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Tag: The 120 Media Collective

  • Liqvd Asia ropes in Praveen Nair as joint national creative director

    Liqvd Asia ropes in Praveen Nair as joint national creative director

    Mumbai: Liqvd Asia, a leading digital full-service company, has brought in Praveen Nair as its joint national creative director. Praveen comes on board to bolster the creative leadership team and expand the company’s digital footprint.

    In his career of more than 15 years, Nair has lent his creative skills to Grey Worldwide, Dentsu Isobar (now Dentsu Creative), The 120 Media Collective, and MRM (McCann Relationship Marketing). He has worked on various path-breaking campaigns for brands including Bournvita, Volkswagen, PNB MetLife, and Tata Motors.

    Nair will collaborate with Sunil Gangras, who is also joint national creative director at Liqvd Asia, to uplift the product offering and spearhead impact-driven campaigns.

    Gangras said, “Nothing is as fascinating as conceiving ideas that go beyond the traditional brief to disrupt a category and have a larger digital impact. I am particularly excited to work with Anish and Praveen to bolster the creative product because, in today’s day and age, I feel it’s important to think beyond the larger brand story and ensure it is seamlessly integrated with the digital landscape.”

    “It’s a vital decision that we took to align our ambitions to dissolve boundaries set by traditional digital agencies. Both Sunil and Praveen come with unmatched experience, and over the years, they have displayed proven skills in marrying ideas and technology for the new-age audience. I look forward to building stories with them, stories through which people will remember Liqvd Asia,” said Liqvd Asia chief creative officer Anish Varghese.

    Speaking on his appointment, Nair quipped, “The one thing that excites me about this new role is Liqvd Asia’s vision. I believe that the core responsibility of an agency is going beyond platforms and briefs, and focusing on providing solutions for real business challenges. It’s challenging and that’s what makes it exciting. And the fact that I’ll be working with industry veterans like Varghese and Gangras, is what I’m most excited about.”

  • Jack In The Box Worldwide begins new era in content marketing with creative commerce

    Jack In The Box Worldwide begins new era in content marketing with creative commerce

    MUMBAI: The 120 Media Collective, an independent communications, and content groups, has made two major announcements. Jack in the Box Worldwide has launched a new business model that enables creative commerce for its clients and elevates Axon Alex and Rishi Sen to managing partners of the agency with Roopak Saluja moving into the role of Chairman.

    Changing the course on conventional digital advertising to go beyond traditional content marketing, JITB announced a new business model focused on delivering compelling content for its clients through a performance-based system, backed by analytics and data.

    To this effect, the agency also announced a new operational structure, which will be a first-of-its-kind in the industry. The new structure will see the merging of strategy and creative operations led by Axon, a seasoned planner with 12+ years of experience working across some of the best agency networks including Tribal DDB Worldwide and BBH. Through his career, he’s worked on world-renowned brands including RedBull, Axe, Magnum Ice cream, McDonalds, Idea Cellular and Tata Motors. Rishi Sen, who in 2018, had donned the hat of Chief of Staff at The 120 Media Collective, will now spearhead JITB’s complete client portfolio followed by Performance and Technology. Rishi also brings with him 11+ years of experience ranging from creating robust growth strategies and managing business operations to building technology-backed customer experience modules and corporate alliances.

    Commenting on the developments, The 120 Media Collective founder and chairman Roopak Saluja said, “When you’re navigating the flux of rapid digital evolution, honesty demands the occasional reworking of one’s vision and ensuing structure. Our recent journey of self-reflection revealed to us that while we claimed to be the antithesis to the incumbent agency model, our structure had begun to resemble that of a traditional agency. But now with our new data-backed business model, we move even closer to our holy grail of delivering measurable business impact for our clients. I’m super excited about this new chapter and the fact that Axe and Rishi are the ones leading it. They have sharp intellect and acumen, are extremely driven, complement each other perfectly and know exactly how to galvanize a team.”

    Jack in the Box Worldwide managing partner Axon Alex comments, “It’s an exciting time to be at Jack In The BoxWorldWide. I began my love affair with the internet as a web designer in the late 90s and doing strategic planning for over a decade helped me hone the important skill of understanding why audiences should care about what we do. Today as more ‘advertising’ is being shunned in favour of ad -blockers and better content coming from the creators and publishers on different social platforms I relish the challenge of translating ‘Unadvertising’ which is our agency DNA towards creating content that builds those genuine connections once again in ways that lead to building measurable value for brands.”

    Jack in the Box WorldWide managing partner Rishi Sen said, “Having spent over half a decade with JITB and The 120 Media Collective, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best creative professionals in the industry, while creating some award-winning campaigns along the way. As content consumption increases at an exponential rate, the need for content marketing is more than ever. Axon and I, with our combined expertise, have established a model that challenges traditional advertising practices. For the first time, we’ll be able to effectively drive commerce directly through content and start tracking ROI that goes way beyond just reach and engagement. Jack in the Box has always adapted its model to the ever-evolving digital landscape and I strongly believe that this sets us apart from almost any agency outfit I can think of.”

  • BANG BANG launches new avatar

    BANG BANG launches new avatar

    MUMBAI: Launched in 2006 by Roopak Saluja, BANG BANG disrupted the Indian commercials production industry by introducing international directorial talent to the market. Additionally, BANG BANG was also the first to introduce standard global processes like detailed transparent costing, etc.

    With an initial focus on visual storytelling, BANG BANG cornered the beauty and automotive advertising market by significantly raising the bar for production values in Indian advertising. Subsequently, it expanded its repertoire by serving as a home for iconic Indian directors like Dibakar Banerjee.

    Over the years, BANG BANG has produced iconic spots for brands like IKEA, Google, Pepsi, L’Oréal, Sony, Unilever, Indigo, Netflix and dozens of others with Ogilvy, JWT, Lowe Lintas, Dentsu Taproot, Wieden + Kennedy, BBH and many other agency partners.

    BANG BANG launched its new avatar earlier this year, working with Dentsu India on a mammoth production to deliver IKEA’s iconic India launch campaign, being rolled out across media over the coming months.

    To announce its #Production2020 mission and evolution, BANG BANG released this high-octane video last week across social media channels.

    BANG BANG founder and managing director and group CEO of The 120 Media Collective Roopak Saluja said, “It’s hard to overstate the extent of flux our industry has seen in recent years. But wait, there’s more coming. The world needs a recalibrated production model to cater to the needs of 2020. We at BANG BANG have been ramping up to this reality for years and are delivering it here and now in 2018, with commercials at the core but augmented capabilities, backed by a vast body of work, across content, photography, digital, interactive, gaming and more. The one constant is storytelling but there are now a thousand ways to get there.”

  • Tight deadlines holding Indian agencies back: Roopak Saluja, The 120 Media Collective

    Tight deadlines holding Indian agencies back: Roopak Saluja, The 120 Media Collective

    MUMBAI: Who can forget the catchy viral sensational song – Why This Kolaveri Di – from a few years ago? It might seem like just a song that went viral but the reality is far from that. The song has an interesting story.

    It was back in 2011 when Jack in the Box Worldwide, the digital agency brand of The 120 Media Collective, helmed by Roopak Saluja got a call from Sony Music to help them control the damage that was done when their upcoming movie, 3’s song had been leaked from the recording studio. That’s when a new viral marketing strategy was born.

    Soon enough, Jack in the Box Worldwide , Sony Music’s digital Agency of Record, decided to create an ‘official video’ of the song. Within 24 hours, the video was shot and humorously sub-titled, 12 hours after that the action began on social and 48 hours later, it was trending on Twitter.  The song to date has over 156 million views on YouTube.

    Why are we telling you this story though? Well, because it was Roopak Saluja and his team, who utilised the power of digital when Facebook and Twitter were still experiencing their nascent days in India.

    A former DJ, media businessman, an angel investor, owner of a record label in Europe, and an actor in few movies, Saluja has seen it all. While he originally wanted to become a writer, Saluja worked for six years in Y&R (Young and Rubicam) in Budapest and Ogilvy & Mather in Paris.

    Featured in Campaign India’s A-List of the Most Influential People in India’s advertising, media & marketing industry between 2010-2014, Saluja is founder and chief executive officer of The 120 Media Collective – a communications and content group comprising subsidiaries, Jack in the Box Worldwide, Sniper, Bang Bang Films and Sooperfly.

    Today, the agency handles digital and content marketing mandates for Unilever, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser, Amazon, Novartis, Aditya Birla Group, Loreal, Indigo, Budweiser, IKEA and the Taj Group among others. It has been 12 years since he started his entrepreneurial journey in the advertising and media industry in India and a lot has changed ever since. While he was one of the earliest entrants in digital marketing, today we have over 150+ digital agencies in India. The challenges are shortcomings are more than ever before.

    Indiantelevision.com spoke to Saluja to understand the agency model, Indian creativity, use of technology by 2020 and more.

    You have always maintained that Jack In The Box is ‘premium priced’. Isn’t is hard for you to get clients in that scenario or are clients actually willing to spend that kind of an amount?

    Yes, we are premium in our pricing and that is because we know we deserve it for what we bring to the table. We do discuss the pricing before we start working for the client. And it is actually not about the size as not everyone has the appetite for it (big budget). It’s not always the big advertisers that spend a lot, there are also some smaller startups who are trying to build the brand and they will over invest.

    Larger clients today are reconsidering their investments and want to consolidate their spends in fewer agencies rather than having 10 different agencies on board doing 10 different things. Do you see that as a challenge?

    I think 10-15 years ago, getting marquee clients was considered good for an agency’s reputation and it was something everyone could brag about. Today, it has become hard for agencies to make money with large clients due to the rise of procurement. We had a large client that paid us well back in the day for the work we did for them but now they have changed their pricing value and pay us peanuts for the same kind of work.

    How do you view the work that comes out of India as compared to the rest of the world? Although we are getting there, so far we clearly aren’t winning a lot of awards at international film festivals.

    I think we definitely are getting there. The work that came out of India at Cannes this year was better than last year. What happens at Cannes usually is that you tend to support your home country’s work but when an Indian work comes up, the Indian jury is never happy with it. I don’t know if it’s the jealousy or what, but you won’t find Indians supporting a fellow Indian’s work.

    What is holding us back in terms of creativity?

    The biggest difference and what’s holding us back is not money and budget. Obviously, clients expect moon and stars for peanuts but it’s more importantly about time. What we Indian agencies get four weeks for, they (international agencies) get 14 weeks. In India, agencies are put under a lot of pressure to finish the creative under a tight deadline. When the pressure is put on agencies, that pressure is in turn put on the production team to finish off the final product soon. This results in a substandard quality of creative.

    Moving forward, do you think artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other technologies will become indispensable in ads, say 5 years from now?

    Use of technology will change the way we advertise now but the basics will still remain the same. Jack in the Box or digital agencies, in general, will no longer be called a ‘digital’ agency by 2020. Someone once said to me, “Digital marketing is dead, long live digital marketing!” Going forward, digital marketing will just be a way of advertising.

    What do you think will be the game changers for A&M in 2019?

    It will be a mix of technology and data. My brother has a PhD in AI and he laughs about what we call AI in our industry. I intend to deliver better business results with the technology. Content for business impact is really important for us. Everyone is looking at the effectiveness of budget and its accountability.

    Finally, what next for 120 Media Collective and what next for Roopak Saluja?

    I want 120 to be the most effective company in the marketing space. I want it to be effective, not the best, not most creative. When I say effective, I mean in terms of business results. I say company and not agency because the ability to do and deliver the results will not come only from agencies.  Who knows we may not even be an agency anymore as agency implies that you are a part of the advertising world. I don’t think this holy grail belongs to the advertising industry anymore. Accenture and other technology companies are going into play as marketing and technology start to converge and technology companies will have as much of a claim over those marketing budgets as agencies.

  • The 120 Media Collective announces top management changes

    The 120 Media Collective announces top management changes

    MUMBAI: Roopak Saluja’s  The 120 Media Collective, one of India’s most impactful digitally oriented agencies, has today announced senior level promotions within the organisation.

    Jack in the Box Worldwide president Kaizad Pardiwalla has been elevated to president and COO. Pardiwalla brings with him 24 years of experience in the advertising world and has been with The Leo Burnett Group, where he ran Orchard India; Lowe Lintas; Grey and Ogilvy, where he headed OgilvyOne nationally.  In addition to leading the content and communication group’s agency business, he will now oversee its integrated digital video content offering, as well as the scaling up of its content marketing and platforms client base.

    The 120 Media Collective founder and CEO Roopak Saluja said, “As The 120 Media Collective moves into its next phase of growth, where creating content for business impact is our holy grail, it is imperative to allocate responsibility and build accountability across the group. Kaizad has been an exemplary partner to me and has led JITB to new heights since he came on board in 2016. Rishi and Praveen have proven their ability to inspire teams and get stuff done, allowing us to deliver the level of output that has come to be expected of us over time. This year has already been one of great momentum for 120MC, with new client acquisitions across financial services, healthcare and our traditional stronghold, FMCG. We have set lofty goals for ourselves for 2020 and these developments will take us a few steps closer in achieving them.”

    Integrated Operations associate director Rishi Sen has been promoted to chief of staff at The 120 Media Collective. Aside from leading traffic and internal operations, his new role entails working closely with Saluja and Pardiwalla to manage growth and innovation, strategic partnerships and corporate communications. Sen comes with 11 years of experience in media, events and advertising and has been at The 120 Media Collective for four years.

    Associate creative director Praveen Nair has been promoted to creative director, Jack in the Box Worldwide. Prior to JITB, Nair helmed the creative teams at Isobar and Grey Digital. Through his career, he has worked on multiple award winning campaigns on brands like Bournvita, Volkswagen and Tata Motors, to name a few. He will now lead JITB’s copy and social media teams, driving excellence across all of its clients.

  • Anita Karnik is new SVP at Sniper

    Anita Karnik is new SVP at Sniper

    MUMBAi: In line with its recent senior management restructuring, The 120 Media Collective has brought in former Mindshare principal partner, Anita Karnik, as the senior vice-president and business head for Sniper, the commercials & content production arm of the company.

    She takes over from Chahna Rupani, and will report to the founder and CEO Roopak Saluja.

    The announcement comes shortly after the appointments of Kaizad Pardiwalla as president, and Abinandan Bose as creative director respectively, for Jack in the Box Worldwide, the company’s integrated communications agency.

    Commenting on joining Sniper, Karnik said, “I am delighted to join Sniper, which has always been a front runner (in its erstwhile Bang Bang Film days and thereafter as Sniper itself) in the business of Content – spanning commercials and multiscreen content. I look forward to creating some more magic, especially in this ‘Lean-in’ era.”

    “The creation of Sniper a couple of years ago, from its antecedent Bang Bang Films, was a prescient move in line with where the industry has now moved to. Anita joins us at the perfect time to capitalize on the seriousness with which brands are viewing content and allocating investments towards video. Her multi-format, multi-platform content experience is bound to prove invaluable while leading Sniper towards market leadership in a fast-evolving space,” added Saluja.

  • Anita Karnik is new SVP at Sniper

    Anita Karnik is new SVP at Sniper

    MUMBAi: In line with its recent senior management restructuring, The 120 Media Collective has brought in former Mindshare principal partner, Anita Karnik, as the senior vice-president and business head for Sniper, the commercials & content production arm of the company.

    She takes over from Chahna Rupani, and will report to the founder and CEO Roopak Saluja.

    The announcement comes shortly after the appointments of Kaizad Pardiwalla as president, and Abinandan Bose as creative director respectively, for Jack in the Box Worldwide, the company’s integrated communications agency.

    Commenting on joining Sniper, Karnik said, “I am delighted to join Sniper, which has always been a front runner (in its erstwhile Bang Bang Film days and thereafter as Sniper itself) in the business of Content – spanning commercials and multiscreen content. I look forward to creating some more magic, especially in this ‘Lean-in’ era.”

    “The creation of Sniper a couple of years ago, from its antecedent Bang Bang Films, was a prescient move in line with where the industry has now moved to. Anita joins us at the perfect time to capitalize on the seriousness with which brands are viewing content and allocating investments towards video. Her multi-format, multi-platform content experience is bound to prove invaluable while leading Sniper towards market leadership in a fast-evolving space,” added Saluja.