MUMBAI: Sheran Mendiratta Mehra has laced up her running shoes for a new race. The marketing veteran who helped build Tata Digital’s super-app to 100m-plus users has joined IndusInd Bank as chief marketing officer this September, leaving behind a six-year stint that transformed India’s digital commerce landscape.
At Tata Digital, Mehra wore multiple hats with characteristic stamina. As chief business officer since July 2024 and chief brand officer cum business head for hotels since April 2022, she orchestrated the brand strategy for one of India’s most ambitious digital ventures. Before that, she spent nearly three years as chief brand officer, shaping product design and brand identity from the ground up.
Her CV reveals her wide exposure to financial services and hospitality marketing. Six years at DBS Bank as executive director for group strategic marketing and communications, where she also championed social entrepreneurship through the bank’s corporate social responsibility arm. Stints at Dhanlaxmi Bank, Barclays and HSBC showcased her knack for turnarounds—she pushed top-of-mind recall to 52 per cent during Barclays’ India launch and co-led the country’s first mobile banking service, Hello Money.
Earlier pit stops included heading resort marketing at Mahindra Holidays, where she boosted wallet share by 25-30 per cent, and agency-side roles at Ogilvy & Mather and Lintas, where she cut her teeth relaunching Huggies with sales surging over 15 per cent.
The 25-year marketing strategist brings more than spreadsheets and campaigns to IndusInd. A distance runner for over a decade, Mehra champions the notion that peak performance in the boardroom and on the trail aren’t mutually exclusive. She’s vocal about mentoring female leaders in tech whilst maintaining her daily running practice—a fitting metaphor for someone who sees finish lines as starting points.
IndusInd just hired someone who runs towards challenges, not away from them.
MUMBAI: Ravishankar Iyer, the former national head of communications planning at Wavemaker, has landed at Hogarth as advisor-head of strategy. The appointment marks a homecoming of sorts for the Mumbai-based strategist, who returns to the WPP fold after a six-year stint at the media agency.
Iyer’s career spans over two decades in India’s advertising trenches. At Wavemaker, he built what the company called a “highly successful full funnel content practice” anchored on culture, data and commerce. Before that, he spent four years at Mindshare, where his team became one of the country’s most garlanded, handling marquee accounts including Star TV Network, Castrol, Facebook and HSBC.
The strategist’s résumé reads like a who’s who of Indian advertising: stints at Ogilvy & Mather, Bates, Lowe Lintas and McCann Erickson. He even dabbled in the start-up world as marketing director at VPTA, a grassroots sports venture.
Hogarth, WPP’s creative execution powerhouse, appears keen to beef up its strategic muscle as brands demand more integrated approaches. Iyer’s appointment suggests the agency is betting on old-school planning chops to navigate an increasingly complex media landscape.
The move comes as advertising’s traditional boundaries continue to blur, with strategy, creative and media planning increasingly overlapping. For Iyer, it’s another chance to apply his “cultural provocation” philosophy—this time from Hogarth’s Mumbai office.
MUMBAI: GroupM India has appointed Vipasha Bhuptani as national head of communications planning. She joins from Mindshare, where she held a similar role for over three years.
Bhuptani brings 17 years of experience across advertising, marketing and communications to her new position. Her career includes significant stints at leading agencies including Leo Burnett Orchard, Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi UK, where she worked with major brands across India, Southeast Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.
At Ogilvy, she notably led the strategic repositioning of Asian Paints and helped drive growth for Unilever’s Red Label tea brand. Her work has earned recognition through various awards including Effie India, Effie Asia Pacific and WARC.
Prior to her time at Mindshare, Bhuptani served as head of strategic planning at Leo Burnett Orchard, where she worked with clients including Ensure, Ola, DBS Bank and Bajaj Allianz.
Mumbai: Space Creattors Heights, a leading premium co-working, has appointed Henna Misri as their chief executive officer, she will contribute in making decisive and strategic business decisions aimed at propelling dynamic growth and success. This step will massively augment the company’s operations, marketing strategies, business development initiatives, financial endeavors, and human resources.
Being a high-end coworking space, Space Creattors Heights offers world class amenities and stellar workspaces. It is an eminent Indian brand with three centers in Delhi NCR market and a compelling expansion plan to increase their footprint across geographies in the coming years. Their workspaces have an ISO 45001 certification for the management of occupational health and safety.
Space Creattors Heights co-founder & managing director Aryann Suri said “I welcome Henna and extend my heartfelt congratulations on her appointment as the CEO. Henna has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and a keen understanding of our industry. Her strategic vision and dedication to excellence align perfectly with our company’s ethos. I have full confidence in her capabilities, and look forward to scaling new heights of success, innovation, and unwavering commitment to delivering unparalleled value to our clients and stakeholders.”
Misri said on her appointment, “I am really looking forward to stepping into the role of Chief Executive Officer at Space Creattors Heights. I am committed to driving our business forward by fostering innovation, strategic collaborations, and a people-first approach. I am looking to engage with our talented team to elevate our operations, strengthen our market presence, and uphold our core values. Together, we will navigate challenges and seize opportunities to achieve colossal growth and success.”
Prior to Space Creattors Heights, Misri has held leadership positions in legacy companies such as Hindustan Thompson Associates, Ogilvy & Mather, Bates India, and Times of India, with a track record of twenty two years.
MUMBAI: Dentsu Creative group India has announced the appointment of Anu Gulati as executive creative director. In her new role, Gulati will work with the group’s key talents to further drive and strengthen the network’s creative capabilities, thereby enhancing the client’s market growth. She will be based out of the network’s Delhi office and will report into dentsu Creative group India group chief creative officer Ajay Gahlaut.
Gulati brings with her over 15 years of experience in the industry. Earlier, she has held creative leadership positions at agencies like Ogilvy & Mather and DDB Mudra. In her previous roles, she has worked with brands like 7Up, McDonald’s, Sprite, KFC, Pizza Hut, Indian Tourism, UNICEF and WWF, to name a few. Additionally, she has also been pursuing her love for writing as a scriptwriter. Gulati has been a part of several award-winning campaigns that have bagged multiple national and international wins at the much-coveted Cannes, Kyoorius, One Show, Abbys, and D&AD.
Speaking on the appointment, Ajay Gahlaut said, “Anu Gulati is a rare creative person with an uncanny talent for creating interesting and engaging advertising that is also very effective in the marketplace. Exceptional talent, the mental stamina for extreme hard work and an obsessive desire to create a stellar piece of work on every brief, make Anu a valued member of any creative team. We are thrilled to welcome Anu on board; and look forward to seeing her weave her particular brand of magic into our brands.”
Anu Gulati added, “Unlike the usual setups, dentsu provides a unique and integrated environment. With the kind of talent and intent this place is brimming with, I am confident that these teams can do wonders not just for the network but for the advertising industry at large.”
Mumbai: KFC India has rolled out a fresh campaign to launch its new product offering – Double Down Burger. Conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, the ad features popular actors Ratna Pathak Shah and Seema Pahwa displaying their unabashed love for chicken. ‘Jo Chicken Ke Liye Hai Badtameez, Unke Liye Hai Yeh Special Cheez’, goes the tagline.
Dubbing the launch as ‘the biggest event in the history of burgerkind’, KFC India, chief marketing officer, Moksh Chopra said, “It was only befitting that this ultimate burger be launched by none other than iconic actors Ratna Pathak Shah and Seema Pahwa. Their on-screen chemistry and the peculiar exchange over a chicken conversation is bound to leave you in splits.”
Ogilvy (North), chief creative officer, Ritu Sharda shared, “We all have that one badtameez friend who eats all the chicken from a dish and leaves the gravy for the rest. This film shows one such lovingly badtameez person and how KFC’s Double Down, being all chicken, is truly meant for those who are ‘chicken ke liye badtameez’.”
Talking about the ad, actor Ratna Pathak Shah said, “I am an ardent foodie myself and can relate to the way Seema’s character was possessive about the chicken in the noodles. KFC’s Double Down Burger is indeed a unique burger with a chicken overload – just right for serious foodies. I enjoyed being a part of the campaign and watching the chicken wars.”
Seema Pahwa added, “When the burger is as full of crispy chicken as the KFC Double Down Burger, how could one not get a little badtameez? I was super-excited to be a part of its launch campaign and play a character that’s so close to my heart – that of a true chicken-lover.”
MUMBAI: MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd, the pioneer of packaged food products in India, today unveiled an advertising campaign for the new quick-to-cook breakfast option – 3 Minute Seviyan Upma. MTR has given one of the most popular Indian breakfasts, a 3 Minute spin. The all-inclusive mix, packed with the natural goodness of wheat, flavourful mix of perfectly roasted vermicelli, right blend of masala and cashews needs to be cooked in boiling water for only 3 minutes. The new campaign conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather shows how 3 Minute Seviyan Upma seamlessly fits into the morning madness where the homemaker has to multitask to cater to her family’s needs.
The campaign is based on the simple insight that in the morning rush, the homemaker usually times her every task. But with 3 Minute Seviyan Upma, at least the family’s favourite breakfast is sorted. With breakfast being the most important meal of the day, she is seeking convenient solutions, without compromising on taste and quality.
Commenting on the new campaign, Sunay Bhasin, CMO, MTR Foods Pvt Ltd said, “True to the company’s philosophy that MTR Foods is every homemaker’s secret to great taste, we are always studying consumer needs and Seviyan Upma is the perfect 3 Minute answer to the everyday breakfast dilemma. Being the leaders in the packaged food industry, MTR has always focused on evolving with the changing consumer demands. Keeping this in mind, we have launched this new campaign to showcase how MTR 3 Minute Seviyan Upma gives Indian families a tasty & wholesome start while easing out the modern’s woman’s time in the kitchen.”
Promising to bring this popular breakfast option in a 3 Minute avatar, MTR Seviyan Upma is also a healthier alternative to many deep fried-maida-laden noodle brands currently available in the market. Loaded with goodness of wheat and no maida, it is a made of the choicest of ingredients with no added preservatives.
Tithi Ghosh, Managing Partner, Ogilvy South said, “A homemaker’s day starts off with the hustle and bustle of getting everyone ready for the day. As she races against time to get things done in the morning, compromising on a tasty breakfast is never a choice. This TVC positions MTR’s 3-minute Seviyan Upma as the preferred breakfast choice for the multi tasker of today, allowing her to constantly delight her family.”
MUMBAI: The Dutch confectionery and gum manufacturer, Perfetti Van Melle had stepped into the Indian market 25 years back with a unique liquid-filled gum, Center Fresh, which eventually became the category leader in its segment. One of the largest selling gum brands in India, Center Fresh not only tantalised the taste buds of millions of Indians but also gave memorable marketing campaigns and taglines that stay on the tip of the tongue; the most iconic being ‘Zubaan Pe Rakhe Lagaam’
Perfetti Van Melle India director-marketing Rohit Kapoor, in an exclusive conversation with Indiantelevision.com, highlights the glorious marketing journey the brand has been on through these 25 years.
He starts by sharing the initial day story of the brand. Perfetti started the Indian operations in 1994 with the launch of Center Fresh, the first liquid-filled gum of the country. "Over the years we have kept the excitement going on the brand with new campaigns, innovative flavours, and new pack formats introduction to building the category. Center Fresh has managed to play the role of market creator and maintain leadership position in the segment over the years," he says.
During the launch phase, the objective was how to bring in differentiation and consumer-relevant innovation to the market. It was thus decided to launch the first-ever liquid-filled gum experience with a balanced fresh mint flavour. The brand was launched in a jar pack which provided a great tool to place the SKU front of the shop for visibility and also provided longer stability to the product. It also won the acceptance of mass audience.
Speaking about the role of marketing in this success, Kapoor quips, “Center Fresh is one of our power brands and there has been consistent marketing support for the brand to stay relevant with the consumers in the domain of fresh breath confidence. The campaigns ‘Zubaan Pe Rakhe Lagaam’ (better to chew than talk) and ‘Taazi Saans Rakho Paas’ (be fresh breath ready) have helped us a lot to garner consumers love for the brand.” Kapoor further mentions that Center Fresh’s association with the World Cup in 1996 had been one of the key disruption points for the brand.
Initially, the brand was riding the humour wave for its communications. The many ads launched under the ‘Zubaan Pe Rake Lagaam’ umbrella are still unforgettable.
Kapoor believes that humour is an important way to deliver clutter-breaking and memorable campaigns to drive top-of-mind brand recall. He notes, “Our category is an impulse category and it’s extremely important to keep the brand on top of the minds, which drives purchase decision in the market. Humour is an important way to deliver such campaigns, especially when your target group is the youth, who are being bombarded with enormous messages on a daily basis. A campaign with humour has to strike the right balance between the role of the product/insight in the campaign and entertainment in the storyline.”
However, in 2015, the brand moved to a new communication platform called ‘Taazi Saans Hamesha Rakho Paas’. Its newest ad film, celebrating its 25 years in the Indian market, also runs around the same message. Speaking about the change in communication module, Kapoor shares, “‘Zubaan Pe Rakhe lagaam’ as a platform, was a very successful campaign for the brand, started in 2007. But as brand custodian, we have to continue renewing the consumer stories and find ways to continue drive trials and building the category. ‘Taazi Saans Hamesha Rakho Paas’ essentially asks one to be fresh breath ready to impress the opposite gender in the first meeting (fresh breath confidence). The objective with the 25-year celebration film was to bring alive such moments of first meeting and bumping into each other in the college corridor is probably the most universal theme.”
The campaign has been created and conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, like most of its previous communications. Kapoor believes the agency has been a big support in making its marketing initiatives a success. He says, “Ogilvy has been a crucial and trusted partner to build many PVMI brands in the category. They have done memorable work on Center Fresh and many other Perfetti brands. They understand what works in the category to drive brand objectives and how to establish the connection with the consumer via compelling consumer stories. The recent 25 years campaign is another example where the Ogilvy team delivered really well on the brief.”
The brand is now looking forward to continuing building the ‘Fresh Breath Confidence’ platform for its other extensions as well. Kapoor highlights, “This journey started with the launch of Center Fresh Mints, our first non-gum offering, and the proposition along with communication has received an extremely positive response so far. So, the communication strategy on new introductions shall be to highlight the product benefit and moment of consumption, consistent with building the brand on fresh breath confidence platform.”
Not just for its flagship Center Fresh, Perfetti has been very creative with its marketing communications for other brands under its umbrella too. Talking about the same, Kapoor says, “The strategic intent is to develop the category, identify need gaps, renovate, innovate, and continue to delight the consumers. Also, superior quality products, ability to bring innovation at a faster pace, driving differentiation, memorable communication, and our robust distribution system have led to the popularity of the brands in the portfolio. Thus, the 7 power brands always get required support on identified demand moment via relevant innovations in the communication platforms.”
He concludes, “Social media and digital space are very important media for us to build brands and have been gaining share in marketing mix spends over the years. We regularly use the medium to improve our reach and drive consumer engagement.”
MUMBAI: Cadbury Bournvita along with Ogilvy & Mather has come out with #DontForgetYourself campaign this Women’s day, urging women to take care of themselves as well amidst the hectic schedules and fast-paced lifestyles.
The digital film makes viewers question on how the women who are taking care of the house, their children, husbands; often miss out on paying attention to their own health. The film opens to customers shopping at the supermarket, and as soon as they are about to bill their purchase at the billing counter; they are informed that all their purchase is completely free of cost. Taken by surprise, the cashier directs them to another member who confirms that their purchase is for free.
While packing up the bags, they are guided to the back of the supermarket to a lady who begins to have conversations with the customers and enquires on some of the items in their cart. She picks up items individually like yoga mat, olive oil, millet flour etc. and enquires on who these are meant for, about them to which they responded that they were all bought for someone in their family or friends. But when these customers are asked about what they’ve bought for themselves, they are stumped.
The manager explains to the shocked customers and introduces her real identity as a nutritionist and calms them down by saying this is a common scenario in most Indian households – women tend to care of everyone but themselves and disregard their own health and nutrition in the course. The ad film ends with the nutritionist making the women promise that going forward, along with others, they will also care for themselves and lead a healthier lifestyle.
MUMBAI: To showcase its differentiated and innovative postpaid proposition, Vodafone India has roped in chess grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand to promote Vodafone Red.
Under the Red bouquet, Vodafone recently introduced postpaid plans offering entertainment with free subscription of Amazon Prime and Vodafone Play, complimentary mobile insurance for smartphones up to two years old and free international calling and roaming.
Additionally, Red Postpaid comes with lowest bill guarantee that ensures customers are assured of never facing bill shocks.
Beginning July, Anand will be seen making some smart moves, endorsing Vodafone Red. A series of three television commercials will show him propagating the benefits of choosing the postpaid plan to popular cricket presenter Gaurav Kapoor.
Vodafone India EVP of marketing Siddharth Banerjee says, “Latest Vodafone Red is a lifestyle enabler of a new-age postpaid consumer, addressing their passion points like entertainment, travel, devices, shopping, family and tension points such as billing. This campaign aims to position Vodafone Red as India’s smartest postpaid, enabling our existing and new customers to make a smartest choice. We are glad to have chess champion and youth icon Vishwanathan Anand on board, who best fits the proposition of India’s smartest postpaid.”
Anand adds, “Being smart means making the right choice at the right time. In the game of chess, it is important to make the smartest move at the right time. As a Vodafone customer, the new Vodafone Red plans are a smart bouquet of services catering to my critical needs like entertainment and international roaming. Mobile insurance and lowest bill guarantee feature become important as we Indians are evolving in smartphone usage. I am glad to be a part of the campaign that closely resonates with my needs to make a smart choice.”
The 360-degree high-decibel campaign has been conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather India. Presenting a holistic marketing mix, the four-week long campaign will connect with customers across diverse mediums like OOH, radio, print and digital.
