Tag: Vikas Mehta

PointNine Lintas launched, Vikas Mehta named CEO

MUMBAI: MullenLowe Lintas Group has announced the launch of its new independent full-service agency in India, PointNine Lintas. It would offer omni-channel marketing capabilities including creative (on and offline), PR, activation, experiential, social, media and digital transformation; all under one roof.

PointNine Lintas will commence operations on 1 August, 2017.

The existing marketing services of the Group will be aggregated under this new agency and will operate as its divisions. These include GolinOpinion – PR, reputation management; LinTeractive – digital marketing & transformation and LinEngage – activation, experiential & shopper. These divisions will come together to offer full-service horizontal offerings to clients of PointNine Lintas, while continuing to retain their vertical offerings for existing clients. The new agency has a roadmap to further expand its capabilities by adding new offerings to its service stack, including creative, media, technology and platforms.

Announcing the new agency, Joseph George (Joe), Group Chairman and CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group said, “We made our intentions to go full-service clear four years ago. While the list of companies and industries pursuing full-service (under different labels) has grown tremendously in this time, the approach to it remains more or less the same. PointNine Lintas is a fresh take at an agency model that’s multi-faceted at its core. So far, only holding companies have seen some success with this approach, but it’s restricted to a handful of very large global clients. An agency network doing this would be a first, and we believe it could broaden the base of clients who can tap into it.”

Along with Lowe Lintas and Mullen Lintas, PointNine Lintas would be the third independent agency of the MullenLowe Lintas Group in India. Vikas Mehta, currently Group CMO and President, Marketing Services for MullenLowe Lintas Group, has been named CEO of PointNine Lintas.

Vikas has been with the MullenLowe Group for over a decade in various local and regional roles in the APAC region including Managing Director – Lowe Viet Nam and Regional Growth Officer – Lowe Asia-Pacific. He moved to MullenLowe Lintas Group India in 2013 as the country’s first agency-CMO. In 2014, he took an additional mandate to rebuild the group’s digital business by relaunching LinTeractive. Since 2015, he’s also been President of the Group’s Marketing Services divisions. Prior to his management stints, Vikas was a planner and he authored strategies, papers and case-studies that have won over 50 international awards for marketing effectiveness. Major ones include Effie (India, Singapore and APAC), Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards, APAC Tambuli Awards, WARC Asia Prize for Strategy, 4A’s Jay Chiat Awards, among others.

Speaking of the appointment, Joes said, “I have worked closely with Vikas the past four years and I am absolutely certain that he is most qualified to deliver on this ambition. Not just because of his subject matter competencies required for a multi-service agency, but also for his passionate, stubborn and informed belief in ‘full service’ being the only way to go!”

Vikas said, “We have gone from the age of communication to the age of experiences. While the market has evolved at a furious pace, the agency models haven’t. The opportunity to take the Lintas pedigree and build an agency for the experiential economy is an inspiring one. Hyper-bundling is our biggest priority as a network and I’m grateful for the challenge to build a new agency that’s hyper-bundled from day zero”.

PointNine Lintas will work on an operating model that’s designed to evolve, much like the OS of your preferred device, to reflect the accelerated pace at which the marketing landscape is shifting. In fact, the name PointNine reflects exactly that; a philosophy of ‘forever beta’, by choice.

July 5, 2017
Ameer Ismail promoted as GolinOpinion president

MUMBAI: PR veteran Ameer Ismail has been promoted to President by MullenLowe Lintas Group, effective immediately. He has led the group’s PR firmGolinOpinion (formerly LinOpinion) for over 20 years and built the agency into one of the top players in the PR industry. He was also instrumental in bringing Golin on-board as JV partner in India in 2014. GolinOpinion operates as a part of the marketing services offerings of MullenLowe Lintas Group.

Ameer continues to report to Vikas Mehta – Group CMO & President, Marketing Services for the group. Announcing this elevation, Vikas said “Ameer is just the right mix of Vintage and Vision. In a time when the practice of PR is more important than ever, but the business of PR is getting highly commoditized; he’s the kind of leader the industry needs. PR is an integral part of our re-bundled offering and GolinOpinion occupies a great position in the market today. Reinventing yourself from a position of strength is a rare & valuable opportunity and I’m delighted to have Ameer lead that agenda for us.”

Founded in 1996, LinOpinion was amongst the first PR offerings by a communications group (Lintas) in India, and remains the most successful of any agency’s PR offerings to date. Since 2015, the agency has been on a journey to evolve its model, structure, and offerings. The agency is now fully structured around Golin’s world-renowned G4 model. It was also one of the first PR firms in the country to offer a social media practice in the form of brand newsrooms, called the Bridge™.

Speaking of the promotion, Ameer Ismail, says, “I am so proud to be a part of this great institution – the MullenLowe Lintas Group and am looking forward to this new phase in my journey with a renewed focus and dedication towards delivering great work. GolinOpinion is recognized as a premium and leading player in the PR industry. We have today some of the best brands represented in our portfolio. As the business evolves, I am tasked to work closely with our management team to takeGolinOpinion to even greater heights by building scale and new competencies that will continue the brave work that has been our trademark so far.”

GolinOpinion manages the PR mandate for some leading global and Indian companies and brands including TATA Starbucks, Dubai Ports World, Budweiser, Texas Instruments, HUL (multiple brands), Seiko, Etihad Airways, Marriott International Inc, Porsche, Lamborghini, Cinepolis and Sony Pictures Networks India.

Ameer is a part of the Golin global leadership group and works closely with the regional and global MDs. He serves on the advisory committee board of several management forums. He has served as a jury for several award shows including SABRE and GoaFest. He has worked with the Centre of Change Management in successful seminars like International Brand Summit and The Asia Pacific HR Conference. He was also awarded the CMO Asia Award for Outstanding Contribution to Corporate Communications in Singapore in 2011 and recently named one of the top 10 leaders in the PR industry in India by Reputation Today magazine.

May 29, 2017
Lin’s ‘sabziwala’ reintroduces Rohan’s ‘price protection’

MUMBAI: In the current Indian scenario, the combined effect of demonetisation, crackdown on un-taxed incomes, and a series of Bills passed by the government to make real estate more regulated, the consumer is anxiously holding their breath for real estate prices to fall in urban India. It’s made the real estate market sluggish, with people delaying buying decisions to avoid the risk of losing money, in case prices fell.

Rohan Builders of Pune, were among the first real estate companies in India to introduce a ‘Price Protection Policy’ back in 2008. The policy ensures that if the market price of the property bought falls, Rohan refunds the difference to the consumer. They have re-introduced this policy, in the wake of current market conditions. While this policy is immensely relevant in the current market, it normally gets buried in the fine print of the legal documents and is left to the sales personnel to explain (or ignore).

To put spotlight on Price-Protection, LinTeractive recently unveiled a digitally-led initiative, Price-Protected Sabziwala (vegetable vendor). At this shop, you get price-protection on vegetables, even on small fluctuations in the market.

The campaign kicked-off with a series of prank videos set in Pune called “Aaj ka Bhav” (the rates today) by the popular comedy group STFU18. In the Series, vegetable vendors in and around Pune were asked if they would return money to consumers if vegetable prices fell. OOH and social media are being deployed to communicate Rohan’s price protection policy.

To push the idea further, an online vegetable store, #PriceProtectedSabziwala has been launched, where people can buy vegetables with a price protection guarantee. Physical vegetable stores on the same lines have been setup in retail malls of Pune. The buyers of veggies from these stores are notified via SMS, every time prices fall and they can claim a refund of the difference online. The website goes on to introduce Rohan’s Price Protection Policy invite buyer interest. A stock exchange-like price ticker for the vegetable market has been created as a mobile utility.

Rohan Builders director sales Abhishek Bhatewara said: “In the current state of the real estate market in India, the home buyer is anxious that house prices may fall, delaying their buying for a later date. At Rohan Builders, we understand the buyers’ hesitation in committing their hard-earned savings to buy a house right now. LinTeractive has come up with a very simple and effective way to make people relate to this policy – an everyday fluctuation we all live with – the prices of sabzi. We’re trying to trigger in the minds of the consumer that, buying a home with Rohan is something they should consider without fear as their investment is protected from any downturn in the market.”

Within three days of going live, the campaign has generated enormous buzz in Pune. It’s reach has crossed 3.5 million (all organic) and its garnering attention from local media. In fact, RED FM RJs even visited the vegetable vendors and talked about them at length in weekend programming.

MullenLowe Lintas Group CMO & president – marketing services Vikas Mehta said: “To put spotlight in a blind spot (price protection by a real estate company in this case) is always an interesting marketing challenge. These are hard times for the real estate business and I commend Rohan for thinking digital-first. Sumanta and the team at LinTeractive have done a great job of executing the idea seamlessly in an omni-channel manner. To see measurable impact on the clients’ business in such a short period since the campaign went live with an improved CPL, is truly heart-warming.”

Over a hundred potential customers have already come forward with interest in buying properties from Rohan Developers. More leads continue to pour-in as the campaign progresses.

LinTeractive executive VP Sumanta Ganguly said: “Inherent to our approach has always been the effective understanding of consumer journey’s to use the effective touchpoints to enable specific action. The omni-channel campaign has been created using touch-points including physical and digital experiences (on ground, web and mobile), conversations on social media, video content and OOH.”

March 29, 2017
LinEngage appoints Gagan Pal Singh Nagi

MUMBAI: LinEngage has announced the launch of its Delhi (NCR) office to cater to clients in North India. Gagan Pal Singh Nagi has been appointed VP and business head – North. He would report to LinEngage India executive VP Sriharsh Grandhe.

MullenLowe Lintas president marketing services and group CMO Vikas Mehta said, “As we move into the experience-age, activation is moving from the fringes of a marketing plan to its core. LinEngage is an essential component of our Marketing Services offerings as we strengthen our omni-channel capabilities. Sriharsh built a client portfolio in Delhi and we’re getting great traction from clients in NCR across product categories.”

Prior to joining, Nagi was working with RK Swamy (Hansa Group) as the general manager and business head – North for Hansa events, the experiential business unit.

Over the years, Nagi has worked with the Mudra Group and Encompass Events (now a part of WPP), where he handled brands such as Samsung, Vodafone, Nestle, Yamaha, Maruti Suzuki and Piaggio, among others.

Sriharsh said, “LinEngage is focusing on strategic activations and experiential marketing leveraging digital and data. Gagan (Singh) is an old hand with a young heart. We are eager to see him get started with the fresh and innovative approach of LinEngage and expand our presence in Delhi.”

The mandate for Singh is two-fold. Set up a team with skills that leverages technology and data to create large format experiences that are also personalised. And tap Delhi’s Consumer-Tech, Auto, FMCG & Pharma segments to grow LinEngage’s business.

Singh said: “LinEngage has a fresh approach towards experiential marketing which gives me a huge opportunity to innovate. My focus will be to grow business with interesting experiential solutions for brands using new-age technologies and help brands measure and monitor their events and activation better.”

March 15, 2017
HDFC hires LinTeractive for two-wheeler insurance campaign

MUMBAI: HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company has appointed LinTeractive, the digital agency of MullenLowe Lintas Group, to put together a digital campaign for its two-wheeler motor insurance products. Through this campaign, HDFC Ergo aims to reach out to its consumers and communicate the importance of renewing their two-wheeler motor insurance.

LinTeractive has been entrusted the task to create a digital engagement for HDFC Ergo, targeting owners of two-wheelers motor bikes and scooters.

HDFC Ergo member of executive management & group head Mehmood Mansoori said, “Renewal of the two wheeler insurance policy does not take priority in the consumers mind, making it a low involvement category. The owner is more likely to forget this crucial requirement and leave it for the last moment. We look forward to working with LinTeractive and put out an exciting campaign which will innovatively push two wheeler owners to not miss the renewal of the policy.”

Commenting on the win, MullenLowe Lintas Group CMO & president – marketing services Vikas Mehta said: “Buying two-wheeler insurance is mandatory in India. While that makes the category large, it also makes it somewhat commoditized. The task to differentiate a brand like HDFC Ergo, in a commoditised category, is both challenging and exciting.”

LinTeractive executive VP Sumanta Ganguly added, “It’s rare that a campaign idea from a pitch meeting is also the campaign you end up doing, and HDFC Ergo was one such pitch.”

LinTeractive has initiated work on the campaigns, which will soon make its splash in the digital space for all to view.

February 23, 2017
L&T appoints LinTeractive as digital marketing agency

MUMBAI: LinTeractive, the digital division of MullenLowe Lintas Group has bagged the mandate for digital marketing of L&T across all its businesses, including performance media buys.

After a multi-agency pitch that saw leading national agencies compete, L&T chose LinTeractive as its digital partner. L&T was impressed with LinTeractive’s strategic framework which provides a roadmap for companies looking to be digital future ready in communications.

Commenting on the appointment, L&T corporate brand management and communications VP Deepak Morada said, “Digital is a key focus area and as a group we wanted to go beyond looking at it as just another medium, truly harnessing the power of digital to change the conversation. At L&T, we’re at the forefront of technology across multiple domains and industries – we aim to provide an equally cutting edge experience to our customers, and we have reason to believe that LinTeractive possesses the requisite skills and experience.”

The challenges of digital for a large conglomerate is not a simple thing, but Sumanta Ganguly, Executive Vice President, LinTeractive feels that it needs to start with changing how digital is perceived across the multiple stakeholders inside the organization.

On the state of digital marketing in India, Ganguly commented, “The business of digital in India for most brands today remains an additional check box –a thing to do. At LinTeractive we look at digital as a way of doing things instead. With L&T we sensed an opportunity to deploy the power of this concept in response to the increasingly digital world of today.”

On partnering L&T, MullenLowe Lintas Group marketing services president and group CMO Vikas Mehta said: “In the past 70 odd years, the L&T Group has played a pivotal role in building things that are at the core of today’s India. During these 70 odd years, Lintas has partnered hundreds of brands into becoming a part of India’s popular culture. The opportunity to collaborate with L&T, as they aim to re-imagine their businesses for a digital world, is a matter of great pride for the MullenLowe Lintas Group. We realize the tremendous responsibility that L&T has entrusted LinTeractive with.”

April 20, 2016
L&T appoints LinTeractive as digital marketing agency

MUMBAI: LinTeractive, the digital division of MullenLowe Lintas Group has bagged the mandate for digital marketing of L&T across all its businesses, including performance media buys.

After a multi-agency pitch that saw leading national agencies compete, L&T chose LinTeractive as its digital partner. L&T was impressed with LinTeractive’s strategic framework which provides a roadmap for companies looking to be digital future ready in communications.

Commenting on the appointment, L&T corporate brand management and communications VP Deepak Morada said, “Digital is a key focus area and as a group we wanted to go beyond looking at it as just another medium, truly harnessing the power of digital to change the conversation. At L&T, we’re at the forefront of technology across multiple domains and industries – we aim to provide an equally cutting edge experience to our customers, and we have reason to believe that LinTeractive possesses the requisite skills and experience.”

The challenges of digital for a large conglomerate is not a simple thing, but Sumanta Ganguly, Executive Vice President, LinTeractive feels that it needs to start with changing how digital is perceived across the multiple stakeholders inside the organization.

On the state of digital marketing in India, Ganguly commented, “The business of digital in India for most brands today remains an additional check box –a thing to do. At LinTeractive we look at digital as a way of doing things instead. With L&T we sensed an opportunity to deploy the power of this concept in response to the increasingly digital world of today.”

On partnering L&T, MullenLowe Lintas Group marketing services president and group CMO Vikas Mehta said: “In the past 70 odd years, the L&T Group has played a pivotal role in building things that are at the core of today’s India. During these 70 odd years, Lintas has partnered hundreds of brands into becoming a part of India’s popular culture. The opportunity to collaborate with L&T, as they aim to re-imagine their businesses for a digital world, is a matter of great pride for the MullenLowe Lintas Group. We realize the tremendous responsibility that L&T has entrusted LinTeractive with.”

April 20, 2016
LinTeractive appoints Parag Shahane as unit creative director

Mumbai: LinTeractive, the digital arm of the Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India, has announced the appointment of Shahane Shahane as unit creative director. Shahane has joined the team effective October 2015 and will report to Group CMO | group marketing services, president, Vikas Mehta.

At LinTeractive, Shahane’s remit would be to provide creative answers to clients who are seeking cutting-edge digital solutions for their brands. He would oversee creative strategy and design for brands.

LinTeractive has been witnessing promising growth in recent months with a host of clients making a beeline to lap up digital solutions being offered by the firm. With more than 25 clients in its fold including heavyweights like Woodland, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Godrej, Karvy, Dabur etc LinTeractive is looked upon as a preferred agency for brands that’re looking for fresh and innovative online & offline ideas to achieve their stated objective.

Welcoming Shahane onboard the team, Vikas Mehta said, “Since its reboot last year, LinTeractive has seen growth on all fronts – business, brands and clients. To sustain this momentum, it’s imperative for us to keep adding more fire-power to our digital ambitions. We’re thrilled to welcome Shahane on board. His upbringing in Lintas, coupled with his more recent successes in other digital companies will come in handy towards fulfilling our objective of mainlining digital.”

A former Lowe Lintas hand, Shahane joins LinTeractive from Pinstorm where he held the post of VP – Creative. Prior to Pinstorm, Shahane has played senior roles in agencies like Y&R, Mudra, JWT Colombo and FCB Ulka.

Commenting on his appointment, Shahane said, “Lowe Lintas is not just an advertising agency, it is looked upon as an institute of communication in this country. As a proud product of this institute, I am honoured to be a part of LinTeractive. Of late, digital has been adding new dimensions and has been at the forefront of creating new eco-systems for brands. Building great brands and creating more meaningful conversations around the brand, through new-age media and technology will be our mantra. In the constantly changing dynamic world of digital, the focus will be on smartly dividing challenge and opportunity to create magic around brands.”

In his entire career span, Shahane has been instrumental in providing creative throughput and strategy to more than 50 brands across the sectors of FMCG, Automobiles, Media, Hotels & hospitality, Banking & Insurance, Fashion, Entertainment, Pharmaceutical etc.

Shahane’s immense talent has resulted in him bagging a host of creative & effectiveness awards, both in India and overseas.

When he is not working, Shahane spends his time pursuing other passions that span adventure sports, photography, being a jury member, sushi chef, playing chess, farming, teaching, etc. He also loves travelling, is an avid music lover, and is also the proud father to adorable twin girls.

November 5, 2015
Mullen Lowe Lintas Group hires Sriharsh Grandhe to head LinEngage

MUMBAI: LinEngage, the experiential marketing and activation arm of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group, has appointed Sriharsh Grandhe as executive vice president based in Mumbai.

Grandhe will report to Mullen Lowe Lintas Group CMO and president – group marketing services Vikas Mehta.

Prior to joining LinEngage, Grandhe was with the WPP firm, Possible Worldwide Singapore as the engagement director. At Possible, Grandhe was managing the global rollout of Standard Chartered’s Responsive Website, a first in the Banking domain across 55 countries in APAC, EMEA & Americas.

Mehta said, “Our ambition for LinEngage is to make consumer engagement an essential part of a brand’s narrative. A lot more innovation is possible in the area of creating meaningful consumer experiences. Under Harsh’s leadership, we are keen to make strides in strengthening this practice in an industry that’s largely driven by tactical activations.”

LinEngage offers specialist brand engagement expertise to a host of clients in India. Apart from its focus on the urban pockets, it boasts of a bespoke rural offering – LinTerland. The motive is to help clients capitalise on the consumer-engagement opportunities in heartland India. Both the urban and rural offerings of LinEngage have been growing steadily over the past few months with host of new business wins. Notable clients include Johnson & Johnson, Franke Faber, Bayer, UltraTech, Castrol, ICICI Prudential and Byju’s to name a few. His remit will be to evangelise the experiential marketing practice for the group and further expand the portfolio.

Grandhe added, “The strong lineage of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group is no secret. India is at an exciting phase of development and the agency is experiencing both momentum and growth. LinEngage is in a sweet spot right now with only one direction to go – upwards.”

September 1, 2015
Lowe Lintas + Partners wins Agency of the Year at APAC Tambuli Awards

MUMBAI: Lowe Lintas + Partners has won the Agency of the Year award for the second year at the ninth Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards.

The agency picked up a haul of 21 awards including the special Carmencita Esteban Platinum Award, two Grand Prix, 14 Golds, three Silvers, and one Bronze. With this, Lowe Lintas + Partners has tripled its own tally as compared to the past year.

Driven by the agency’s performance, Lowe Lintas + Partners’ holding company, IPG was named Network of the Year, while Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) was declared the Advertiser of the Year. In all, Mullen Lowe Group bagged 33 metals in the final tally.

The only regional award of its kind, the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards honours brands that deliver business results while promoting a positive societal value— brands from around Asia that celebrate human truths, inspire purpose, and effect real change.

Lowe Lintas + Partners CMO Vikas Mehta said, “Given our focus on effectiveness and brand building philosophy of doing-well-by-doing-good, Tambuli remains a special award for us. Agency of the Year, two years in a row is humbling. We have our clients and the Tambuli jury to thank. I’d like to congratulate the University of Asia & Pacific for another successful edition of the Tambuli Awards.”

Lowe Lintas + Partners picked up these awards for its work across a large spectrum of brands including Havells, Tata Tea, Kissan, Lifebuoy, Clinic Plus and Kan Khajura Tesan.

Lowe Lintas + Partners national planning director S Subramanyeswar added, “What we have achieved this year is truly special, and we have the jury to thank for acknowledging our work. We have been perfecting our performance across effectiveness awards consistently and our achievement at Tambuli is testimony of the unmatched competence that we had been dreaming of for some time.”

Click here for list of winners

June 10, 2015