Tag: Maxus

Maxus wins media mandate for Janalakshmi Financial Services

MUMBAI: Maxus, part of GroupM has won the media mandate for Janalakshmi Financial Services (Jana). The account will be handled out of Bangalore office.

Announcing the win, Maxus and ESP Properties, GroupM’s specialised team on entertainment and sports, orchestrated its first association for Jana with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as an official sponsor for a period of three years. Jana will be the official financial services partner of the Indian cricket team besides grounds right, where the financial services firm would have visibility on the field. The agreement also gives Jana benefits of prominence in stadium branding and on-ground advertising for 68 matches in three years across the three formats.

Maxus South Asia managing director Kartik Sharma said, “We firmly believe in crafting unique associations for our brands to garner greater visibility. We are extremely happy for partnering with Jana and helping them sign up with BCCI as the official financial services partner of the Indian Cricket team. We are confident that this three year long deal will help build great saliency to Jana.”

Commenting on the partnership ESP Properties business head Vinit Karnik said, “We are elated to have stitched the entire deal for Janalakshmi Financial Services. Cricket is a religion in India cutting across masses and with the national team on the verge of regaining the numero uno spot in Tests, being ‘Official Sponsor’ of BCCI serves as an ideal Launchpad for the brand. We believe the partnership with BCCI for the next 3 years will help garner great visibility during India home series and establish a prominent presence for the brand in the marketplace. Besides what better way for a brand to embark on a relationship with the sport than India’s 500th Test!”

Janalakshmi Financial Services chief marketing officer Puneet Narang commented, “We welcome Maxus on board and look forward to creating unique campaigns together. Given the scale of our operations, we were looking for a property that resonates across various segments of the society. What better way than Cricket! Maxus had introduced us to this significant series, which happens to be India’s 500th test which we felt was a significant platform to commence our brand journey. Standing true to our philosophy, we went ahead and instituted an award called ‘Jana Bankable Player’ which will be given to the most bankable player who shows consistency and performance through the match as decided by the audience votes and commentators analysis. This is a metaphorical representation of how dependable Jana is as an organization to its customers as a player is to their team.”

September 21, 2016
Maxus wins media mandate for Janalakshmi Financial Services

MUMBAI: Maxus, part of GroupM has won the media mandate for Janalakshmi Financial Services (Jana). The account will be handled out of Bangalore office.

Announcing the win, Maxus and ESP Properties, GroupM’s specialised team on entertainment and sports, orchestrated its first association for Jana with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as an official sponsor for a period of three years. Jana will be the official financial services partner of the Indian cricket team besides grounds right, where the financial services firm would have visibility on the field. The agreement also gives Jana benefits of prominence in stadium branding and on-ground advertising for 68 matches in three years across the three formats.

Maxus South Asia managing director Kartik Sharma said, “We firmly believe in crafting unique associations for our brands to garner greater visibility. We are extremely happy for partnering with Jana and helping them sign up with BCCI as the official financial services partner of the Indian Cricket team. We are confident that this three year long deal will help build great saliency to Jana.”

Commenting on the partnership ESP Properties business head Vinit Karnik said, “We are elated to have stitched the entire deal for Janalakshmi Financial Services. Cricket is a religion in India cutting across masses and with the national team on the verge of regaining the numero uno spot in Tests, being ‘Official Sponsor’ of BCCI serves as an ideal Launchpad for the brand. We believe the partnership with BCCI for the next 3 years will help garner great visibility during India home series and establish a prominent presence for the brand in the marketplace. Besides what better way for a brand to embark on a relationship with the sport than India’s 500th Test!”

Janalakshmi Financial Services chief marketing officer Puneet Narang commented, “We welcome Maxus on board and look forward to creating unique campaigns together. Given the scale of our operations, we were looking for a property that resonates across various segments of the society. What better way than Cricket! Maxus had introduced us to this significant series, which happens to be India’s 500th test which we felt was a significant platform to commence our brand journey. Standing true to our philosophy, we went ahead and instituted an award called ‘Jana Bankable Player’ which will be given to the most bankable player who shows consistency and performance through the match as decided by the audience votes and commentators analysis. This is a metaphorical representation of how dependable Jana is as an organization to its customers as a player is to their team.”

September 21, 2016
Mindshare and HUL partnership dominate Emvies 2016

MUMBAI: The Hindustan Unilever and GroupM’s Mindshare India partnership has proved to be as good as gold – yet again.

For the second year in succession, the WPP group outfit walked away with the Agency of the year Emvies award with a solid unbeatable 395 points in its bag. That was courtesy the eight gold, 18 silver and fifteen bronze metals it pocketed.

There are no prizes for guessing who the client of the year was: Hindustan Unilever.

With seven bronze, fifteen silvers and 11 golds, Hindustan Unilever maintained a massive lead over everyone else with its 310 point tally.

Straggling several laps behind was PepsiCo with just 75 points; yes, that’s how one sided Emvies 2016 results were. But to Pepsico’s credit, it along with GroupM, snared the grand Emvie for Best Integrated Campaign in Consumer Products : ‘when consumers became co marketers.’

Surprisingly, Mindshare did not take its Emvie wins lightly, considering the fact that it had already bagged the Cannes Lions 2016 Grand Prix with its work on Brooke Bond Red Label Six Pack Band. Theirs were the loudest cheers heard during the evening.

The Pepsico-Mindshare combine pocketed the Grand Emvie

If one were to go by metal tally, the second best media agency at Emvies 2016 was Lodestar UM with six gold, three silver statuettes and three bronze. Its point tally: a pale 135.

The third placed agency – though it tied with Lodestar on the points tally of 135 – was Maxus with four gold, five silver and five bronze.

Commenting on the wins Mindshare south Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar said: “The awards are a direct result of the effort and hard work put in by each and everyone in the team. We at Mindshare believe in recognizing our employees’ skills and commitment, which is further driven to a level of aspiration that leads to rewarding experiences such as the Emvies. Winning these awards by such a large margin is not only a testimony to our accomplishments so far, but also significantly adds to the quality of service we intend to deliver. Creating ground-breaking innovations and strategies has been Mindshare’s forte and this has kept us at the forefront in the industry.”

Added GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas: “GroupM agencies have had a dream run at the Emvies this year like most other years. I must first of all congratulate our clients who push us to keep raising the bar year after year. Clients who believe in innovation and back our teams to take risks are the ones who win and in turn help us win. Our teams have worked very hard to keep delivering client delight year after year. We have a strong HR and Talent management culture at GroupM and on days like this we realize how important it is to keep the focus on talent development.”

Hindustan Lever walked away with the client of the year Emvie

“In today’s day and age of extensive media exposure, the greatest challenge is to create clutter breaking communication that is impactful, optimal and delivers the brand message,” exclaimed Emvies committee chairperson Punitha Arumugam. “ As always this year too at the EMVIES we have seen works by media agencies that have not only been pioneering and engaging but also helped change mindsets and helped drive resonance for the brand.”

“The response to EMVIES this year have been the highest ever with record number of entries clearly indicative of popularity of the awards,” pointed out EMVIES Committee co-Chairperson Vikas Khanchandani, “The works entered has been extremely encouraging and impactful showcasing the changing dynamics of both clients and agencies towards curating campaigns through content to deliver ROI, outreach and execution scale.”

In his welcome address, The Advertising Club President Raj Nayak said “In its 16th year. The EMVIES has grown from strength to strength and this year has established a new record in the number of entries. With a jury consisting of over 225 media professionals and clients with judging held across Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, this has been a mammoth exercise in making the process transparent.”

September 2, 2016
Mindshare and HUL partnership dominate Emvies 2016

MUMBAI: The Hindustan Unilever and GroupM’s Mindshare India partnership has proved to be as good as gold – yet again.

For the second year in succession, the WPP group outfit walked away with the Agency of the year Emvies award with a solid unbeatable 395 points in its bag. That was courtesy the eight gold, 18 silver and fifteen bronze metals it pocketed.

There are no prizes for guessing who the client of the year was: Hindustan Unilever.

With seven bronze, fifteen silvers and 11 golds, Hindustan Unilever maintained a massive lead over everyone else with its 310 point tally.

Straggling several laps behind was PepsiCo with just 75 points; yes, that’s how one sided Emvies 2016 results were. But to Pepsico’s credit, it along with GroupM, snared the grand Emvie for Best Integrated Campaign in Consumer Products : ‘when consumers became co marketers.’

Surprisingly, Mindshare did not take its Emvie wins lightly, considering the fact that it had already bagged the Cannes Lions 2016 Grand Prix with its work on Brooke Bond Red Label Six Pack Band. Theirs were the loudest cheers heard during the evening.

The Pepsico-Mindshare combine pocketed the Grand Emvie

If one were to go by metal tally, the second best media agency at Emvies 2016 was Lodestar UM with six gold, three silver statuettes and three bronze. Its point tally: a pale 135.

The third placed agency – though it tied with Lodestar on the points tally of 135 – was Maxus with four gold, five silver and five bronze.

Commenting on the wins Mindshare south Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar said: “The awards are a direct result of the effort and hard work put in by each and everyone in the team. We at Mindshare believe in recognizing our employees’ skills and commitment, which is further driven to a level of aspiration that leads to rewarding experiences such as the Emvies. Winning these awards by such a large margin is not only a testimony to our accomplishments so far, but also significantly adds to the quality of service we intend to deliver. Creating ground-breaking innovations and strategies has been Mindshare’s forte and this has kept us at the forefront in the industry.”

Added GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas: “GroupM agencies have had a dream run at the Emvies this year like most other years. I must first of all congratulate our clients who push us to keep raising the bar year after year. Clients who believe in innovation and back our teams to take risks are the ones who win and in turn help us win. Our teams have worked very hard to keep delivering client delight year after year. We have a strong HR and Talent management culture at GroupM and on days like this we realize how important it is to keep the focus on talent development.”

Hindustan Lever walked away with the client of the year Emvie

“In today’s day and age of extensive media exposure, the greatest challenge is to create clutter breaking communication that is impactful, optimal and delivers the brand message,” exclaimed Emvies committee chairperson Punitha Arumugam. “ As always this year too at the EMVIES we have seen works by media agencies that have not only been pioneering and engaging but also helped change mindsets and helped drive resonance for the brand.”

“The response to EMVIES this year have been the highest ever with record number of entries clearly indicative of popularity of the awards,” pointed out EMVIES Committee co-Chairperson Vikas Khanchandani, “The works entered has been extremely encouraging and impactful showcasing the changing dynamics of both clients and agencies towards curating campaigns through content to deliver ROI, outreach and execution scale.”

In his welcome address, The Advertising Club President Raj Nayak said “In its 16th year. The EMVIES has grown from strength to strength and this year has established a new record in the number of entries. With a jury consisting of over 225 media professionals and clients with judging held across Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, this has been a mammoth exercise in making the process transparent.”

September 2, 2016
Jen Smith is Maxus’ first global creative head

MUMBAI: Maxus Global has today announced the appointment of Jen Smith, currently head of strategy and planning for Maxus UK, as its first ever global Creative Director. Smith will be responsible for overseeing all of Maxus Global’s creative output.

Smith joined Maxus UK in 2013 as head of planning, before expanding her role to include strategy where she restructured the team to enable Maxus UK to better provide insight-led, ideas-focussed and technology-rich solutions across the agency. Smith was also instrumental in creating Change Planning, Maxus’ bespoke planning process.

In 2016 Smith developed a bespoke creativity training scheme, taking ten percent of the agency on a journey of facilitation techniques and creative problem solving. Each of these creative champions are driving learnings out across the entire agency.

In her new role, Smith will focus on the delivery of outstanding creative work for clients both on a UK and global level, and she will also expand the UK creativity leadership programme for all Maxus employees worldwide.

Announcing the promotion, Lindsay Pattison, Maxus worldwide CEO, said: “Jen has been an absolutely integral part of Maxus UK; she’s a brilliant communicator and left field thinker, and has consistently come up with ideas that move the needle for our clients and make us a more efficient, creative business.

“Jen was a very key participant in Walk The Talk, the Maxus gender equality initiative that helps women identify what their goals are and find the confidence to step up and make bold moves. Jen took these learnings on board and came to me with a proposal for this new role that both benefits Maxus and offers her the ideal step up; she is truly walking the talk.”

Nick Vale, Worldwide Head of Planning, Maxus says; “Without any shadow of a doubt we are in the midst of a revolution in media; there’s a tremendous opportunity to create new types of work that sizzle with excitement. But to properly deliver it takes more than lip-service or hybrid strategy/ideas roles – it requires dedicated talent with the space to focus, explore and create. As one of the most intuitively creative media thinkers in the business today I can think of no-one better that Jen to push us to new and exciting places.”

Jen Smith, global creative director at Maxus, said: “Maxus is a super -fast and agile global agency and there’s a fantastic opportunity to drive creativity across our network. Clients are calling out for work that is brave, problem-solving and with one foot firmly planted in the future. I’m looking forward to taking the initiatives that have delivered in the UK out across the world, creating creativity leadership programmes, along with developing stronger and senior creative opportunities for key clients across the globe.

“I could not be more excited to take up the opportunity to drive creativity across Maxus and to help the entire organisation lead change in a whole new way.”

Smith will continue to be based in London and will report into Nick Vale Worldwide Head of Planning and Nick Baughan, CEO Maxus UK. She will split her time 50/50 between Maxus UK and Maxus Global.

September 1, 2016
Jen Smith is Maxus’ first global creative head

MUMBAI: Maxus Global has today announced the appointment of Jen Smith, currently head of strategy and planning for Maxus UK, as its first ever global Creative Director. Smith will be responsible for overseeing all of Maxus Global’s creative output.

Smith joined Maxus UK in 2013 as head of planning, before expanding her role to include strategy where she restructured the team to enable Maxus UK to better provide insight-led, ideas-focussed and technology-rich solutions across the agency. Smith was also instrumental in creating Change Planning, Maxus’ bespoke planning process.

In 2016 Smith developed a bespoke creativity training scheme, taking ten percent of the agency on a journey of facilitation techniques and creative problem solving. Each of these creative champions are driving learnings out across the entire agency.

In her new role, Smith will focus on the delivery of outstanding creative work for clients both on a UK and global level, and she will also expand the UK creativity leadership programme for all Maxus employees worldwide.

Announcing the promotion, Lindsay Pattison, Maxus worldwide CEO, said: “Jen has been an absolutely integral part of Maxus UK; she’s a brilliant communicator and left field thinker, and has consistently come up with ideas that move the needle for our clients and make us a more efficient, creative business.

“Jen was a very key participant in Walk The Talk, the Maxus gender equality initiative that helps women identify what their goals are and find the confidence to step up and make bold moves. Jen took these learnings on board and came to me with a proposal for this new role that both benefits Maxus and offers her the ideal step up; she is truly walking the talk.”

Nick Vale, Worldwide Head of Planning, Maxus says; “Without any shadow of a doubt we are in the midst of a revolution in media; there’s a tremendous opportunity to create new types of work that sizzle with excitement. But to properly deliver it takes more than lip-service or hybrid strategy/ideas roles – it requires dedicated talent with the space to focus, explore and create. As one of the most intuitively creative media thinkers in the business today I can think of no-one better that Jen to push us to new and exciting places.”

Jen Smith, global creative director at Maxus, said: “Maxus is a super -fast and agile global agency and there’s a fantastic opportunity to drive creativity across our network. Clients are calling out for work that is brave, problem-solving and with one foot firmly planted in the future. I’m looking forward to taking the initiatives that have delivered in the UK out across the world, creating creativity leadership programmes, along with developing stronger and senior creative opportunities for key clients across the globe.

“I could not be more excited to take up the opportunity to drive creativity across Maxus and to help the entire organisation lead change in a whole new way.”

Smith will continue to be based in London and will report into Nick Vale Worldwide Head of Planning and Nick Baughan, CEO Maxus UK. She will split her time 50/50 between Maxus UK and Maxus Global.

September 1, 2016
GroupM’s global brand Essence to enter India with Maxus’ aid

MUMBAI: Essence, a global digital agency, today announced it has established operations in India via the opening of a new location in Delhi. This will be the agency’s fifth office in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and the third to open its doors this year.

In March, Essence announced its debut in Shanghai, China and Sydney, Australia.

GroupM acquired Essence, the largest buyer of digital media, in November 2015. It is GroupM’s fifth global brand.

As the formerly independent agency continues to scale globally, APAC remains a key growth region due to Essence’s commitment to deliver its proposition to its existing client roster across greater geographies, and to support the abundance of new business activity. India, in particular, holds strong strategic importance given its status as a dominant and dynamic growth market within the region, a company statement said.

To help ease its transition into India, Essence turned to Maxus, a GroupM agency in India. The unified Essence-Maxus team will be based out of the GroupM Delhi office.

In addition to transferring several existing Essence and Maxus employees to fill relevant positions, the agency is actively recruiting to hire local, outside talent for roles across the account management, strategy and planning, advertising operations, biddable and performance disciplines.

Kunal Guha, client partner and head of strategy, APAC, is serving as the Essence office lead, reporting into APAC CEO Kyoko Matshushita.

“Just over three years ago, Essence opened its first APAC office in Singapore,” Matsushita was quoted in the company statement. “It’s incredible what we’ve been able to accomplish in such a short period of time. Working with innovative clients has helped Essence unlock opportunities to bring digital innovation to the region. We see even more opportunity in India and are excited to align with GroupM as we navigate this crucial market.”

“We are delighted to bring Essence into India at a time when more and more clients are looking at cutting edge digital media solutions for their brands. With their very focussed approach they have built deep client engagements globally. Our digital offering in India is further strengthened by their opening of an office here, ” said GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas in a statement.

August 25, 2016
GroupM’s global brand Essence to enter India with Maxus’ aid

MUMBAI: Essence, a global digital agency, today announced it has established operations in India via the opening of a new location in Delhi. This will be the agency’s fifth office in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and the third to open its doors this year.

In March, Essence announced its debut in Shanghai, China and Sydney, Australia.

GroupM acquired Essence, the largest buyer of digital media, in November 2015. It is GroupM’s fifth global brand.

As the formerly independent agency continues to scale globally, APAC remains a key growth region due to Essence’s commitment to deliver its proposition to its existing client roster across greater geographies, and to support the abundance of new business activity. India, in particular, holds strong strategic importance given its status as a dominant and dynamic growth market within the region, a company statement said.

To help ease its transition into India, Essence turned to Maxus, a GroupM agency in India. The unified Essence-Maxus team will be based out of the GroupM Delhi office.

In addition to transferring several existing Essence and Maxus employees to fill relevant positions, the agency is actively recruiting to hire local, outside talent for roles across the account management, strategy and planning, advertising operations, biddable and performance disciplines.

Kunal Guha, client partner and head of strategy, APAC, is serving as the Essence office lead, reporting into APAC CEO Kyoko Matshushita.

“Just over three years ago, Essence opened its first APAC office in Singapore,” Matsushita was quoted in the company statement. “It’s incredible what we’ve been able to accomplish in such a short period of time. Working with innovative clients has helped Essence unlock opportunities to bring digital innovation to the region. We see even more opportunity in India and are excited to align with GroupM as we navigate this crucial market.”

“We are delighted to bring Essence into India at a time when more and more clients are looking at cutting edge digital media solutions for their brands. With their very focussed approach they have built deep client engagements globally. Our digital offering in India is further strengthened by their opening of an office here, ” said GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas in a statement.

August 25, 2016
Isobar India ropes in Chandrashekhar Mhaskar as VP

MUMBAI: Isobar India has appointed Chandrashekhar Mhaskar as Vice President to drive the digital creative and services division nationally. Additionally, he will also handle the responsibilities for the West India region.

A computer engineer by qualification and having followed his heart, Mhaskar has been part of the digital advertising industry for more than two decades including international exposure in London and Singapore. He has had varied experience in heading Digital SBUs at renowned agencies such as Ogilvy One, Cheil Worldwide, and Maxus. He was also a successful entrepreneur before taking up the mandate at Isobar. His industry experience spans Television, Film, Internet, eCommerce, Mobile, Social, Online Media and New Technology; across industry verticals like FMCG, IT, Entertainment, BFSI, Education, and Telecommunications.

Big clients under his belt included Nokia, Cisco, British Airways, Perfetti, American Express, and Samsun. He brings with him a rich experience of integrating agency and client teams to collaboratively conceptualize award-winning digital advertising solutions and execute them to successfully tackle business challenges and drive ROI.

Mhaskar will also join Isobar India’s Leadership team, which includes Gopa Kumar, Vice-President; Anish Varghese, National Creative Director and Rahul Vengalil, Business Head (South), alongside Shamsuddin Jasani, Managing Director for Isobar India. Isobar India has emerged as a leader amongst the digital agencies in India, winning multiple awards including Campaign Asia’s Agency of the Year, and this appointment will further strengthen it.

Shamsuddin Jasani, Isobar India Managing Director, says: “We are happy to welcome Chandrashekhar on board with our amazing team. Over the last two years, we have clearly emerged as one the leading full service digital agencies in India of media buying and over 100 creative and technology professionals. Chandrashekhar brings a vast experience across all aspects of digital, especially creative services, which he will be heading nationally. We already have a very strong Creative services and Technology business, and with Chandrashekhar leading the way, we are looking at reaching even greater heights.”

Commenting on his appointment, Chandrashekhar Mhaskar, Vice-President, Isobar India, said: “I am immensely excited to join Isobar and be part of a team that is brimming with stupendous energy. Isobar is already in the fray of creating some cutting-edge creative and tech solutions which have garnered media attention. I am really looking forward to working with Shamsuddin and the senior management team to take Isobar to greater heights in India.”

August 22, 2016
Isobar India ropes in Chandrashekhar Mhaskar as VP

MUMBAI: Isobar India has appointed Chandrashekhar Mhaskar as Vice President to drive the digital creative and services division nationally. Additionally, he will also handle the responsibilities for the West India region.

A computer engineer by qualification and having followed his heart, Mhaskar has been part of the digital advertising industry for more than two decades including international exposure in London and Singapore. He has had varied experience in heading Digital SBUs at renowned agencies such as Ogilvy One, Cheil Worldwide, and Maxus. He was also a successful entrepreneur before taking up the mandate at Isobar. His industry experience spans Television, Film, Internet, eCommerce, Mobile, Social, Online Media and New Technology; across industry verticals like FMCG, IT, Entertainment, BFSI, Education, and Telecommunications.

Big clients under his belt included Nokia, Cisco, British Airways, Perfetti, American Express, and Samsun. He brings with him a rich experience of integrating agency and client teams to collaboratively conceptualize award-winning digital advertising solutions and execute them to successfully tackle business challenges and drive ROI.

Mhaskar will also join Isobar India’s Leadership team, which includes Gopa Kumar, Vice-President; Anish Varghese, National Creative Director and Rahul Vengalil, Business Head (South), alongside Shamsuddin Jasani, Managing Director for Isobar India. Isobar India has emerged as a leader amongst the digital agencies in India, winning multiple awards including Campaign Asia’s Agency of the Year, and this appointment will further strengthen it.

Shamsuddin Jasani, Isobar India Managing Director, says: “We are happy to welcome Chandrashekhar on board with our amazing team. Over the last two years, we have clearly emerged as one the leading full service digital agencies in India of media buying and over 100 creative and technology professionals. Chandrashekhar brings a vast experience across all aspects of digital, especially creative services, which he will be heading nationally. We already have a very strong Creative services and Technology business, and with Chandrashekhar leading the way, we are looking at reaching even greater heights.”

Commenting on his appointment, Chandrashekhar Mhaskar, Vice-President, Isobar India, said: “I am immensely excited to join Isobar and be part of a team that is brimming with stupendous energy. Isobar is already in the fray of creating some cutting-edge creative and tech solutions which have garnered media attention. I am really looking forward to working with Shamsuddin and the senior management team to take Isobar to greater heights in India.”

August 22, 2016