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Tag: Razorfish

  • Razorfish appoints Nick Turner as international executive creative director

    Razorfish appoints Nick Turner as international executive creative director

    MUMBAI: Razorfish has appointed AKQA’s Nick Turner as international creative director.

     

    The hire marks a substantial reinforcement to the existing creative teams established in international markets – Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy and UK.

     

    Turner is responsible for driving the highest creative standards and output while attracting, inspiring and retaining exceptional talent. He will continue to nurture and grow the world-class creative department for the UK office and will be a driving force in promoting experience led innovation throughout the agency’s international offices and for new and existing clients.

     

    Turner will report directly to Razorfish global chief creative officer Daniel Bonner.

     

    “It speaks volumes about the positive trajectory of our international markets that we’ve hired Nick to lead and coordinate their creative output. I’m incredibly proud of the best-in-class, award winning talent Razorfish is attracting. Nick brings his own unique abilities and experience to this role that will make it possible for us to push boundaries even further,” Bonner said. 

     

    Turner’s appointment is effective from 30 March. Prior to joining Razorfish, Turner spent 16 years at AKQA, joining as an art director in 1998 and progressing to executive creative director in 2011. Turner has amassed armfuls of UK, European and Global awards including a Cannes Cyber Lions Grand Prix.

     

    Turner said, “I am excited to join a forward thinking agency that is proud of the work, proud of its people and totally obsessed with creating truly original ideas. I look forward to leading the international team and delivering innovative and meaningful solutions to some of the world’s most ambitious and influential brands.”

  • Razorfish brings on board Anushree Ghosh

    Razorfish brings on board Anushree Ghosh

    MUMBAI: Razorfish today announced the appointment of Anushree Ghosh as director, strategic planning who comes with a rich experience of 15 years. She will be operating from the Mumbai office but is mandated to lead strategy across key businesses for Razorfish India. She will be reporting in to Charulata Ravikumar, Chief Executive Officer Razorfish India.  

    Commenting on the appointment Charulata Ravi Kumar, CEO Razorfish India, “We are constantly seeking highly curious people who have the energy and a razorsharp mind to persistently look for lateral solutions for the clients we partner. Her ability to quickly cut through the million possibilities to get to that one clear insight will be a big asset for us.”

    On her appointment Anushree Ghosh – Director, Strategic Planning, Razorfish India, “I have admired Razorfish for long and have been closely following all their work in India and globally. The opportunity to drive Business Transformation for some of the most prestigious brands in India is a fantastic one, and I am really excited to be part of the same.”

    Charulata adds, “A planner who brings the synchronization of brand and digital strategy is unique and Anushree’s experience in both will help our clients to see the brand, not in pieces, but rather as a seamlessly integrated whole.”

    Anushree has worked with eminent agency networks like Law and Kenneth, JWT and SapientNitro. Over the years Anushree has driven strategy for brands such as e-Bay, Nestle, Horlicks, Smirnoff, Lipton, Marks & Spencer, Lux, Magnum Ice Cream, Lifestyle.

     

  • Razorfish appoints Charulata Ravi Kumar as new CEO for India

    Razorfish appoints Charulata Ravi Kumar as new CEO for India

    MUMBAI: Razorfish has announced the appointment of Charulata Ravi Kumar as the chief executive officer, India.

     Kumar will work from the agency’s Mumbai office, also responsible for the regional presence across Bangalore, Gurgaon and Pune. She will report to APAC executive chairman Vincent Digonnet.

     

    Previously, Kumar has held leadership roles in India, Middle East and Europe and has managed businesses and brands across US and South Asia. Her 25 year career includes stints with the WPP and Lowe networks as well as establishing her own successful innovation and leadership skills consultancy Coffee Kettle.

     

    Kumar said, “I’m honoured to lead Razorfish India’s business and to be tasked with taking the network to new heights, leveraging technology, social media, e-commerce, data services, experience, design and brand building capabilities to deliver transformational business experiences. My goal is to ensure Razorfish India remains to be the destination for smart, curious, creative and entrepreneurial-minded people and to further strengthen Razorfish India’s existing core competencies.”

     

    Digonnet remarked, “Charulata brings to this role true business transformation skills through a blend of innovation, integrated marketing solutions and entrepreneurship. She has diverse experience across sectors such as services, manufacturing and consumer products across leading multinational corporations and global brands.”

     

    He continued, “She is the perfect succession choice and her proven skills that help brands to bridge the gap between today’s business reality and tomorrow’s new opportunities, is a perfect marriage to Razorfish’s business model. She has in-depth understanding of the Indian market and her background is a perfect complement to the skills we have already developed.”

     

    Outgoing managing director, Kanika Mathur added, “It’s been a privilege to have worked within the Publicis Groupe, latterly at Razorfish, an iconic organisation with digital at its core, since 2008. I commence my new professional challenge assured that under Charulata’s leadership, Razorfish India will continue to thrive and progress an agenda, helping clients navigate the future and transform their businesses.”

     

    Kumar’s appointment is effective immediately.

  • Adobe and Publicis Groupe team up to deliver a global marketing platform

    Adobe and Publicis Groupe team up to deliver a global marketing platform

    MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe and Adobe have announced a strategic partnership to deliver the Publicis Groupe Always-On Platform, the first end-to-end marketing management platform from Publicis Groupe that automates and connects all components of a client’s marketing efforts.

     

    The platform will standardise on Adobe Marketing Cloud, and all agencies across Publicis Groupe will be able to create engaging content, access marketing intelligence, identify and build audience segments, deliver campaigns, and track and measure marketing performance through a unified technology and data structure.

     

    It will be anchored in VivaKi as an open framework so that every agency can deploy and brand it uniquely for use.  Agencies currently slated to access the system include BBH, DigitasLBi, Leo Burnett, MSLGROUP, Publicis Worldwide, Razorfish, Rosetta, Saatchi & Saatchi, Starcom MediaVest Group, VivaKi and ZenithOptimedia.

     

    The collaboration is expected to drive growth across the two companies, and accelerate Publicis Groupe’s goal to make combined digital and emerging market revenue 75 per cent of its multi-billion dollar business by 2018.

     

    “Adobe and Publicis Groupe are a powerful combination and we have been delivering marketing innovation together for more than two decades,” said Adobe president and CEO Shantanu Narayen. “The massive scale of agency services across the Publicis networks, coupled with Adobe’s unique leadership in digital marketing solutions, will enable Publicis clients to develop best-in-class digital marketing capabilities that drive growth.”

     

    “By embarking on this journey with Adobe, a powerhouse in creative and marketing solutions, Publicis Groupe will be the first agency holding company to offer clients an integrated set of digital marketing solutions across all key marketing and creative agencies” said Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Levy. “We are solving a core marketing dilemma for our Clients by enabling them to more personally interact with their customers and tell relevant, powerful stories at scale, while successfully navigating the complex digital landscape.”

     

    “We are essentially creating a new operating model stitching together multi-agency services, technologies and workflows to the benefit of our clients,” said VivaKi’s chief growth officer Stephan Beringer.  “By converging the forces of marketing technology, data, creativity and strategy, we eliminate silos, optimize delivery and maximize the investments made in ad budgets, talent and consumer engagement.”

     

     The platform is scheduled to provide Publicis Groupe agencies and their clients with four solutions to solve current marketing challenges:

     

    1.      Multi-touch Attribution. The Always-On platform will move the market beyond “last click” attribution by providing options for a multi-touch model that identifies and assigns true value to specific marketing components – online and off line – that help spur customer action. Publicis Groupe agencies will be able to enhance their attribution and planning solutions with Adobe’s Master Marketing Profile and Media Mix Modeling, as well as Adobe Analytics, to measure the most effective touch-points across channels and model investments.

     

    2.      Unparalleled Audience Understanding. Always-On encompasses a data management platform (DMP) which will produce a robust set of customer profiles, segmentations and vertical insights.  VivaKi will also develop a data co-op where clients, and ultimately publishers, can opt in and contribute data in exchange for even richer customer profiles, vertical insights and customer intelligence.  Adobe Audience Manager and Adobe Media Optimizer will drive optimal targeting and cross-channel campaign performance.

     

    3.      Campaign/Marketing Automation.  As screens and devices proliferate, Always-On is expected to automate marketing effort across multiple channels. With the goal of integrating Adobe Campaign with analytics and segmentation tools, the platform will empower Publicis Groupe agencies to drive campaign efficiency and engagement across the full customer journey to reach audiences that matter at the highest moments of receptivity. The automated integration will allow all marketing functions to coordinate efforts by acting on the same data. This includes an agreement across the agencies for cross channel campaign management for search and social buy side optimization through Adobe Media Optimizer.

     

    4.      Content and Experience Management. The digital asset management capability within Adobe Experience Manager is expected to enable teams, wherever they sit inside the network, to easily and effectively create, manage, and control valuable digital assets. From the moment an asset is created to the point of delivery, the platform will enable workgroups to create and manage assets through the entire lifecycle of global branding and multichannel distribution with a single, easily accessible digital repository.

     

     Both Adobe and Publicis Groupe will invest in joint sales and marketing, including retaining a dedicated team of strategists and business development specialists to innovate and bring the platform to market.

  • Razorfish hires MediaCom’s Vik Kathuria as global chief media officer

    Razorfish hires MediaCom’s Vik Kathuria as global chief media officer

    MUMBAI: Razorfish, a digital and technology agency, has appointed Vik Kathuria as global chief media officer.

     

    Kathuria will report directly to Razorfish’s Global CEO Pete Stein.

     

    In his new role, Kathuria will be responsible for leading the agency’s 300 media employees worldwide, driving Razorfish’s exclusively digital media strategy—from its executive level partner relationships to its proprietary data solution infrastructure—and overseeing a global client roster that includes DHL, Starwood, HSN and Best Buy. He will also be involved in further strengthening and aligning Razorfish’s global media practice and commanding significant new business efforts.

     

     “As we continue to evolve our global media offering and educate clients on the need to employ a digital-centric approach, it is essential we have a leader poised to take us to the next level,” said Stein. “Vik’s experience lies in negotiating digital media strategies that maximize brand investment. He has what it takes to further progress our team, support our shift to programmatic buying and foster our culture of innovation and optimization.”

     

     “Razorfish’s media practice is excelling at a time when many agencies in its position are stagnant,” said Kathuria. “My entire career has been comprised of helping brands and agencies identify progressive integrated media strategies that accelerate ROI. As Global Chief Media Officer I am excited to support Razorfish as it further amplifies an already superior offering.”   

     

    A 20-year industry veteran, Kathuria most recently served as global head of digital investment for MediaCom, one of WPP’s leading media agencies under the GroupM umbrella. In this position, he was tasked with establishing network-wide best practices, leading relationships with global publishers and driving multi-market client negotiations. Prior to joining MediaCom in 2008, Kathuria was senior vice president of digital media for OMD and served in senior global marketing positions at Citigroup (New York) and PepsiCo (Singapore). He is the recipient of numerous awards including being named an “Agency Innovator” by Internationalist Magazine and one of Cynopsis’ “Most Intriguing People” in 2013.

     

    Kathuria will begin working out of the agency’s New York City headquarters immediately.

  • Razorfish appoints Anne Davis as senior VP head of multi-national clients

    Razorfish appoints Anne Davis as senior VP head of multi-national clients

    MUMBAI:  Publicis Group’s full-service digital agency, Razorfish, has appointed Anne Davis as the senior vice president head of multi-national clients.

    A member of the Razorfish team since 2009, Davis has over 20 years experience working in client and integrated communication agencies with the last 15 focused on digital. The role is based out of Hong Kong.

    Her new role is to build an operation and culture that is hospitable to multi-national client relationships. “Many client companies are establishing global operations in APAC. We are the only global agency network equipped to support this regional business focus. The creation of my new role supports the ongoing evolvement of Razorfish’s relationships with clients; partnering to navigate the unknown, drive change and enable business transformation.”

     

    She will be reporting directly into global CEO, Pete Stein, and  will work both with the global leadership team and with the organisation as a whole to facilitate multi-national client opportunities.

    Razorfish global CEO Pete Stein commented: “Anne has been working globally for more than 20 years. She’s managed regional and global accounts for brands as diverse as IBM, Cisco, P&G, Unilever, Diageo, Reckitt-Benckiser, Blackberry and Gucci. These experiences, combined with her continued presence in Asia Pacific, position her to deliver unparalleled opportunities for our multi-national clients.”

     

    Via organic growth and acquisition Razorfish operations have grown 25% in the last two years. Of the 3000 global Razorfish employees, 1000 employees are located in APAC regions.
     

  • Razorfish Germany bolsters creative muscle with ECD from TBWA

    Razorfish Germany bolsters creative muscle with ECD from TBWA

    MUMBAI: Razorfish Germany has appointed Preethi Mariappan as executive creative director. Her appointment further strengthens the creative department of 50 people across two offices located in Frankfurt and Berlin. One of Preethi’s most notable pieces of work is the Red Tomato Pizza Fridge Magnet, which picked up four Cannes Lions in 2012. Additionally she has received global recognition at One Show, Sabre, Dubai Lynx and Effies.

     

    Preethi’s appointment is effective immediately. She brings to the role an industry wide reputation and award-winning expertise across multiple sectors. Preethi will partner with all Razorfish clients helping navigate the unknown, drive change and enabling business transformation.

     

    Sascha Martini, CEO Razorfish Germany commented: “To be able to attract such amazing talent demonstrates the stellar industry reputation held by Razorfish. We are thrilled to have Preethi onboard, confident that she brings a complimentary set of skills and experience to the team.”

     

    Preethi Mariappan said: “With a focus on driving creative solutions that go beyond campaigns and deliver real business value, Razorfish has created one of the most exciting spaces to work in digital today. I look forward to joining the team and taking this vision further.”

     

    Daniel Bonner, Global Chief Creative Officer, added: “Our company is in the talent business as much as we are in the advertising and marketing business and Preethi’s appointment in Germany is one more significant step forward towards our goal – a world class talent pool across the entire Razorfish network. This announcement follows a number of key hires we made of award winning Executive Creative Directors in the US, UK and Asia/Pac in the last 12 months.”

     

    Preethi’s last role was with Digital ECD TBWA, heading up the Digital Arts Network by bringing together storytelling, people and products. Her tenure at TBWA commenced in 2010 when she joined as Head of Digital, working on clients including GE, Nissan, Standard Chartered Bank and GSK.

     

    She is founder of Adwomen Middle East, an advertising community for women.

  • VivaKi scales audience on demand in APAC through regional activation center

    VivaKi scales audience on demand in APAC through regional activation center

    MUMBAI: VivaKi continues the global expansion of audience on demand (AOD) and announced the launch of a regional activation center for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Following substantial growth of AOD and increasing global demand, the center will launch and aggressively scale Publicis Groupe’s addressable media practice throughout Asia Pacific. Grace Liau has been appointed to lead the operations as regional GM.

    AOD is Publicis Groupe’s multi-channel digital addressable media buying practice that enables global and local advertisers to reach the right audiences, at the right time, at scale, across all digital touchpoints in real-time. Combining the talent of some of the industry’s leading addressability experts along with industry-leading technology and data partnerships, AOD delivers data-driven display, video, social and mobile advertising buys for Publicis Groupe agencies including Starcom MediaVest Group, ZenithOptimedia, Razorfish and DigitasLBi.

    As one of the first entrants in the real time bidding marketplace, AOD is recognised as the most trusted solution in the industry. Globally, AOD has served more than 280 billion impressions across more than 110,000 campaigns for 2,283 advertisers in 23 countries.

    VivaKi country chair in southeast Asia Jeffrey Seah said: “Audience On Demand (AOD) is VivaKi‘s proprietary trading desk technology. It represents the epitome of laser-targeting consumers – a real-time matching of advertising inventory to consumer profiles. Just like programmatic trading in the financial stockbroking houses, AOD will bring an industrial-level of efficiency over “retail” media buying and will provide our agencies with the competitive advantage needed in our technology-infused industry.”

    The aim of the regional Activation Center is to proficiently scale the Groupe’s digital addressable media practice across Asia Pacific, whilst maintaining global consistency and the high standards AOD is synonymous with. Following highly successful beta testing of AOD across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia this news also formally launches AOD in South East Asia.

    “AOD was built to provide clients with quality, service, safety and transparency in the programmatic space. Our commitment is to preserve these benefits even as we pursue an aggressive growth strategy. Establishing an activation center in Singapore, and installing a respected, experienced AOD expert at the helm, allows us to scale AOD in a vital region while ensuring the unique value proposition of the offering. Grace and her team will activate all the attributes of AOD, including the VivaKi Verified standards, which no other programmatic option can offer,” VivaKi CEO Frank Voris expounded.
    Originally from Singapore, Grace has spent the past 20 years living in Boston and transfers into her new role with a formidable track record in the online advertising sector. Grace is a digital marketing pioneer and was part of the original VivaKi team that launched AOD in 2008. Most recently at VivaKi, Grace has lead the Platforms Partnership team and the Ad Operations Center of Excellence (Ad Ops COE), an internal consultancy focused on establishing a community of world-class digital advertising professionals that develop and lead digital ad operations best practices across VivaKi.

    Prior to joining VivaKi, Grace headed up the Media Operations & Technology practice for Digitas where she was responsible for developing bespoke strategies for clients and leading their Advanced Targeting technologies work. Grace will transition into her new role at the beginning of October and will report into Kurt Unkel. Also joining the Activation Center team in Singapore is Stephen Tompkins as AOD Director. Stephen transferred to his new role in August and will be tasked with driving growth of AOD across the APAC network. Stephen joined VivaKi in 2011 as a platform expert and has been an instrumental part of the team. Most recently Stephen has been based in Beijing where he has been responsible for driving adoption of AOD across the region. Kurt Unkel, President, Products & Solutions for VivaKi comments: “Grace and Stephen are industry experts in addressable and programmatic media. Both have global experience, are proven collaborators which have made them instrumental to AOD’s success. They will preserve and enhance the benefits of AOD as we scale the offering and grow markets.” This news follows the recent announcement that VivaKi has launched an Activation Center in Amsterdam to proficiently scale AOD across Europe. A third regional activation center is currently being planned in China.

  • Razorfish hires Manan Mehta to steer India biz

    Razorfish hires Manan Mehta to steer India biz

    MUMBAI: Razorfish, the technology-led digital company from Publicis Groupe, has appointed Manan Mehta as head of business and senior vice president – India.

    Mehta joins Razorfish from Taproot where he was managing partner and a founding member of the agency.

    Razorfish will be based out of Mumbai and will work with clients across the India region. Mehta’s mandate will be to introduce and establish Razorfish in India and put together an A-team to run client operations.

    Mehta said, “The opportunity to impact client’s business by combining cutting edge technology with creativity has compelled me to take up this assignment with Razorfish.” He further added that, “In India, businesses at large have started acknowledging the active role that digital and technology can play in building their brands, and are gearing up to embrace this new world order. In fact, there are organizations that have started institutionalizing social thinking across departments”. He concluded, “I have always admired Razorfish‘s work, and today I am really excited to be part of the team”.

    Razorfish managing director Kanika Mathur said, “Manan is an enterprising young professional with solid fundamentals about business and brands. His experience in the field of advertising and communication will be a huge asset for Razorfish in providing focus and driving growth for us in India”.

    Publicis had earlier announced the entry of the Razorfish brand in India with the acquisition of Neev Technologies which would now operate as Razorfish Neev.

    Razorfish Neev CEO Saurabh Chandra added, “Manan spearheading Razorfish’s India business focus is going to be a great asset for us. His understanding of what brands want and need to succeed in India is superlative. Together with Razorfish Neev’s technical strengths this is a winning combination”.

    Manan has earlier worked with Brand David (then RMG DAVID) in Delhi and Mumbai. He then moved to Leo Burnett, Mumbai. While at Leo Burnett apart from handling key brands as brand partner, he was also assigned additional responsibilities of Leo Entertainment as business head and Arc worldwide as retail director.

    From Leo Burnett he moved to set up Taproot India as a founding member in the capacity of managing partner. He has worked on numerous brands across various categories such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7UP from PepsiCo’s stable. Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Minute Maid and Maaza from Coca-Cola regional business, Airtel, SET WET, Hair & Care, Tata Capital, Myntra.com, Times Of India, Mumbai Mirror, GQ, Conde Nast, Reliance Mutual Fund, Reliance Capital, Sony Entertainment Television, Reliance Mobile, Cox & Kings and LG.

  • Publicis launches Razorfish in India with Neev acquisition

    MUMBAI: France-based media communications group Publicis Groupe has acquired Bengaluru-based technology services provider Neev as part of launching its digital entity Razorfish in India.

    The agency will operate as Razorfish Neev led by Neev CEO Saurabh Chandra. He will report into Razorfish and Digitas India managing director Kanika Mathur with a direct connection to Razorfish global CTO Ray Velez.

    Neev specialises in eCommerce, SaaS (Software as a Service) and cloud applications across web, social and mobile.

    Founded in 2005 and based in Bangalore, Neev employs a team of 250 specialists, of which over 220 are technologists, with experience and expertise in leveraging cloud and mobile technologies and promoting innovation that drives business success.

    Neev serves a growing list of prominent brands and technology companies mainly in India and the US. Neev has increased revenues on average 45 percent year-on-year since 2007.

    “Razorfish can now offer scaled expertise in India, complementing its already strong presence in Greater China and Australia,” Razorfish and Digitas networks APAC president Vincent Digonnet.

    “At the core of Razorfish lies innovation and technology, and we can only launch the brand in a market with a very deep tech development capability. Neev is providing us with the right engine, including an ability to deliver sophisticated state of the art web, ecommerce, mobile and social solutions. In addition, the acquisition will support the development capabilities of Razorfish technology teams in the US,” he adds.

    Neev CEO Saurabh Chandra said, “Neev has always delivered its work by leveraging leading edge technologies in cloud and mobility. With Razorfish we are looking at taking this to a larger portfolio of clients. Our focus remains delivering solutions to our clients that solve real business problems with the best combination of creativity and technology.”

    Publicis Groupe‘s goal is to create the world‘s leading concentration of digital skills and competencies and to that end is committed to doubling its size in India between 2010 and 2015.

    This year, the Groupe acquired the leading digital agency Convonix based in Mumbai and back in 2012 made significant acquisitions with iStrat (December 2012), Resultrix (August 2012) and Indigo Consulting (April 2012).

    VivaKi India country chair for Srikant Sastri, who is overseeing the acquisition of Neev added, “With the acquisition of Neev, we have added cutting-edge tech capabilities. We are now twice as large as any other global network in terms of digital team-strength and revenues, and unparalleled in breadth and depth of digital skills.”