Tag: Publicis Communications

Vandana Verma promoted as Arc Worldwide India COO by Publicis Communications

MUMBAI: Publicis Communications India has announced the promotion of Vandana Verma as Arc Worldwide India COO. She will continue to report to Publicis Communications South Asia CEO Saurabh Varma.

Verma holds over two decades of experience in experiential marketing and had joined Publicis Groupe in 2012 as its VP. She was handed the reins of Arc Worldwide India in 2017. Under her astute guidance, Arc Worldwide has grown to become one of the leading brand activation and experiential agencies in the country working with top notch clients such as Nerolac, Citibank, Nissan, Welspun, Shell, P&G, Fitbit, Hewlett Packard, IOC, Skoda SBI, UB Group, Hotstar, Odisha Government, Cisco, Godrej Security Solutions and Sandisk among others, within just two years.

Through the Publicis Groupe’s “Power of One” model, Arc Worldwide works closely with its creative, media, digital and PR agencies i.e. Leo Burnett Group, Publicis Worldwide, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Digitas, MSL, to deliver best-in-class experiential solutions that create shopper interactions with brands. These solutions are designed using tools, learnings and expertise from across the Groupe’s global network.

Publicis Communications South Asia CEO Saurabh Varma said, “Arc Worldwide has seen tremendous growth in the last two years in India. The agency, under Vandana’s leadership, has played a critical role in enabling and taking our ‘Power of One’ platform to greater heights. Arc Worldwide has provided its clients meaningful “Acts” merging data, technology, human insights and behaviours, to create incredible work. The next few years is going to be big for experiential marketing in India and I couldn’t have asked for a better leader than Vandana to take this head on.”

On her new role, Vandana said, “India has proved to be one of the biggest markets for Arc Worldwide across the globe. The shopper and experiential market in India is witnessing a shift from being looked at as an “activation” or “event” management category to a more robust solutions partner for brands. This is primarily because today, people want to have an immersive experience with products. For brands in turn it’s a great time to invest more in experiential marketing because of the different tools, technology and data points we use currently to help them understand their consumers a lot more in detail. I’m looking forward to exploring more innovative ways to really use this market to its full potential and continue to deliver on best-in-class solutions for our brand.”

June 27, 2019
Publicis Entertainment launches in India for branded content

MUMBAI: Publicis Communications has launched Publicis Entertainment, its new entertainment marketing unit in India. The unit was formally set up in June 2018. Publicis Entertainment will help all of Publicis Communications’ agencies (Leo Burnett India, Leo Burnett Orchard, Publicis Worldwide, Publicis Capital, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, MSL Group, Indigo Consulting, Publicis Beehive, Digitas, Sapient.Razorfish and Prodigious India) collaborate with big players in the content and entertainment space by leveraging social and digital marketing.

Publicis Entertainment will look after brand integrations for film and TV series, IP creations, partnerships between brands and clients, and celebrity management. It aims at being a one-stop-advisory for business solutions in the branded entertainment and entertainment marketing space.

Publicis Entertainment executive director Pranay Anthwal will head the division. He will report to Publicis Communications CEO India Saurabh Varma.

Speaking about the launch of the new division, Varma says, “Great storytelling is happening around us, even in an attention-deficit economy. We believe this is the biggest opportunity for our brands. We want the stories of our brands to intersect organically with the beautiful human stories already being told in popular culture. And we want to go beyond. Our unique model will unfold over the next 18 months. Pranay brings an incredible amount of expertise and passion to make our ambition a reality.”

Anthwal is a multiple award-winning branded content and entertainment specialist. His career boasts of stints at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Starcom Worldwide, The Times of India, Star TV, DHL and Zee Interactive, among others. Pranay has marketed over 150 successful films such as Munnabhai MBBS, Lagey Raho Munnabhai, Viruddh, and Krrish, to name a few. He has worked for key clients – Sony Pictures, Columbia Tristar, Buena Vista, Disney India – in the span of his career.

Speaking about his new role, Anthwal mentions, “I am happy to be back to the Publicis family. For far too long, branded entertainment and entertainment marketing have been in the cost-per-deal space. This is because not many creative and strategy ad agency majors were involved in this process. So far it has been, and still is, a supply side market model. We hope to play a role where we curate and recommend entertainment industry partnerships from a brand lens, in addition to focusing on brand objectives instead of deal objectives.”

“Our focus products for the first few years will be entertainment marketing, branded entertainment and co-creation of branded entertainment IPs for our big brands. We hope to move some big investments from the expenditure column to the assets column for some of our key clients,” he added.

Publicis Entertainment is already associated with key brands such as Fox Star Studios, HDFC Life, and Avon Beauty, among others. For Fox Star, the unit has already conceptualised and created a very successful social and digital campaign for blockbuster film Sanju

July 25, 2018
Indigo Consulting to handle digital mandate for NIIT

MUMBAI: Skills and talent development centre, NIIT, has signed up Indigo Consulting, Publicis Communications’ specialist digital agency, as its strategic digital partner.

NIIT offers multidisciplinary learning management and training delivery solutions to corporations, institutions, and individuals in over 40 countries. The business was won post a multi-agency pitch, and Indigo’s Gurugram office will handle the account.

As part of the mandate, Indigo will create and execute the new immersive website for NIIT, in line with new age digital native and the increasing e-learning, ed-tech and e-commerce trends the industry is witnessing.

NIIT vice president of marketing and sales for career education business Kshitij Jain says, “Digital is a critical pillar within our overall blueprint because of its potential to exponentially impact transformation. We are looking at a combination of velocity, reach and immersive experience delivery that will enhance talent development across India. Indigo demonstrates the right blend of the ‘art and science’ of digital solutions to target the digital native.”

Indigo Consulting president Jose Leon mentions, “India is likely to have the world’s largest workforce by 2027 with a billion people aged between 15 and 60. Digital Transformation experts at Indigo Consulting are crafting a strategy to create and deliver an immersive experience for all target users of NIIT, and we are excited about this partnership and the positive impact this can deliver for the brand.”

Established in the year 2000, Indigo Consulting became a part of Publicis Groupe in 2012. It is one of the few agencies which is integrating AI & ML in the platforms that it is building for its clients. It partners clientele with marquee brands across industries such as Banking & Finance, Telecom, Hospitality, Media & Entertainment, Consumer Goods and Automotive among others.

May 29, 2018
Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi appoints Delna Sethna as CCO

MUMBAI: Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Communications’ full-service creative agency, has named Delna Sethna as its chief creative officer across all its businesses. Prior to this, Sethna was leading some key global businesses such as P&G brands and Mondelez. She is now the creative face of Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi with immediate effect. She will continue to report to Anil S Nair, chief executive officer and managing partner of the agency.

Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi looks after the creative mandates of some of India’s biggest brands, including HeroMotoCorp, P&G, Renault India, Pepperfry, Jockey, Dabur, Mondelez, Thomas Cook and Kent RO, among others.

Anil S Nair says, “Delna has proved her creative mettle over and over, across all the brands she has worked for. Her creative and strategic thinking pushes the boundaries of traditional advertising to newer, unexplored areas. She has brought glory to the agency by winning Cannes Gold and D&AD in one single year. She is the perfect person to be heading our entire creative product and I am sure she will only thrive hereon.”

Sethna joined Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi in 2014, her second stint at the agency. She joined from Leo Burnett India, where she was the Regional Creative Director for P&G’s Whisper. A creative professional with over 20 years of experience in her stride, Sethna has also had stints in agencies such as JWT, Publicis Ambience and Lowe Lintas, in the past.

Speaking about her new responsibilities, Sethna adds “Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi is a wonderful place to grow as a creative professional. It is an organisation where the proverbial glass ceiling doesn’t restrict women. It allows for both people and work to flourish. The teams here are all young and passionate and I feed off that energy. I look forward to my new responsibilities and creative challenges coming my way. 2018 is going to be about creating great, memorable work for all of us at the agency.”

January 23, 2018
Publicis co. bags ZTE Mobile’s Rs 202-crore India account

MUMBAI: India is soon expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China. Smartphone shipments in India grew 18% last year, compared with just 3% globally.

In a significant move, Team ZTE, powered by Publicis Media and Publicis Communications, has bagged the entire media planning and buying mandate of ZTE Mobile. ZTE plans to launch a whole range of new products in India.

In the pitching process which started early this year, Publicis trumped agencies such as Madison Media, GroupM and IPG Mediabrands to pocket the contract which, some industry state, is worth around Rs 202 crore per year.

ZTE Corporation is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and Systems Company and also the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturer. The company has made several Android smartphones and tablets. While the company mainly sells products under the ZTE brand, it is also an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). One of ZTE’s recent mobile launches is the Hawkeye. The smartphone was launched in January 2017.

Publicis Media co Performics.Resultrix MD Mayoori Kango said, “ZTE is an ambitious, high-tech, result oriented company, operating in a space that is dynamic and exciting. We will further fuel their expansion plans, by helping them forge deep connections with consumers, across all the right touch-points and platforms. Our strong play in areas such as technology, data, content, and analytics coupled with powerful tools and rich consumer insights led to us bagging this business. In the past few months, as a group, we have made significant investments in machine-learning and artificial intelligence, and this has further enhanced our offering. We will harness all our experience in the telecommunications sector to drive market share for ZTE.”

ZTE CMO Sachin Batra said, “We are excited to have found a strategic partner that shares our enthusiasm and vision for the brand and offers the best of both qualitative and quantitative thinking. Team ZTE impressed us early on with their strong, highly differentiated offering and compelling live ROI proposition. They are focused on the entire customer journey, generating real-time strategies and returns on media and marketing investments. Team ZTE comes with extraordinary analytical and media targeting capabilities. Their passion, vision and dedication made them the right partner for our growth plans. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

June 1, 2017
Saurabh Varma elevated as Publicis Communications’ India CEO

MUMBAI: Publicis Communications has elevated the incumbent Leo Burnett South Asia CEO Saurabh Varma as the CEO of Publicis Communications India. Varma’s appointment comes on top of his existing responsibilities.

To be based in Mumbai, Varma, as well other country leaders — Nakul Chopra and Praveen Kenneth, will continue reporting to Loris Nold, global COO of Publicis Communications, in charge of the APAC & MEA region. In the Indian sub-continent, Publicis Communications comprises Leo Burnett, Publicis India, Law & Kenneth | Saatchi & Saatchi, Orchard India, MSLGROUP, Publicis Ambience, Publicis Capital, Indigo iStrat and Publicis Beehive.

Nold commented, “With Saurabh leading our India efforts, I am very confident that we will drive significant acceleration across Publicis Communications, ultimately for the direct benefit of our clients.”

Varma added, “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to help our creative brands fully leverage the strength of our collective expertise around digital, shopper marketing, PR and production platforms. In my mind, Publicis Communications is first and foremost about giving our clients full access to our capabilities, talent and resources across the country, as our aim is to deliver end-to-end solutions to all of our clients.”

Varma was appointed the CEO of Leo Burnett India in 2013, and, a year later, was elevated to the current south Asia role. He has about 20 years of industry experience, seven of which were spent as the chief strategy officer for south Asia, in Singapore.

December 16, 2016
Saurabh Varma elevated as Publicis Communications’ India CEO

MUMBAI: Publicis Communications has elevated the incumbent Leo Burnett South Asia CEO Saurabh Varma as the CEO of Publicis Communications India. Varma’s appointment comes on top of his existing responsibilities.

To be based in Mumbai, Varma, as well other country leaders — Nakul Chopra and Praveen Kenneth, will continue reporting to Loris Nold, global COO of Publicis Communications, in charge of the APAC & MEA region. In the Indian sub-continent, Publicis Communications comprises Leo Burnett, Publicis India, Law & Kenneth | Saatchi & Saatchi, Orchard India, MSLGROUP, Publicis Ambience, Publicis Capital, Indigo iStrat and Publicis Beehive.

Nold commented, “With Saurabh leading our India efforts, I am very confident that we will drive significant acceleration across Publicis Communications, ultimately for the direct benefit of our clients.”

Varma added, “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to help our creative brands fully leverage the strength of our collective expertise around digital, shopper marketing, PR and production platforms. In my mind, Publicis Communications is first and foremost about giving our clients full access to our capabilities, talent and resources across the country, as our aim is to deliver end-to-end solutions to all of our clients.”

Varma was appointed the CEO of Leo Burnett India in 2013, and, a year later, was elevated to the current south Asia role. He has about 20 years of industry experience, seven of which were spent as the chief strategy officer for south Asia, in Singapore.

December 16, 2016
Leo Burnett ups Rich Stoddart as worldwide CEO; Tom Bernaddin named chairman

MUMBAI: Publicis Communications has made an important leadership transition at Leo Burnett Worldwide.

Effective 1 February, 2016, Leo Burnett North America CEO Rich Stoddart will be taking over as CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide. He will, however, continue to hold his post as Leo Burnett North America CEO.

Leo Burnett chairman and CEO Tom Bernardin will remain chairman through June 2017. Both Bernardin and Stoddart also serve on the Publicis Communications ComEx and Stoddart is one of the U.S. country leads for the new organisation led by Publicis Communications CEO Arthur Sadoun.

“Leo Burnett is a leading force within Publicis Communications. We want to make sure that this brand and its unique culture are stronger than ever as we pursue our ultimate goal – to be the indispensable creative partner to our clients,” Sadoun said. “Maurice Lévy and I are both confident that Rich is the best person to incarnate Leo Burnett on this new journey and lead the teams to great successes for our clients and our agencies. And we know we can count on Tom and his wealth of experience to actively help the Publicis Communications ComEx achieve its objectives.”

Bernardin joined Leo Burnett Worldwide as CEO in 2004 and the following year hired Stoddart back to the agency to run Leo Burnett Chicago. Under Stoddart’s leadership, Leo Burnett North America has seen significant growth and client acquisition, strong integration and collaboration across business units including Arc, Lapiz and Rokkan while delivering some of the most effective and integrated campaigns for clients including Allstate, GM, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, P&G and Samsung.

“Rich Stoddart is an incredibly talented business leader, a tremendous champion for creativity and talent and my obvious successor. I’m very proud, after 11 years, to have been the longest serving chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide since Leo Burnett the man. After 40 years in the business, it is the perfect time to pass the reins to Rich. As chairman of Leo Burnett, I will assist both Rich and Arthur in the continued success of Leo Burnett and of the new Publicis Communications,” said Bernardin.

“I’m so energised by the opportunity to lead this global company and the amazing talent within it during a time of unprecedented change, opportunity and reinvention,” Stoddart added. “In partnership with Arthur and Tom, we will deliver upon the promise and potential of Leo Burnett – ‘the best in the world bar none.’ To me this means the very best talent, the very best work and the very best business results for our clients.”

Stoddart will remain based at Leo Burnett global headquarters in Chicago.

January 30, 2016
Leo Burnett ups Rich Stoddart as worldwide CEO; Tom Bernaddin named chairman

MUMBAI: Publicis Communications has made an important leadership transition at Leo Burnett Worldwide.

Effective 1 February, 2016, Leo Burnett North America CEO Rich Stoddart will be taking over as CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide. He will, however, continue to hold his post as Leo Burnett North America CEO.

Leo Burnett chairman and CEO Tom Bernardin will remain chairman through June 2017. Both Bernardin and Stoddart also serve on the Publicis Communications ComEx and Stoddart is one of the U.S. country leads for the new organisation led by Publicis Communications CEO Arthur Sadoun.

“Leo Burnett is a leading force within Publicis Communications. We want to make sure that this brand and its unique culture are stronger than ever as we pursue our ultimate goal – to be the indispensable creative partner to our clients,” Sadoun said. “Maurice Lévy and I are both confident that Rich is the best person to incarnate Leo Burnett on this new journey and lead the teams to great successes for our clients and our agencies. And we know we can count on Tom and his wealth of experience to actively help the Publicis Communications ComEx achieve its objectives.”

Bernardin joined Leo Burnett Worldwide as CEO in 2004 and the following year hired Stoddart back to the agency to run Leo Burnett Chicago. Under Stoddart’s leadership, Leo Burnett North America has seen significant growth and client acquisition, strong integration and collaboration across business units including Arc, Lapiz and Rokkan while delivering some of the most effective and integrated campaigns for clients including Allstate, GM, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, P&G and Samsung.

“Rich Stoddart is an incredibly talented business leader, a tremendous champion for creativity and talent and my obvious successor. I’m very proud, after 11 years, to have been the longest serving chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide since Leo Burnett the man. After 40 years in the business, it is the perfect time to pass the reins to Rich. As chairman of Leo Burnett, I will assist both Rich and Arthur in the continued success of Leo Burnett and of the new Publicis Communications,” said Bernardin.

“I’m so energised by the opportunity to lead this global company and the amazing talent within it during a time of unprecedented change, opportunity and reinvention,” Stoddart added. “In partnership with Arthur and Tom, we will deliver upon the promise and potential of Leo Burnett – ‘the best in the world bar none.’ To me this means the very best talent, the very best work and the very best business results for our clients.”

Stoddart will remain based at Leo Burnett global headquarters in Chicago.

January 30, 2016
Ambi MG Parameswaran re-elected as AAAI president

MUMBAI: Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has re-elected FCB Ulka Advertising executive director Ambi MG Parameswaran as president for the year 2015 – 2016.

Additionally, Publicis Communications CEO-South Asia Nakul Chopra was also re-elected as vice president of the association.

Parameswaran and Chopra were re-elected at AAAI’s annual general body meeting held on 31 July, 2015.

The other members of the executive committee are as follows: Ashish Bhasin, CVL Srinivas, Ganesh Baliga, Jaideep Gandhi, Kunal Lalani, Nagesh Alai, Pranav Premnarayen, R Sridhar, Rana Barua, Sam Balsara, Srinivasan K Swamy, Tarun Rai and Vivek Srivastava.

AAAI immediate past president Arvind Sharma will be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI executive committee.

July 31, 2015