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Tag: Vaishali Verma

  • Indiantelevision.com strives to decode brand safety in association with BBC World News

    Indiantelevision.com strives to decode brand safety in association with BBC World News

    NEW DELHI: Brand safety has emerged as a serious concern for the advertising industry, especially in the past few months, with content on television and web getting more controversial. From racist, misogynist, to inflammatory communal content, various publishers and broadcasters are facing flak from viewers and advertisers alike. In recent days, we also heard about several advertisers taking their money out of many news channels. 

    This has sparked a great deal of conversation, within all stakeholders involved, on how a trustworthy environment can be created for the advertisers and ensure them positive brand equity. From content operations to weighing in what other advertisers are present in the realm, everything is garnering a closer look. 

    To shed light onto the same and discuss the way ahead with leading advertisers and agencies, Indiantelevision.com, in association with BBC World News and BBC.com, will be hosting a webinar titled “Is Your Brand Truly Safe: Decoding The Right Brand Equity With The Power of Trust” on Wednesday, 2 December 2020 at 11:30 am. 

    The panel will include worthies like: Wavemaker CEO – South Asia Ajay Gupte, Parle Products Pvt Ltd senior category head- marketing Krishnarao S. Buddha, Future Group India CMO – FBB Prachi Mohapatra, BBC Global News MD Rahul Sood, Accenture director – supply chain, network and sales operations Shekhar Tiwari, and Initiative CEO Vaishali Verma. The panel will be moderated by Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari. 

    Register now at https://lnkd.in/eyWJ8Bk 

  • Arun Sharma elevated to COO for Delhi business at Initiative

    Arun Sharma elevated to COO for Delhi business at Initiative

    MUMBAI: Initiative, which is a full-service media agency from IPG Mediabrands, has promoted Arun Sharma to the role of chief operating officer for Delhi business. 

    Prior to this, as senior partner of Initiative, Sharma played a pivotal role in spearheading one of the top clients of the agency, Reckitt Benckiser. Last year, Sharma was also given the additional mandate of IPG Mediabrand’s newly launched unit ‘Magna’ and was named managing director of the division.

    Initiative CEO Vaishali Verma says, “We couldn’t have found a better person for this position as he is one of our own and has been leading the RB business for the last 4 years with many industry and RB India firsts. Our approach to rapidly interpreting and acting on cultural data signals, creating relevant, long-lasting consumer connections that drive business results.”

    Talking about the new role, Sharma mentions, “Indian media industry is going through very exciting times. Initiative with its strong brand equity, perfect mix of large and reputed global and local clients, cutting edge tools and techniques, strong product offerings, talented and driven bunch of people is best poised to serve its client in this dynamic market scenario.” 

    In his dual roles as COO Initiative Delhi and MD of Magna, his key priority would be to help the clients grow their business by leveraging the company’s expertise, strategic use of tools, by implementing their global learning and dominant scale in media.

    Sharma started his career with Madison in 1998 as strategic planning supervisor for the Coca Cola Business. In 1999, he moved to Universal McCann as associate media director and handled businesses like Nestle, L’Oreal and Gillette. In 2003, he had a brief stint with Mediacom following which Sharma moved to the client’s side and joined Bharti Airtel as DGM Marketing. Following a stint of 11 years, in 2014, Sharma quit Bharti Airtel as VP marketing – head media (All Business, South Asia) and moved to Initiative as vice president to handle Reckitt Benckiser account as business head.

  • Vaishali Verma becomes CEO at IPG Mediabrands

    Vaishali Verma becomes CEO at IPG Mediabrands

    MUMBAI: Initiative, part of the Interpublic Group’s media management network IPG Mediabrands, has announced a major elevation and restructuring.

    Initiative COO Vaishali Verma has been promoted as the CEO of the agency. Verma will report to IPG Mediabrands India CEO Shashi Sinha, and will oversee the entire India operations.

    With over 22 years of experience in the area of media, advertising and marketing, Verma has been a strong force in helping brands connect better with consumers. Her work reflects a deep understanding of the evolution of Indian consumers backed with solid research based planning.

    Initiative – APAC regional president Will Anstee mentions, “I couldn’t be more excited to have Vaishali steer and deliver on our Initiative proposition in India. Her passion for the craft, her consistent high performance and the conscientious way she approaches every task, make her the natural choice for the role.”

    Talking about the appointment, Shashi Sinha adds, “What makes this truly special is that Vaishali is an insider and has grown from strength to strength in the group over the last 20 years. I am hugely proud to have such superlative talent from within steering the ship. She embodies IPG’s culture and values and is an inspiring leader. I couldn’t have found a better person to lead Initiative Media.”

    Verma says, “The advertising business is going through the most interesting times and it has never been more difficult than now to get consumer attention. Fortunately there is a better way of building audience relationship by being as relevant as possible and at Initiative we use culture as the bridge to stay relevant. Culture forms the canvas and the fabric of how we lead our lives. We help brands grow through culture by distributing ideas, content and conversation. At Initiative, we have the best of the global and local clients, the finest talent in the industry and cutting edge media tools. I think we have an opportunity to help shape the future of how brands engage with consumers. To be a part of this opportunity, to shape it with some of the sharpest minds in the business, is what excites me.”

    Verma started her career in advertising as a media planner with Mudra Communications in 1995, charting the media strategies of brands like McDonalds, Samsung and Nestle. She then moved to Universal McCann in 1997 as a senior media planner and worked with brands like General Motors, Reckitt Benckiser, Gillette, Madura Garments and ICI Paints. She joined Lodestar UM as general manager and handled brands like Wipro Consumer Care, Intel, ING Group and Madura Garments.

    In 2014, Verma was named the COO of Initiative and she has been overseeing the agency’s entire business in Southern India with the likes of Amazon Seller Service, MRF, Jockey, 3M, etc., leading a team of 100+ strong media professionals.