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Tag: Mondelez

  • BigCity goes Down Under to play the loyalty game in Australia

    BigCity goes Down Under to play the loyalty game in Australia

    MUMBAI: When it comes to loyalty, BigCity just levelled up this time, all the way Down Under. BigCity Promotions, one of India’s most awarded sales promotion and loyalty agencies, has announced its entry into Australia with the launch of a new office in Sydney, marking its first international expansion in nearly two decades. The move signals the company’s ambition to replicate its India success across the Australia–New Zealand (ANZ) region, a market ripe for disruption in the loyalty and engagement space.

    Founded in 2006, BigCity has become something of a legend in India’s reward ecosystem known for turning mundane promotions into high-voltage brand experiences. With 8,000 plus programs executed for over 500 global brands, including Pepsico, Unilever, Mondelez, Coca-cola, Samsung, and Amazon, the agency has earned a reputation for blending creativity, technology, and measurable impact.

    From B2C reward programs to B2B loyalty solutions and gamification-led engagement, BigCity has redefined how brands connect with consumers and trade partners alike. Its proprietary plug-and-play platform lets brands launch campaigns within days offering faster time-to-market, reduced costs, and full creative flexibility. Built on an in-house technology and analytics stack, it also enables deep insight into consumer engagement, redemptions, and ROI, giving marketers the holy grail of modern marketing measurable loyalty.

    The Sydney office will serve as BigCity’s regional hub for Australia and New Zealand, extending its full-service suite to local and global brands in the region. The operations will be spearheaded by Gunjan Kumar country director, who brings over 27 years of global experience across telecom, banking, retail, and FMCG. Having driven client engagement and loyalty strategies across continents, Kumar is tasked with building the BigCity playbook for the ANZ market, one that blends local insight with the brand’s signature executional agility.

    “Australia is a market ripe for transformation, and our goal is to bring the same scale, creativity, and speed that have powered some of India’s biggest campaigns to brands here,” said BigCity Promotions co-founder Vikas Shah. “For nearly two decades, BigCity has redefined how brands engage through innovation, technology, and storytelling this expansion is a natural next step in that journey.”

    BigCity’s forte lies in its ability to gamify engagement, transforming passive audiences into active participants. Its campaigns often feature instant-win mechanics, leaderboards, challenges, and digital contests, all designed to boost brand love and repeat purchase intent. This gamified approach has proven especially potent in cluttered categories like FMCG and telecom, where attention spans are short but loyalty can be won with the right mix of fun and function.

    The expansion also comes at a time when the ANZ market is seeing brands look beyond conventional loyalty cards and cashback models. With digital-first consumers demanding more personalised, experiential rewards, BigCity’s data-driven, experience-centric approach may find fertile ground.

    In India, the company has long been the behind-the-scenes architect of some of the country’s most memorable campaigns, the kind that combine large-scale activation, complex fulfilment, and regulatory precision without ever losing the element of play. It’s this operational mastery that BigCity now hopes to bring to Sydney’s brandscape.

    As the company steps onto foreign shores, the move underscores how homegrown Indian marketing innovation is beginning to travel the world not as an imitator, but as an industry leader exporting expertise. For BigCity, the next game has just begun. And this time, it’s on a whole new continent.

     

  • Hybrid turns five, rewires the future of ad-tech

    Hybrid turns five, rewires the future of ad-tech

    MUMBAI: From a tiny 6 by 6 ft room to powering some of India’s biggest brands, Hybrid India has come a long way in just five years. The Gurgaon-based digital advertising innovator is marking its fifth anniversary with a celebration of creativity, technology, and people power.

    Founded in 2020 by Shreyas Sathe, who set out to redefine advertising during a turbulent time, Hybrid has become one of India’s fastest-growing Adtech players. Its suite of AI-powered solutions, including the Hybrid Platform, VOX (its contextual advertising engine), Hybrid Places, and CTV technologies, has reshaped how brands connect with audiences.

    Today, the company’s 35-plus strong team drives campaigns for marquee names like Havells, Honda, Dabur, Rado, MG Motors, Mondelez, ITC, Group M, Dentsu, and Publicis.

    “Our greatest strength lies in our people,” said Hybrid Insea CEO Shreyas Sathe. “Over the last five years, we’ve built not just a company, but a culture rooted in trust, empowerment, and shared ambition.”

    That ethos is echoed by Hybrid India country head Gandharv Sachdeva, who believes that Hybrid’s collaborative culture is what truly fuels innovation. “From off-site retreats to fun Fridays, we’ve built an environment where people grow both professionally and personally,” he said.

    As Hybrid looks ahead, its focus remains on innovation and sustainable success. With the digital advertising space evolving rapidly, the company is doubling down on its mission to empower brands with smarter, data-driven storytelling.

    Five years on, Hybrid isn’t just building ads, it’s building the future of how India experiences them.

     

  • Ogilvy’s influence chief calls time after 12 years

    Ogilvy’s influence chief calls time after 12 years

    LONDON: Rahul Titus is leaving WPP after a dozen years, during which he transformed Ogilvy into the world’s largest and most awarded influencer marketing operation. The global head of influence, who also leads influencer strategy for WPP Open X, announced his departure with plans for a trek to Everest Base Camp and some cycling holidays.

    Under Titus’s watch, Ogilvy has grown to employ more than 650 influencer specialists across over 30 markets. The agency has claimed the title of the world’s leading influencer network for seven consecutive years and won the Social & Creator Grand Prix at Cannes Lions for two years running.

    Titus joined Ogilvy as an intern in Bangalore before climbing through the ranks. He took on the role of managing partner and head of influence for Britain and Europe, the Middle East and Africa in September 2017, then became global head of influence in June 2022. His portfolio has included blue-chip clients such as Walgreens Boots Alliance, Bacardi, Mondelez, Mattel, Unilever, British Airways and Vodafone.

    Since November 2021, he has also served as global influence lead for WPP Open X, a bespoke unit that handles celebrity and influencer work for more than 200 Coca-Cola brands across 195 countries. He is a founding board member of the Influencer Marketing Trade Body, established in October 2021 to professionalise the industry.

    Before Ogilvy, Titus spent six months at YMU as director of social talent, where he managed digital-first creators. Earlier, he spent nearly three years at MediaCom, establishing and running its global influencer offering for clients including Shell, Revlon, LVMH and Sony. He began his career in search engine optimisation at Dentsu Aegis Network agencies Carat and iProspect.

    In his farewell message, Titus thanked WPP leaders including Julianna, Laurent, Fiona, Liz, Devika, Karen and Lindsay for their support. He said change was “scary but also exciting” and that he would be “cheering loudly from the sidelines” for his former colleagues.

  • Adman Chetan Shetty hops over to Publicis Groupe as managing director

    Adman Chetan Shetty hops over to Publicis Groupe as managing director

    JAKARTA: Chetan Shetty, a seasoned advertising executive, has switched allegiances from McCann Worldgroup to Publicis Groupe, taking up the role of managing director at the French advertising conglomerate’s Jakarta office in September.

    The move marks the end of Shetty’s five-and-a-half-year stint at McCann Worldgroup, where he served as managing director since March 2020. During the same period, he also held the managing director position at FCB Global, suggesting he juggled dual roles across the Interpublic group agencies.

    Before his McCann days, Shetty spent nearly two years as partner for content at WPP’s Wavemaker, following a substantial five-and-a-half-year tenure at FCB Global where he climbed from group account director to head of digital.

    His career portfolio reads like a who’s who of multinational brands. At FCB Global, Shetty orchestrated campaigns for Beiersdorf’s Nivea and Mondelez’s Oreo across southeast Asia, whilst winning new business from Unilever (Pepsodent, Zwitsal), Fonterra (Anlene, Anmum), and Standard Chartered Bank. His digital-led integrated campaigns earned him the Citra Pariwara Indonesia award for best digital campaign.

    Earlier in his career, Shetty cut his teeth at MEC (now part of GroupM) during the inaugural seasons of the Indian Premier League, managing Citibank’s sponsorship for the tournament’s first five editions. He also crafted partnerships for Mercedes-Benz, HDFC, and Colgate across television and digital platforms.

    The appointment signals Publicis Groupe’s continued push to strengthen its southeast Asian operations with experienced local talent who understand both global brand strategies and regional market dynamics.

  • Publicis brings Ravi Bhaya home to script client-first transformation

    Publicis brings Ravi Bhaya home to script client-first transformation

    MUMBAI: Talk about a full-circle moment, Ravi Bhaya is back at Publicis, this time to steer the ship as chief client officer at Publicis Media India. Based in Mumbai and reporting to Lalatendu Das, CEO of Publicis Media South Asia, Bhaya’s brief is crystal clear: transform client partnerships with a mix of data, AI and creativity that sets the group apart in what it calls a “Category of One.”

    It’s a homecoming for Bhaya, who spent over two decades shaping global media strategies across India, Germany, South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and North America. His CV reads like a travelogue of transformation leading mandates for marquee brands including P&G, Samsung, Coca-Cola, BMW and Mondelez, expanding agency capabilities in new markets, and driving growth strategies rooted in performance-led marketing.

    Bhaya also dabbled in the startup world, co-founding Rsquared Global Ventures (R2GV) to advise Martech, Adtech, data and commerce ventures on scaling strategies, while working closely with VCs to spot high-growth bets in emerging tech. Before that, as managing director for global growth at Munich-based Serviceplan Group, he was instrumental in driving alliances, partnerships and international expansion.

    His return to Publicis signals a sharper client-first agenda. With Starcom, Zenith and Performics under his wing, Bhaya is tasked with deepening partnerships and pushing integrated, future-ready solutions in India’s rapidly shifting media landscape. For Publicis Groupe, which has doubled down on data-led and AI-powered offerings, the appointment underscores its ambition to blend global expertise with local impact.

    Or as Bhaya himself put it, coming back feels both “familiar and fresh” rooted in trust, fuelled by renewed ambition, and very much tuned to what’s next for clients in an industry where data, creativity and AI are increasingly inseparable.

  • Hemant Rupani to head Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages as CEO

    Hemant Rupani to head Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages as CEO

    BENGALURU:  Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), India’s largest Coca-Cola bottler, has named Hemant Rupani as its new chief executive, effective 8 September. Rupani takes over from Juan Pablo Rodriguez, who is moving on to a new role within the global Coca-Cola system.

    Rupani, a seasoned operator with stints across FMCG, telecom, and tech, currently serves as Mondelez’s business unit president for southeast Asia, overseeing operations in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. He joined Mondelez in 2016 and has held leadership roles in India and Vietnam, rising to his current post in 2022.

    The appointment comes at a pivotal time for HCCB, following Coca-Cola’s move in December 2024 to sell a 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd—the parent company of HCCB—to the Jubilant Bhartia group.

    A mechanical engineering graduate from Regional Engineering College, Jaipur, with an MBA in marketing from FMS Delhi, Rupani began his career in 1997 at ICI India. He has since worked with PepsiCo, Infosys, Vodafone, and Britannia, steadily climbing the leadership ladder across sectors.

    He will report to the HCCB board and is expected to steer the company’s next phase of growth, amid rising investment in India and intensifying competition in the beverage market.

    The Coca-Cola Co, listed on NYSE as KO, operates in over 200 markets and employs more than 700,000 people through its global bottling partners.

  • Punit Thakkar brushes off the sugar for colgate’s digital strategy

    Punit Thakkar brushes off the sugar for colgate’s digital strategy

    MUMBAI: Talk about brushing up your portfolio, literally. After over three years of crafting digital strategies for chocolates, biscuits and beverages at Mondelez, Punit Thakkar has made a minty-fresh move. He now steps into the role of business director for Digital (Colgate-Palmolive) at Wavemaker India, leading full-funnel digital media planning for one of the country’s most iconic personal care brands.

    Having officially taken the reins in November 2024, Thakkar is now going public with the news classic digital marketer style, a few months fashionably late. “From chocolates to toothpaste, same performance mindset, just fewer cavities,” he quipped in his announcement.

    In this role, Thakkar oversees the digital planning team handling brand and commerce campaigns across Colgate verticals. His key focus? Using first-party data from CRM, sampling, and website engagement to build precise audience frameworks and drive sharper ROI. With strategies including lookalike modelling, exclusions, and sequencing, the goal is to optimise both awareness and performance campaigns through smarter targeting and media mix alignment.

    Before this, Thakkar led digital for Mondelez India, managing a glittering portfolio that included Cadbury Dairy Milk, Oreo, 5 Star, Silk, and Bournvita. He championed 1P data integration into festive, IPL, and seasonal campaigns, setting benchmarks for eCommerce alignment and funnel mapping across consumer journeys. Prior stints include leading digital for Vodafone Idea and driving performance marketing during his early years at Wavemaker.

    With a decade-long track record, Thakkar brings sharp thinking and full-funnel finesse to the oral care giant’s digital playbook now armed with the morning routine of an entire nation. Whether it’s a 7am swish or a late-night scroll, you can bet Punit Thakkar’s campaigns are ready to pop up on your screen, toothbrush in hand.

  • Saugata Gupta stays at the crease as Marico extends CEO term to 2028

    Saugata Gupta stays at the crease as Marico extends CEO term to 2028

     MUMBAI: Still calling the shots, and how. Saugata Gupta is set for another two-year season at the helm of Marico Limited, with the FMCG major’s board approving his reappointment as managing director and CEO till March 2028.

    Having joined the company back in 2004 as head of marketing, Gupta’s rise has been nothing short of a masterclass in brand leadership. From captaining the India business in 2007 to taking the reins as CEO in 2013 and MD in 2014, he’s led the Parachute-to-Set Wet empire through market winds with a steady hand and sharp instincts.

    The boardroom decision, made on 2 May 2025, and filed with the stock exchanges the same day, means Gupta will notch up nearly 14 years as MD & CEO by the end of this renewed term, an impressive feat in an industry known for its churn.

    Outside of Marico, Gupta also wears several advisory hats, serving as an independent director on the boards of Delhivery, Ashok Leyland, and formerly JSW Paints. His career before Marico included stints with ICICI Prudential and Mondelēz, lending him a marketing pedigree as rich as the brands he’s built.

    With this extension, Marico’s leadership continuity seems sealed and set, as Gupta continues to script the brand’s next chapter in a fast-evolving consumer landscape.

  • Cadbury’s latest ads serve up a sweet lesson in inclusion with ‘Chaaklet’ and ‘Little Little’

    Cadbury’s latest ads serve up a sweet lesson in inclusion with ‘Chaaklet’ and ‘Little Little’

    MUMBAI: Mondelez’s chocolate giant has done it again. Working with creative powerhouse Ogilvy, Cadbury has unleashed two delicious new digital films that are more than just ads – they’re mini-masterpieces stirring up conversations across the nation.

    The two spots – ‘Chaaklet’ and ‘Little Little’ – tackle exclusion head-on with a dollop of sweetness that’s becoming the brand’s signature style.

    ‘Chaaklet’ serves up a refreshing twist on college ragging culture. When a fresh-faced newcomer offers his seniors a bar of what he nervously calls “chaaklet,” viewers brace for the inevitable bullying. Instead, the lead senior breaks into song, declaring “teri chaaklet, meri chocolate. Meetha toh meetha hain na?” before pulling the lad into a warm embrace. Talk about turning toxic traditions on their head!

    The second film, ‘Little Little,’ tackles the north-south divide with equal panache. When a Tamil-speaking Mrs Iyer moves north and apologetically admits “My Hindi. Thoda. Thoda,” she’s initially met with side-eye from her new neighbours. The ice breaks when one woman shares gossip about her husband in equally broken English – “Husband going going gone. I chilao. Sorry ha..my English Thoda, Thoda” – sending the group into fits of laughter.

    Mrs Iyer’s response? A piece of Dairy Milk and the perfect line: “Thoda thoda. But very sweet.”

    Both ads wrap with the punchy tagline “Kuch Achcha ho jayein. Kuch Meetha ho jayein” (Let something good happen. Let something sweet happen).

    Chrome Pictures’ director Amit Sharma has crafted these 85-second nuggets of storytelling gold, working with Ogilvy’s creative team led by their CCOs  Sukesh Nayak, Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha.

    These films prove once again that Cadbury knows how to melt hearts – and perhaps sell a shedload of chocolate in the process. In a market where brands often stumble when tackling social issues, Cadbury has taken a bite out of prejudice and made it taste surprisingly sweet.

     To watch the Chaaklet  film click here

    To watch the Mrs Iyer film click here

    The credits for the two films: 

    CCOs, India: sukesh nayak, Kainaz Karmakar, Harshad Rajadhyaksha

    ECDs: Srijan Shukla, pratheeb ravi

    Creative Team: Pritam Singh, Rutuja Mali, Anubhav Rattan, Sanjana Dora, Madhusri Suresh, Prajakta Mhatre, Aarushi Redij, Gia Badami

    President & Head of Office (Mumbai and Kolkata): Hirol Gandhi

    EVP, Account Management: Abhijit Dube

    Account Management Team: Parshuram Mendekar, Manseerat Kaur Sethi, Deeksha Chaturvedi, Mehak Bhardwaj
    Deputy CSO, India: Ganapathy Balagopalan

    EVP, Brand Planning: Bhakti Malik

    Brand Planning Team: Nikhil Chinnari, Paakhi Jhamb

    Team Cadbury CDM: Nitin Saini, VIKRAM KARWAL, Anjali Krishnan, Sushma Baralay, Vinay Pingle, Harshdeep Singh, Ritwika Sengupta, Rajat Handa, Yash Desai

    Production House: Chrome Pictures Pvt. Ltd. Pictures

    Director: Amit Sharma

    Producer: Abhishek Notani

    Media Agency: Wavemaker India

     

  • Siddhartha Juneja to steer Nivea India’s brands on ecommerce platforms

    Siddhartha Juneja to steer Nivea India’s brands on ecommerce platforms

    MUMBAI: There’s no better place to understand the dynamics of e-commerce and D2C brands than Flipkart – which is now part of Walmart. Siddhartha Juneja spent two years – of which a part of it was during the pandemic – between July 2020 to July 2022 at the e-commerce giant.

    That experience will prove invaluable following his appointment as director of e-commerce at Nivea India recently. Prior to his recent appointment, he spent a couple of years and seven months  as head- omnichannel at Mondelez International between July 2022 and January 2025.

    He  spent four years and some months each  at Kellogg India (March 2016-July 2020; marketing manager, category head and channel head – e-commerce &  D2C)  and General Mills (October 2011-Februrary 2016; area sales manager Mumbai and brand manager).

    Two years of experience with Wipro Consumer Care  (May 2009 and October 2011) saw him his sharpening his understanding  of the dynamics of FMCG sales and distribution . 

    Juneja holds a BTech degree and  a post-graduation in marketing and operations. He  lists business management, brand management and marketing as his top three skills. 

    He will have to put all three to use  at Nivea India as he puts in his all to build online commerce for the company.