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Tag: Starcom

  • Publicis brings Ravi Bhaya home to script client-first transformation

    Publicis brings Ravi Bhaya home to script client-first transformation

    MUMBAI: Talk about a full-circle moment, Ravi Bhaya is back at Publicis, this time to steer the ship as chief client officer at Publicis Media India. Based in Mumbai and reporting to Lalatendu Das, CEO of Publicis Media South Asia, Bhaya’s brief is crystal clear: transform client partnerships with a mix of data, AI and creativity that sets the group apart in what it calls a “Category of One.”

    It’s a homecoming for Bhaya, who spent over two decades shaping global media strategies across India, Germany, South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and North America. His CV reads like a travelogue of transformation leading mandates for marquee brands including P&G, Samsung, Coca-Cola, BMW and Mondelez, expanding agency capabilities in new markets, and driving growth strategies rooted in performance-led marketing.

    Bhaya also dabbled in the startup world, co-founding Rsquared Global Ventures (R2GV) to advise Martech, Adtech, data and commerce ventures on scaling strategies, while working closely with VCs to spot high-growth bets in emerging tech. Before that, as managing director for global growth at Munich-based Serviceplan Group, he was instrumental in driving alliances, partnerships and international expansion.

    His return to Publicis signals a sharper client-first agenda. With Starcom, Zenith and Performics under his wing, Bhaya is tasked with deepening partnerships and pushing integrated, future-ready solutions in India’s rapidly shifting media landscape. For Publicis Groupe, which has doubled down on data-led and AI-powered offerings, the appointment underscores its ambition to blend global expertise with local impact.

    Or as Bhaya himself put it, coming back feels both “familiar and fresh” rooted in trust, fuelled by renewed ambition, and very much tuned to what’s next for clients in an industry where data, creativity and AI are increasingly inseparable.

  • Ratheesh MS joins Starcom as vice president after long GroupM stint

    Ratheesh MS joins Starcom as vice president after long GroupM stint

    MUMBAI: Advertising veteran Ratheesh MS has taken charge as vice president at Starcom, the media agency under Publicis Groupe. His appointment follows a brief spell at WPP Media and a near decade with GroupM’s Motivator, where he rose to general manager.

    Ratheesh has built a reputation for steering high profile accounts across auto, telecom, e commerce, insurance and consumer goods. His career spans over 19 years with stints at ZenithOptimedia, Wavemaker, Carat, Lintas Media, MPG Group, Malayala Manorama and Infomedia.

    Among his proudest milestones: conceptualising India’s first car night rally for Maruti Suzuki’s Swift, delivering double digit growth for Jabong.com, and leading Honda Cars’ media win in a multi agency pitch.

    At Starcom, Ratheesh is expected to bring his trademark blend of disruptive growth strategy and meticulous media planning to fuel the agency’s next phase of expansion.

  • Ad Tech Today is back with its second edition of EMERGE

    Ad Tech Today is back with its second edition of EMERGE

    MUMBAI: Ad Tech Today is back with its second edition of EMERGE. After the grand success in Mumbai last year, EMERGE 2025 is all set to take place on 07 August at Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, Delhi (Gurugram).Gurugram will play host to one of India’s most refreshing marketing events — EMERGE 2025, a celebration of independent thinking, bold creativity, and innovation across digital, media, and tech.

    Presented by Adtech Today, EMERGE 2025 is where leaders from agencies, brands, and platforms come together to decode what’s really driving growth today. With Kargo as Premium AdTech Partner, Trackier as Managing Partner, Annimmoov as Creative Partner, Wingreens as Gifting Partner, and Treize Communications as PR Partner, the event promises ideas worth spotlighting and conversations worth joining.

    The day-long event will feature bold panel discussions, each curated around future-ready themes. A session on Short-form Content & Commerce will be there on short-form content’s growing influence. Niti Kumar (Starcom) will moderate a conversation featuring Nikita Malhotra (Woodland), Naresh Gupta (Bang in the Middle), Nisha Khatri (Libas), Sindhu Biswal (Buzzlab), Megha Marwah (White Rivers Media), and Neha Kant (Clovia)  diving into how creators, commerce, and content converge.

    The panel “Thriving Independently: Adapting to Tech, Media Shifts & Competing with Giants” will be moderated by Mimi Deb (Madison Media Plus). Panelists include Sajit Gopal (Domino’s), Sini Magon (Grapes), Sumon Chakrabarti (Buffalo Soldiers), Sonal Shrivastav (Kenstar), Tufayl Merchant (Howl), and Vishnu Sharma (Efficiency Worldwide) decoding how independent agencies and new-age marketers are collaborating and competing at scale.

    Another session will be on The Future of Performance Marketing, which will be moderated by Kumar Awanish (Cheil India). This panel will explore the evolving dynamics of performance-driven marketing. Panelists include Chirag Jagwani (Fixderma), Shweta Srivastava (Dr. Reddy’s), Dr. Ashish Bajaj (Narayana Health), Sachin Vashishtha (Paisabazaar), Vikram Singh (ITC Hotels), and Rahul Pant (Trackier) offering practical and strategic insights for marketers.

    The panel “Unfiltered: What It Really Takes to Run an Independent Agency Today” brings together honest perspectives from both agency and brand leaders. Moderated by Dr. Kushal Sanghvi, the session features Nasheet Shadani(Nash8), Anadi Sah (Tgthr.), Pratik Lalwani (CrayWings), Shubh Bajaj (Lyxel & Flamingo) and Manas Gulati (ARM Worldwide), who share raw insights into the indie agency journey.

    EMERGE 2025 will also throw Spotlight on Visionaries with a new segment called The Founder’s Spotlight, that will recognize bold, rising entrepreneurs from across marketing and media. Adding depth to this showcase is a review panel of seasoned leaders Ishank Joshi (Mobavenue), and Gandharv Sachdev (Hybrid) and Karanbir Bhatia (Yugo Capital) who will share their perspectives on leadership, innovation, and the future of independent growth.

    Keynotes That Cut Through

    In a hard-hitting keynote, Nabajit Nath, Sales Director – India at Kargo, will address “Ad Fraud 2.0: The Growing Threat of MFA in India”. Also on stage, Srikanth Rayaprolu ,CEO of Adtech Today will deliver a forward-looking keynote: “Eastward Bound: Strategic Expansion for Independent Agencies in ME & SEA.”

    An integral part of the event, The EMERGE Awards will look to honor excellence across independent agencies, publishers, and tech platforms. With categories spanning display, video, influencer, and data-led campaigns, these awards are curated to spotlight outstanding digital work.

    Chaired by Dr. Kushal Sanghvi and K.V. Sridhar (Pops), with select editorial oversight, the awards ensure that credibility, creativity, and impact stay at the heart of every recognition.

  • Ashish Singh hops over to Starcom as vice president after a long Mindshare innings

    Ashish Singh hops over to Starcom as vice president after a long Mindshare innings

    MUMBAI: Ashish Singh, a seasoned digital strategist with close to 20 years in media and marketing, has joined Starcom as vice president. The move comes after a rewarding 6-year run at Mindshare, where he last served as principal partner.

    Ashish’s career reads like a masterclass in Indian media evolution — from steering digital growth at Mindshare and Carat, to shaping strategies at Omnicom, Isobar, Hungama, and even a pre-digital era stint at Naukri.com.

    From new business pitches to integrated digital solutions, Ashish has been the go-to guy for driving revenue and innovation. His impressive resume includes managing marquee accounts, building digital roadmaps, leading pitch wins, and mentoring teams across verticals.

    With this power move to Starcom, industry insiders are watching closely as Singh aims to script a fresh growth story at the Publicis-owned agency. Let the planning wars begin.

  • Agencies must connect, not just communicate, say industry leaders at Goafest 2025

    Agencies must connect, not just communicate, say industry leaders at Goafest 2025

    MUMBAI: Goafest 2025’s marquee session, ‘Ignite The Shift’, powered by Hindustan Times and Amar Ujala, staged a spirited conversation on marketing’s evolving ecosystem. The panel, titled “Merging Boundaries: From Placement to Partnership”, brought together five sharp minds—Google India director – marketing partners Satya Raghavan, Starcom India CEO Rathi Gangappa, JioStar head of revenue, entertainment & international Ajit Varghese, Tata Commercial Vehicles CMO Shubhranshu Singh, and moderator Omnicom Media Group India group CEO Kartik Sharma—for a high-voltage discussion on what defines partnership, performance, and brand-building in 2025.

    Opening the session with nostalgic candour, Sharma remarked, “Media was once a business of placement; now it’s a business of partnership”. He added that today’s agencies juggle multiple hats—from storytellers and influencers to data miners and tech integrators.

    Gangappa drove the point home: “It’s no longer innovate or die—it’s connect or die”. She called on agencies to shift from delivering solutions to forging seamless partnerships. “Partnerships today are about connecting the dots—storytelling, media, commerce, influence, even loyalty—and doing it all with intelligence and empathy”.

    Varghese reinforced that clients today demand more, “Agencies now invest in first-party data and tech stacks, stitching solutions across OTT, mobile, and CTV”. From integration to insight, agencies, he said, must become navigators across a complex media map. “Clients expect segmentation, measurement, and execution to be interlinked. When they demand precision, we bend backwards”.

    Raghavan added flair with an Avengers analogy. “The agency is literally the CMO’s superpower”, he joked. “In today’s marketing universe, consumers flit between universes—Youtube, search, Shorts, and shopping. Pinpointing them with the right message at the right moment is the challenge—and technology is the bridge”.

    Singh brought it back to brand belief, “Separating performance from brand-building is a disservice”. He warned against the trap of short-termism. “If everything is dictated by last-click logic, brands lose soul. Media must also create scale and salience”.

    The panel echoed a shared frustration with how measurement obsession has stifled creativity. Singh recalled, “We’ve become a business of attribution. But not everything valuable is measurable”. Raghavan nodded, saying that AI should empower creativity, not constrain it. “We’re now designing better razors, not just machines that shave you”.

    As the session closed, Sharma fired a rapid question: “What are you doing today that would’ve sounded crazy five years ago?”

    Raghavan shared that Google India had built an internal martech platform just for partner enablement. Varghese said he uses AI to ideate around obscure marketing days like “World Menstrual Hygiene Day”. Singh, meanwhile, said it’s time to rename the agency itself. “The term ‘media agency’ no longer fits. We’re something more”.

  • Nitin Bhatnagar rises to VP – programmatic ad ops at Sony Pictures Networks

    Nitin Bhatnagar rises to VP – programmatic ad ops at Sony Pictures Networks

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has dialled up its programmatic firepower with the elevation of Nitin Bhatnagar as vice president – programmatic advertising & digital advertising operations. The move solidifies SPNI’s commitment to sharpening its data-driven advertising game across OTT and digital platforms.

    With over 15 years under his belt, Bhatnagar is no stranger to the fast-changing digital ad terrain. Having joined Sony in 2021, he steadily climbed the ranks—from handling programmatic ops to now helming the entire digital ad stack, including video, analytics, and monetisation models.

    Prior to Sony, he spent six action-packed years at NDTV Digital, managing ad ops and client servicing. His resume reads like a guided tour through India’s digital media evolution—with stints at BBC Worldwide, Sizmek, Starcom, and Aidem Ventures for Microsoft Online Advertising.

    From launching BBC campaigns across APAC to running MSN’s trafficking team pan-India, Bhatnagar’s worked across everything from banner ads to BTL activations, Wap to programmatic pipes, with a sharp eye for optimisation and delivery.

    His style? Quietly methodical. His rep? A fixer who knows his SSPs from his DMPs and can troubleshoot like a pro.

  • Pooja Tomar hops over to Publicis Groupe as senior director of buying

    Pooja Tomar hops over to Publicis Groupe as senior director of buying

    MUMBAI – Media maven Pooja Tomar is on the move again. After nearly three years as senior business director at Havas Media Group, Tomar has been snapped up by Publicis Groupe, stepping into the newly minted role of senior director, buying from April 2025. She will be based in India, working on-site.

    With more than a decade of navigating the labyrinth of media planning, buying and strategy across FMCG, e-commerce and technology, Tomar brings a bulging toolkit of cross-media skills to her new perch. Her career reads like a masterclass in media evolution — from digital hustle to broadcast muscle.

    Before Havas, Tomar clocked nearly five years across Starcom and Publicis’ ZenithOptimedia, sharpening her cross-platform planning chops. Earlier stints at Madison World and GroupM saw her navigating media buying with a keen eye on both budgets and ROI, across some of India’s top retail, telecom and tech accounts.

    Tomar’s trademark: an uncanny knack for aligning new technology with old-school brand strategy – and for chasing hard numbers with harder insights. Over the years, she has built a reputation for being a strategist who can not just plan campaigns but anticipate market moves, with a solid grip on consumer trends, media fragmentation, and the shifting sands of cross-platform engagement.

    Expect fireworks as she joins Publicis Groupe, bringing her “360-degree media brain” to a fiercely competitive Indian media marketplace.

  • Sugosh Iyer plugs into Mindshare to power Unilever’s digital future

    Sugosh Iyer plugs into Mindshare to power Unilever’s digital future

    MUMBAI:  Sugosh Iyer has hit the refresh button, stepping into the hotseat as head of digital trading at Mindshare earlier this year, leading the charge on all things digital for FMCG titan Unilever.

    In his new role, Iyer will pilot negotiations, data and tech partnerships, first-party data strategies, and turbocharge commerce conversations — stitching together the future of media buying across connected ecosystems.

    It’s been quite the pivot-packed journey. Iyer’s career, spanning over 17 years, has crisscrossed industries and continents: from banking at Kotak to media stints at NDTV Media, Starcom, Spatial Access, Flipkart, and senior leadership gigs across Madison, GroupM, and Kansai Nerolac Paints. Most recently, he helmed digital marketing for Grasim Industries (Pulp & Fibre), blending traditional business sense with e-commerce agility.

    Known for his customer acquisition chops, B2B savvy, and an eye for e-commerce acceleration, Iyer has consistently stayed ahead of the curve, whether in the bustling media hubs of Mumbai or navigating client leadership roles in Kuala Lumpur.

    With digital trading now the frontline of advertising wars, Mindshare seems to have found the perfect battering ram — a blend of finance brains, media muscle, and tech-first thinking — to storm the gates of tomorrow’s marketing battlefield.

  • Sneha Udyawar joins Marico as commercial marketing manager

    Sneha Udyawar joins Marico as commercial marketing manager

    MUMBAI:  Media professional Sneha Udyawar with over eight years of experience in marketing and advertising, has joined Marico as commercial marketing manager. With expertise spanning media planning, contract negotiation, and market strategy, Sneha brings a wealth of knowledge to her new role at the leading consumer goods company.

    “It was a warm welcome at Marico. With a fantastic onboarding process,” she said. . 

    She has worked in Zepto as a commercial manager for media & marketing  where she managed contract negotiations and strategic briefings. She had stints at Mindshare,GroupM, Starcom and R K Swamy BBDO.
    Sneha holds a master’s degree in entertainment, media, and advertising from the University of Mumbai, specialising in advertising, with a consistent academic record. She has also completed advanced certifications in digital marketing and brand communication from Mica.

    In addition to her corporate roles, Sneha has volunteered with U&I Trust and has experience as a social media executive, emphasising her dedication to community engagement and digital outreach

  • Zee concludes Agency Premier League T20 in Mumbai

    Zee concludes Agency Premier League T20 in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: In a cynical media agency world with shrinking budgets,  how do you thank media planners and buyers for partnering your event or looking at your offering favorably? 

    You could try the route that Zee Entertainment Enterprises  Ltd’s chief growth officer – digital & broadcast revenue Ashish Sehgal has done. He put together a three city Agency Premier League T20 which concluded on 20 December in Mumbai. 

    It worked out well, says a Zee press release, as it was “highly engaging and competitive trade marketing initiative.”

    The Mumbai leg was won by Starcom with strong  competition from leading agencies, including Wavemaker, Madison World, DBB Mudra Max, Essence Mediacom, and Mindshare Fulcrum. Zee brought in actor Utkarsh Sharma and actress Simrat Kaur, who were part of last year’s blockbuster hit, Gadar 2. The popular and versatile artists added to the excitement and thrill of the event.

    OMD clinched victory in the Delhi leg, which featured spirited performance from Havas, IPG, Group M, Publicis, and Dentsu.

    The Bengaluru leg saw Group M Mavericks claiming victory after competing against Group M Blasters, Dentsu, Havas Media, Initiative, and Madison.
     

    The Delhi LEg of Agency Premier League“We are thirilled to ponse to the Agency Premier League T20 across all three legs in Bengaluru, Delhi, and MumbaI,” says Sehgal. “This initiative is a testament of our commitment to strengthen partnerships with the media fraternity through the unifying power of cricket. It has been an incredible journey, and we look forward to continuing this momentum as we bring the excitement of DP World ILT20 closer to our partners.”

    Clearly, Sehgal  and Zee will have won some brownie points with media agency executives. Now it’s up to the sales team to cash in.