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Tag: Venkat Mallik

  • Jack in the Box Worldwide and Tidal7 merge to form J7

    Jack in the Box Worldwide and Tidal7 merge to form J7

    MUMBAI:  Independent agencies Jack in the Box Worldwide and Tidal7 have sealed a merger, creating a new entity called J7 that aspires to be a “future-ready” marketing powerhouse. The combined agency will pool strengths in creative storytelling, branding, data intelligence and technology-led marketing to deliver integrated solutions for clients in India and beyond.

    Jack in the Box Worldwide, founded by Roopak Saluja, has built its reputation on social media campaigns, design and consumer research. Tidal7, launched by Venkat Mallik, carved out its niche with data-driven branding, digital analytics and multi-channel creative services. Together, the two outfits aim to position J7 as a partner that can blend cultural insight with measurable business outcomes.

    “This is a major inflection point in Jack in the Box Worldwide’s trajectory,” said Saluja, who will continue as founder and chairman. “By joining forces with Tidal7, we are enhancing our culture of creativity with world-class data intelligence and strategic depth. J7 is not just a new name — it is a manifestation of our shared commitment to solving our clients’ most complex challenges.”

    Mallik, who becomes J7’s founder and chief executive, underlined the agency’s growth ambitions: “We have always believed that the most powerful marketing solutions emerge when brand thinking, creativity and data intelligence work hand-in-hand. With J7, that belief takes on a new dimension. The aim is not just to create campaigns but to build growth ecosystems for clients, empower teams with advanced tools and lead in an AI-driven future.”

    J7 will place particular emphasis on AI-led innovation, new media formats and tech-integrated tools. Plans are under way to expand service offerings, develop industry-specific solutions and pursue growth both within India and overseas.

    Team J7

    The leadership bench will include Farhatnaz Ansari as managing partner, Sivaram Subramaniam as executive creative director and Vikram Srivastava as director of data and strategy. Both agencies’ existing clients will continue to be served without disruption, now aligned under the J7 vision.

    By marrying Jack in the Box Worldwide’s creative flair with Tidal7’s analytical rigour, J7 is betting that the next era of advertising belongs to agencies that can move as fast as technology — and as imaginatively as culture.

  • RAPP India appoints Lowe’s Kabir Ahmed as group director

    RAPP India appoints Lowe’s Kabir Ahmed as group director

    MUMBAI: DDB Mudra Group’s agency RAPP India has appointed Kabir Ahmed as group director- brand communication.

     

    Ahmed joins RAPP India from Lowe, Mumbai where he was brand services director.

     

    At RAPP India, Ahmed will be managing clients across the agency’s portfolio and report to RAPP India president Venkat Mallik.

     

    Ahmed said, “For me, it was to look at doing something different in advertising. At RAPP India, the true sense of 360 degree, including the digital exercise on a brand, approach to marketing communications and the sheer magnitude of work done for its clients excited me. I look forward to add value to these processes.”

     

    Mallik added, “RAPP India is going through its next phase of growth with a number of new business wins and a truly fabulous array of clients and spread of work. In a typical workday our life moves from a digital assignment to one involving Data and consumer engagement and then to a classical brand-building task. It’s a truly exciting period of time when we need people with deep passion for the communications business supported with a high level of energy and versatility. Kabir brings in just the right blend of enthusiasm and experience for the period ahead.”

     

    Backed with an experience of over nine years, Ahmed has worked for both, brand communication and creative execution for clients across agencies like Percept/H, DDB Mudra, Chennai, and Art Advertising, Mumbai.

  • Pinterest’s new pitch to advertisers; impressive or run of the mill?

    Pinterest’s new pitch to advertisers; impressive or run of the mill?

    MUMBAI: Today, disruption is the operative word and brands of all hues are harnessing the digital medium to create cutting-edge communication. However, online audiences are very impatient and want things instantly – things that can sustain their interest, considering they have a short attention span to boot.

     

    An online platform that has endeavoured to help consumers curate and share things they love is Pinterest. Founded four years ago by Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp, Pinterest has caught the attention of marketers with the launch of its various ad inventories over the past six months.

     

    According to a report published in Reuters last month, Pinterest has raised a new $200 million round of funding that gives it a valuation of $5 billion. The company last raised money in October 2013 at $3.8 billion valuation in a round led by Fidelity Investments.

     

    The social media platform stated in the report that it would use the capital to invest in technology, develop its advertising program further, and expand internationally. Pinterest said it has raised a total of $764 million so far from the time of its inception.

     

    Pinterest also introduced a new advertising tool called ‘Promoted Pins’, in January this year. According to digital experts in India, the social media platform tested the inventory in multiple phases. It was just last month that the platform made a small roll out with a group of brands in the U.S. This comprised ABC Family, Banana Republic, Expedia.com, GAP, General Mills, Kraft, lululemon athletica, Nestle’s few products, Old Navy, Target, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Ziploc.

     

    While on an average it takes around $30 to $40 to advertise on Pinterest, according to experts, with ‘Promoted Pins’, Pinterest aims to improve functionality, generate revenue and serve additional content around the pin. The company also aims at generating between $1 million and $2 million per campaign from its big advertising partners.

     

    To address the large chunk of small and medium-sized businesses Pinterest is going to take a different route and opening up ‘Promoted Pins’ to more businesses in a very Facebook-like advertising model. Instead of paying by impressions, like on Facebook, with Pinterest’s this inventory, brands only pay when people click through to their brand website.

     

    It is learnt that Pinterest is also prepping up to open a data firehose by the name Business Insights API. With this, companies will be able to customize their online campaigns based on user insights.

     

    Pinterest’s move is being likened to what Facebook initiated only to be taken over by Twitter later. Indiantelevision.com spoke to social media experts to understand what this means to an emerging market like India.

     

    Digital Quotient strategy and planning head Girish Mahajan opines that though Pinterest has gained a lot of momentum worldwide, in India, its power is yet to be fully realized. “This is mainly because Indians constitute only eight per cent of the entire Pinterest user base. But if your business is fashion, interiors, arts or F&B, Pinterest could be an interesting tool to make shopping easier and fun,” he says.

     

    “If a brand wants greater engagement of a particular target audience say women, in that case, Pinterest can prove to be tremendously influential. Visual is Pinterest’s strength, a very important factor for retailers. Also when compared to other social media tools, the amount of time required to run digital campaigns on Pinterest in less. Promoted Pins are available on an invite-only basis; it is essentially a CPM-based model. Pinterest is aiming for e-commerce bucks unlike Facebook and Twitter. The platform will evolve more into a second base for e-commerce sites other than FB or Twitter. At present in India, advertising options are not fully available but in the near future, we will witness people leveraging this tool better,” Mahajan added.

     

    According to RAPP India president Venkat Mallik ‘Promoted Pins’ will work well but only if brands handle them well. “If the promoted pins are overly ‘salesly’ they are likely to get rejected. The visual of promoted pins needs to look like content that is generally interesting to people with related interests and then have a sales message may be one layer down. There are a number of theories about the kind of pictures that get the largest amount of likes and repins and some of those could potentially serve as guidelines on how to make promoted pins work better as well,” mentioned Mallik.

     

    Facebook’s buying of Instagram last year added a lot of value especially in a market like India.  According to social baker Nike, MTV and Starbuck are the top brands in Indian on Instagram.  Ignitee social media head Nikhil Kharbanda says that many Indian brands prefer Instagram to Pinterest because of the former’s reach and subtle advertising option such as sponsored post/video. Though Instagram doesn’t release numbers according to many international news reports, the application has doubled its user base in the last one year.

     

    “The way ahead in creating effective communication on social media is to bet high on image marketing. It can be noted that currently, Indian brands are interestingly using Instagram in their digital media mix but I am positive that with platforms such as Pinterest introducing affordable advertising options, there will be much more action seen from brands in this space,” adds Kharbanda.

     

    Whether Pinterest will be able to make a dent on Instagram’s popularity with Indian brands, only time will tell…

  • V-Guard’s appoints RAPP India as its digital agency

    V-Guard’s appoints RAPP India as its digital agency

    Mumbai: Consumer electrical and electronics company, V-Guard, has appointed RAPP India as its digital agency.

     

    RAPP India’s mandate will be to plan strategic initiatives for V-Guard on digital while managing its end-to-end digital and social media presence. The account will be handled by RAPP India’s Gurgaon office.

     

    On winning the account, RAPP India president Venkat Mallik said, “What excites us about V-Guard is the team’s vision and leadership in the Consumer Electronics Category. We’re absolutely thrilled to partner with them in their journey towards becoming a company with a highly diversified portfolio & national presence. Digital will play a huge role in this journey. The mandate for us is to make this category exciting for consumers. Digital can help us do this while we continue to build on V-Guard’s leadership position.”

     

    V-Guard’s corporate communications head Nandagopal Nair said,” V-Guard is in the process of building its digital ecosystem for the brand; it was important to align with an Agency who understands the complexities and challenges of the brand as well as the environment we operate in. RAPP brings a sharp, insightful digital thinking which would help build the V-Guard brand in the Digital space and partner us in this journey. RAPP was able to demonstrate their capability with a well thought through, cohesive strategy on what the brand needs to do in a laddered manner in the digital environment.”

  • RAPP maintains its winning streak by winning Aditya Birla Money

    RAPP maintains its winning streak by winning Aditya Birla Money

    MUMBAI: RAPP India, a part of the DDB Mudra Group and one of Omnicom group’s leading multichannel agencies has maintained its winning streak this year by adding Aditya Birla Money to its clientele.

     

    RAPP will be responsible for creating go-to-market strategies and digital campaigns for Aditya Birla Money’s Wealth, Broking, Real-Estate and other Distribution business.

     
    Aditya Birla Money is the second client that Rapp has signed up within the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group. Birla Sun Life Insurance being the first, having been signed on last year.

     

    Commenting on this occasion, Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer-Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group says, “Equity and other alternate assets must be on the consideration set of mass India, if they are to give life to their dreams. At Aditya Birla Money we are committed to provoking our target segments to self-realize the role and importance of money management in their lives and we were looking for a strategic communications partner who can help us bridge this gap. With RAPP India, we are glad we have found an agency that will not only guide and partner with us in the expression of our brand, but more importantly, also help us strategize for the way forward”.

     
    Said Venkat Mallik, President, RAPP India, “ABFSG is a very valuable relationship for us at RAPP.  Aditya Birla Money is a very good addition to our ABFSG portfolio with its focus towards reinventing the way financial service businesses operate. We are looking to bring in innovation into the way Broking and Wealth Management businesses market themselves through creativity in content and in the channels used, while working along with the very bright team at ABM”.

     

  • Tribal DDB India bags Marico’s Set Wet account

    MUMBAI: The DDB Mudra Group‘s full service creative digital agency Tribal DDB India has won the digital mandate for Marico‘s Set Wet Hair Gels.

    The account win comes after the brand called for a multi agency pitch.

    DDB Mudra also handles the creative duties for Marico‘s leave on conditioner brand Livon.

    Tribal DDB & Rapp India president Venkat Mallik said, “It‘s fantastic to get to work with the team at Marico. Set Wet operates in highly cluttered categories and it‘s important to create an exciting and clutter breaking creative solution. We are eagerly looking forward to launch a series of break through digital initiatives and creative units.”

    The Set Wet range of products comprises deodorants, hair styling products such as hair cream and hair gels and spray talc.

    Earlier this month, the agency won the digital mandate for Danone Narang Beverages‘ water-based drink brand B‘lue.

  • Venkat Mallik to head Tribal DDB India & RAPP

    Venkat Mallik to head Tribal DDB India & RAPP

    MUMBAI: DDB Mudra Group has handed over the responsibility of heading Tribal DDB India operations to Venkat Mallik. He will also continue to lead RAPP India.

    Mallik comes in with nearly 20 years of experience. He joined RAPP in 2009 as their president India. Prior to this, he worked with companies like JWT, Leo Burnett, Euro RSCG and Unilever.

    Mudra Group CEO & MD Madhukar Kamath said, “With around a 100 million Internet users, digital advertising is acquiring mainstream proportions and it is important to create a leadership structure for Tribal DDB which understands both digital and mainstream brand marketing communications well. With his background in advertising, brand marketing, online gaming and data and digital communication, Venkat brings a combination of skills needed to build Tribal DDB, as well as RAPP at this juncture.”

    Mallik‘s brand experience spans 50 different brands and categories, including leading brands from companies like Unilever, SmithKline Beecham, ITC, Indian Oil, Ultratech, Sara Lee, Van Melle, CavinKare, Standard Chartered Bank, HDFC, Tata Communications and HP.

    On his new role, Mallik said, “It’s exciting to have the mandate to grow RAPP and Tribal DDB, both of which are leading global new age agencies. We are looking to scale up both agencies quickly while leveraging synergies between them.”

    Tribal DDB India has a client list that include Idea Cellular, Star TV, McDonald’s, Tourism Australia and Emirates. RAPP handles clients like Hewlett Packard, Standard Chartered Bank, Johnson & Johnson and Tata Communications.