquartered in Mumbai, the new agency will have offices in New Delhi (NCR) and Bengaluru.

     

    Mullen Lowe Lintas Group group CEO Joseph George said, “India has birthed several big brands over the last two decades. However, for a long time, the top agency brands have remained largely unchanged. Mullen Lintas is a product of the evolving marketing landscape, and with our “big agency” ambition, we intend to partner brands whose ambitions are driven by a passionate pursuit of leadership by presenting ourselves as a compelling challenger to the likes of Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy and JWT.”

     

    Mullen Lintas chairman and CCO Amer Jaleel concluded, “Virat has been a great business partner to me in managing the global mandate on Lifebuoy, and Shriram has been a driving force behind what Lowe Lintas Delhi has achieved in the past few years. I thoroughly enjoy working with both of them and couldn’t have asked for better friends to the start the Mullen Lintas journey with.”

  • Lowe Lintas + Partners rebrands; to create dual agency structure

    Lowe Lintas + Partners rebrands; to create dual agency structure

    MUMBAI: After the recent news of the global union of IPG agencies Mullen, and Lowe and Partners (to form Mullen Lowe Group), the India operation of the network, Lowe Lintas + Partners has been rebranded as Mullen Lowe Lintas Group. 

     

    As part of this move, the Group has also gone in for a two-creative-agency structure. In addition to Lowe Lintas, the group will be soon launching an independent creative agency called Mullen Lintas.

     

    Lowe Lintas joint national creative directors Amer Jaleel and Arun Iyer have been promoted to chief creative officers. While Iyer takes on the role of CCO at Lowe Lintas, Jaleel will take on the role of chairman and CCO of Mullen Lintas. 

     

    R.Balakrishnan (Balki) and Joseph George (Joe) will continue as group chairman and group CEO respectively, of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group. 

     

    Iyer said, “I’ve spent most of my career at Lowe Lintas and have thoroughly enjoyed the journey so far. Right now, we’ve got great momentum on all fronts and we’re committed to making it better. I am delighted at the opportunity to run the creative function at the agency in the rapidly evolving marketing landscape, and confident that we will keep Lowe Lintas ahead of that curve.”

     

    Jaleel added, “I’ve always worked in large and established setups. To be entrusted with building a new agency from scratch is both humbling and exciting at the same time. I am looking forward to the journey of growing and nurturing Mullen Lintas to fulfill the group’s ‘large agency’ ambition for this independent venture.”

  • AMES 2015: Lowe Lintas + Partners bags 10 awards, Maxus India wins 5

    AMES 2015: Lowe Lintas + Partners bags 10 awards, Maxus India wins 5

    MUMBAI: The Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy (AMES) Awards 2015 declared Lowe Lintas + Partners as the Agency of the Year in the Effectiveness category.

    After bagging the maximum number of shortlists from India (17), the agency managed to win a total of 10 awards comprising four Silver and six Bronze trophies.

    In all, the Indian agencies put out a sterling performance by winning 31 trophies this year. The Indian contingent was led by Lowe Lintas + Partners, who with a rich haul of 10 trophies emerged as the agency with the largest number of wins from not just India but also in the Asia Pacific region.

    The awards tally of Lowe Lintas + Partners includes:

    Commenting on the performance put up by the agency, Lowe Lintas + Partners CEO Joseph George said, “After being declared earlier this year by WARC as 2014’s Most Effective Agency in the World, this performance at the AMES last night is a further confirmation of what we and juries around the world believe what we are good at – delivering disruptive creative solutions that work in the mind and in the market. We look forward to carry this momentum and performance right through the year!”

    Lowe Lintas + Partners national planning director S Subramanyeswar added, “We thank the jury for acknowledging our work and giving it due recognition from a host of entries across the Asia Pacific. This appreciation for effective work gives us the opportunity to do more. We would like to build on this momentum and hope to beat ourselves next year again.”

    On the other hand, global communications consultancy firm Maxus won five awards at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness and Strategy Awards. The ceremony, which took place on 3 June, saw over 600 entries. India had a total of about 15 shortlists across different agencies out of which six were from Maxus India. Maxus India won two silvers and one bronze award for Tata Tea Power of 49 Campaign and two bronze awards in the data analytics and retail analytics categories too.

    Maxus south Asia managing director Kartik Sharma said, “Maxus has always made strong, enthusiastic and consisted efforts to achieve the best and future ready in a digitally competitive market where every agency is striving for better than the best. We at Maxus believe these wins have given us an overall and stronger edge in the market, helping us bring unlimited satisfaction to our existing clients and bring new clients into the fold. We are of course ecstatic about the wins! We would like to share the credits with Tata Tea who have believed in the idea and the entire team who has put in the hard work over the years. These wins also prove beyond doubt that Maxus has an undying spirit of wanting to deliver the best for our clients always and keeping them involved at the levels without any hesitation.”

    This year, out of a total of 1100 entries and 289 shortlists, the juries awarded trophies to 144 winners from 10 countries – three Platinum, 26 Gold, 45 Silver, 75 Bronze trophies. Country-wise, it was India that took the lead with 31 wins followed by China at 26 and Australia with 24 wins. 

  • 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.

  • Lowe Lintas India named world’s top creative agency by WARC

    Lowe Lintas India named world’s top creative agency by WARC

    MUMBAI: WARC 100, an annual ranking of the world’s best marketing companies and campaigns, based on their performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions, has declared Lowe Lintas India as the number one creative agency in the world.

     

    The study focuses on marketing that makes a difference, driving business performance or changing consumer behaviour.

     

    The rankings are compiled based on the winners of 87 effectiveness and strategy awards from around the world. Unilever was named as the number one advertiser of the year, with two of its campaigns (both created by Lowe Lintas) making it to the top five.

     

    Lowe Lintas India accumulated 212.9 points while AMV BBDO UK took the second spot at 191 points and Colenso BBDO NZ that collected 147.6 points finished third. Recent successes of Lowe Lintas on global platforms include Ad Age International Agency of the Year, the American Jay Chiat Awards and and WARC Asia.

     

    Speaking on the development Lowe Lintas + Partners CEO Joseph George said that the recognition was both extremely satisfying and spurring. “We have had a terrific run on creative effectiveness this year across the globe; and all the accolades have further reinforced our belief in the type of work we want to do and believe in,” George added.

     

    Lowe & Partners, Worldwide saw significant representation in the WARC 100 listing. Notable ones being – Lowe & Partners ranked fourth amongst the top agency networks in the world; and two other agencies from the Lowe network, Lowe SSP3 and Lowe Roche featured in top 25 agencies list. Furthermore, five of the campaigns created by the network featured in the WARC 100 Best Marketing Campaigns.

  • Lowe Lintas + Partners named Ad Age’s 2015 International Agency of the Year

    Lowe Lintas + Partners named Ad Age’s 2015 International Agency of the Year

    MUMBAI: The year 2015 started off with a bang for Lowe Lintas + Partners as it has been declared by Ad Age as Runner Up “2015 International agency of the Year.”

     

     On a roll since January 2014, when it was declared the ‘Effie Agency of the Year,’ the agency followed it up right through the entire year with impressive performances at APAC Effies, Tambuli Awards, Cannes Lions, AME, Jay Chiat, WARC, Campaign APAC and many more.

     

     The Ad Age International Agency of the Year award is one-of-a-kind that honours the best agencies of the year across the world, regardless of discipline or specialty. With a host of achievements that need to be factored in including business, creative product, in market performance, industry recognition, talent management, culture etc, it’s one of the toughest juries to please.

     

     Lowe and Partners Worldwide global CEO Michael Wall said, “Our Indian agency certainly merits this recognition. Their work is brilliant. They are one of the most effective agencies for their clients on a global scale. They are a really high caliber team. And they deliver in one of the most complex and competitive markets in the world. It is a special group and it is always a pleasure to spend time working with them.”

     

     Lowe Lintas + Partners CEO Joseph George added, “Very rarely does it happen in the life of an agency when so much of its work gets noticed and talked about across the globe in the same year. And add to that, the number of effectiveness awards it won across the world. Considering that we were tested on a spectrum of barometers from product to business to talent to culture, this recognition by Ad Age is truly special and spurring at once.”

     

     After a superlative performance at the just concluded India Effies, wherein Lowe Lintas + Partners won more Golds than all the other agencies put together, the agency’s good streak seems to continue.

  • Lowe Lintas & Partners wins big at AMES

    Lowe Lintas & Partners wins big at AMES

    MUMBAI: Lowe Lintas & Partners India continues its great run on effectiveness at yet another awards show – Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy Awards, held in Singapore recently. The agency’s work on ‘Lifebuoy – Help a Child Reach 5’for its client Hindustan Unilever Limited bagged the enviable Platinum award (Effectiveness category) at the prestigious award show.

     

    Apart from the coveted award, Lowe Lintas &  Partners India also won the Gold in Effectiveness – Food Products for their work on Kissan ‘100% Natural Seeded’ for HUL. The same entry also won a Bronze in Effective – Innovative Use of Media category. The agency also bagged a Silver under the Effective – Integrated Marketing Campaign category for its work on ‘Lifebuoy Help A Child Reach 5.

     

    Commenting on the win, Lowe Lintas & Partners CEO Joseph George said, “This performance of Lowe Lintas + Partners and Unilever is our best ever at AMEs. For either of us. This reflects our shared belief in what makes for effective communication.”

     

    The performance at AMES follows Lowe Lintas & Partners’ fine achievement in April 2014 where it was named the most Effective Indian Agency at the APAC EFFIEs Awards 2014. The agency had bagged 4 metals including 2 Golds, a Sliver and a Bronze out of total 6 metals for India. Lowe Lintas & Partners was also bestowed the ‘Agency of the Year’ title at Indian Effies 2013.

     

    Lowe Lintas & Partners CMO Vikas Mehta said, “We had entered a small number of campaigns this year at the AMEs. Four wins including the all-important platinum is remarkable. I’m told it’s the country’s first AME platinum on effectiveness. That sure feels nice.”

     

    The Asian Marketing Effectiveness and Strategy Awards are Asia Pacific’s foremost awards honoring clients and their agencies for marketing strategies that deliver solid results to transform businesses and brands. The annual awards are judged by a panel of top client and agency professionals who review the submissions against stringent criteria to determine the winners of the prestigious Asian Marketing Effectiveness and Strategy awards.

  • Portfolio Night’s ‘All Star’ winner was Mayank Bhayana

    Portfolio Night’s ‘All Star’ winner was Mayank Bhayana

    MUMBAI: For the ones who want to create a mark in the creative world, 21 May was the night. Lowe Lintas and Partners hosted the Indian twelfth edition of the world’s largest advertising portfolio review-cum-recruitment event- Portfolio Night.

     

    The event that was conducted simultaneously in 20 plus cities across the world sought to unite the advertising and design communities in every continent for a common purpose – to identify young and upcoming talent and mentor them on the opportunities that lay ahead.

     

     Mayank Bhayana from Bangalore bagged the Portfolio Night – ‘All Star’ title from India and will be flown to New York to take part in a week-long creative challenge on a specific brief.

     

     The evening saw an impressive turnout of 75 young creative aspirants who presented their work to top 25 creative directors of the country.

     

     Sharing his views on the over-whelming candidate participation and turnout, Lowe Lintas and Partners CEO Joseph George said, “With advertising arguably having lost its monopoly over being the coolest job to have, it was critical that as an industry we kept looking at ways to spot talent who are not just promising but fans of the profession. It was also very gratifying that all the creative stars from across the industry agreed to participate without any hesitation whatsoever. With the kind of response that we received from the candidates as well as the creative directors, it demonstrates the industry’s shared priority of ensuring that this profession remains exciting and attractive to young talent.”

     

    Lowe Lintas and Partners NCD Amer Jaleel said, “It was like the IPL of advertising. It was the place where raw ‘quickies’ and talented ‘big-hitters’ got spotted. There were many from the industry who were on a keen lookout for rising stars of the night. Seeing the enormous energy being exuded by the participants, I wished I too were playing under the floodlights!”

     

     The agency’s NCD Arun Iyer added, “The event was a great opportunity for Lowe Lintas to give back to the community and the industry of advertising. The way the young creative guys came in and engaged the attention span of the CDs for over three hours was worth the whole effort. They not only got a sense of what the real world is all about, but also received enough encouragement and opportunities from a widely appreciated platform such as Portfolio Night.”

     

     Extending his gratitude to the numerous clients who made it a point to support the event, George said, “It was heartening to see the speed with which the clients wanted to participate with us on Portfolio Night. We are thankful to them for realizing a shared passion of spotting young and aspiring talent and giving them the opportunity to see their dreams come true.”

     

     Portfolio Night is a platform for young creative aspirants to have their work sampled by at least three top creative directors from the industry in a single evening. While it helps youngsters gain constructive feedback and guidance on their skill sets, the top Creative Directors get to spot potential talent.

     

     For the review process, aspirants were divided into three batches and each aspirant got the opportunity to get their portfolio reviewed by three CDs. Each CD met three candidates individually for 15 minutes and reviewed their work, ideas and offered them valuable feedback.

     

    The creative heads who reviewed the work at the event included Ogilvy & Mather executive chairman and creative director south Asia Piyush Pandey, Ogilvy & Mather NCDs Abhijit Avasthi & Rajiv Rao, Publicis CCO Bobby Pawar, Josy Paul, BBDO chairman & CCO Josy Paul, FCB Ulka NCD K S Chakravarty (Chax),  TBWA India Nation head – art Deepak Singh, TBWA India CCO Parixit Bhattacharya, Scarecrow Communication ECD Kapil Tammal, Grey Worldwide NCD Malvika Mehra, McCann Worldgroup NCD Pradyumna Chauhan, Scarecrow Communication, founder/director Raghu Bhat,  , Cartwheel Creative Consultancy owner Ramki D Ramkrishna, JWT NCD Tista Sen, Underdog founder Vikram Gaikwad, Contract India NCD Ashish Chakravarty.

     

    The creative heads from Lowe Lintas who were part of the judging panel included Amer Jaleel, Arun Iyer, Shriram Iyer, Ashwin Varkey, Sagar Kapoor and Rajesh Ramaswamy.

     

     As part of its association with Portfolio Night, India’s leading classifieds entity – Olx.in, will offer one candidate a chance to work as an intern for three months on a brief set up by the client. The candidate will be chosen from the final set of nominees shortlisted from the various individual stages.

     

    This year’s Portfolio Night was supported by global sponsor – Shutterstock, Twitter and SquareSpace. In India, the event was supported by Godrej HIT, Idea Cellular, Tanishq, Micromax, Lifebuoy, OLX.in and Myntra who came onboard as Brand Sponsors for Portfolio Night.