MUMBAI: Chintan Thakker has traded sweet treats for dental care. The senior business director at Wavemaker India, who spent the past four years crafting campaigns for Mondelez’s snacking empire, is now leading the agency’s integrated marketing communications for Colgate.
The move caps a 14-year career that began in social media analysis and meandered through entrepreneurship before landing Thakker in his current role. His time with Mondelez proved particularly fruitful: the campaigns he orchestrated earned India its first Cannes Titanium Lion and racked up over 300 national and international awards in just two and a half years.
Thakker joined Wavemaker in May 2021 as director of innovation and integrated marketing communications, building a seven-person team and driving technology and content partnerships for Mondelez India. He was promoted to senior business director this month./
His earlier ventures were less gilded. In 2015, Thakker co-founded twentythree, a boutique digital agency that worked with Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC. He also launched Odd Giraffe Lifestyle, a women’s brand that folded after seven months in 2017—a failure he credits with sharpening his strategic instincts.
Before striking out on his own, Thakker climbed the ranks at digital agencies Gozoop and EveryMedia Tech, managing social media for brands including Hyundai, PepsiCo and Bollywood studios. He started his career in 2011 as a video editor and reporter at Fuzion Productions.
The Colgate account marks fresh territory for Thakker, who has spent recent years immersed in the language of indulgence. Now he must master the vocabulary of oral hygiene.
Gurugram: Efficacy Worldwide, the full-service advertising and marketing agency founded in 2021, has added three heavyweights to its top deck as part of an aggressive expansion across India.
Somnath Sarkarr joins as national investment director, bringing two decades of media-buying expertise from Madison, Vivaki, Lodestar UM and Initiative, where he was most recently vice-president investment. He will oversee digital and traditional media portfolios, blending programmatic with scale, and drive partnerships to squeeze more value out of spends.
Prajesh Dutta, with over 20 years at Madison, Wavemaker, m/Six, Maxus and GroupM, has been named national director – strategy and innovation. He will spearhead P&L, sharpen strategy and strengthen teams.
Meanwhile, Raj Choudhary takes charge as business head for the south. He moves from History TV18, where he was regional head, and has stints at Zee Media, Indian Express, Warner Media, Network18, Sony Pictures and Network India.
“We are at a pivotal point in our journey and these three key senior appointments underscore our commitment to strengthening leadership and scaling operations across India,” said co-founder Sapna Sharma.
In three years, the agency has bagged mandates from Kohler, Omega, Rado, Hero Cycles, Suzlon Energy, Foundit, Clear Dekho, UP Tourism and more. Efficacy has built a reputation for marrying creativity with technology, wielding AI-led insights, influencer SaaS tools and funnel optimisation to deliver ROI at speed.
The trio’s combined half-century of experience marks the agency’s latest attempt to turn scale into clout.
MUMBAI: Sonal Jadhav has traded her corner office at Mindshare for the top job at Havas Media Network India, where she will serve as managing partner and west lead. The appointment marks a significant coup for Havas, which has poached one of the industry’s most seasoned media hands.
Jadhav spent three years and seven months as principal partner at Mindshare, the GroupM-owned agency, before making the switch this month. Her departure represents a notable loss for Mindshare, where she had deep roots stretching back over a decade.
The Mumbai-based executive brings formidable credentials to her new role. She cut her teeth during a marathon 10-year stint at Mindshare, rising through the ranks from client lead to senior cluster lead. In her most recent role there, she managed a portfolio of blue-chip accounts including Kellogg’s, ICICI, Rio Tinto and Onida, with full profit-and-loss responsibility.
Her earlier Mindshare tenure was particularly notable for her stewardship of the Hindustan Unilever skincare portfolio, where she crafted media strategies for the conglomerate’s beauty brands from 2006 to 2013. The assignment cemented her reputation as a strategic thinker with a knack for marrying brand-building with performance metrics.
Between her two Mindshare chapters, adhav spent four years as general manager at Wavemaker, another GroupM stable-mate, focusing on FMCG clients and honing her expertise across traditional and digital media channels.
Her career began in print advertising, with early roles at Hindustan Times and Indian Express, where she learned the fundamentals of media sales and revenue optimisation.
The appointment signals Havas Media’s ambitions to strengthen its presence in India’s fiercely competitive media landscape, where agencies are battling for a larger share of the country’s advertising spend. Ms Jadhav’s deep FMCG experience and client relationships make her a natural fit for a market where consumer goods companies remain among the biggest advertisers.
At 15-plus years in the business, she represents the kind of seasoned leadership that agencies increasingly prize as they navigate the complexities of digital transformation and attribution-based media buying.
MUMBAI: Ravishankar Iyer, the former national head of communications planning at Wavemaker, has landed at Hogarth as advisor-head of strategy. The appointment marks a homecoming of sorts for the Mumbai-based strategist, who returns to the WPP fold after a six-year stint at the media agency.
Iyer’s career spans over two decades in India’s advertising trenches. At Wavemaker, he built what the company called a “highly successful full funnel content practice” anchored on culture, data and commerce. Before that, he spent four years at Mindshare, where his team became one of the country’s most garlanded, handling marquee accounts including Star TV Network, Castrol, Facebook and HSBC.
The strategist’s résumé reads like a who’s who of Indian advertising: stints at Ogilvy & Mather, Bates, Lowe Lintas and McCann Erickson. He even dabbled in the start-up world as marketing director at VPTA, a grassroots sports venture.
Hogarth, WPP’s creative execution powerhouse, appears keen to beef up its strategic muscle as brands demand more integrated approaches. Iyer’s appointment suggests the agency is betting on old-school planning chops to navigate an increasingly complex media landscape.
The move comes as advertising’s traditional boundaries continue to blur, with strategy, creative and media planning increasingly overlapping. For Iyer, it’s another chance to apply his “cultural provocation” philosophy—this time from Hogarth’s Mumbai office.
MUMBAI: Advertising veteran Ratheesh MS has taken charge as vice president at Starcom, the media agency under Publicis Groupe. His appointment follows a brief spell at WPP Media and a near decade with GroupM’s Motivator, where he rose to general manager.
Ratheesh has built a reputation for steering high profile accounts across auto, telecom, e commerce, insurance and consumer goods. His career spans over 19 years with stints at ZenithOptimedia, Wavemaker, Carat, Lintas Media, MPG Group, Malayala Manorama and Infomedia.
Among his proudest milestones: conceptualising India’s first car night rally for Maruti Suzuki’s Swift, delivering double digit growth for Jabong.com, and leading Honda Cars’ media win in a multi agency pitch.
At Starcom, Ratheesh is expected to bring his trademark blend of disruptive growth strategy and meticulous media planning to fuel the agency’s next phase of expansion.
MUMBAI: Ajit Varghese is set to return to the world of advertising, taking the reins at Sam Balsara’s Madison as partner and chief executive officer. The move marks a homecoming for Varghese, who cut his teeth at the agency before a globe-spanning career across media and tech.
Varghese had only recently been chief revenue officer at Jiostar, the Reliance–Disney joint venture, a role he held for seven months. Before that he led ad sales for the Walt Disney Company in India (2023–24) and served as chief commercial officer at ShareChat and Moj (2020–22), where he drove a 7x revenue surge and helped turbocharge growth in Bharat-focused social media and short video.
His longest stint was at WPP, where he rose from managing director of Maxus South Asia to global president of Wavemaker, overseeing 3,000 staff across 50 markets. Along the way, he delivered double-digit bottom-line growth, launched new digital and data-driven practices, and notched a string of industry awards.
Varghese began his career at Madison in 1999, climbing to chief operating officer before leaving in 2006. Back then, he helped Coca-Cola triple its media budget in India and added marquee clients such as McDonald’s, Asian Paints, and Axis Bank.
His return signals Madison’s intent to sharpen its edge in a market that is once again in flux.
MUMBAI: What do you get when you mix flavour, fun, and futuristic tech with zero internet? A rural marketing masterstroke. Centerfruit, from the house of Perfetti Van Melle India, has launched an industry-first voice-based AI campaign that’s got rural tongues wagging – quite literally.
In a bold move to bridge the digital divide, Centerfruit rolled out the Tongue Twister Challenge in partnership with WPP, BharatGPT.ai, and Google Cloud. Targeted at audiences in rural Uttar Pradesh – where smartphone penetration is patchy and data access even patchier – this initiative lets users engage with the brand using nothing more than a basic feature phone.
Sharing his thoughts on the campaign, Perfetti Van Melle India marketing director Gunjan Khetan said, “Rural Bharat is an important market for Centerfruit, and while we have been able to reach millions through Television, there are still pockets where narrating our brand story has been a challenge. However, the latest Voice AI tech activation is a game-changer, it allows us to not just reach but have conversations with people outside of the traditional digital ecosystem. By using AI and creative storytelling, we bring the Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee spirit to life in a way that feels local, effortless, and deeply inclusive. We believe this is a powerful step toward ensuring that no consumer is left out of the conversation, no matter where they are or what technology they have access to.”
As part of its ongoing ‘Kaisi Jeebh Laplapayee’ campaign, the brand deployed a hyperlocal Voice AI that dialled users directly. All they had to do was give a missed call, and they were in – chatting away in local dialects, tackling tongue twisters, and laughing through a gamified, fully voice-led experience.
The backend was as sophisticated as the frontend was simple. Deployed on Google Cloud, the experience leveraged BharatGPT and CoRover’s desi LLM optimised for Indian languages and dialects. Users’ voices were streamed and converted in real-time, analysed by Gemini (Google’s AI model), and scored on clarity, pronunciation, and speed. No screens, no apps, just good ol’ vocal cords.
But the experience didn’t stop at tongue twisters. Users could also ask questions in their native dialects via BharatGPT.ai’s ‘Ask Engine’ and receive instant responses, turning every call into a conversation.
Google Cloud India VP and country MD, Bikram Singh Bedi added, “Google Cloud’s scalable cloud infrastructure will enable brands like Center Fruit to reach consumers in their native language and Gemini’s capabilities will enable real time scoring which will make the whole user journey exciting while creating more brand recognition. This is a testament to how technology can truly empower businesses and consumers around the globe.”
Wavemaker CEO – South Asia, Ajay Gupte said, “We believe technology should be an equalizer, not a barrier. Our collaboration on the campaign along with BharatGPT.ai and Google Cloud is a powerful example of how voice-based GenAI can bridge the digital divide and bring playful, immersive brand experiences to audiences often overlooked by mainstream media. By combining creativity with scalable tech infrastructure, we’re proud to help create a campaign that’s as inclusive as it is innovative—one that speaks directly to people, in their language, on the devices they already use. This initiative is a step forward in redefining how brands connect with rural India—not just by reaching them, but by truly engaging them in ways that are local, personal, and deeply human.”
Hogarth India CEO Karthik Nagarajan said, “This partnership between Perfetti Van Melle, WPP, Google Cloud, and BharatGPT wasn’t about tech deployment – it was about cultural engineering. We built AI not just to answer questions, but to reflect the wit, rhythm, and warmth of everyday Bharat. When creativity meets technology, you don’t just reach people – you resonate. As a content experience company, we specialize in delivering engaging, enriching brand experiences irrespective of the medium. In this case, we are very grateful to Perfetti Van Melle for providing a platform that enabled us to create such an experience at scale for its audience.”
With this move, Centerfruit hasn’t just taken the road less travelled – it’s made it multilingual, hyperlocal, and powered by next-gen tech. Who said you need 5G to have fun?
MUMBAI: WPP has pulled the plug on GroupM and plugged in something slicker: WPP Media, its all-new, AI-charged global media company. The move signals a seismic shift in the advertising giant’s playbook, as it bets big on “creative personalisation at scale” in the AI age.
The newly minted outfit unites more than $60 billion in annual media investment across 80-plus markets and claims to work with over 75 per cent of the world’s top advertisers. Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom aren’t going anywhere—they’re now operating as bespoke agency brands under the WPP Media umbrella, powered by shared tech, data and production firepower.
At the heart of this revamp is WPP Open, the group’s AI-enabled marketing platform backed by a cool £300m annual investment and heavyweight AI partnerships. It’s billed as the ultimate integration engine—fusing creative, production, data, commerce and media delivery in one turbocharged stack.
WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser explained: “Consumers already expect advertising to be relevant and engaging and buying experiences to be seamless; those expectations are only going to accelerate in the age of AI. WPP Media is built for a world in which media is everywhere and in everything. By investing in our AI-powered product, integrating our offer with data and technology, and equipping our people with future-facing skills, we’re helping our clients to stay ahead of rapidly changing consumer behavior and unlock the limitless opportunities for growth that AI will create.”
WPP CEO Mark Read highlighted: “We believe that WPP is the strongest marketing partner for the world’s leading brands in the AI era, where technology and talent converge. The move to WPP Media continues our strategy to simplify and integrate our offer for clients. While GroupM was built for a time when media scale mattered most, WPP Media reflects the power of AI, data and technology and simpler, more integrated solutions.”
It’s not just about the tech, though. The company says it’s doubling down on people—investing in learning and development to future-proof talent for the AI-powered marketing world.
Points out Read: “Our vision for the future is clear – marketing that is informed by data, led by seamlessly connected teams of brilliant people, and full of new opportunities for our clients.”
To spread the word, WPP is rolling out a cross-channel B2B blitz aimed squarely at CMOs and C-suite suits. The message: AI is here, it’s hungry, and it needs humans to thrive.
In true WPP flair, the relaunch isn’t just a name change. It’s a brand makeover, a tech upgrade, and a culture reset—all rolled into one. As the world’s biggest advertisers brace for an AI tidal wave, WPP Media is positioning itself as the surfboard.
MUMBAI: Digital marketing heavyweight Vishal Jacob has taken on a new role as president of AI & digital solutions at Choreograph India, part of the GroupM family, after nearly five years at Wavemaker India.
The veteran, whose career has spanned the rollercoaster ride of India’s digital transformation from the dotcom crash to today’s data-driven marketing landscape, will now lead GroupM India’s artificial intelligence charter while crafting integrated digital solutions for clients.
“I’ll be working closely with the digital leadership teams to drive smarter outcomes for clients,” said Jacob in his announcement. “I’m excited to be at the intersection of innovation and impact.”
Jacob brings over two decades of digital marketing experience to the role, having served as chief digital officer and chief transformation officer at Wavemaker. His CV boasts an impressive list of past roles at GroupM, Maxus, The Upper Storey, Mindshare Interaction and Smile Interactive Technologies.
His previous achievements include transforming an eight-member team into a 100-strong digital powerhouse that garnered recognition at global awards including the Festival of Media, M&M Global and World Media Awards.
A certified coach from ICF with specialisations in transactional analysis and NLP, Jacob has built his reputation on connecting brands with consumers through integrated ecosystems of paid, owned and earned properties—a talent GroupM will now leverage as it dances into the AI era.
As traditional agencies scramble to embrace artificial intelligence, Jacob’s appointment signals GroupM’s determination not to miss a step in the industry’s latest transformation jig.
MUMBAI: Wavemaker India is riding high, clinching the top spot in the WARC 100 Most Effective Global Ranking 2025—pulling off a victory with the swagger of a Madison Avenue maverick.
As the advertising industry scrambles under the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) watchful eye over alleged price-fixing allegations, Wavemaker has flipped a potential headwind into a jet stream of success.
Ajay Gupte, chief executive for south Asia, isn’t just celebrating—he’s making a statement. “Creativity powered by insight and innovation.” That’s not just a corporate tagline—it’s a battle cry.
The numbers tell a cracking story. Wavemaker Mumbai stormed to 115.3 points, blowing past global giants. More remarkably, it stands as the only Indian agency in the top 10—a statistical unicorn in a rankings table usually ruled by North American and European behemoths.
The global podium:
1) Wavemaker Mumbai, India (115.3 points) 2) Starcom Chicago, US (107.7 points) 3) Mindhare New York, US (78.4 points)
Even as the CCI probes alleged anti-competitive practices in the advertising world, Wavemaker has flipped the script—turning scrutiny into strategy. While some players glance nervously over their shoulders, Wavemaker is already sprinting ahead.
Chief client officer and office head, west, north & east Shekhar Banerjee, calls it a journey of “consistency, evolution and relentless focus. No 1 in 2023 #2 in 2024. Back to #1 in 2025.”
The WARC 100 isn’t just a list. It’s the Everest of media effectiveness rankings—stacked with the most impactful campaigns on the planet.
A massive shoutout to GroupM and Wavemaker India’s leadership for pushing boundaries on tech, measurement, full-funnel strategies and creativity.
While the industry introspects, Wavemaker accelerates.
