Tag: Publicis India

  • Brand Factory’s Raksha Bandhan ad all set to redefine sibling bond

    Brand Factory’s Raksha Bandhan ad all set to redefine sibling bond

    MUMBAI: Brand Factory, a fashion discount chain by Future Group, wants to make this Raksha Bandhan a unique experience for siblings. While the world focuses on highlighting just the sibling bond, Brand Factory took a different route to showcase not just the bond but how a brother plays a larger role in a sister’s life. The brand believes that there are unimaginable ways a brother supports a sister no matter how challenging and sometimes unachievable her dreams may seem.

    Hence, this Raksha Bandhan, Brand Factory has introduced the #BrotherLikeNoOther campaign. This campaign is its attempt to celebrate those brothers who help their sisters chase and achieve their dreams. Dreams that are often shunned by society, but how a brother will only encourage and coax his sister to chase her dreams.

    The campaign began during this week across the brand’s social media handles, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The concept of #BrotherLikeNoOther has been brought to life through a series of posts, contests and more that urge participants to share their experiences of how their brother has been a solid support system. The content connected well with audience which was proved by heart-touching sibling stories received on each post. The campaign was further amplified through FB posts which promoted Brand Factory gift cards. Through website integration purchasing gift cards became easy. At the very beginning of the launch, the campaign has received an exhilarating response of more than 6.5 million reach across its various social media platforms. 

    Simultaneously, mega influencers like Smriti Mandhana, Rajvee Gandhi to name a few and community pages like Awesome Things in India, Scrawled Stories will be joining the #BrotherLikeNoOther campaign soon.

    To break the monotony of the generic brother-sister rakhi commercials, here’s a fun and quirky one-minute video conceptualised by Publicis Ambience. The video explains, no matter how crazy, how many demands; a brother can fulfill his sister’s wishes because Brand Factory has a deal for every demand. The video is live on its social media platform and has crossed over 1.5 million views already. 

    Brand Factory chief marketing officer Roch D’Souza says, “During festivals and occasions Brand Factory would like to be more relevant through its offerings and fabulous discounts, to its customers. We had a holistic 360-degree communication approach for the campaign and have been getting immense responses via personal stories and visuals, through our campaign thought of #BrotherLikeNoOther. This campaign was extended to all our stores through the gifting options for a sister be it shoes, handbags, womenswear and has helped drive women walk-ins to our stores.”

    IdeateLabs business head Ashish Rana adds, “Our idea was to pay tribute to this great festival of Raksha Bandhan by highlighting the bigger role of brothers. And digital exploded the #BrotherLikeNoOther campaign by weaving a story around brothers who pushed their sisters to achieve their dreams. The content did work wonders as our social media handles were flooded with sibling stories. Now, we will take this campaign to the next level with digital influencers and community pages.”

    Commenting on the campaign, Publicis MD and chief creative officer for South Asia Bobby Pawar mentions, “Brand Factory is a brand that disrupts the category, so we came to the obvious conclusion, how can its advertising be otherwise? When convention dictates that you show good-looking people who ooze an ‘effortless’ ‘aspirational’ ‘youthy’ attitude, we went in the opposite direction.”

    Brand Factory is a chain of fashion discount stores with 72 outlets across 30 cities in India. It offers 200+ Indian and international fashion brands at 20-70 per cent discount, 365 days a year. It also offers a diverse range of merchandise at absolutely great prices in a refreshingly enjoyable ambience. Brand Factory stores include men’s formals, casuals, youth wear, women’s wear, sportswear, kids wear, footwear, accessories and more.

  • Sudeep Gohil moves on from Publicis India

    Sudeep Gohil moves on from Publicis India

    MUMBAI: Sudeep Gohil, chief strategy officer and managing partner of Publicis India has announced that he is moving on from the agency. 

    Sudeep will be moving on after serving his notice period at the agency.

    The move follows the end to his 18-month contract, which will end in August 2018. He is contemplating his next career move, which he will announce very soon. 

    Sudeep Gohil joined the agency in March 2017 and was the planning head for a number of brands under Publicis India. He, along with his team of planners across Delhi and Mumbai, provided strategic direction and solutions for brands like Nestle, HDFC MF, Heineken, Citibank, Garnier, Twitter and others. Agency aside, he even espoused the role as an industry advocate with great fervour as he re-launched the Account Planning Group (APG) in India with much success. His efforts saw the coming together of planning heads from all major agencies to further the cause of the profession in India.

    Publicis Communications CEO Saurabh Varma says, “He was instrumental in shaping up the future of a number of brands with his dynamic ideas and out-of-the-box solutions. Under him, the planning function was established as a well-oiled unit resulting in the agency winning multiple accounts over the past year or so. We will miss his dedication and passion that he bought to work every day but I am sure he will excel in whatever next he does. I wish him the very best for his venture.”

    Additionally, Publicis India managing director Srija Chatterjee adds, “The past 16 months have been almost the same for Sudeep and me as we embarked on our journey at the agency around the same time. His mandate was to bring in finesse and ambition in the ideas that came out of the agency, and I am glad to say that he lived up to the promise to its fullest. Under him, the agency was able to throw up some fascinating and purpose-led work, which created quite an impact in the marketplace.”

    Sharing his views on leaving the agency, Sudeep Gohil says, “My tenure with the Publicis India team has been amazing. The energy, enthusiasm and passion is genuinely infectious, but all good things come to an end. I’m looking forward to seeing what more the crew achieves in my absence.”

    Sudeep Gohil has a vast repertoire of experience, and has worked across some of the world’s biggest agencies. He consulted on the agency’s Asia-Pacific plans in addition to leading the Adidas business globally. He has played key roles in agencies like BBH London, and Wieden+Kennedy Portland. Sudeep set up Droga5 in Australia and later became its CEO.

  • Publicis India appoints Nishant Jethi as ECD

    Publicis India appoints Nishant Jethi as ECD

    MUMBAI: Publicis India today announced Nishant Jethi as its new executive creative director. Jethi, who will report to the company’s MD and COO Bobby Pawar, was a senior creative director at Ogilvy and Mather.

    Based out of Mumbai, Jethi will be responsible for not only raising the creative bar but also overlooking art and enhancing the work culture.

    His appointment is in line with the agency’s mandate to strengthen its creative function across various divisions given the influx of work from multiple brands like ZEE, Citibank, HDFC MF, Skoda, Nerolac, Bharti AXA etc. He will work alongside Ramakrishnan Hariharan, who had recently joined the agency as head of creative.

    Publicis India COO Bobby Pawar said, “Nishant is probably the sanest crazy man I’ve met. Beneath his rather sedate appearance lies a mind that zips along strange paths. His unique way to seeing things, great sense of design, a passion for making things with his own hands will help us elevate our game even more. The last time we worked together the agency we were at rocked. This time should be no different.”

    Publicis India MD Srija Chatterjee said, “The creative function at the agency is being repurposed to cater to the growing demands of Clients that are looking at integrated offerings in an innovative & real-time basis. We have been churning out some really great work in the past few months that are creating meaningful conversations in the marketplace and also aiding brands achieve their desired objective. Having resources like Nishant Jethi into our fold will only amplify the quality of our offering and put us on a higher pedestal to keep delivering more.”

    In a career spanning over 13 years, Jethi has worked with several leading agencies with an aim to create memorable pieces of work that strike an emotional chord with the audiences. At his best, Jethi has delivered award winning work for clients like Savlon, JSW Cement, Amazon-Kindle/Firestick/Echo, Dove etc.

    Prior to his Ogilvy stint, Jethi worked an associate creative director at DDB Mudra and Leo Burnett as art director. His body of work includes working on diverse brands like Radio City, Bajaj Electronics, ITC Hotels, Reliance MF, Bank of Baroda, Big Bazaar, Inorbit among others. 

    Commenting  on his new role Publicis India, Jethi said, “Publicis India has done some remarkable work in the past and it feels great to be a part of this intrinsic culture. I am thrilled to work with Bobby Pawar along with Ramakrishnan Hariharan, since I have worked closely with both of them before, and together I believe we can achieve new heights. I am happy with the team and clientele, and feel super charged for the journey ahead.” 

    Apart from work, Jethi uses his expertise to create meaningful work in the realm of arts and design. He is adept at creating hand-crafted wooden toys, as the design process of making them involves conceptualising, sketching, wood cutting, painting skills that come naturally to him.

  • Publicis India appoints Amit Shankar as new national creative director in Delhi

    Publicis India appoints Amit Shankar as new national creative director in Delhi

    MUMBAI: Publicis India has appointed Amit Shankar as a new national creative director in Delhi. He will replace the former head of creative Nitin Pradhan who quit the agency. Shankar will report to the Publicis India managing director and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar.

    Pawar said, “Over the last few years, our Delhi office has created some of the most talked about work for our biggest brands. Amit comes in at the right time. His mandate is to keep raising the creative bar and partner me in leading the agency into the new age of creativity. Given his talent, passion and pedigree I’m sure he will do great here.”

    Commenting on the appointment, Publicis India managing director Srija Chatterjee said “Amit joins us at an opportune time with our Delhi office witnessing some high-profile action with some key new business wins. His sharp creative reasoning and ability to throw ideas at you on a quick-fire basis is what makes him a talent to watch out for. We’re glad to have him into our fold and look forward to Delhi becoming a strong creative hotshop under his tutelage.”

    Before joining Publicis India he worked with J Walter Thompson-Gurgaon where he was senior vice president & ECD. Shankar will work towards scaling up the creative offering from New Delhi and provide effective and transformational solutions to a host of brands across categories including Maggi, Nestle, Cera, SpiceJet, Ralco Tyres etc.

    Commenting on his role, Shankar said, “I’m quite excited about joining Publicis India. Whatever I do here, I want to keep creativity at the heart of it. I believe that in today’s dynamic marketing landscape two things are important – a great supply of disruptive ideas and speed of execution. I want to bring these to the agency. I’m also a big believer in the power of momentum. If we start doing good work, better things follow.

    In his 21-year-young advertising stint, he has worked with leading agencies like Grey (including Trikaya), Contract and J. Walter Thompson. Microsoft Windows XP, Domino’s Pizza, NIIT, Honda Cars, Honda Two Wheelers, Hyundai, General Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Jaypee Cement, Pedigree, GlaxoSmithKline, Proctor & Gamble, FujiFilm, National Geographic, HeroMoto Corp, Times of India, Nestle, ITC, India Today, Government of India, Whirlpool, SpiceJet, Hindustan Times and Revlon are some of the marquee brands he has contributed to. He is equally proud of nurturing challenger brands like Intex Mobiles, Creambell ice Cream, Kwality Dairy Best, Manforce, SetWet Deodorants, Franke Faber and Jubilant Organosys.

    In his earlier leadership role as an ECD, Amit is widely credited with reigniting the creative department of Grey, Delhi virtually from the scratch and bagging the office’s first Cannes Lions and Ad fest metals. And, bringing in over 15 new brands into the agency’s fold.

  • Publicis India, MMT part ways

    Publicis India, MMT part ways

    MUMBAI: In a recent announcement, Publicis India and MakeMyTrip (MMT) have agreed to mutually part ways. This will also include the end of the agency’s journey with Goibibo, which was acquired by MMT. Details of the transition are still being worked out and the agency will be releasing the last few works for the brand very soon.

    MakeMyTrip group chief marketing officer Saujanya Shrivastava says, “Publicis has been a commendable creative partner to us. As we reviewed the way forward, we mutually agreed to part ways as it is now time for us to discover a new approach to branding. I thank Publicis for their contribution, and wish them the very best for their future endeavours.”

    Publicis India managing director Srija Chatterjee adds,  “This brand-agency partnership was iconic in more ways than one. We harnessed and built the brand for more than three years, and jointly established MakeMyTrip and Goibibo as one of the leading brands in India with a differentiated and strong equity with consumers. The final outcome notwithstanding, for factors beyond our control, it was necessary that the partnership be reviewed from a different lens. We are happy with the way the relationship has turned out for us and we wish the team all the success for the future.”

    In India, Publicis currently works with an impressive array of clients that include Nestle, Citibank, Zee, Garnier, Heineken, Nerolac, Skoda, Malaysia Tourism, HDFC Mutual Funds, among others.

  • Publicis India appoints Russell John as VP for strategy

    Publicis India appoints Russell John as VP for strategy

    MUMBAI: Publicis India has announced the appointment of Russell John as vice president for strategy. John will be based out of Mumbai and will play a key role in shaping ideas and insights and nurturing growth for a number of brands for the agency. He will report to Sudeep Gohil, CSO and managing partner at Publicis India.

    Russell joins Publicis India from Lowe Lintas where he was an associate vice president. He was one of the planners on the global team for Lifebuoy across the markets of South Asia, South East Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. Apart from that, he also managed the regional planning mandate for a host of brands including Pepsodent, Housing.com, Paranjpe Realty, Tata Tea, Britannia, Sonata Watches, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Bajaj Bikes, UTI Mutual Funds, Karvy Finance, BPCL among others.

    Sudeep Gohil mentions, “From our initial meetings, I was excited about Russell joining us and working with our clients. He has a rare blend of characteristics, which make him a great person for the growing team. Humility, curiosity, passion, intelligence and a magnetic personality. I’m very enthusiastic to see his ideas come to bear on the work we are doing in the agency.”

    Expressing his views on joining the agency, John adds, “In Sudeep Gohil, Srija Chatterjee and Paritosh Srivastava I found leaders who I wanted to associate with. It seemed like a buzzing and encouraging environment, which would give me an opportunity to add value to both the group as well as a varied set of brands. I am looking forward to lots of exciting associations and doing some great work for Publicis India.

    Apart from Lowe Lintas, Russell has also worked for Leo Burnett and Brand David Communications where he handled diverse set of brands. Many of his projects have gone on to win multiple awards across international award shows. Particularly noteworthy is his contribution for Lifebuoy that ended up winning Effectiveness awards across the India Effie, APAC Effie and Global Effie award platforms.

     

  • Ishrath Nawaz joins Publics India as ECD

    Ishrath Nawaz joins Publics India as ECD

    MUMBAI: Publicis India has appointed Ishrath Nawaz as its new executive creative director. 

    Nawaz joins Publicis India from McCann Worldwide where he was senior creative director. He will be based out of Mumbai and report to Bobby Pawar, CCO and MD of South Asia for Publicis India.

    As part of his remit, Nawaz will manage the creative mandate and drive the next phase of growth for a host of brands under Publicis India.

    Nawaz is a seasoned creative professional whose illustrious career spans nearly two decades across agencies. At McCann Worldwide, he has managed brands like Saffola and Parachute from Marico, Jet Airways, Asian Paints, Radio Mirchi 98.3, Western Union and Bosch amongst others. Prior to that, he was the creative director at Soho Square where he lent his ideas and creative skills in launching the Tiago from Tata Motors, YES Bank, Aprilia and Franklin Templeton. Ishrath has also worked in senior roles across other agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Draft FCB + Ulka and Rediffusion DYR. He has worked on a range of brands including Airtel, Bajaj Electricals, P&G – Head & Shoulders, Pampers, Ariel; Skoda, Carlsberg, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Jet Airways and Thomas Cook.

    Welcoming him to the agency, Bobby Pawar says: “We’ve been on this journey of upping our creative game for the last three, four years. It’s resulted in some landmark campaigns. Ishrath adds to our talent pool, leadership pool and our drive. He’s a bright guy with a body of cool stuff in his bag, and I’m confident he will help us raise our game even more. Plus, he shares my love for poetry.”

    Commenting on the appointment, Publicis India MD Srija Chatterjee adds, “Ishrath comes with a rich creative background having handled a host of brands across multiple agencies. His knack to come up with quick and customisable solutions on any given creative brief is what makes him a talent to watch for. Not to forget the many laurels his works have won across multiple award shows. We are happy to have him in our fold and look forward to a creative transformation on the brands that he will handle.”

    Sharing his views on joining the agency and also his role, Nawaz mentions, “There are but a few times in your life when you get an opportunity to make a difference. To change, create, shape and mould things, into something extraordinary. To me, this is one of those times. Because Publicis India is on the brink of something special. The market is ripe for the vision that the agency has. And I, therefore, count myself lucky. With a powerhouse leadership team in Bobby Pawar, Srija Chatterjee, and Ravpreet Ganesh, there are great things in store in the days to come. My mandate is simple: take Publicis to the next level. And with their support, I hope to be able to do that, and more.”

  • Ramakrishnan Hariharan joins Publicis India as creative head

    Ramakrishnan Hariharan joins Publicis India as creative head

    MUMBAI: Publicis India has strengthened its creative function with the appointment of Ramakrishnan Hariharan as the head of creative. Ram, as he is fondly known by his peers, will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Publicis India MD and CCO – South Asia Bobby Pawar. 

    As the creative head of Mumbai, Ram will manage and lend his creative know-how on some notable brands of the agency including Zee, Lakme, HDFC MF, Skoda, Citibank, etc. He will work closely with the teams and the leadership and assist in carving out a unique creative identity for the brands that he will manage.

    Commenting on the appointment, Bobby Pawar says, “Creatively, the Mumbai office has been on a roll for a while, with great work on Ambuja Cement, Nerolac, HDFC Mutual Funds, Skoda, Zee and more. Ram comes to bat at the right time. He is not just a great creative guy who is adept at traditional and non-traditional ideas, he is also the kind of leader people rally behind. I am sure he will help us raise our game a few notches.”

    Ram joins Publicis from Ogilvy India where he was the senior creative director. 

    A creative veteran with an enviable experience spanning more than 18 years, Ram has been associated with some key brands across multiple agencies in India. His most notable works include launch of Savlon antiseptic range and JSW Cement, campaigns for Amazon devices including Kindle and FireTV Stick, Taj Mahal Tea, etc. Prior to Ogilvy, Ram has also been associated with Lowe Lintas, Everest Brand Solutions, Leo Burnett, Vyas Gianetti Creative etc. 

    Welcoming Ram on board, Publicis India managing director Srija Chatterjee adds, “Ram has been the face behind some memorable campaigns in the recent past, and it will be great to see him bring that creative spark across most of our work at Publicis. We are certain that under his leadership, the teams will imbibe a great creative culture and churn out an enviable body of work that will end up winning multiple laurels. We welcome him to the agency and look forward to seeing some great work from him soon.”

    Sharing his views on joining the agency, Ram said says, “Publicis has done some outstanding work in the past and is truly geared for more success. Bobby is like a mentor to me, and I am fortunate to work closely with him in shaping up the creative culture here. We have clients who believe in us and a robust brand-planning and account-management team driving those businesses. What more can a creative person ask for.” 

    Ram is no stranger to awards and many of his works have gone on to win top honours across prominent award shows. He has been the recipient of many awards across festivals like Abby Awards, Clio Awards, Cannes Lions, Adfest, Goafest, Kyoorius Awards, Effie India, D&AD, One Show, Spikes Asia etc. 

  • Zee Marathi mandates Publicis to promote Disha

    Zee Marathi mandates Publicis to promote Disha

    MUMBAI: Zee Marathi has launched a one-of-its-kind weekly print offering – Zee Marathi Disha across 130 towns of Maharashtra. The launch campaign has been conceptualised and executed by Publicis India.

    The campaign comprises two films, both deeply rooted in the brand thought, with print & outdoor working as support mediums to the campaign thought.

    The 44 page Marathi newspaper is curated to appeal to every member of the family with genres like current affairs, business, health, entertainment, technology and kids. It is this appeal that is encapsulated in the brand thought of Zee Marathi Disha, ‘Panopani nava, pratyekala hava’. 

    DNA & Zee Marathi Disha CEO Sanjeev Garg says, “There was a clear opportunity to create a vibrant and premium newspaper that was an aggregator for the whole family. The market looks for brands that they can trust in the era of fake news. The brand will resonate with the values, ambition and the mindset of every Maharashtrian household. It was about time that we had differentiated yet extremely relevant content that was served to the readers in Maharashtra and we readily accepted the challenge. The clutter-busting approach of adopting an all family inclusive newspaper as opposed to the traditional segmentation helps in getting families together through the product.” 

    Publicis India COO Paritosh Srivastava adds, “Our main task was to develop a sharp brand thought and launch communication that differentiates Zee Marathi Disha in the category. Given that this weekly newspaper will hit stands every Saturday and offers content across a plethora of genres, we pegged our campaign on the idea of Zee Marathi being a family favourite for weekend leisure reading.”

    Publicis India MD and CCO South Asia Bobby Pawar mentions, “The task was to establish Zee Marathi Disha as a weekly newspaper for every member of the family, from a kid to the elderly. So we decided to take a light-hearted approach that would appeal to every family member. The communication also manages to establish the name ‘Disha’ in a memorable way and make it a sought-after newspaper for our Marathi speaking audience.”

  • APG comes to India

    APG comes to India

    MUMBAI: Having made its mark as an acclaimed community of planners and strategists across the globe, the highly celebrated Account Planning Group (APG) is set to formally begin operations in India. Helmed by Sudeep Gohil of Publicis India with support from planners across top agencies, APG will begin its India chapter in the second week of December with an inaugural session that will see acclaimed adman and founder and chairman of Whyness Worldwide, Ravi Deshpande, present a session on culture and creativity.

    APG is a membership organisation that promotes smarter thinking. It is headquartered in London and has a presence in multiple markets across the globe. The India chapter will see the coming together of the planning community across leading agencies who together will leverage the power of strategy to solve business problems and transform brands. A core belief of the APG is the importance of equipping planners and strategists with the training and inspiration they need to be bold and rigorous thinkers – to this end, future events will focus on this function.

    Publicis India chief strategy officer and managing partner Sudeep Gohil says, “Globally, the APG is a well-established body with a number of countries including UK, Australia, Canada and Germany – successfully running their operations with partner agencies in individual markets. It was surprising that India, despite being the hub where so many great ideas take birth, didn’t have APG to bring together and celebrate achievements of the planning community. That will now be a thing of the past as we have set up a core committee for APG India that will work closely in formulating the core objectives and will also create a platform for people to engage, deliberate and debate. We are thankful to Ravi Deshpande for gracing the inaugural function, and we look forward to hosting similar events on a regular basis across the country.”

    The APG is a not-for-profit organisation run for and by its members, primarily account planners in advertising agencies but increasingly the wider community of communications strategists, including media planners, channel planners, digital planners and DM planners.

    Ravi Deshpande is a prominent creative leader who currently spearheads Whyness Worldwide, an integrated agency, and Ecole Intuit lab, a French design school, on the same campus. Prior to that, he was at the helm of Contract India, a WPP company as chairman and chief creative officer, leading the agency to over 600 national and international awards as it became India’s premier creative force.

    The session will be held at the newly opened MTV@FLYP, Kamala Mills, Lower Parel on 13 December 2017, 6.30 pm onwards.