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Tag: Publicis Groupe

  • Leo Burnett wins PepsiCo India’s creative mandate

    Leo Burnett wins PepsiCo India’s creative mandate

    Mumbai: PepsiCo India has selected Publicis Groupe agency Leo Burnett India as its creative partner to drive long-term growth and momentum across its foods and beverages portfolio. 

    As part of the partnership, Leo Burnett will be responsible for the company’s creative and digital mandate across all brands in the country. The account has been won after an intense multi- agency pitch.  

    Speaking about the appointment, PepsiCo India senior vice president George Kovoor said, “At PepsiCo India, our aim is to create innovative and purposeful consumer campaigns that help us engage effectively with our consumers. With an intent to further accelerate our marketing efforts, we are delighted to welcome Leo Burnett as our new creative agency. Their strategic thinking along with robust creative & marketing capabilities make them the right partners for our next phase of growth.” 

    Leo Burnett CEO, South Asia & chairman BBH India Dheeraj Sinha said, “We are overwhelmed with the trust posed in us by PepsiCo India in aligning their portfolio with us. PepsiCo’s  business in India is witnessing  a tremendous growth journey and we are looking forward to being their partners in accelerating this momentum. The mandate offers us a wonderful  opportunity to further create groundbreaking work, and integrate culture, creativity, data and technology in campaigns, going forward.”

  • Ruchika Tandon joins Indigo Consulting as head of marketing & strategic alliances

    Ruchika Tandon joins Indigo Consulting as head of marketing & strategic alliances

    Mumbai: Publicis Groupe India’s Indigo Consulting has appointed Ruchika Tandon as head of marketing and strategic alliances. She will report to Indigo Consulting chief growth officer Krishna Chanadaluri.

    In her new role, Tandon will work closely with key strategic customers of Indigo Consulting to align with their technology landscape and roadmap to co-create compelling JGTM offerings. She will leverage the agency’s unique strengths, further building on its rapid-fire success and momentum.

    She brings on board a wide spectrum of experience of over 14 years in Telecommunication and BFSI. Tandon has worked extensively with the sales and product teams across multiple geographies, driving growth and customer success.

    Prior to this, she worked at Comviva Technologies where she led Digital Marketing and Employer Branding Practices for more than 12 years.

    “We at Indigo Consulting are strengthening our leadership team and are glad to onboard Ruchika Tandon as the head of marketing and strategic alliances,” commented Krishna Chandaluri. “It is our endeavour to deliver excellence to our clients and we are confident that Ruchika’s rich experience, strong analytical thinking and broad expertise will be an asset to us and will add great value to the organisation.”

    On being a part of the Indigo Consulting family, Ruchika Tandon said, “Indigo Consulting has a solid foundation with a diverse portfolio of clients. I am elated to be a part of this organisation which delivers best-in-class offerings and services. I look forward to my new role and aspire to bring in significant value to the company and its clients through my experience and varied skill sets.”

  • GoaFest ’22 embarks on Green Path with digital displays of winning works: A Acharya & J Gandhi

    GoaFest ’22 embarks on Green Path with digital displays of winning works: A Acharya & J Gandhi

    Mumbai: The countdown has begun for the annual advertising festival to be held in Goa between 5-7 May. After a long pause of two years, the GoaFest, now in its 15th year, is back ‘break ke baad’ post-pandemic and the organisers promise it will well be worth the wait, with several firsts to the event this year. IndianTelevision.com caught up with the festival’s hosts and organisers, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) president Anupriya Acharya and GoaFest 2022 chairman Jaideep Gandhi to find out what has changed on ground this year and all that there is to look forward to at the event that celebrates the country’s advertising, marketing, and media industries.

    The event has received record participation from sponsors, brands, agencies and the industry at large in terms of record registrations, entries and sponsorships. “We have already signed up close to 18 sponsors onboard. There are record levels of award entries as well, both due to the tie-up with The One Show, as well as, the fact that the festival is coming after two years,” Acharya shares.

    On how the advertising landscape has evolved in the last couple of years and the several innovations that have been incorporated into the fest, Acharya says, “So, post pandemic there have been a lot of changes in the advertising space, alongside the emergence of new innovations. We have tried to embrace a lot of that- be it in the way the event is being curated, or be it in the mix of speaker sessions that we are having.”

    In a first, the festival will showcase a digital presentation of all the award work that is up for recognition, in a move towards a more greener initiative. In the past, the event used to have large print formats of the works on display. “This year we have departed from that format in the spirit of ‘Go Green’ and there will be a digital presentation (of the same).”

    Speaking about the expectations from the fest this year, Acharya shares that with the return of normalcy it was important to celebrate everything that advertising stands for. “This festival is our flagship event and brings the whole industry together. One of the key things that’s coming out as the underlying theme for us this year is ‘togetherness’. Everybody is just looking to meet each other and celebrating together after such a long time. Be it the recognition of the work that has happened in the last two years, or the celebration of the human spirit over the challenges that we all have been through during this period, and even the very differentiated way of working through the pandemic. So, the focus is on just the ‘stay alive’ spirit and the ‘togetherness’, for starters.”

    The fun video that was dropped online two weeks earlier as a launch pad for the festival has also helped create lots of ripples, she adds, smiling. The video showed the Adland honchos, including Madison World chairman Sam Balsara, Publicis Groupe South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya, FCB Group India chairman and CEO Rohit Ohri, founder of Another Idea Jaideep Gandhi and Good Brands For A Healthy Life chairman Arvind Sharma, breaking into a jig to the tune of singer-rapper Badhshah’s “Jugnu” track to celebrate the event’s comeback.

    Also Read | Adland honchos break into a jig to celebrate GoaFest return

    About the stellar line-up of speakers and the other novelties in store at the festival this year, Jaideep Gandhi says, “On the speaker front, to make it more relevant and in keeping with the times, we have incorporated sessions with influencers this time. We are also having panel discussions on OTT.” Health & Wellness is also being plugged into the content of GoaFest’ 22, he added.

    The three-day festival is expected to feature some well-known names from diverse fields of entertainment, sports, and politics such as SS Rajamouli, Anupam Kher, PV Sindhu, Mithali Raj, Tisca Chopra, Arvind Gupta, Kiran Bedi, and Jude Kelly among others as speakers.

    In another first, the festival is also planning on doing a digital conclave for seminars, with meta set to play a big role in it, Gandhi discloses. The event will also have six to seven masterclasses happening parallelly.

    This year the festival media coverage will be extended to podcasting, given that it’s another area which is developing very fast, the hosts added.

    The event will also see the unveiling of the new AAAI logo- one of the few times that it has been changed in the 75 years of AAAI’s history. It is also possibly the first time the association has held a contest for choosing a new logo.

    “We didn’t realise that it would generate so much excitement, we have got more than 150 entries at last count and we are spoilt for choice,” says Acharya. “We are very, very close to zeroing in on the final design for the logo.”

    A two-level jury is shortlisting the designs, while another set of juries will sift it further before settling on the new logo design, which will finally be revealed at the festival.

    The criteria to make the final cut, Acharya shares, will be the ‘uniqueness’, ‘timelessness’ and ‘memorability’ of the design, together with how it connotes to where the industry is headed. The latter is, in fact, the chief reason for doing this exercise, she divulges. ‘Adaptability’ and ‘versatility’ across different platforms and media, including the metaverse, are the other binding factors the agency is looking out for.

  • Adland honchos break into a jig to celebrate GoaFest return

    Adland honchos break into a jig to celebrate GoaFest return

    Mumbai: With the countdown begun for the ‘biggest advertising festival’ in the country (to be held 5-7 May), the ad world cannot seem to contain its excitement. And from the looks of it, not even the industry’s top honchos could hold themselves back from a little jig in the office!

    Seen grooving to singer-rapper Badhshah’s “Jugnu” track to celebrate the much-looked-forward-to event’s comeback were Madison World chairman Sam Balsara, Publicis Groupe, South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya, FCB Group India chairman and CEO Rohit Ohri, founder of Another Idea and chairman Goafest 2022 Jaideep Gandhi and Good Brands For A Healthy Life chairman Arvind Sharma.

    Watch them groove here:

     

     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     

     
     

     
     
     

     
     

    A post shared by Goafest (@goafestlive)

     

    The Goafest now in its 15th year and hosted by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) to facilitate the industry, is back this year after two long years of the pandemic. The ABBY Awards organised by The Advertising Club are also presented during the festival to showcase and toast the best in the business.

    This year, the Abbys have tied up with The One Show, a prestigious international award program in advertising, design and digital marketing.

  • BBH India MD Arvind Krishnan moves on

    BBH India MD Arvind Krishnan moves on

    Mumbai: The managing director of BBH India, a Publicis Groupe company, Arvind Krishnan has decided to put in his papers. A BBH India spokesperson confirmed the news of his exit to IndianTelevision.com on Friday.

    “Arvind has been a strong member of our team at BBH India for 13 years, ever since we started the company in 2009. He has contributed immensely to the growth and success of our organisation and we shall miss his energy & passion,” said BBH India and PWW India CEO Subhash Kamath on Krishnan’s exit.

    “He has decided to become an entrepreneur now and start his own venture,” Kamath further said. “We wish him the very best in his future endeavours.”

    Krishnan joined BBH in 2009 as a brand partner in Mumbai. He moved on to helm BBH London in 2012 before taking over as managing director of BBH India. Prior to BBH, he had a three-year stint at Leo Burnett.

    “Over the past 17 years, I have steered businesses small, big, local, international, early-stage and mature across markets,” Krishnan’s LinkedIn bio reads. “I identify the key levers of growth and guide businesses in building those levers into ownable brand assets that deliver over time (and sometimes, in very little time).”

  • Jose Leon elevated as MD of Indigo Consulting

    Jose Leon elevated as MD of Indigo Consulting

    Mumbai: Publicis Groupe on Monday announced the elevation of Jose Leon as managing director of Indigo Consulting – the digital business transformation (DBT) arm of the company in the country.

    Leon is a digital strategy and tech expert with over 25 years of corporate experience across global brands like Adobe and Xerox. He joined Publicis Groupe as DBT business president. 

    He was promoted as the COO of the company in 2020.

    Leon earlier worked closely with the Indigo Consulting CEO Rajesh Ghatge, who has recently been in transition to a wider role in Publicis Groupe. “There could be no better succession plan than Jose at the helm of Indigo Consulting,” said Ghatge on Leon’s appointment. “He has considerably accelerated investments by bringing in best-in-class talent across delivery & technology functions and plans to ramp-up these endeavours through 2022-23, for bespoke software engineering, core application modernisation and CX & EX re-imagination projects.”

    Moving forward, Leon will work closely with the newly appointed Publicis Groupe India digital technology business CEO Amaresh Godbole. “Indigo Consulting has deep domain knowledge across financial services and retail, which will be key growth drivers for Publicis Groupe’s digital technology business, especially D2C commerce,” stated Godbole. “I’m grateful to inherit a strong leader in Jose who runs the Indigo Consulting business with passion and ownership. I’m excited to partner with him as he leads the brand into its next phase of growth across software engineering, content platform build, e-commerce, and data offerings.”

    “My main focus has been to change and challenge the way Indigo Consulting works with its customers and create a world-class agile organisation. Our foundation is solid,” commented Jose Leon. “With massive acceleration in digital demand, our line-of-sight to demand is strong and my goal is to ensure that our endeavors will meet the velocity we see in the market for DBT business leading to exponential rather than incremental growth.

  • Amit Misra elevated to CEO of MSL South East Asia

    Amit Misra elevated to CEO of MSL South East Asia

    Mumbai: Publicis Groupe on Tuesday announced the appointment of Amit Misra as chief executive officer, MSL South East Asia, in addition to his current role as CEO, MSL South Asia.

    As part of his expanded responsibilities, Misra will drive MSL’s growth in the South East Asia markets, leading a team of 100 colleagues across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, along with 450 colleagues across 8 offices in South Asia. The elevation is in line with Publicis Groupe’s vision of fostering entrepreneurship within the Group’s strategic priorities, said the agency in a statement.  

    Misra, who has steered MSL India for more than eight years, will work to drive Publicis Groupe’s Power of One solutions in the South East Asian markets.

    “Amit has taken MSL to greater heights year on year in India and South Asia. Amit leading the mandate for two regions will further leverage the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One model, with MSL being a true powerhouse offering scale and depth of services to our clients. I have no doubt that MSL South East Asia will reach unprecedented heights with Amit’s leadership,” said Amrita Randhawa speaking on the appointment.

    Misra joined MSL India in 2013 and took over the India operations as CEO in 2015. Under his leadership, MSL India became a key contributor to Publicis South Asia’s growth, doubling revenues and emerging as the most awarded PR firm in India with 15 Agency of the Year wins, according to the agency. MSL India’s strong growth in recent years has been driven by its integrated communications offerings and it will continue to be the focus of the business under Misra’s leadership in South East Asia, it said.

    “I am thrilled to have Amit join the APAC region in his expanded role,” said Margaret Key. “A respected industry leader, he has a deep understanding of these markets and has a proven track record of innovation and growth in the region. With his appointment, two strategic geographies in Asia have come together thereby unlocking incredible opportunities for MSL. I look forward to working closely with him.”

    “At MSL, we get together the best of technology, content, creativity and digital prowess to deliver transformative ideas for our clients. MSL’s journey in South Asia over the last few years has been enriching and exhilarating at the same time and I look forward to taking my learnings to the expanded role,” stated Amit Misra. “This is a tremendous opportunity to create interesting synergies across geographies from the perspective of our clients and talent and I remain excited about our growth in Asia.”

  • Digitas India appoints Abraham Varughese as chief creative officer

    Digitas India appoints Abraham Varughese as chief creative officer

    Mumbai: Global marketing and technology services brand Digitas India on Wednesday announced the appointment of Abraham Varughese as chief creative officer.

    Varughese will be based out of Mumbai and will work closely with Digitas India’s leadership team which includes Unny Radhakrishnan (CEO) and Sonia Khurana (COO) in driving the creative output and strategic direction for numerous brands at Digitas India.

    Varughese has moved from Publicis Groupe Malaysia where he was chief creative officer and responsible for integrating the holding company’s agencies to deliver the value of ‘Power of One’ for clients which includes Samsung, Maxis Telecom, McDonald’s and Mondelez, said the company in a statement. Before that he was in Dubai with Leo Burnett, TBWARAAD and FP7/McCann-Erickson.  

    Welcoming him to the agency, Sonia Khurana said, “As CCO, Abraham will play a key role in setting and driving the future direction of our creative strategy. With his creative firepower, we look forward to unlocking more opportunities to connect with our client’s audiences in meaningful ways, combining creative thinking, tech, data and media. He is a modern communicator, a courageous leader and his lived-in experiences from around the globe adds great texture to our team.”

    As a chief contributor of ideas and solutions across the creative arena, Varughese has written, co-created and guided work that has been recognised at D&AD, The One Show, Cannes Lions, WARC, Clio Awards, The Art Directors Club (ADC), AdFest and Effie, that includes Grand Prix, Best in Show and a rare Black Cube.

    Sharing his views on joining the agency, Abraham stated, “As the entire industry attempts to adapt and navigate a plethora of platforms that are constantly evolving, I can’t think of a better place to be at than Digitas India. It’s a rare opportunity to collaborate with the best minds in Creative, CX Design, Technology, Strategy and Data –capabilities that are key to bridging the gap between the real world and tomorrow’s all-encompassing virtual spaces. I look forward to co-creating compelling brand experiences for our clients, and ultimately delivering consumer journeys that are truly memorable.”

  • Indigo Consulting appoints Sanjeev Kumar as senior VP

    Indigo Consulting appoints Sanjeev Kumar as senior VP

    Mumbai: Indigo Consulting, a Publicis Groupe company, has appointed Sanjeev Kumar as senior vice president – customer success and operational excellence.

    The company’s chief growth officer Krishna Chandaluri will be transitioning to lead his growth mandate as Kumar takes over the baton from him. With this, the firm that specialises in enterprise technology, design, and data-first talent aims to strengthen its delivery and operations team.

    With over 25 years of IT service experience in managing large-scale programs in a globally distributed setup, Kumar has handled projects for clients like Polaris, Xansa, and Nagarro, among others.

    “As the demands placed on us as a bespoke software engineering and digital business transformation company is getting deeper in the new normal, where digital has become the primary channel for brands across domains, we are investing in re-imaging our customer success team too – their skill sets, knowledge and vision to design & deliver digital-first solution and this is where Sanjeev is a fantastic and seamless fit,” said Indigo Consulting COO Jose Leon.

    In his previous role, Kumar was responsible for integrating and defining end-to-end processes to drive synergies between finova UK and IT service outsourced suppliers in India. He led top quality delivery and return on investment, driving transformation and re-engineering for financial institutions/building societies in UK and Ireland.

    Some key domains that Kumar has worked for include banks across the globe in countries like Japan, Indonesia, UK, Singapore; Insurance – North America; Education – North America: Telco – Europe and continental Europe, and CPG – UK.

    Speaking on his new assignment, Sanjeev Kumar said, “I am excited to step on this role as this is where I was headed in terms of leveraging all my past global experience in agile service deliveries, to own the P&L of a large service delivery team & deliver excellence and add value to our customers, strategic technology OEM Partners of-course the end-customers. Also, I am delighted to be back to Publicis, it is more of a homecoming for me.”

  • Anand Rajwanshi appointed as CCO at Penta Esports

    Anand Rajwanshi appointed as CCO at Penta Esports

    Mumbai: Penta Esports, the e-sports brand of India-based gaming and e-sports company Newgen Gaming, has announced the appointment of Anand Rajwanshi as chief creative officer (CCO). 

    In this new role, Rajwanshi will be heading the company’s creative initiatives and bringing the brand’s ideas to life, said the statement.

    Prior to joining Penta Esports Gaming, Rajwanshi worked with Azzura International as chief operating officer and Publicis Groupe as associate vice president. While his gaming experience spans back to Kreeda, Reliance Games and training faculties at Aptech. With more than two decades in the industry, he is a seasoned professional delivering award-winning creative products for brands like Disney, Tata Motors, Nestle, and Airtel among others.

    “I have worked with Anand in the past and have always admired his creative approach and vision. I believe his addition to the team will be immensely beneficial to the brand as he shapes the creative messaging going forward,” said Penta Esports founder and CEO Anurag Khurana.

    Newgen Gaming operates in e-sports with Penta Esports. Rajwanshi will be working alongside internal and external teams to lead the creative conception and execution for all of Penta Esports’ initiatives including live broadcast and video IPs.

    “I was fortunate to be in the first batch of people who were responsible for starting the gaming industry in India. Having worked in several verticals, I feel gaming is the only domain to challenge every talent present in me,” commented Anand Rajwanshi. “Getting back into gaming is the full circle that I needed. I look forward to teaming up with movers and shakers of esports in India.”