MUMBAI: Goafest 2025’s marquee session, ‘Ignite The Shift’, powered by Hindustan Times and Amar Ujala, staged a spirited conversation on marketing’s evolving ecosystem. The panel, titled “Merging Boundaries: From Placement to Partnership”, brought together five sharp minds—Google India director – marketing partners Satya Raghavan, Starcom India CEO Rathi Gangappa, JioStar head of revenue, entertainment & international Ajit Varghese, Tata Commercial Vehicles CMO Shubhranshu Singh, and moderator Omnicom Media Group India group CEO Kartik Sharma—for a high-voltage discussion on what defines partnership, performance, and brand-building in 2025.
Opening the session with nostalgic candour, Sharma remarked, “Media was once a business of placement; now it’s a business of partnership”. He added that today’s agencies juggle multiple hats—from storytellers and influencers to data miners and tech integrators.
Gangappa drove the point home: “It’s no longer innovate or die—it’s connect or die”. She called on agencies to shift from delivering solutions to forging seamless partnerships. “Partnerships today are about connecting the dots—storytelling, media, commerce, influence, even loyalty—and doing it all with intelligence and empathy”.
Varghese reinforced that clients today demand more, “Agencies now invest in first-party data and tech stacks, stitching solutions across OTT, mobile, and CTV”. From integration to insight, agencies, he said, must become navigators across a complex media map. “Clients expect segmentation, measurement, and execution to be interlinked. When they demand precision, we bend backwards”.
Raghavan added flair with an Avengers analogy. “The agency is literally the CMO’s superpower”, he joked. “In today’s marketing universe, consumers flit between universes—Youtube, search, Shorts, and shopping. Pinpointing them with the right message at the right moment is the challenge—and technology is the bridge”.
Singh brought it back to brand belief, “Separating performance from brand-building is a disservice”. He warned against the trap of short-termism. “If everything is dictated by last-click logic, brands lose soul. Media must also create scale and salience”.
The panel echoed a shared frustration with how measurement obsession has stifled creativity. Singh recalled, “We’ve become a business of attribution. But not everything valuable is measurable”. Raghavan nodded, saying that AI should empower creativity, not constrain it. “We’re now designing better razors, not just machines that shave you”.
As the session closed, Sharma fired a rapid question: “What are you doing today that would’ve sounded crazy five years ago?”
Raghavan shared that Google India had built an internal martech platform just for partner enablement. Varghese said he uses AI to ideate around obscure marketing days like “World Menstrual Hygiene Day”. Singh, meanwhile, said it’s time to rename the agency itself. “The term ‘media agency’ no longer fits. We’re something more”.
Mumbai: The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) held its fourth Wednesday Webinar of the seventh season on 24th July 2024, on the topic ‘The Science And Art Of Human Behaviour In Marketing’. The session was hosted by Mukul Gautam, VP & chief of capacity building, Purple Audacity; Amitabh Mishra, head-insights and analytics – India, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories; Sunder Muthuraman, CEO – SL Ventures and Sivakumar Somanathan, Consumer Behaviour Consultant, Curious Cat Consulting including speakers Geetika Kambli, Managing Partner, Centre for Behavioural Research, Future Factory; Varun Arora, COO & Member of BMB (BIAS Management Board), Behavioural Insights, Architecture & Strategy Pvt. Ltd. (BIAS); Biju Dominic, Chief Evangelist Fractal Analytics, Chairman FinalMile Consulting and Kartik Sharma, Group CEO, Omnicom Media Group India. The session delves into the dynamic world of Behavioral Economics (BE) and its profound impact on consumer decision-making.
Speaking on why marketing needs a new science of human behaviour, FinalMile Consulting chief evangelist of fractal analytics and chairman Biju Dominic said, “Back in the 90s and 2000s, I have been part of brilliant launches with brands like Rexona deodorant, Nestlé milk, Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund, and Sundaram Mutual Fund in India. During these days, I realised that anything that has to do with human behaviour would have a huge failure rate. Traditional models centred around the concept of a conscious and rational have proven insufficient. This has led to a staggering 75-90% failure rate in various fields. While behavioural economics has introduced valuable insights into human irrationality and mental shortcuts, it falls short of providing a comprehensive framework. To truly understand and influence human behaviour, a new science is essential and neuroscience brings in a huge amount of new learning about human behaviour.”
Dominic added, “In the last 17 years, I have realised that a 30-second commercial is not the best persuasion tool for solving human behaviour problems. Today by implementing innovative strategies such as painted railway tracks and highway lines, we have achieved significant reductions in fatalities caused by train accidents and road accidents. This success has fueled our exploration of a new frontier, combining neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and design to develop micro-stimuli for the smartphone era, marking an exciting new chapter in the field of behaviour change.”
Speaking on behaviour science solutions and systems, Behavioural Insights, Architecture & Strategy Pvt. Ltd. (BIAS) COO & member of BMB (BIAS Management Board) Arun Arora said, “There are five aspects of behaviour: sub-optimal, negative deviant, absent, positive deviant, and as intended. Science is a systematic process involving hypothesis formulation, tool development, experimentation, and validation. Unlike traditional methods which rely on what people are saying at an explicit level and conscious techniques. We at BIAS, have started developing tools which tap into and understand implicit biases and the subconscious part of the brain. To illustrate this, we developed a dating app, which explores relationship dynamics and Gen Z preferences through behavioural analysis. This approach highlights the need for tools that extract implicit data, revealing insights beyond explicit statements and enabling deeper understanding through revealed choice experiments and trade-off analysis, surpassing the limitations of traditional focus groups.”
Citing a Steve Jobs’s quote from a conference, Centre for Behavioural Research, Future Factory managing partner Geetika Kambli added “When you’re trying to create a change in billion dollars worth of product that hasn’t existed before, You’re tempted to look at the potential of technology or the brilliant ideas that are buzzing your head about different features you can put into the product. And that’s why innovation or new products fail.”
Speaking on humanising technology by design, Kambli stated, “We have always focused on figuring out how to give the best insights when you’re trying to do something different. Our project for a FinTech company aimed to understand how a product would be adopted in a community with minimal tech exposure. Interestingly, while trust is fundamental to both money and technology, its nature differs significantly between urban and rural contexts. In urban areas, trust in financial products often hinges on security measures and user experience. However, for rural communities, trust is deeply rooted in interpersonal relationships. This project highlighted the critical role of behavioural sciences in bridging the gap between product design and user behaviour.”
Discussing behavioural science use cases in media decisions, Omnicom Media Group India Group CEO Kartik Sharma shared, “Behavioral science in advertising and media has been used for a very long time, earlier broadly called psychology. Today, new research techniques and new branches of behavioural science allow marketers to work with newer frameworks and experiments.” He shares five use cases that work in media decisions: ego depletion, social proof, halo effect, framing and media context.”
Sharma further added, “New approaches are essential to evaluate the effectiveness of creative media deployment, and establishing a robust framework for this is crucial. Encouragingly, there is a growing convergence between behavioural science and other research methodologies. Our recent global attention research across three markets found that the role of context is important. The type of programming significantly influences attention levels, which in turn impact purchase decisions. This highlights the unequal weight of different media channels and placements. Attention varies across channels and contexts, emphasizing the importance of considering these factors when planning media strategies.”
The MRSI webinar gave a deep understanding of the factors that influence consumer choices, offering you a strategic edge in a competitive landscape.
Mumbai: Omnicom Media Group (OMG) India on Tuesday announced the on-boarding of Anand Chakravarthy as its new chief growth officer. Anand is set to use his strategic foresight and over two decades of rich industry experience to create new opportunities for growth and play an instrumental role in shaping OMG India’s future trajectory.
He will report to Kartik Sharma, Group CEO of OMG India.
With over 24 years of experience in marketing, advertising, media, and entrepreneurship and having worked with many reputable businesses, all of which witnessed exponential growth under his guidance, Anand has a deep well of knowledge to draw from. Prior to this, he has led many profitable businesses, including during his leadership stints at Essence Global, Wavemaker, and Reliance Broadcast Network.
Anand’s strength lies in his ability to formulate crucial strategies that help businesses scale up and become sustainable in an extremely competitive market. Across his repertoire of experience, he has worked with global and Indian brands, including several leading D2C brands in India.
Speaking of his appointment, Omnicom Media Group India CEO Kartik Sharma said, “I am delighted to welcome Anand on board. His extensive knowledge, values-based leadership style, and commitment to delivering results will undoubtedly be a great asset to our business going forward. His work speaks for itself and shows that he has the propensity to lead and help companies capitalise on new growth opportunities in an emerging market.”
Anand Chakravarthy said, “I am thrilled to be a part of OMG India and get the opportunity to work with Kartik and his leadership team, for whom I have immense respect. OMG is recognised globally for its thought leadership and building future forward capabilities—a critical need in the industry today. Working in this ecosystem with this team and leveraging these capabilities to help brands evolve without any limitations is a fantastic opportunity. I look forward to fully committing to OMG’s vision and pushing the boundaries of innovation and growth.”
Mumbai: Wavemaker and ESP Properties, GroupM’s sports and entertainment marketing agency, has collaborated and facilitated the renewal of the partnership between Paytm and BCCI for the title sponsorship rights for BCCI’s International and Domestic cricket matches at home from 1st September 2019 to 31st March 2023. Paytm first bagged the title sponsorship rights in 2015.
Earlier this month BCCI invited online bids for the title sponsorship rights for the BCCI organised domestic and international cricket matches. BCCI confirmed that Paytm will be the title sponsor of all domestic series/events organised, managed and administered by BCCI and played in India, between 1st September 2019 and 31st March 2023.
Jaskaran Singh Kapany, Head- Marketing, Paytm said, “We decided very early in our journey to partner with India Cricket. Over the last few years, our association with the sport has given us a huge platform to be visible in front of half a billion Indian cricket fans. This has helped the brand immensely at various levels to build long term salience & stature. Paytm is a brand for the masses and continuing as the Title Sponsor of Cricket in India will help us bolster Paytm’s leadership position in the minds of millions of consumers, on the back of the most popular sport in the country.”
Kartik Sharma, CEO, Wavemaker – South Asia added, “Partnering with ESP properties to help Paytm win BCCI title sponsorship rights for the second time in a row is a huge feat for all of us. It is our constant endeavour to offer best platforms to all our partners and help them grow along the journey.”
Vinit Karnik, Business Head, ESP Properties, GroupM India said, “Paytm over the last four years has demonstrated its faith and commitment towards Indian Cricket. They understand & appreciate the potential of the game very well. Paytm & BCCI continuing their existing relationship will be huge win for both. The following that cricket gets in the sub-continent is at times more than any other sporting event across the planet and Paytm can continue to benefit from this.”
“Earlier this year in ESP’s annual trends report we predicted that cricket would dominate the media and mind measure in 2019 and with such start to the new cricketing season we believe that this will only grow and improve over the next few months and years to come,” Vinit added.
MUMBAI: Wavemaker, the global media, content, and technology agency, today announced the appointment of Ajay Gupte as the Chief Operating Officer for Wavemaker, South Asia.
Ajay joins from Wavemaker Indonesia where he was Managing Director of the agency. Ajay has successfully led the MEC-Maxus merger in Indonesia. Under his stewardship, Wavemaker Indonesia won several blue-chip clients and many global and local accolades for the agency.
Ajay has rich experience of over 23 years in media, sales and marketing spanning across markets like India, Africa and Indonesia. Prior to joining Wavemaker Indonesia, he has spent over 15 years in India with Maxus (now part of Wavemaker) handling clients like Nokia and Hero MotoCorp to name a few. Earlier to Wavemaker, Ajay has had extensive cross-functional stints with TVS Motor Company.
In his new role, Ajay will be located at Wavemaker Delhi office and will report into Kartik Sharma, CEO – Wavemaker, South Asia.
Commenting on the appointment, Kartik Sharma, CEO – Wavemaker, South Asia said, “It is an absolute pleasure to have Ajay back in India. Under his leadership as MD of Indonesia since 2011, Wavemaker (erstwhile MEC) has grown exponentially and is now ranked as top 3 agency in the country. I am confident with his strong experience of agency and client domain, Ajay will be will be able to grow Wavemaker further as an agency of the future.”
Commenting on his new role, Ajay said, “I am very excited to be back in India. The media scene in India is vibrant and offers unlimited opportunity for marketeers. With our future-focused offering around Media, Content, and Technology, Wavemaker is uniquely positioned to deliver maximum impact for our clients. I am delighted that the next lap of my journey continues with Wavemaker where I can contribute to delivering this promise.”
MUMBAI: Shekhar Banerjee, the erstwhile COO at Madison Media, has joined Wavemaker India as managing partner with immediate effect.
Banerjee will be filling the vacant chair of Anand Chakravarthy, who was appointed as the managing director of Essence India.
At Wavemaker, Banerjee will report to Wavemaker India MD Kartik Sharma.
Banerjee had joined Madison in 2004 as COO and handled key accounts such as Asian Paints, ITC and Marico.
Last year, GroupM Wakemaker was created from the merger of Maxus and MEC. The agency is number two in India in terms of size and has over 700 employees with a service portfolio of clients including FMCG giant ITC and L’Oréal.
MUMBAI: Wavemaker, GroupM’s media, content and technology agency, has partnered with creative powerhouse Ogilvy, to create a first of its kind Effectiveness Lab in India. This unique collaboration, between the two WPP agencies will develop data-validated points of view on creating effective communications across consumer interaction platforms.
Branded content is the first space the Lab will explore, probing how consumers respond to different content strategies, creative approaches and formats. As marketers increase spends on the creation and deployment of content, it is crucial to bring intelligence to what drives effectiveness in the content space.
GroupM South Asia country manager, WPP India and CEO CVL Srinivas says, “At WPP, our focus is to provide ‘horizontality’ across our agencies and create a seamless structure to provide effective solutions. While we have a wide range of services on offer, the focus of our agencies is on creating efficient solutions to help our brand partners strengthen their engagement with the audience. Launching the Effectiveness Lab as a combined initiative by Wavemaker and Ogilvy is a great example of this.”
Wavemaker managing director of South Asia Kartik Sharma adds, “At Wavemaker, we connect media, content and technology to drive growth for clients and we understand how effective marketing can be. By being able to better understand how content moves consumers to action along their purchase journeys, we’ll be able to help our clients to make informed decisions on how and when to create engaging content and therefore drive growth for them across their consumer journeys.”
Ogilvy India CEO Kunal Jeswani mentions, “The Effectiveness Lab will bring the best minds at Ogilvy and Wavemaker together to throw light on creative effectiveness across new age platforms. With digital communications across multiple platforms becoming core to any integrated campaign strategy, the industry needs new thinking on effectiveness. Ogilvy has always stood for Great Work That Works. The more informed we are, the better we will get at delivering creative effectiveness.”
MUMBAI: Wavemaker, GroupM’s new billion-dollar revenue, media, content, and technology agency created from the merger of Maxus and MEC has retained the media duties for Tata Sky.
Maxus (now part of Wavemaker) has been the media agency on record ever since the DTH service provider launched its operations in India in 2006.
Wavemaker South Asia managing director Kartik Sharma adds, “I am grateful to Tata Sky team for selecting us as their strategic media partners right from the start of their launch in India. Associating with Tata Sky for over a decade now has been an enriching experience for all of us. Tata Sky is one of our oldest client partners in India and we are extremely happy to continue our relationship with them.”
Tata Sky chief communications officer Malay Dikshit says, “GroupM has been associated with Tata Sky for the past 10 years and it was time that we scanned the media industry for best practices, great leadership and sound commercials. While there were some brilliant and very strong contenders delivering on all of these requirements, team Wavemaker stood a step ahead with their strategic steer and detailed planning.”
MUMBAI: Perfetti Van Melle India has handed over its media duties account to GroupM’s content and technology agency Wavemaker.
The agency was created from the merger of Maxus and MEC. Maxus (now part of Wavemaker) has been the agency on record and had first won the media mandate for Perfetti Van Melle India in 2006.
Wavemaker managing director South Asia Kartik Sharma said, “We are extremely delighted to continue our decade-long partnership with Perfetti. It is a huge moment of pride as this is the first win for us as Wavemaker. We couldn’t have asked for a better start to this year.”
Perfetti Van Melle India director of marketing Rohit Kapoor says, “Wavemaker (erstwhile Maxus) team has played a significant role in building our brands over the years. We are excited to share that our partnership with Wavemaker will continue after a comprehensive media agency validation process. Wavemaker has consistently demonstrated adequate capabilities to support us to achieve key business objectives, drive performance and innovation rigour.”
The pitch was for the entire portfolio of brands and involves only offline duties. The multi-agency pitch saw participation from other leading agencies.
MUMBAI: Wavemaker, GroupM’s new billion-dollar revenue, media, content and technology agency created from the merger of MEC and Maxus has opened its business in India.
Wavemaker India will open with a team of 700+ professionals, lead by the recently announced new managing director Kartik Sharma and will serve a portfolio of clients including FMCG giant ITC and L’Oréal.
Wavemaker India will be headquartered in Mumbai with offices in Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Thrissur and Cochin.
Wavemaker India managing director of South Asia Kartik Sharma says, “I am excited as Wavemaker officially starts operations in India. All our people, processes and technology are united through our focus on understanding, accelerating and optimising purchase journeys; making them more satisfying for consumers and more effective for our clients.”
