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Tag: Maxus

  • Maxus wins businesses worth over Rs. 300 crore

    Maxus wins businesses worth over Rs. 300 crore

    MUMBAI: Maxus, yet again retains the title of the most ‘dominant’ agency as per the latest RECMA report, a qualitative assessment for all leading media agencies in India.

    It is the fourth consecutive year that Maxus is on the top of the RECMA ratings. Along with this, the agency also won business across 23 new clients, worth upwards of Rs. 300 crores in the first half of 2014. These new clients include Tata Sons, JK Tyres, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Unitech, Paytm, Askme.com, ICC T20 World Cup 2014, Cigna TTK Health Insurance and BML Educorp.

     

    Maxus South Asia managing director Kartik Sharma said, “Over the last 12 months, Maxus has made an effort to become future ready in a digitally charged media environment. We approach planning and investments in an integrated manner with emphasis on new media concepts that brings digital media, content and data together with traditional TV, print and radio. We believe this gives us an edge in the market, helping us delight to our existing clients and bring new clients into the fold.”

     

    “Our ‘Lean into Change’ approach has given us a healthy double digit growth in 2014” Besides their expertise in core traditional media, Maxus today is a full- fledged media solutions agency with expertise across digital, mobile media, data and analytics, branded content and programming. Talent across these verticals are embedded in the network and work closely with core client teams,” added Sharma.

     

    The new approach at Maxus has resulted in several ingenious campaigns like “Power of 49” for Tata Tea, Kotak Jifi, Vodafone Fan Photo and Tata Sky’s innovation around the IPL. Maxus was the first agency to set up a digital command centre for Nestle, where the marketing and agency team to monitor data from various social feeds and take real time marketing decisions. This ensured judicious use of budgets across media with a low percentage of wastage. The approach also helped expand business with new clients across industries ranging from e-commerce, banking and insurance, sports, retail, healthcare, etc.

     

    In 2014, Maxus was part of WPP Team Red (head by MEC Global) that won the Vodafone account across several countries, retaining the account in India. The expertise of a long client relationship with Vodafone domestically brought about great insight during the pitch process.

     

    It can also be noted that this year, Maxus has also brought on board two senior leaders – Navin Khemka in New Delhi to head the North and East region and focus on new business development and Anand Chakravarthy heading Maxus, West and some of their key client relationships. Earlier in the year, Maxus won the digital agency of the year and a number of metals at the Abbys 2014 for their new media capabilities.

  • We are very choosy when we hire people: Gaurav Hirey

    We are very choosy when we hire people: Gaurav Hirey

    Founded a decade ago, WPP Group’s biggest media agencies came under one umbrella to form GroupM and since then there has been no looking back. In India the agency has been crowned as the ‘Dream company to work with’ as well as ‘Dream employer of the year’; with over 1300 people spread across 10 cities and have 20 offices and growing each day!

     

    With the appraisal season on, Indiantelevsion.com’s Meghna Sharma caught up with GroupM South Asia chief talent officer Gaurav Hirey to know more about the machinery that runs the agency.  He has the expertise of around 20 years in talent management and believes himself to be a game changer who brings innovative full impact talent initiatives to life and helps organisations leverage their most important resource – their people – to be the best that they can be.

     

    What makes GroupM the dream company to work for?

     

    Our people make GroupM a “Dream Company”. It is our talent vision to make people our unfair advantage in the marketplace by being not just the best place to work in but the place where the ‘best’ work.

     

    We do not have one single employee value proposition we have six. These are five agencies Mindshare, Maxus, Mediacom, MEC and Motivator and GroupM as the conglomerate. It has been our ability to define our Employee Value Proposition clearly and manage it well which recently earned us the title of “Dream Company to work for” in 2014.

     

    Whether it is having an opportunity of being a part of the Youth Executive Committee (YCO) and working with the best in the industry, or getting a paid holiday on your birthday or being able to have access to a bouquet of learning and capability options or selecting a career path and growing within the company, GroupM as an organisation is able to provide options to our employees at each and every stage. We are a place where we don’t just offer jobs we offer careers!

     

    GroupM was also named ‘Dream Employer of the Year’ in India. How do you choose the talent?

     

    Selectively! We are very choosy when we hire people. 

     

    GroupM is a group of five media agencies and each of these agencies have defined a set of behaviours that they believe in coupled with their client and employee proposition. We match the candidate to these behaviors arriving at a best fit for the candidate not just from a role perspective but also from an agency perspective thus giving the candidate the best possible opportunity to succeed.

     

    How different are your HR policies from the others?

     

    As any responsible corporate, we do have the typical, run of the mill HR policies. However The GroupM Talent function is always striving to ensure that we build policies keeping our employees at the centre of everything we do. Principally we customise all our initiatives to what the business needs rather than focusing on doing HR for the sake of HR.

     

    For example, we have an office policy that states clearly that office times are 9:30 am reporting to 6:00pm. However we allow complete flexibility to managers and teams should they decide they want to stick to these times or need flexibility. We do not in most cases behave typically like companies who deduct leaves and salary for those who report in late to work in spite of working late the previous day! 

     

    Any special benefits or incentives for the employees?

     

    We have several benefits which are a first within the media planning industry.  We offer outpatient support to our employees and they can claim medical expenses up to a certain amount.

     

    We also insure the lives of our employees for four times of their annual compensation so that it secures their families in case of any serious event. We offer hospitalization and medical insurance to all our employees and their immediate family members.

     

     In terms of absolute rewards we have made our employees our partners in growth and most of our employees are eligible for variable pay depending on their and the company performance in addition to the base salary that they take home. We also have an online system that allows all our employees to be recognised and rewarded! They are eligible to earn stars and then redeem them online for a host of benefits!

     

    Our endeavour at all times is to ensure the welfare of our employees and ensure that they feel they are appropriately compensated for their efforts at work.

     

    What are the various capability-building initiatives undertaken by the agency? What is the frequency of such initiatives?

     

    There is an enormous focus on capability building within GroupM. Within the media industry one of the most common feedback that you get about GroupM is that they build careers of their employees and training is one of their biggest tools. We have an in-house trainer pool of over 45 trainers. This group is called the Aspire team and on an average every employee in GroupM gets about four man days of training.

     

    Aspire does an annual training needs assessment post which the training calendar is prepared. We have a huge focus on training team managers and leaders and we make a considerable amount of effort ensuring that our people are best equipped to handle their roles. We also focus on customised training and personalised executive coaching to those who need them.

     

    Other than the above we offer various external, regional and global training programs conducted by our global and regional partners and by WPP our parent organisation.

     

     How well-functioned is the grievance cell?

     

    We believe in constant and two way communication with our employees. Open Houses and town halls are a norm and our senior managers make it a point to stand there with our employees and communicate to them very transparently what is happening within the company and how the business is performing on a regular basis. During these interactions employees are free to voice their concerns and we address each and every one of them. 

     

    We also have a “Post Box” which is present in every office that allows employees to write not just about their grievances but also share ideas and suggestions. The best ideas get implemented and the employee who has shared theta gets recognised and rewarded. 

     

    We maintain a continuous feedback system within GroupM, for all new joiners we have a breaking in feedback , a six monthly feedback and an annual feedback which is captured and actioned on. On an annual basis we have an employee satisfaction survey that is conducted not just in India but globally to hear what our employees are saying and post the results of the survey we implement action plans for those areas that employees have pointed out need addressing.

     

    Our leaders operate on an open door policy and team members know that they can walk in to anyone and speak about their concerns in addition to this at any point they have an open option to walk up to any HR team member and speak to them if their  issues are not addressed. We are firm believers of active engagement at all times.

     

    At GroupM we believe that we are in the business of people and it is they who will lead us to creating client delight and they can do so only once they are delighted. To achieve this we believe constant and continuous two-way communication is essential to delivering value to our clients through our people! Our people know that there opinion counts and what they say matter to us!

     

    In today’s world when there are too many opportunities available, how do you retain talent?

     

    It is our belief that gone are the days when you could hire someone and he/she would work all their life for you! Today we consider ourselves as borrowers of talent. People will stay with you only once they are clear about what is in it for them! It is our ability to be able to articulate this clearly that has helped us retain our talent. GroupM and the agencies have the lowest attrition in the media industry in India and this is all thanks to our leaders who have walked the talk and ensured a transparent and an open environment for our people.

     

    During economic slowdown, did the agency let go of any people? If yes, then how many and at which level?

     

    We generally have been a cost conscious company. We believe that if there is an investment that has to be made it needs to be rational and logical. I still remember the high level meeting of the executive committee that was called when we realised that the economic environment globally had taken a dive. There was a complete consensus across the room that we will make it work and that none of our employees will be let go. HR embarked on a project that helped us re-profile and reposition our client teams and structures allowing us to ensure that every employee was gainfully employed and contributed to the organisation. In fact that year, not only did we close with a growth number but we also managed to recognise and reward our employees. I am extremely proud of the fact that in spite of the tough times as an organisation, the leadership team was able to place our people right at the top of our priorities and we were able to ensure continuity for each and every employee of GroupM! We did not let go of anyone.

     

    How does the appraisal system work in GroupM?

     

    We have an online appraisal system at GroupM for all our business units. We follow the management by objectives system, there are two parts, the first part consists of setting SMART objectives and the second part accesses the team member with regard to the behaviours/values of the agency or the business unit the team member belongs to.

     

    We ensure that managers have a conversation and there is a sign off from both the team member and the appraiser thus ensuring alignment on the final rating that is received by the team member. We have recently started getting our team members to also rate their appraisal performance as we believe that managing performance is an ongoing and continuous process and we would like our managers to be better at it.

     

    For leaders and senior managers we also conduct a 360 degree evaluation where even the team members get an opportunity to give feedback to the managers.

     

    According to you, what is the biggest HR issue gripping the corporate in the country?

     

    The issue that really keeps me awake these days is on how we can engage the millennia’s and get them to stay with us to build a career. Given that today the motivations of youngsters are very different and they are looking for fast growth, it is a challenge to be able to manage their expectations. The organisation of tomorrow is going to be built on their shoulders and if we are not able to engage, retain and grow them then that would affect us and our business. Even though we enjoy the lowest attrition rates across the media industry, I yet get worked up when I see youngsters joining us and leaving us in a short time. 

     

    We have rolled out several initiatives to engage them and get them to participate in decision making. The most talked about initiative has been the Youth Committee of GroupM where we have displayed the will to take participative management to the next level and give the youngsters a voice in organisational decision making. I am optimistic that with such initiatives like the YCO we will be able to retain and grow young talent within our agencies!  

     

     What is your take on revision of HR policies to cater to employees’ needs? Have any of the policies changed to suit the employees? (Give examples)

     

    Any policy that does not address an employee’s need is there just to be filed and kept in a policy manual with no impact!  HR policies have to be treated as guidelines and they need to be reviewed periodically. As a practice we do this once in two years and make the changes necessary. Like I mentioned we changed the working hours policy and empowered our unit heads to decide how they need their teams to operate. Similarly we also changed the leave policy to ensure that employees take their annual leave compulsorily ensuring a healthy work life balance. Customizing policies to meet the employee and business need is critical to the very existence of the policy without it, it’s just a piece of paper that gets filed in!

     

    One HR policy you are really proud of and why?

     

    There are several but one that I am particularly proud of is the policy of Holidays on Birthdays!

     

    This is because it was suggested by our Youth Committee (YCO) last year and was implemented immediately. The policy clearly states that you can take paid leave on your birthday no questions asked. It is simple and completely empowering, just like many other initiatives/policies in GroupM which allow our employees to decide for themselves!

  • Maxus brings Navin Khemka on board as managing partner

    Maxus brings Navin Khemka on board as managing partner

    MUMBAI: Maxus has appointed Navin Khemka as its managing partner. Khemka will be heading the north and east regions for the media agency and will also be responsible for new business development across the country. He will report to Maxus south Asia managing director Kartik Sharma.

     

    With over 17 years of experience in the advertising and media industry, Khemka’s last appointment was with ZenithOptimedia, where he left as managing partner. With a tenure spanning the last eight years, he was initially the trading lead for key accounts such as Nestle and HP. He subsequently took over the business leadership of the HP account, delivering some award winning campaigns such as the HP Serena Williams campaign at Lakme Fashion Week. Thereafter he took on the additional role of new business director for India. He was instrumental in bringing on new clients such as Honda, Toshiba, Uninor, McVities, Karbonn Mobiles, Godfrey Philips, Best Rice, Greenlam Laminates, Olx.in, Jabong.com, Yatra.com at ZenithOptimedia.

     

    Sharma said, “Navin comes with a varied skill set and extensive experience across various product categories. He is an ideal leader to spearhead the Maxus team, and uphold our PACE value system across the organistaion.  At Maxus we endeavour to push the boundaries to delivering excellence for our clients, to achieve our 10/10 mandate.”

     

    Khemka said, “I am delighted to be a part of India’s most dynamic agency – Maxus.  Brand needs are changing and Maxus is geared up to providing a holistic solution to its clients. I look forward to work closely with the team and help provide seamless, media neutral solutions to our clients. Driving growth for Maxus in existing and new geographies also makes my role challenging. I am looking forward to exciting days ahead.”

     

    A graduate of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata and MICA, Khemka started his career with Mudra where he worked for five years. Prior to ZenithOptimedia, Navin worked at Cheil Communications, Mindshare and Carat.

  • GroupM appoints Steve Williams as Maxus North America CEO

    GroupM appoints Steve Williams as Maxus North America CEO

    MUMBAI: Maxus has appointed Steve Williams as chief executive officer North America. The announcement was made by Maxus Global CEO Vikram Sakhuja. Williams will be based in New York and he will join Maxus on 1 June. He will report to Sakhuja and to GroupM North America CEO Kelly Clark.

     

    Williams is currently president of PHD New York, a position he has held for the last two years. He was previously CEO of OMD Group in the UK, where he led a team of 550 professionals.

     

    “Steve has a great reputation as a leader and a client partner,” said Sakhuja. “He has a terrific track record of success in both the UK and the US, and he is a perfect fit for the ambitious Maxus culture.”

     

    “We are confident that Steve will help us take Maxus to a new level,” said Clark. “I know from competing against Steve that he can be a very potent force, so I’m delighted he’s now on our team.”

     “I am excited to be joining Maxus and GroupM. I am thankful for the incredible journey with Omnicom Media Group, but I’m now looking forward to a new journey with Maxus, who are uniquely positioned to grow locally and globally. I love the team’s energy and ambition,” mentioned Williams.

  • Maxus and Tata Global Beverages release of 10 point Women’s Manifesto

    Maxus and Tata Global Beverages release of 10 point Women’s Manifesto

    MUMBAI: Ahead of the 2014 General Elections,Tata Global Beverages and the Tata group today released a 10-point ‘Voice of 49%’ women’s manifesto,aggregating issues raised by more than a million women from across India. The manifesto, an outcome of the ‘Power of 49’ campaign, aims at giving a voice to the women of India to be heard in the political discourse of our country. The key issues that have emerged in the manifesto are broadly around the themes of Violence, Safety, Health and Education. This entire campaign has been powered by Maxus, the country’s leading media investments firm, and most dominant media agency in India.

     

    The Power of 49 campaign was launched by Tata Global Beverages, through their social awakening platform Jaago Re, and the Tata group in August 2013 with the objective of creating a more awakened and informed female electorate who constitute 49% of the world’s largest democracy.The issues thathave emerged as a result of this campaign were studied and debated in depth by14 experts led by the editorial team of CNN-IBN and have put together this 10-point ‘Voice of 49%’ manifesto, to be presented and discussed with political parties, in an attempt for them to integrate it into their political agenda.

     

    Speaking on the campaign, Kartik Sharma, MD, Maxus South Asia said, “The Bahu Nahi Bahumat” campaign is the articulation of “Power of 49” campaign by Tata Tea and Tata Global Beverages. This is a revolution rather than a communications campaign. Along with the brand, we have managed to bring core issues that affect nearly half of the electoral votes in India to the forefront. With innovative content and a robust media outreach, we have made the Women’s Manifesto a topic of conversation that could show real measureable impact in the forthcoming elections.” He added, “It has been a great opportunity for the team at Maxus to work on such an important manifesto, taking the Tata Group’s social awaking vision forward.”

     

    Speaking at this milestone, Vikram Grover, Vice President, Marketing, India and South Asia, Tata Global Beverages said, “The objective of the campaign was to create a large number of educated women voters with a view that an informed female electorate would propel the political leaders to include their issues in the agenda in the forthcoming elections. Our study indicates that women are beginning to understand the role they play in forming a government and are more inclined towards voting now.   We are delighted by the overwhelming 1.4 million responses received through our Power of 49 initiative where women have expressed their specific issues.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mukund Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Brand Custodian, Tata Sons said, “The Tata group is proud to associate with Power of 49, which aims to create awareness among the women voters of India about the power they have to bring about change. The ‘Voice of 49%’ manifesto represents an opportunity for Indian women to cast informed votes for candidates who address their issues and at the same time gets political parties to see women as a determining factor in elections. We believe that women’s empowerment is an important subject for our nation’s progress, and the Power of 49 initiative is a step in that direction, seeking to give women their rightful place in the future of our country.”

     

    Since the launch of the campaign, more than 1.4 million responses have come from all over the country through multiple communication platforms. The highest participation has come from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, respectively.

     

    Key highlights of the Voice of 49 manifesto

     

    • Politicians must lead by example by displaying zero tolerance for perpetrators of domestic abuse and dowry in political parties

     

    • Address the under representation of women in the parliament through increased representation in party ticket distribution as well as cabinet

     

    • Make gender sensitization for boys a compulsory part of the school curriculum from Std. V to XII in order to counter eve-teasing

     

    • Increase percentage of women police personnel from current 5% to at least 33%

     

    • Build a combined ‘front line army’ of government workers, NGOs, local health and sanitation workers with accredited social health activists

     

    • Build 1 crore women toilets within a year with privacy and 24/7 access to water

     

    • Provide mandatory cr?ches, women-friendly maternity policies that include long-term leave-  both rural and urban

     

    • Incentivise schooling for girls by providing financial saving schemes and free transportation

     

    • Install GPS on all buses, double the number of street lights and provide round the clock public transportation for women

     

    • Provide complete medical, legal and psychological support to victims of domestic violence by instituting special family counselling centers in government buildings and policy centres

     

    These issues were collated in a first-of–its-kind manifesto that represents the collective voice of the AamAurat. Our triumph lies in Tata Tea Jaago Re becoming a platform for national discourse for issues like the importance of voting and the ills of corruption. With the Power of 49, we have reached another milestone with respect to women and their role in the forthcoming elections and the future of our democracy,” he added.

     

    Power of 49 is being supported by the Tata group as it aligns closely with the group’s social agenda. The campaign saw Tata group companies and employees coming together in the spirit of volunteering to play their part in amplifying the impact of the campaign.

     

    The Power of 49 campaign comprises of three phases.

     

    • The first phase was focused on creating awareness amongst women to the Power of 49% and the power of their informed vote.

     

    • The second and the current phase is about encouraging women to voice out their issues that are critical to them, their family and locality through forging partnerships and communicating it through multiple platforms. With the impactful ‘KaalaTeeka’ television commercial, the ‘Push the Pin’ initiative and the endorsement of leading television soap protagonists through the BahuNahiBahumat platform, the initiative has encouraged women from across the country to raise their voice. Tata Global Beverages partnered with General Entertainment Channels (GECs), news channels, and an NGO to broaden its reach and create maximum impact resulting in the creation of the ‘Voice of 49%’ manifesto.

     

    • Through the creation of manifesto, the final phase of the campaign urges women to go and cast an informed vote for a candidate who is most likely to address their issues ahead of General Elections 2014.

     

    The ‘Voice of 49’ manifesto, voicing theissues and concerns of women from across India, if implemented by the political parties, could have a large positive impact on the country.The Power of 49 campaign will continue to leverage multiple communication platforms to create awareness amongst women to cast an informed vote for a candidate who will address their issues.

  • Design jewellery, express yourself!

    Design jewellery, express yourself!

    MUMBAI: Hardly, if ever, will you find a woman who does not like ornaments.

     

     And so, the Tata Group’s jewellery brand, Tanishq, has launched a digital campaign ‘My Expression’ which not only taps this feminine attribute but also gives members of the fairer sex an opportunity to explore their creativity.

     

     Essentially an online jewellery designing contest, ‘My Expression’ seeks to give concrete shape to individual ideas in the form of the Mia collection or jewellery for working women by Tanishq. To participate in the competition – currently in its second season – simply upload your inspiration/idea for Mia in the form of photographs, videos, Do it yourself, audio and plain words on the microsite http://mia.tanishq.co.in/myexpression.

     

    Speaking of ‘My Expression’, Titan Company Jewellery division head marketing and general manager Deepika Tewari says: “With the aim to encourage participants to source inspiration from the smallest thing and turn it into beautiful pieces of jewellery, ‘My Expression’ is a one of its kind jewellery designing contest.”

     

     While the first season saw just over 3200 entries from across the country, this season, there have been a staggering 10,000 entries from both India and abroad. “The second season of ‘My Expression’ is bigger, better and has gone international too. While the aim remains the same – encouraging women to express their ideas and give it shape in the form of a piece of jewellery,” says Tewari.

     

     The contest is a medium for Tanishq to get closer to its fans and customers. “My Expression is a perfect example of activity through which a brand can grow closer to its customers. Digital initiatives like this help us gain great consumer insights on the product and service front. With the digital medium playing an indispensible role in our lives, engaging activity on this platform is always a bonus for a brand to get a better understanding of the consumer, decoding the styling required and a deep dive to decipher a jewellery category never before addressed in the market,” explains Tewari.

     

    With Maxus handling promotion of the activity, only emails, facebook ads, banner ads and smses are being deployed to spread awareness about the contest.