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Tag: Rubeena Singh

  • iProspect India wins digital media duties for GoAir

    iProspect India wins digital media duties for GoAir

    MUMBAI: iProspect India, the digital performance agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has bagged the digital media duties for the low cost international carrier, GoAir. As part of the mandate, the agency will service the account from its Mumbai office and will handle their entire digital media duties including SEO, SMO and analytics. The account was won following a pitch.

    Commenting on the win, Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India said, “This win is a matter of pride for us. GoAir is one of the finest airlines in India and is going global. We hope iProspect’s experience in driving Business Performance for clients will help the brand strengthen its position of ‘The Smart People’s Airline’ and grow their business further.”

    Cor Vrieswijk, CEO, GoAir said, “We are happy to be associated with iProspect. We understand our consumers well and now with in-depth digital insights from iProspect we will be able to further enhance our relationship with customers and drive the business objectives upwards.”

  • iProspect India launches initiative to empower women

    iProspect India launches initiative to empower women

    MUMBAI: iProspect India, the digital performance agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has announced its Women@iProspect initiative that will focus on safety, gender diversity, and leadership for its female employees. The initiative is a part of its Women@Dan programme.

    Women@iProspect will see women leaders discuss issues affecting women at work, challenges faced, how to create a work-life balance among others. The initiative, a regular feature every quarter, will be led by iProspect India CEO Rubeena Singh.

    The initiative comprises four parts including a women’s network wherein the employees will exchange ideas on how they can grow in their career; a connecting minds initiative that will help the females in the company get an external POV from a successful women leader from other industry or company through an interactive session; a therapy day on which women can (anonymously) talk to a counsellor/therapist on how to create a successful work-life balance and regarding other issues impacting their personal and professional growth; and identify the mentor initiative through which the senior leadership team will identify 2-3 women employees and put them on a fast-track mode wherein they will be mentored for a year to reach the next level in their career graph.

    Talking about the initiative, Singh said, “iProspect has always believed in enriching and helping its employees grow. Through this initiative, we want to empower diversity as well as help women reach senior roles with much more confidence. It is sad to see that while women form almost half of India’s population, their representation at workforce is very little and it further shrinks at senior levels. At iProspect, we want to change that.”

    The first session, held on 10 December 2018, saw ICICI Bank’s deputy general manager – marketing and communications Azmat Habibulla share her story. “It is a great initiative undertaken by iProspect and I believe we need such initiatives across boards to help women rise to become leaders of tomorrow. At ICICI too have various initiatives to help women employees overcome challenges that many of them face at certain life stages.”  

    The company believes in equal opportunities for all and hence, the initiative, titled Women@iProspect, will even see men participating.

  • iProspect appoints Vishal Shah, Asad Khan as senior directors

    iProspect appoints Vishal Shah, Asad Khan as senior directors

    MUMBAI: iProspect India, the digital performance agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Asad Khan and Vishal Shah as senior directors to lead the SEO practice at the agency.

    With more than eight years of experience, Khan has chiefly been responsible for expanding business for the Southeast Asian & Oceania markets and leading strategic planning for e-commerce portfolios. His core strengths lie in formulating data driven integrated search strategies using an agile marketing approach. 

    On joining iProspect, Khan says, “I’m happy to join the iProspect family. The agency’s belief in maintaining an open and transparent work environment, unrestricted access to knowledge and collaborative approach towards decision making is what gives them a competitive advantage and a clear path to continued growth. I'm eager to work with the team and help them grow the business.”

    Shah, who has worked across domestic and international markets for more than eight years now, has been instrumental in strengthening core organic search offerings as per technological advancements and market evolution. His ability to plan, execute and deliver in complex brand ecosystems has helped him successfully play the strategic lead on several enterprise clients. 

    “With a worldwide presence, iProspect has been successful in driving digital performance in every corner of the globe. 20 years of rich digital experience has led the agency to the position that it enjoys today. I look forward to the new set of learnings at iProspect,” adds Shah. 

    On the new appointments, iProspect India CEO Rubeena Singh mentions, “Reinvigorating the team with new talent is crucial in driving business performance. Both Asad and Vishal have rich experience. With them leading the SEO teams, we hope to strengthen our service suite and accelerate our growth in the next phase.”

    Prior to the move, both worked at Performics.Convonix as associate directors.

    Founded in 1997, iProspect India offers brands an entire spectrum of result-oriented digital marketing strategies. This includes paid and natural search, performance display, content generation, structured data & feeds, conversion optimisation, data & insights, social media management, lead generation & affiliates, videos and mobile services.

  • iProspect India strengthens leadership with key appointments

    iProspect India strengthens leadership with key appointments

    MUMBAI: iProspect India, the digital performance agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Venkat Shankarnarayan and Nihal Nambiar as AVPs for paid media.

    Shankarnarayan comes with a rich experience of 12 years in the industry. Having worked with leading agencies at pivotal positions, he has been instrumental in ensuring that his clients consistently deliver on their business objectives. Shankarnarayan has worked with leading organisations like GroupM, VML, DirectI & Possible Worldwide in the past decade. His last stint was at Mindshare where he was appointed as senior director.

    Shankarnarayan says, “With the advent of Martech in India, leading brands across verticals are constantly exploring newer, meaningful and more efficient methods of reaching out to the right set of audiences. In the last 20 years, iProspect has been one of the key enablers for their success in this department. I am excited to be a part of the iProspect family and glad about being able work alongside some of the best minds in the industry.”

    Having worked across both India and international markets (Offshoring/COE and AOR model) for over nine years, Nambiar brings a global perspective to performance marketing. One of his key strengths lies in the fact that he is very comfortable going deep with data and new technologies. Prior to this, Nambiar  as Associate Director at Performics.Convonix, a Publicis Media Company.

    “iProspect is one of the top digital agencies in the market and its spirit resonates with my values and ambition. One thing which I find truly amazing is that the leadership team is quick to understand & embrace new initiatives that come with the fast pace of the industry, a trait few agencies can brag about. I look forward to learn from and contribute to the amazing journey that is iProspect,” mentions Nambiar.

    Commenting on their appointment, iProspect India CEO Rubeena Singh, “We are delighted to have Nihal and Venkat on board as the agency embarks on its next phase of growth. Their diverse experience will help iProspect extend its lead as India’s premier digital agency driving business performance for its clients.”

  • Dinesh Swamy joins iProspect India as NCD

    Dinesh Swamy joins iProspect India as NCD

    MUMBAI: iProspect India, the digital agency of Dentsu Aegis Network recently announced  Dinesh Swamy as national creative director. In his new role he will be reporting to iProspect India CEO Rubeena Singh and will be based out of the Mumbai office of the company. 

    Swamy brings with him more than 17 years of experience working with the agencies such as SapientRazorfish, Digital Law and Kenneth, Tribal DDB Mudra, Proximity India and BBDO. 

    Swamy started his career as a senior multimedia developer at Red Apple Communication. Prior to his successfull stint at Liqvd Asia, he had worked as a senior creative director at SapientRazorfish for over two years. Dinesh was also the digital creative head at Proximity India for three years prior to that. 

    Swamy’s ever-growing portfolio spans strong strategic innovations and served clients like Idea Cellular, MTV, Reliance Mobile, Volkswagen, Renault, Hero MotoCorp, Visa, Tourism Australia, UltraTech Cement, Sanctum, Jeep, amongst others.

    Over the years he has supervised over 200 campaigns nationally and contributed innumerable accolades to the agencies. He has been invited to judge Adfest Asia Awards twice in the year 2012 and 2016, Abby Awards Goafest, Media Apac, Tambuli and  Grand Jury at New York Festivals.

  • Women media pros speak out about gender equality in the workplace

    Women media pros speak out about gender equality in the workplace

    MUMBAI:  Women’s Day commemorates the movement for women’s rights. First organised by The Socialist Party of America, the earliest women’s day observance, called National Woman’s Day, was held on 28 February 1909 in New York. 8 March was then suggested by the 1910 International Woman’s Conference and labeled International Woman’s Day.

    Over the past decade, a lot of brouhaha has been created about 8 March – Women’s Day – as a day to celebrate eves all over the world. Even as an increasing number of womenfolk are joining the workforce in India, the perception is that the shift to positions of power has happened for a handful only. Yes there are a few women achievers who have made it to the top rungs of corporations and they feature in flashy features in business magazines and newspapers but the number that has made it to the very top is limited.

    Therefore, Indiantelevision.com spoke to a few industry professionals who have made a mark in the Indian media industry on what Women’s Day means to them and about the status of Indian women in media and entertainment organisations and most of them were blunt that corporate India and especially media and entertainment companies have a lot of distance to cover on the issue of gender equality in the workplace. Read on:

    public://Anita Nayyar_CEO Havas Media Group India & South Asia.jpgAnita Nayyar, CEO India & South Asia  at Havas Media Group

    Women’s day is just another day that reminds me how lucky I am to be a woman and to be one among the many inspiring and accomplished women across the globe. Our (advertising agency’s) work reflects our thinking and mindset which further determines workplace equality. As an industry, we’ve come a long way since the #MeToo movement and with more campaigns like #LikeAGirl, #JaneWalker, #UnitedbyHalf we are surely and swiftly moving in the right direction, towards gender equality. Women, across the world, are expected to play a larger part in handling a household and taking care of their family. Long working hours especially in industries like advertising and media, become a hindrance and affect the overall work-life balance. Although our country boasts of a number of successful women entrepreneurs who have created successful business brands across the world, their journeys have not been easy. Women are still considered as a weaker section of society than men and given less importance.

    At workplaces, women need to first believe in themselves, participate more without hesitation and speak up for their rights. At an organisational level, companies should develop and implement comprehensive anti-discrimination policies, as a starting point. Such policies allow employers to make clear to its employees the types of behaviour that will not be tolerated in the workplace.

    public://anita_0.jpgAnita Kotwani, Leader of Client Leadership at Mindshare

    Why should the significance of women be restricted to a day? Her significance to me is “everyday” where she rises to the occasion and excels both personally and professionally. I think one makes a mark in any industry by the sheer outcome that you drive on the business.  At that time, it’s about results and not about gender bias. You deliver, you leave your mark. The only challenge that I faced in my career was how can I better my performance year on year such that I stand proud of my achievements?

    public://Soniya Kulkarni.jpgSoniya Kulkarni, Creative and Business Head for Formats and Productions at BBC Worldwide India

    The media industry is one of the industries where women have done relatively well as compared to many other industries. It requires lateral thinking, creativity, multitasking and democratic methods of operation, these are the things that most women have long proven to be excellent at. We have several instances of women who are leaders in production houses, programming, writers and designers. However, in the larger corporates you definitely see fewer women in senior and strategic positions.

    I don’t believe that women look for any special concessions at the workplace. We only expect to be treated equally, to be paid as much as our male counterparts are and given the same opportunities and the rest is on us to prove our best abilities.

    public://tata.jpgMegha Tata, Chief Operating Officer at BTVI

    Every day is a reminder to pause and reflect on the achievements of womenfolk around the world. There are many women employed in the media industry but I don’t see too many women as business heads or at the board level. It’s not about males dominating this industry, but there is something fundamentally wrong in the way we function of not making the environment more conducive for women to grow

    In this competitive atmosphere, striking a balance between your work and personal life is not an easy job for working women. A demanding career makes things even more difficult. Even as a mother I adjusted, not compromised in my life. There are times when a PTA meeting was more important than a business meeting and at times vice-versa. That’s the balancing you need to do, this can’t be taught but comes from within you, by your experiences, understanding and prioritising what is important at that moment.

    To ensure a healthy workplace for women, the industry needs to implement an egalitarian work culture, starting with equal opportunities and equal pay. There are some work roles that are less explored by women and organisations should encourage women to take forward such opportunities and support her on every possible step.

    public://Ms Leena Lele Dutta (1).jpgLeena Lele Dutta, Business Head at Sony Pictures Networks India for Kids Genre

    Why do we need to celebrate women for just for a day? I believe the key lies in being more gender neutral. I hope we have a day, in our near future, where women and men are both celebrated, free from prejudices where equality comes through in its true form. Indian media has a very healthy mix of both the genders. Women have been celebrated amongst all the sectors and business sectors especially have always enjoyed a strong presence of women professionals, and often in leadership roles. I believe the glass ceiling is cracked, but it’s yet to be broken.

    There is the adage that ‘she would get judged in whatsoever she does’ and that has been hammered in our minds since the start. Working women essay many roles; a mother, wife, daughter, boss and a team member. It is multi-dimensional, pressured, and unfortunately many succumb to the ‘choice’ they need to make. In my case, I have been blessed with an encouraging husband and family. They have been instrumental in calming my anxieties every time I’m faced at the crossroads of making the ‘choice’ – the decision; especially more so after the birth of my twin boys.

    public://rubeena.jpgRubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India.

    If you go back in history, you will note that roots of Women’s Day lie in Russia where during the World War 1, where driven to despair by the long lines for food, women went on strike. Much later the UN declared 8 March as Women’s Day to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. For me, the fact that we observe Women’s Day means that true gender equality is yet to be attained. In India, the media sector is one of the most gender diverse. Across content creation, marketing, creative, advertising women have been continuously making their mark. That said, at the senior and leadership levels we have a long way to go. 

    public://gada.jpgKranti Gada, SVP at Shemaroo Entertainment

    There are many women out there who know that it is not a level playing field for them and who in their own manner want to change it. Women’s day celebrates and recognises women, their solidarity and support for each other.  This is a day that celebrates their collective interests. I feel women have made some commendable progress in the media industry and continue to make a significant mark for themselves. We now see so many women behind the camera on television sets, in news channels and donning different hats in other creative fields. But what we can’t ignore is that, this industry has its own set of challenges. Media is a dynamic, 24X7 industry and has no fixed hours and day offs. A journalist can be summoned at any hour of the day if there is a news break. Films and television shoots almost always go beyond their twelve hours shift and wrap up into the wee hours of the day. 

    There is a high dose of uncertainty involved in this profession and it does become difficult for women to dabble with work, personal commitments and duties at home. It is up to us to decide whether we will ape the masculine or underline the feminine.

    public://ARCHANA-ANAND (1).jpgArchana Anand, EVP & Head of Digital at ZEE5 India 

    The fact that we need to call out and celebrate this gender with a specific day indicates that we still have some way to go before we claim true equality. Patricia Arquette in her Oscar acceptance speech last year spoke about the need for ‘equal wages’, cheered on by Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez. It is really intriguing that even today, women’s equality is being discussed and debated in hugely public forums of the first world. If Madonna and Meryl Streep feel the inequality strong enough to talk about it, that says a lot.

    People also assume that women will not be able to give their full potential as they have to balance work with usual life breaks; marriage, kids, home management, etc. Then there are often assumptions about women not being analytical enough. Women also have a higher EQ which is often underestimated, as is their ability to multi-task. Just stop seeing them as women and start seeing them as professionals, the way you would any man.
  • iProspect India bags 4 metals at the Global Digital Marketing Awards

    iProspect India bags 4 metals at the Global Digital Marketing Awards

    iProspect India, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network bagged 4 awards at the Global Digital Marketing Awards by the World Digital Marketing Congress. The awards ceremony took place at Taj Lands End, Mumbai in on 13th February evening.

    Details of the winning campaigns are as follows.

    1. Best Social Media Marketing Campaign – Switzerland Tourism

    2. Best Digital Integrated Campaign – Aegon Life – iDecide

    3. Best Digital Marketing Campaign – YES BANK – Khushiyon Ka Upgrade

    4. Best Multi-Channel Integrated Marketing Campaign – Kotak Mahindra Bank 811 – iPump

    Commenting on the win, Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India says, “We are delighted to have won 4 awards at the Global Digital Marketing Awards for our campaigns across different brands and sectors. We are glad that our proprietary tools like iPump are not just helping brands drive business performance, but also winning industry awards. I thank the jury for recognizing our work and the World Digital Marketing Congress for giving us opportunities to showcase the great work we do in the digital arena.”

  • Union Budget 2018: Industry expects govt to favour consumption

    Union Budget 2018: Industry expects govt to favour consumption

    MUMBAI: Union Budget 2018 has snuck up on us. This Thursday, the government will unveil its budget for fiscal year 2018-19 and many market watchers are expecting a slew of incentives for businesses. After a difficult year, some course correction is certainly on the anvil. Here’s what some of the leaders in the industry had to say:

    public://puneet-goenka_1.jpg

    “In the rapidly changing landscape, we believe that the distinction between telecom, IT and broadcasting technology has disappeared and that a convergence of these sectors is required. A positive consideration of this demand in the 2018 budget will certainly help in the rapid growth and generation of substantial employment in our country. Also, similar to the telecommunications sector, television broadcasting organisations including direct-to-home (DTH), cable services and headend in the sky (HITS) require huge investments in setting up technology and distribution networks and, as such, are ‘asset-rich’ organisations. Hence, just like in the software and telecom sectors, it is necessary to allow for the carry-forward of losses in the case of amalgamation or merger of companies in the broadcasting sector.

    For the budget 2018, we are also hopeful that the government will issue a clarification stating that transponder hire charges are not ‘royalty’ in order to avoid protracted litigation.” 

    — Indian Broadcasting Foundation president Punit Goenka 
    public://ashish_0.jpg

    “I anticipate that the Union Budget of 2018 will drive growth and whenever the economy grows, the advertising industry benefits. I see a particular thrust from the government in the areas of infrastructure development as well as for rural development. We have had a reasonably good monsoon, rural economy is starting to look up and another push in the same direction  will significantly benefit all consumption-led sectors, including FMCG, which are heavily advertised.

    I think the government will make efforts  to ensure that there is more money in the pockets of the common man, hopefully by giving some relief on the income tax front and will use technology for better tax compliance, thereby keeping the fiscal deficit under control. The fiscal deficit is very important from the point of view of controlling inflation.

    Specifically for the advertising industry I hope that there are some simplifications around the services part of GST that are announced. While GST has been a progressive step for the country, my feeling is that the services sectors  were relatively less focused upon and hence the step that was supposed to simplify indirect taxation has actually ended up complicating it significantly, particularly for advertising agencies that operate out of different cities and states and service clients who may be based all over the country. Under the thrust of the government for ease of doing business, I hope this issue gets addressed. The advertising industry doesn’t mind paying the taxes but needs simplification of processes, which are taking away too much of unproductive manpower and blocking working capital.

    Over all I feel that India is poised to see  good economic growth over the next 10 years and a little bit of help from the government policies, through the Union Budget of 2018 will further help the economy outperform the rest of the world.”

    —     Dentsu Aegis Network chairman and CEO (South Asia) Ashish Bhasin
    public://sahil-chopra_0.jpg

    “The announcement of Union budget is just around the corner with discussions & debates being conducted around it. There is hush-hush regarding the assumptions when everyone is expecting a positive release. As far as digital is concerned, besides the allocation of budgets on Digital Infra Development, there is a need to initiate a few reforms. Digital is the fastest growing sector of India and should be highly benefitted from the Union Budget.

    As per my understanding, budgets should be allocated to PSUs for investing in digital marketing. This will lead to a win-win situation as for the organisation the digital mediums will help gain recognition and support. While the digital agencies will spread awareness and educate the audience about the benefits of the organisation. Even the digital organisations paying taxes dutifully should be recognised well and given the right opportunities to flourish.

    Even on a personal level, the entrepreneurs who are platinum taxpayers should be given certain advantages as a reward for their contribution towards the nation. Any individual paying heavy taxes on time should be entitled to such benefits which could be in the form of a card similar to the other identity cards we have. This will not only be a welcomed move, but it will also ignite the zeal among the others to be a part of that category thereby benefitting the country.

    However, what the budget is going to be will be interesting to witness and I hope for some reforms that help the digital sector in various ways.”

    — iCubesWire CEO and founder Sahil Chopra
    public://mitesh-shah_0.jpg

    “Given the NDA Government’s strong intent to drive reforms, we definitely anticipate some rationalisation in tax structures and strengthening of related  infrastructure. While the GST council has already taken some proactive measures, we hope the Government will reemphasize on a roadmap for simple and business friendly GST compliance and administration systems. More importantly, over the course of next few months, initiate all necessary constitutional amendments to ensure that there are no other State or Local Body Taxes, as they defeat the very purpose of bringing uniformity in tax structure, while ensuring proper input credit for taxes. 

    For the accelerated growth of the start-up sector and economy at large, it’s important that the push for digitisation should continue with more vigour. Initiatives by the Government including waving MDR on debit cards on transactions upto Rs 2,000 really go a long way in attaining this objective and we hope, on similar lines in post-budget period, rationalisation mechanisms are introduced around credit cards rates as well–which will continue to be a major mode of payments. UPI should be made more cost effective and should be given a much larger push to increase its adoption in India. 

    We do expect the Government to take up and address IT infrastructure and allied issues this year, taking into account some serious issues that are being faced by the entertainment/media sector such as Piracy. The IT laws must be strengthened to address the root cause for these issues that are constantly causing a substantial hit to the overall revenues for the sector.” 

    — BookMyShow head of finance Mitesh Shah  
    public://Rubeena-Singh_0.jpg

    “In this budget, we look forward to the government focusing on the upliftment of the rural economy and job creation. 49 per cent of the Indian population is engaged in the rural economy. More money in their hands will lead to rebalancing of media spends by corporates that provide goods and services to the rural market. This will be a positive for the advertising industry.”

    —     iProspect India CEO Rubeena Singh
    public://amit-shukla_0.jpg

    “India’s hospitality industry is one of the key drivers of growth of its service sector. With a turnover of USD 71.53 billion in 2016, it accounted for 9.6 per cent of GDP and was the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country. The sheer volume of business it is generating makes streamlining GST on hospitality imperative for Budget 2018.

    Government has somewhat eased its taxation policy by downward revision of rates or rationalization of tax slabs, however, a more detailed approach for resolving issues that still plague GST is required. For instance, IGST in not available to Hotels, tax is calculated on declared rather than actual tariffs, luxury travel and stay are taxed at considerably higher rates, food and beverages sector suffers from the loss of input tax credit, all of which increase costs for end-users and subliminally disincentivises consumption. With experts predicting overall industrial growth between 100 and 200 per cent in next couple of years, 2018 should see a significant expansion in HORECA industry; hence it would be highly beneficial if government would fuel this growth with some planned tax benefits.

    Hotel industry is highly capital intensive. Granting infrastructure status to this sector would enable hotels secure long term loans at competitive rates, which would help reduce room tariffs. Facilitating loan availability to small and medium enterprises under Mudra scheme with easier accessibility and larger outlays and granting tax benefits to remote businesses can further help the industry.

    In addition, leading hospitality industries around the world revolve around a core group of highly skilled individuals – an area where India still lacks. Benefits of creating and maintaining a talent pool of skilled manpower would be significant. Were government to allocate some portion of the budget to this area, it would go a long way in making India the global leader in the hospitality sector.”

    —Pursuite.com CEO Amit Shukla