ITV

Tag: strategy

  • Infectious Advertising ropes in Anil Jayachandran as chief strategy officer

    Infectious Advertising ropes in Anil Jayachandran as chief strategy officer

    Mumbai: Infectious Advertising announced it has bolstered its strategic chops by hiring Anil Jayachandran as its chief strategy officer. In his last job, Jayachandran headed communications planning for Omnicom, Malaysia, working on key client accounts across OMD and PHD to drive thought leadership and best strategy practices.

    Previously, he held the role of strategy planning director at Leo Burnett.

    Jayachandran has spent nearly a quarter of a century working across geographies and is regarded as an expert in markets as diverse as North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. From Egypt to Malaysia, he has worked across functions—marketing, advertising, research, and strategy—with global players like Burnett, JWT, Unilever, Lintas, O&M, McCann, and Omnicom.

    Speaking on this development, Infectious Advertising directors and co-founders, Nisha Singhania and Ramanuj Shastry said, “We are delighted with Anil’s arrival. The more we know the consumer, the sharper our work gets. Anil’s here to help push the envelope in strategic thinking so that our work gets even more infectious.” 

  • Dentsu Creative India names Sumeer Mathur as chief strategy officer

    Dentsu Creative India names Sumeer Mathur as chief strategy officer

    Mumbai: Dentsu Creative India has bolstered the strength of its strategy team with the appointment of Sumeer Mathur as chief strategy officer. Mathur will report to Dentsu Creative India chief executive officer Amit Wadhwa.

    Mathur’s mandate will be to build upon Dentsu Creative’s strategic capabilities in order to further enhance its work and market-leading creative reputation. His responsibilities will include brand management, digital, and PR. In addition to this, he will work closely with Dentsu Creative India Group chief creative officer, Ajay Gahlaut, and the business teams to ensure the highest quality of output from the agency.

    Mathur has over 20 years of expertise and is a firm believer in communication that creates business and brand impact. He has previously held national, regional and global strategic responsibilities for many brands, which include Colgate-Palmolive, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Fair & Lovely, Airtel, Horlicks, Royal Enfield, Livon, Taj Hotels, UNICEF, Adidas, LG, Microsoft, Bira, and Muscle Blaze, to name a few.

    He has worked with agencies like Rediffusion, DYA&R, Lowe Lintas, JWT, DDB Mudra, and Edelman. Prior to this, he was the national strategy head at Havas Creative. Additionally, Mathur has played a significant role in creating work that has won numerous effectiveness awards for brands like HUL, Airtel Money, Microsoft PCs, Livon, UNICEF, CHAI, etc. He has also served on the Effie India Jury for many years.

    Amit Wadhwa said, “Sumeer’s appointment takes us a step further toward our vision for Dentsu Creative in India to lead the way in Modern Creativity. He not only brings in knowledge and credibility from some of the best agencies but also has vast experience across brands, digital and PR, which indeed makes him the perfect fit. I, along with the entire leadership team, am looking forward to working closely with him and reaching new milestones in the future.”

    Speaking of his new role, Mathur added, “Frankly, it’s a privilege to join the team at Dentsu. There isn’t a communication agency in the country right now that combines tech, culture, craft, and ideas the way Dentsu does. They are ahead of the curve and have their feet firmly planted in the future, in order to deliver value to clients.” 

    Dentsu Creative India was recently declared the ‘Agency of The Year’ at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022-a first-ever for India. It was a historic hat-trick with the agency also lifting a Titanium for the country for its ‘Unfiltered History Tour (UHT)’ campaign in addition to bagging three Grand Prix-another first, two Gold Lions and three Silver Lions-making UHT the most awarded work not only from India but globally.

  • Facebook parent Meta posts its first-ever revenue decline in Q2

    Facebook parent Meta posts its first-ever revenue decline in Q2

    Mumbai: Facebook parent company, Meta, on Thursday announced a decline in the company’s revenues in its second quarter earnings 2022 for the first time since it went public in 2012. The tech major reported a drop in revenues from $29.08 billion to $28.82 billion, down one per cent over last year.

    Meta also announced that its chief finance officer (CFO) David Wehner would now take over the role of chief strategy officer (CSO) and oversee the company’s strategy and corporate development.

    The company announced that Susan Li, currently vice president of finance, will replace him as CFO. The transitions will be effective from 1 November.  

    The social media network’s net income saw a decline of 36 per cent in April-June, falling from $10.39 billion ($3.61 per share) to $6.69 billion ($2.46 per share) year-on-year (YoY).

    “We seem to have entered an economic downturn that will have a broad impact on the digital advertising business,” said Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an earnings call on Wednesday. “It’s always hard to predict how deep or how long these cycles will be, but I’d say that the situation seems worse than it did a quarter ago.”

    The social media giant also issued a bleak third-quarter forecast. “This outlook reflects a continuation of the weak advertising demand environment we experienced throughout the second quarter, which we believe is being driven by broader macroeconomic uncertainty,” chief finance officer David Wehner said in a statement.

    “We have reduced our hiring and overall expense growth plans this year to account for the more challenging operating environment while continuing to direct resources toward our company priorities,” he added.

    The company expects its 2022 total expenses to be in the range of $85-88 billion, lowered from its prior outlook of $87-92 billion, Wehner further stated.

    Meta’s worrying results follow a pattern reflected in the results of other major tech companies and its rivals, Snap and Twitter – both of whom reported disappointing second-quarter numbers last week, during an unprecedented stressful period across the industry. The results also follow a broader decline in the digital advertising market.

    Advertising revenue growth slowed throughout the second quarter as advertiser demand softened, Wehner stated. “The deceleration has been broad-based across verticals, and we believe businesses are lowering their advertising spend in response to the increased economic uncertainty.”

    Earlier on Wednesday, another tech major and Google parent company- Alphabet posted a 13 per cent growth in consolidated revenue at $69.7 billion for the second quarter – its slowest quarterly growth in two years.

    Meta also faces its own unique challenges of competing with TikTok, while focusing on its next phase of building the immersive metaverse.

    In this environment, we’re focused on making the long-term investments that will position us to be stronger coming out of this downturn — including our work on our discovery engine and Reels, our new ads infrastructure, and the metaverse, stated Zuckerberg. The company is also focused on being rigorous about measuring returns and sizing these investments correctly, he added.

  • OMD India onboards Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy

    OMD India onboards Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy

    Mumbai: The Indian division of global media agency network, OMD has appointed Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy. She will be spearheading impactful, strategic initiatives across the board, building upon existing strengths, while working with key stakeholders to build a strong and strategic foothold in the region, the network said in a statement. She will be reporting to OMD India CEO Anisha Iyer.

    With over 13 years of diverse experience having worked with leading market research and media agencies, like Kantar, Nielsen and Mindshare, Tomar brings with her robust cross-functional experience in market research, insights & strategy and media analytics.

    In her role at OMD, she will also be in charge of accelerating efforts around nurturing a culture where attention and empathy are treated as valuable currencies to take a more humanistic approach towards client and people relationships. Furthermore, advancing the mandate of the organisation, she will be instrumental in augmenting the Red Spine – OMD India’s nerve centre, ensuring that each component of the system remains interconnected in an efficient way. With a spotlight on furthering Omni’s potential and an emphasis on leveraging OMD Design – the robust and highly-adaptive end-to-end process by OMD, she is all set to further capitalize on emerging trends and make complex decisions faster.

    Speaking on the appointment, Iyer said, “We are stoked to have Charul on board with us. She is a fine strategic leader and frontrunner when it comes to having a pulse on the confluence of consumer, brand and insights. Her appointment comes at a time when OMD India is undergoing significant momentum and one that is fuelled by the most promising talent in the industry. I am certain that Charul’s valuable expertise, combined with her drive and commitment, will help us take our offerings to new heights. The future looks promising!”

    On being a part of the OMD team, Tomar said, “Sharp strategic management is always at the heart of every successful business. I am truly excited to be on board with OMD India, chiefly due to their commitment to futureproofing and their ability to adapt and innovate in an ever-changing marketplace. The agency exudes a strong vision and energy on the back of an exciting 2022 it has had so far, and I look forward to leveraging my experience to formulate game-changing strategies and deliver scalable business solutions, all while keeping empathy and attention at the core of what we do.”

  • Pepperfry appoints Anand Batra as the chief financial officer

    Pepperfry appoints Anand Batra as the chief financial officer

    Mumbai: The e-commerce furniture and home goods company, Pepperfry announced on Friday the appointment of Anand Batra as its chief financial officer (CFO). This is Batra’s second stint with Pepperfry, his first being a five-year stint during the early days of Pepperfry’s inception. In his role as CFO, Batra will spearhead the organisation’s corporate strategy, fundraising efforts, financial operations, legal and secretarial functions. His appointment is effective immediately and he will be based at the Pepperfry corporate office in Mumbai.

    Batra is a seasoned finance professional with more than a decade of experience in venture capital, business management, financial planning and operations, fundraising, strategy, and investment banking.

    Before joining Pepperfry, Batra worked as executive director at Z3Partners, a leading tech and digital fund, where he was involved with the fund’s investments in Dealshare, Shipsy, Gramophone and Cyfirma. Earlier, Batra was a principal in the investing team at IvyCap Ventures, focusing on early-stage investments in Indian consumer and technology-enabled businesses.

    Before starting his career as an investor, Batra headed up category management for the home goods business at Pepperfry. During this stint, Batra transformed the home business unit economics while maintaining high levels of customer experience. Batra headed up the financial planning and strategy function at Pepperfry, where he led fundraising efforts, apart from helping shape the company’s omnichannel strategy and launching business categories.

    A graduate of the London School of Economics and Narsee Monjee College, Mumbai, Batra started his career as an investment banker at Lazard and Avendus Capital in India.

    Pepperfry co-founder & CEO Ambareesh Murty said, “We are thrilled to welcome Anand back home. His contributions during Pepperfry’s formative years were invaluable and had helped steer our business through several transformational changes. I am a fan of his wide world view and look forward to working with him to chart Pepperfry’s future through India’s rapidly evolving digital and retail landscape.”

    “It gives me great delight to rejoin the Pepperfry family. The company is a differentiated brand in the e-commerce space and has undisputedly built a community-based platform defining home and living. In its decade long journey, Pepperfry has shown all the makings of a strong consumer brand. I look forward to working closely with the team to drive the next phase of growth,” said Anand Batra.

  • PumPumPum appoints Nikhil Sharma as AVP – growth & marketing

    PumPumPum appoints Nikhil Sharma as AVP – growth & marketing

    MUMBAI: Homegrown used car corporate leasing and subscription company, PumPumPum announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Nikhil Sharma as the assistant vice president of growth and marketing. In his new role, Sharma will be responsible for scaling up and executing PumPumPum’s integrated marketing strategies and driving the company’s corporate reputation forward with a focus on 360-degree branding efforts.

    Sharma is a marketing professional with over 14 years of experience working with some of the challenging brands in the country. He founded two different start-ups, one a digital marketing agency, A Cup of Tea, and the other, an FMCG brand, Golden Nectar, where he was in charge of marketing and growth. Prior to that, Sharma was also associated with AVIS India, leading India’s marketing team.

    Welcoming him aboard, PumPumPum CEO & founder Tarun Lawadia, and co-founder & CGO Sameer Kalra said, “We are excited to welcome Nikhil to the leadership team. His experience across industries is a strength we can leverage as a subscription to a used car is a nascent concept in India, and we need an experienced and creative mind to tap that segment of consumer buying habit. Given the growth in the car leasing niche market, Nikhil’s experience in the mobility industry along with his innovative marketing and growth strategies will be invaluable in helping us achieve our goal of becoming India’s largest car leasing company.”

    Nikhil Sharma said, “PumPumPum is based on a unique business model that has the potential to disrupt the current used-car ecosystem. I admire the company and its leadership for its dynamic work culture, founding values, and strong footprint in the market. I am stoked to be part of the team to contribute to its next milestones to disrupt the car leasing market.”

    The company plans to reach over 15 cities in the span of the next three years to leverage the post-pandemic demand for personal transportation over public transportation.

  • Carat India appoints Vasim Rakhangi as AVP – strategy

    Carat India appoints Vasim Rakhangi as AVP – strategy

    Mumbai: Further strengthening its leadership team, Carat India – the media agency from the house of dentsu India – has appointed Vasim Rakhangi as associate vice president – strategy for North and East. He will report into Carat India CEO Anita Kotwani.

    In his new role, Rakhangi’s core focus will be to spearhead and deliver integrated media strategy to the agency’s existing clients across the regions. 

    Rakhangi has over 11 years of experience in media and research, having led multiple brands on integrated media strategies that focus on both traditional as well as digital media. Prior to this, he worked for conglomerates in the FMCG sector like Mondelez, GCPL, Marico as well as broadcasting brands including Star Plus and Star Sports.

    With this appointment, Carat continues to accelerate its transformation of the agency across India, as it looks to bring new focus on its designing for people proposition.

    This is the fourth key strategic leadership hire for the agency in recent months, bringing a fresh perspective, increased impetus, and expertise to deliver on well-known brands in the Indian market, according to the agency.

    Commenting on the appointment, Anita Kotwani said, “With his extensive experience and passion, Vasim will help our clients stay ahead of the curve, especially as he helps them demystify the complex digital media landscape. One of his focus areas will be, to translate the disruption of video and the future of measurement to the consumers’ dynamically changing needs and, how the role of data, privacy, and technology impact their business.”

    “Vasim’s remit in our North market will encompass Phillips Domestic Appliances, Microsoft, Mastercard, Havells, and the DS Group amongst others, as he also works with our local teams to drive growth for both North and East markets,” she further said.

    Vasim Rakhangi commented, “With the kind of transformation taking place within the media landscape in India, Carat’s framework seamlessly blends in with the rapidly changing environment. It has always focused on building deeper relationships between people and brands in order to design campaigns which truly resonate with people and drive impactful results for clients. It is indeed a privilege to work with Anita and lead regions with so many great opportunities to bring this to life in partnership with such powerful brands.”

  • Carat India onboards Sayami Podder as AVP – strategy

    Carat India onboards Sayami Podder as AVP – strategy

    Mumbai: Carat India, the media agency from the house of dentsu India has announced the onboarding of Sayami Podder as associate vice president (AVP) – strategy. 

    In her new role, Podder will be spearheading strategic thinking for the agency. She will also offer insights to the existing agency clients across the West and South regions. She will report to Carat India CEO Anita Kotwani, said the agency on Wednesday. 

    “Talent today is the key differentiator that clients look for. Our core focus is to always ensure that we have the best talent that comes on board and joins the Carat family,” commented Anita Kotwani. “Sayami’s diverse expertise across data & analytics, research, communication planning and media strategy, is certainly something that will drive growth for the clients. We see her as the ideal team player to lead Carat’s vision of ‘Designing for People’ in the West & South markets.”

    Armed with more than 12 years of experience, Podder is specialised in brand, media & communication strategy, consumer research, and market mix modelling. She has worked across a wide range of categories including FMCG, beverages, fashion, BFSI, e-commerce & manufacturing. She has helped brands strengthen their market shares by developing effective communication and media investment strategies, leading to exponential business growth and measurable outcomes.

    Prior to joining Carat India, Podder was with Mindshare India where she led strategy for brands like Ultratech Cement, Castrol, SBI Life, ICICI and Kellogg’s. She has also worked with significant retail brands like Pantaloons & Max Fashion and new-age brands like Upstox, Byju’s & TCS Ion, to name a few.

    “The consumer journey is no more linear, and the media ecosystem is constantly evolving to accommodate our new age audience. Carat is already known for its strategic thinking and integrated approach,” stated Sayami Podder. “With my expertise in data science and creative thinking, I am looking forward to building an insight-led strategy that will generate incremental and sustainable growth for our clients. I am delighted to begin this new journey under Anita’s dynamic leadership and contribute to Carat’s growth story for India.” 

    ​​​​​​

  • DDB Mudra names Anand Murty, Mehak Jaini as India strategy chiefs

    DDB Mudra names Anand Murty, Mehak Jaini as India strategy chiefs

    Mumbai: DDB Mudra Group on Thursday announced the onboarding of Anand Murty and Mehak Jaini as strategy chiefs of DDB Mudra and 22feet Tribal Worldwide, respectively. 

    Both Murty and Jaini will lead the group’s promise of a cohesive view across advertising, digital marketing and media, the company said in a statement.

    “We are so excited about Anand and Mehak taking charge of the strategy department at the group. They are the key to the kind of success we want to create for our people and clients,” commented DDB Mudra Group CEO and MD Aditya Kanthy. “From brilliant creative work and beautiful, seamless experiences through to measured and disproportionate brand and business growth – the strategists are at the heart of the action here.  While one part of the task is to bring changes to the ways of traditional marketers, equally, they will help bring the basics of brand building and consumer thinking to help set a foundation for long-term sustainable growth for digitally forward companies.”

    Murty and Jaini are also part of DDB Worldwide’s Global Strategic Council which brings together the network’s strategy leaders.  The India chapter of the council seeks to bring together the ‘best-in-class’ Omnicom tools, integrating insights and understanding from across advertising, digital and media to partner with clients across workstreams – from brand consulting to creative strategy, said the statement.

    “It is an absolute privilege to lead the strategy team at DDB Mudra and build the network’s strategic product with a partner like Mehak,” said DDB Mudra national strategy head Anand Murty. “The agenda is to continue to build a team that helps drive growth for our clients and partners with creative to deliver on Unexpected Works – on repeat. I look forward to continuing the momentum on DDB’s effectiveness charter and the deep work on insights and culture that has enabled us to build some solid work across our vast and diverse client portfolio.”

    “The timing couldn’t be better,” stated 22feet Tribal Worldwide national strategy head Mehak Jaini. “With traditional businesses experimenting with their digital presence, and digitally native brands challenging what qualifies as marketing – be it exclusive experiences, metaverse extensions, or NFTs; an integrated strategy agenda like ours ensures no client is left behind. And with Anand’s team of brand & communication strategists, and 22feet’s specialist teams of digital evangelists, technologists, brand and business analysts, SEO & listening experts, data nerds and media mavericks, the full funnel wins are ripe for reaping.”