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Tag: OMD India

  • Stefi Dsouza hops over to United Breweries as media lead

    Stefi Dsouza hops over to United Breweries as media lead

    MUMBAI: Stefi Dsouza has traded one beer giant for another, leaving AB InBev to become media lead at United Breweries Ltd, the Indian arm of Dutch brewing behemoth Heineken. The move caps a career that has seen the media planning specialist work her way through some of advertising’s most prestigious agencies before landing client-side roles at major corporates.

    Dsouza’s appointment comes after two years as senior media manager at AB InBev, where she helped the world’s largest brewer navigate India’s increasingly competitive beer market. Her move  to United Breweries—Heineken’s local operation—represents a significant coup for the Dutch company as it battles for market share against rivals including AB InBev and Carlsberg.

    The media planning veteran brings 12 years of experience spanning both agency and corporate roles. Her CV reads like a who’s who of Indian advertising, with stints at Mindshare, OMD India, MediaCom and MediaVest before making the leap to the client side in 2020.

    At Volkswagen India, where she served as media manager and later senior media manager, Dsouza helped the German carmaker navigate the choppy waters of India’s automotive market. She then moved to Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd for a year-long stint before joining AB InBev in 2023.

    Her agency background includes a director-level role at Mindshare and a group head position at OMD India, suggesting she knows how to handle large-scale media campaigns. The Cannes Young Lions India shortlist recipient and Social Samosa award winner has built a reputation as what she calls an “Excel nerd”—no small compliment in the data-driven world of modern media planning.

    The appointment signals United Breweries’ commitment to strengthening its media capabilities as competition intensifies in India’s beer market. The company, which owns brands including Kingfisher, has been battling for market leadership against AB InBev’s portfolio of premium international brands.

    Dsouza’s move also highlights the increasing importance of media planning expertise in India’s consumer goods sector. With digital advertising spend continuing to surge and traditional media becoming more fragmented, companies are placing greater emphasis on hiring specialists who can navigate the complex media landscape.

    Her tagline—”bringing brands live on media, one campaign at a time”—suggests United Breweries can expect an integrated approach that combines traditional and digital channels. Given her track record across automotive, electric mobility and brewing sectors, Dsouza appears well-equipped to handle the diverse challenges of marketing alcoholic beverages in India’s highly regulated environment.

    The hiring represents a small but significant shift in the ongoing talent war between India’s major consumer brands, as companies increasingly poach senior executives from direct competitors rather than relying solely on agency talent pipelines

  • OMD APAC promotes Namrata Roy to vice-president strategy

    OMD APAC promotes Namrata Roy to vice-president strategy

    MUMBAI: OMD APAC has elevated Namrata Roy to vice-president strategy, marking another step forward in her four-year tenure with the media agency network.

    Roy, who most recently served as associate vice president strategy for OMD India, brings extensive experience in media strategy and client leadership to her new role. Her promotion comes after successfully leading strategy for OMD India and previously heading strategy for OMD Malaysia, where she managed key accounts including Danone, Nissan, and Allianz.

    Prior to joining OMD in 2021, Roy held the position of strategy director at Zenith Malaysia, where she managed the Nestlé account. Her career spans over 15 years across leading media agencies, including roles at DDB Mudra Group, Madison Media, Dentsu Aegis Network, and Mindshare.

    Roy’s experience includes working with prominent brands such as Cipla Health, State Bank of India, Mondelez India, and ICICI Group. She began her career as a management intern at Ogilvy, working on Unilever and Mondelez accounts.

    An IPA Advanced Certificate holder in effectiveness, Roy’s appointment reinforces OMD APAC’s commitment to strengthening its strategic leadership across the region.

  • OMD India onboards Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy

    OMD India onboards Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy

    Mumbai: The Indian division of global media agency network, OMD has appointed Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy. She will be spearheading impactful, strategic initiatives across the board, building upon existing strengths, while working with key stakeholders to build a strong and strategic foothold in the region, the network said in a statement. She will be reporting to OMD India CEO Anisha Iyer.

    With over 13 years of diverse experience having worked with leading market research and media agencies, like Kantar, Nielsen and Mindshare, Tomar brings with her robust cross-functional experience in market research, insights & strategy and media analytics.

    In her role at OMD, she will also be in charge of accelerating efforts around nurturing a culture where attention and empathy are treated as valuable currencies to take a more humanistic approach towards client and people relationships. Furthermore, advancing the mandate of the organisation, she will be instrumental in augmenting the Red Spine – OMD India’s nerve centre, ensuring that each component of the system remains interconnected in an efficient way. With a spotlight on furthering Omni’s potential and an emphasis on leveraging OMD Design – the robust and highly-adaptive end-to-end process by OMD, she is all set to further capitalize on emerging trends and make complex decisions faster.

    Speaking on the appointment, Iyer said, “We are stoked to have Charul on board with us. She is a fine strategic leader and frontrunner when it comes to having a pulse on the confluence of consumer, brand and insights. Her appointment comes at a time when OMD India is undergoing significant momentum and one that is fuelled by the most promising talent in the industry. I am certain that Charul’s valuable expertise, combined with her drive and commitment, will help us take our offerings to new heights. The future looks promising!”

    On being a part of the OMD team, Tomar said, “Sharp strategic management is always at the heart of every successful business. I am truly excited to be on board with OMD India, chiefly due to their commitment to futureproofing and their ability to adapt and innovate in an ever-changing marketplace. The agency exudes a strong vision and energy on the back of an exciting 2022 it has had so far, and I look forward to leveraging my experience to formulate game-changing strategies and deliver scalable business solutions, all while keeping empathy and attention at the core of what we do.”

  • OMD India taps Iti Kaul to spearhead digital practice

    OMD India taps Iti Kaul to spearhead digital practice

    Mumbai: Media agency network OMD has announced the appointment of Iti Kaul to spearhead its digital practice in India, effective from April. Kaul will take charge of this new role from PHD Media, where she currently leads digital planning as its general manager.

    Further building upon elevations within the group, Kaul is yet another leader to be promoted within Omnicom Media Group, spotlighting the company’s sharp focus on driving growth for its people, stated the agency. “In her new role, she will be reporting to OMD India CEO Anisha Iyer,” it added.

    “The story of OMD India’s growth and success is one that is driven by our people and their unwavering commitment to delivering better decisions for our clients, unapologetically and innovatively,” said Anisha Iyer. “Iti’s role will add significant leverage to our digital practice as we create the next wave of transformative experiences for our clients. We are thrilled to have her on board and are confident that her expertise and future-ready perspectives will elevate our work to drive greater impact and successes for client growth.”

    Kaul has over 13 years of experience in the industry, having lent her digital strategies on global mandates across industries for Fortune 500 companies. She is adept at creating media plans that foster growth opportunities for brands – a practice she spearheaded at PHD’s digital planning division out of the Gurugram office. 

  • GUEST COLUMN: Paradox of Choice – How to influence consumers to pay attention to your brand

    GUEST COLUMN: Paradox of Choice – How to influence consumers to pay attention to your brand

    Mumbai: Twenty-four hours in a day and a zillion media choices to be made! This is the new regular day in the life of a consumer.

    From numerous apps to dime a dozen platforms along the consumer journey, audiences and advertisers are facing a present-day that is rife with limitless choices. Why? But of course, thanks to the internet, data, technology, and personalisation – things we have all become accustomed to. But there is a subtle undercurrent these trends ride on the back of – a paradox of choices!

    The internet has increased connectivity, and penetration is only expected to scale higher with time. The pandemic is accelerating pre-existing industry trends and altering consumer behaviours. In the context of the visual culture, we live in, courting the consumer with packaged and positioned choices is the first step, in the series of many, on the path to forging long-term relationships with them. And this journey is full of the subtle art of choosing.

    Evolving M&E landscape

    With the growth of the Indian digital segment, Television, online video, and social media are emerging as the top entertainment media. According to IBEF, internet browsing has gone up by 64 per cent with increased uptake of news, music, and AVGC. There is a marked shift from offline to online consumption for news with 45-minutes to an hour spent on news on social media and apps.

    Content to Commerce is the new consumer purchase journey. With cumulative time spent over two and a half hours per day, Indians are flocking to their social media accounts and consuming content in genres of news, comedy, the art of cooking, and culture. Then there is influencer-led content and shoppable ads here to delight consumers through the journey of content consumption across social channels.

    OTT Triggered Growth

    OLV and OTT platforms have witnessed a meteoric rise as the new entertainment destination. As per a report by Deloitte, popular platforms have garnered a 45-55 per cent increase in paid subscriptions after the outbreak of the pandemic with audiences spending 95-minutes daily on OTT channels. Rising demand for content and affordable subscription packages has triggered this growth. AVOD segment is anticipated to grow more by 2025. Vernacular adoption has also been accelerated during the pandemic and the momentum is here to stay with more than 13 per cent growth as compared to pre-Covid-19 levels, mostly from the hinterland of India.

    E-commerce Search Engines

    E-commerce and social apps are changing how consumers discover new products. Influencers have emerged as the new brand ambassadors and have evolved as a new marketing channel from discovery to conversion. Video commerce and social commerce are key and emerging conversational commerce-enabling brands are driving their D2C model through messaging apps like WhatsApp that the consumer is already acquainted with and uses extensively.

    The influx of short-form video apps is a testimony to this growth. Current statistics show that Indians spend five times more time on homegrown short video apps than global Instagram reels and YouTube shorts. Apps like Trell, Chingari, Sharechat, Roposo, etc. trail only Google and Facebook ecosystem in terms of time spent by Indians. Voice-based technology is breaking the literacy barrier in India. Searches on voice are expected to grow to 50 per cent, a 10x Increase in multilingual voice assistants is expected.

    All of the above trends indicate that the touchpoints to expose a probable consumer to a product have exploded. Meticulous decisions are required by industry mavens to validate the choices they make on one end. On the other, the consumer is scavenging for informed, yet simple choices to make better decisions, faster.

    For instance, at OMD, we balance the act with attention planning. In a world that is chaotic with choices, brands and advertisers need to be present on platforms their audiences are – adapting to consumer sentiment, being nimble, and providing a media mix of digital solutions to brands not hinged on a tall order but realistic metrics – distinctive packaging to cut through the clutter with creativity. After all, with the impact that the pandemic has had on inventory and ad rates, 2022 in the advertising world is going to be more about influencing the consumer to pay attention to your brand versus competitors and the journey will be interesting.

    (Sulina Menon is the chief client officer at OMD India. The views expressed in this column are personal and Indiantelevision may not subscribe to them.)

  • OMD India appoints Anisha Iyer as chief executive officer

    OMD India appoints Anisha Iyer as chief executive officer

    Mumbai: Omnicom Media Group India’s media network OMD has announced the appointment of Anisha Iyer as its new chief executive officer, with effect from January 2022. In this new role, she will be reporting to Omnicom Media Group India group CEO Kartik Sharma.

    As CEO, Iyer will be responsible for leading the organisational vision and steering strategic goals across the business with a focus on leading future-ready teams, enhancing client relationships and delivering best-in-class solutions across the board, said the company in a statement on Tuesday.

    “Anisha embodies OMD’s vision efficaciously. With her digital prowess and creative mindset, I am confident that she will lead the organization to greater heights and accelerate the momentum of growth,” said Kartik Sharma. “With her understanding of our clients, industry and the market, she is undoubtedly the inimitable successor for the role. We look forward to welcoming her back to India and working with stakeholders to unlock greater potential and empowering our clients to make better decisions, faster.”

    Iyer joined OMD in 2019 as the managing director for Malaysia. She has since been with Omnicom Media Group (OMG), moving on to OMG Thailand earlier this year as its chief product officer – tasked with providing future-facing, industry-leading capabilities and technologies by instilling a culture of creativity, innovation, thought leadership, and ground-breaking ideas.

    With an illustrious career spanning nearly two decades in the advertising business, Iyer’s previous stints include working across Mindshare, Madhouse and Group M. She has lent her expertise over the years, delivering cutting-edge solutions and best-in-class strategy for a range of clients spanning FMCG, pharma, auto, travel, telecom, e-commerce, food, and retail businesses.

    “The Indian market has undergone significant changes since the pandemic and it is a challenging yet exciting time to join at the helm,” said Anisha Iyer. “It is a pivotal time for our industry and I am excited to navigate the tides in creative collaboration with stakeholders and driving OMD India to new avenues of growth and development.”

  • OMD India names Udhayakumar Pashupathi its Chennai head

    OMD India names Udhayakumar Pashupathi its Chennai head

    Mumbai: Media agency OMD India on Monday announced the appointment of Udhayakumar Pasupathi as new lead at the company’s Chennai office. Pasupathi will report to OMD India chief client officer Sulina Menon.

    Pashupathi commands 12 years of diverse and prolific industry experience. He spent nine years at Mindshare where his most recent role was that of cluster lead in Bangalore. Pashupathi was previously associated with Lodestar UM,  where he worked as a planner, team lead, strategist, and media consultant.

    Commenting on the new appointment, Sulina Menon said, “We’re extremely pleased to have someone like Udhaya, with his experience and expertise, join our Chennai team, and are confident that we will benefit greatly from the insights he brings to the table. I’m especially excited about the growth journey ahead and look forward to collectively pursuing a host of new opportunities.”

    OMD CEO India Priti Murthy said, “All of us at OMD are eagerly looking forward to Udhaya’s fresh new perspectives combined with the rich repertoire of industry knowledge he’s gathered over the years. There are some exciting growth avenues ahead, and we can’t wait to unlock them together.”

    Speaking about this new assignment, Pasupathi said, “It’s been over a decade of experience, learnings, and leadership in the realm of media strategy & planning, and surely there’s no better place to mark 12 years than OMD. With its vast global network and its growth-driven environment, I’m delighted to be in a space where together we quite literally make better decisions, faster!”

  • Lalit Agrawal moves on from OMD India, joins ZEEL

    Lalit Agrawal moves on from OMD India, joins ZEEL

    MUMBAI: Senior media professional Lalit Agrawal joined Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) in April after ending nearly a decade-old stint with OMD India. He has joined as vice president – sales planning and strategy, as updated on his LinkedIn profile. 

    Prior to that, Agrawal was serving as senior vice president in OMD India. He has worked across the media vertical including Times of India, Star India, Mediacom, and Group M.