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Tag: WPP media

  • WPP Media’s ‘beyond price tags’ redefines India’s e-commerce game

    WPP Media’s ‘beyond price tags’ redefines India’s e-commerce game

    MUMBAI: Forget discounts and flash sales. India’s next e-commerce boom is getting a luxury makeover. WPP Media India has unveiled ‘Beyond Price Tags: The Power of Premiumization’ in India’s e-commerce boom, a new playbook that argues the future of online shopping is not just digital, but decisively premium.

    Launched in Mumbai, the report sheds light on how Indian consumers are moving beyond price wars and seeking something more lasting: experiences, personalisation, and ethics over mere affordability. The message is clear: value is being redefined.

    Drawing from insights by leading platforms, brands, and experts, the playbook highlights that premium demand is now democratised. Thanks to credit solutions, efficient delivery networks, and the rise of social and quick commerce, premium choices are no longer limited to metro buyers, they’re reaching the heart of Bharat.

    Among its key findings, the report identifies five defining shifts: the democratisation of premium demand; consumers’ appetite for elevated experiences; platform-driven brand reinvention; a cross-category tilt towards feature-rich, design-led products; and the evolution of mass brands into “masstige” offerings.

    To help brands turn insight into action, WPP Media introduces four strategic frameworks: Flash, Vista, Prime, and Rise, each designed to guide discoverability, curation, customer experience, and loyalty building in the digital era.

    “At WPP Media, we are constantly at the forefront of shaping the future of commerce,” said WPP Media South Asia COO Ashwin Padmanabhan. “The premiumization trend in Indian e-commerce is more than just a shift in price points, it reflects evolving consumer aspirations and the growing desire for quality, experience, and status.”

    Echoing this, WPP Media India head of commerce Sairam Ranganathan added, “Premiumization marks a pivotal shift where rising aspirations, global exposure, and digital empowerment are redefining how consumers engage with brands. This playbook is not just a guide but a catalyst for growth.”

     

  • Flipkart’s Big Billion Days 2025 turns TV shows into shopping spectacles

    Flipkart’s Big Billion Days 2025 turns TV shows into shopping spectacles

    MUMBAI: Who said sales are just about slashed prices and speedy deliveries? Flipkart’s The Big Billion Days 2025 rewrote the rules, turning the country’s biggest online shopping event into a nationwide celebration of culture, comedy, fashion, and flair.

    This year, India’s homegrown e-commerce giant went far beyond banners and bargains. Teaming up with WPP Media, Flipkart turned the spotlight on an “integration-first” strategy, embedding itself into the storylines of some of India’s most-watched shows,  transforming everyday entertainment into moments of branded magic.

    On Bigg Boss 19, Flipkart dialled up the drama with its in-house “fashion icon” contest. Contestants took on daring style challenges while fans voted in real time, effectively turning the Bigg Boss house into a high-stakes fashion runway. With Salman Khan’s signature flair and a whole lot of attitude, Flipkart cemented its connection with India’s youth and trendsetters.

    Over in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Flipkart became part of the fabric of Gokuldham society. For three days, characters explored The Big Billion Days as part of their daily lives. From Jethalal testing out denim fits to the Mahila Mandali dissecting discounts, the storyline blended comedy, tradition and relatable shopping chatter to position Flipkart as a true enabler of lifestyle, not just logistics.

    In the South, Flipkart struck an emotional chord on Indian Idol Telugu. Through a two-episode integration centred on the theme “Kuch bhi ho sakta hai,” contestants shared surprise wishlists and received unexpected product reveals, transforming a singing competition into a stage for dreams and discovery.

    Flipkart vice president of growth and marketing Pratik Shetty said, “The Big Billion Days is more than a sale, it’s a tradition that millions of Indians eagerly await. This year, with WPP Media, we brought that emotion alive in the shows people love most.”

    WPP Media South Asia president-client solutions Navin Khemka added, “Culture is the new currency of commerce. By weaving the brand into beloved narratives, we transformed a sale into a shared cultural moment.”

     

  • Flipkart turns Big Billion Days into cultural festival

    Flipkart turns Big Billion Days into cultural festival

    MUMBAI: Flipkart has flipped the script on The Big Billion Days 2025, transforming India’s biggest shopping festival into a nationwide celebration of culture, fashion, and everyday joy. Moving beyond transactions, the event became a tapestry of storytelling, entertainment, and shared experiences.

    With WPP Media’s integration-first strategy, Flipkart became part of India’s most-loved shows, turning screen time into brand milestones. On Bigg Boss 19, the in-house fashion icon contest had contestants taking on bold style challenges, with audiences voting in real time, a dramatic runway powered by Salman Khan’s signature flair.

    In Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Flipkart threaded itself seamlessly into Gokuldham society over a three-day storyline. From Jethalal experimenting with denim to the Mahila Mandali debating offers, Flipkart became part of everyday life, blending humour, tradition, and relatability for millions of households.

    The South region saw emotions soar on Indian Idol Telugu, where the theme “Kuch bhi ho sakta hai” came alive over two episodes. Contestants surprised audiences with wishlists and magical product reveals, transforming The Big Billion Days into a heartfelt celebration that fused music, storytelling, and aspiration.

    Flipkart vice president growth and marketing Pratik Shetty said, “The Big Billion Days is more than a sale, it’s a tradition. With WPP Media, we brought that emotion to life across platforms and languages. From Bigg Boss to Taarak Mehta to Indian Idol Telugu, Flipkart became part of the cultural conversation, turning TBBD into a shared celebration of dreams, community, and everyday India.”

    WPP Media South Asia president-client solutions Navin Khemka added, “Cultural relevance is the new currency of commerce. By weaving the brand into narratives audiences already adore, we elevated a commercial event into a meaningful cultural moment, making every purchase journey an act of participation in India’s cultural fabric.”

    TBBD 2025 proves that Flipkart isn’t just about deals, it’s about delight, drama, and a dash of everyday magic.

     

  • WPP and Google forge $400m AI alliance to turbocharge marketing campaigns

    WPP and Google forge $400m AI alliance to turbocharge marketing campaigns

    CALIFORNIA: WPP and Google have announced a five-year expansion of their partnership that represents nothing short of a full-throated embrace of artificial intelligence as the defining competitive advantage in modern marketing. The creative powerhouse will pour $400m into Google technologies—cloud infrastructure, generative models, cutting-edge AI systems—betting that the combination can compress months of campaign planning, creative development and media buying into days, and unlock growth that conventional efficiency drives could never reach.

    The deal, cemented at Google’s Mountain View headquarters with WPP chief executive Cindy Rose, Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian, and senior leadership from both organisations gathered around the table, aims to fundamentally revolutionise how brands connect with customers at scale. Rather than simply speeding up existing processes or squeezing more productivity from existing workflows, the partners plan to enable something far more radical: real-time personalisation for millions of people simultaneously, powered by bespoke AI models that learn, adapt and optimise on the fly.

    The ambition is extraordinary. WPP will receive preferred early access to Google’s latest generative models—Veo for video generation, Imagen for image creation, and a suite of others still in development—all integrated directly into WPP Open, the firm’s proprietary AI platform for marketing. The practical impact is already staggering. Campaign-ready creative assets that would traditionally take weeks to produce can now be generated in days. Efficiency gains are reaching 70 per cent. Asset utilisation is accelerating 2.5 times over. For one global retailer pilot, these aren’t abstract metrics: they translated to 98 per cent accuracy in audience targeting and an 80 per cent boost in operational efficiency, freeing entire marketing teams to focus on strategy rather than execution.

    WPP Media, the group’s media planning and buying division, will deploy bespoke audience models powered by Google DeepMind’s AI products through a new solution called Open Intelligence. The promise: build custom audience segments and deploy hyper-targeted campaigns across all channels—including Google Ad Platforms—with unprecedented speed and precision. For a multinational energy company, this looked like developing a custom AI Marketing Agent that automatically generates comprehensive marketing briefs, connects stakeholders to a single point of contact, and draws on a library of best-practice documents, past campaign performance and proven playbooks. The system works in real time, adapting to local challenges across multiple markets.

    The partnership extends into the creative layer itself. AKQA, WPP’s design and innovation company, is developing a new generation of AI-powered experiences that transform static websites into intelligent, generative platforms. The live AKQA Generative Store recreates the experience of personalised luxury retail service digitally—dynamically adapting product visuals, messaging and recommendations for each customer in real time. AKQA Generative UI, launching imminently, will instantly generate tailored, on-brand pages for users across enterprise and B2B contexts, with no manual intervention required.

    Privacy and data security thread through the entire architecture. Using InfoSum’s Bunkers technology, now integrated into WPP Open and available on Google Marketplace, WPP can enforce secure data collaboration without physically moving sensitive customer data. This allows brands to harvest deeper, richer insights for AI marketing whilst maintaining ironclad privacy protection—a crucial advantage in an era of tightening data regulation and consumer scrutiny.

    The talent dimension is equally ambitious. WPP’s Creative Technology Apprenticeship programme, which has placed more than 50 early-career technologists across WPP agencies since 2022, will expand dramatically with Google joining as the primary curriculum partner. The goal is audacious: train over 1,000 creative technologists by 2030 in a world-leading curriculum covering creative coding, generative AI and robotics. These apprentices will work on real-world challenges from major clients—L’Oréal, Unilever and others—building the next generation of marketing talent fluent in machine learning, AI prompt engineering and algorithmic thinking.

    Beyond client work, Google AI will also transform WPP’s internal operations. Automated data analysis, intelligent resource allocation and instant access to global insights will flow through WPP’s workflows, accelerating the development of solutions, sharpening team responses and ultimately delivering superior speed and value to clients worldwide. The logic is clear: make the machine fast enough and the organisation responds like an organism, not a bureaucracy.

    There is a feedback loop built into the model that gives WPP an unusual advantage. New solutions are collaborated on, tested and validated first within Google’s own marketing operations—real-world testing grounds where ideas either survive or die quickly. The insights flow back to WPP clients, who receive solutions already battle-tested against the toughest marketing challenges. In a rapidly evolving AI landscape crowded with noise and overpromise, that’s a rare competitive edge.

    Rose called it a redefinition of what’s possible for clients. Kurian framed it as harnessing generative and agentic AI to transform business outcomes. Google global marketing senior vice-president Lorraine Twohill spoke of exploring what marketing and storytelling look like in a new era.

    But beneath the corporate language lies a harder truth: the pace of marketing innovation just accelerated dramatically, and the winners will be those organisations—agencies, brands, technologists—that can think and move at machine speed. Everyone else faces a widening gap between aspiration and execution.

  • WPP Media keeps Bayer Consumer Health account in South Asia after global review

    WPP Media keeps Bayer Consumer Health account in South Asia after global review

    MUMBAI: WPP Media has retained the integrated media mandate for Bayer Consumer Health across South Asia, following a global review, with Essencemediacom continuing to lead the business.

    The renewed partnership deepens a long-standing collaboration between the two firms, sharpening its focus on using AI, automation and data-led insights to accelerate brand growth and media efficiency across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The agency will also strengthen digital and e-commerce integration to drive measurable business outcomes.

    Bayer Consumer Health division country head Sandeep Verma said the partnership had “consistently evolved with the changing consumer and media landscape”. As Bayer expands its regional footprint, Verma said the focus would be on “future-ready media innovations that deepen consumer understanding and strengthen our brands’ role in everyday self-care.”

    WPP Media South Asia president – client solutions Navin Khemka added, “We cherish our longstanding partnership with Bayer Consumer Health. We remain committed to harnessing AI, data and technology to deliver campaigns that strengthen consumer connections and drive growth.”

    WPP Media is the global media collective of WPP, bringing together the group’s platform, people and partners to drive growth in a fast-changing media landscape.

  • Wpp Media bags integrated media mandate for Leeford Healthcare

    Wpp Media bags integrated media mandate for Leeford Healthcare

    MUMBAI: Wpp Media has won the integrated media mandate for five of Leeford Healthcare Limited’s strategic consumer brands, covering atl, full-funnel digital, e-commerce, q-commerce, performance marketing, and seo. The win marks a significant expansion of Wpp Media’s footprint in India’s healthcare and personal care sector.

    Under the mandate, Wpp Media will oversee end-to-end planning and buying across key platforms, leveraging data-led strategies to deliver scale, efficiency, and measurable impact. For Leeford, one of India’s fastest-growing pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and the second-largest player in general medicine, the partnership aims to strengthen brand visibility, optimise consumer journeys, and drive sustainable business growth.

    “Leeford Healthcare’s journey is rooted in trust while rapidly scaling into personal care and orthopedics,” said Wpp Media South Asia president- client solutions Navin Khemka. “This mandate goes beyond media, it’s about shaping how a brand of scale connects with millions in a digital-first world. By fusing data intelligence, commerce expertise, and creative storytelling, we aim to craft seamless consumer experiences across platforms.”

    Echoing the sentiment, Leeford Healthcare founder & managing director Amit Gupta said, “Our vision is to build Leeford into a diversified consumer powerhouse that blends healthcare credibility with lifestyle relevance. To scale this vision, we needed a partner who could combine strategy with execution and Wpp Media is best equipped to help fuel the next chapter of our growth story.”

    Founded with the purpose of making quality healthcare more accessible, Leeford Healthcare continues to evolve into a broad-based health, wellness, and personal care brand. With this partnership, both companies are set to craft a media strategy that’s equal parts precision, performance, and purpose, a formula fit for India’s fast-changing healthcare landscape.

  • Bengaluru roundtable by Indiantelevision.com & mfilterit concludes on a high note

    Bengaluru roundtable by Indiantelevision.com & mfilterit concludes on a high note

    BENGALURU: The Bengaluru edition of Indiantelevision.com Group and mfilterit’s closed-door roundtable proved to be a power-packed and highly successful gathering of India’s app economy leaders. Themed “Build winning app acquisition & engagement strategy using AI & analytics”, the event on 12 September brought together an exclusive panel of senior voices from well-established brands. With candid conversations, practical insights, and real-world case studies, the session set a new benchmark for dialogue around the future of app marketing in India.

    Indiantelevision.com Group chief business officer Soumitra Sahu said, “At Indiantelevision.com, we see ourselves as enablers of meaningful conversations that move the industry forward. The Bengaluru roundtable was a reflection of that, bringing together diverse voices from India’s thriving app economy to candidly address both opportunities and blind spots. What stood out was the willingness of leaders to go beyond surface metrics like installs and really dig into questions of quality, transparency, and long-term engagement.”

    “By partnering with mFilterIt, we wanted to create a forum that doesn’t just spotlight challenges but also equips marketers with actionable insights to build sustainable, growth-focused strategies. Judging by the energy in the room and the quality of ideas exchanged, this event was a resounding success and a step toward shaping a stronger digital ecosystem for all,” Sahu added.

    The forum underscored how the conversation in today’s attention-deficit era has shifted: installs alone no longer define success. Instead, cleaner traffic, genuine engagement, and sustainable ROI are the new imperatives. Moderated by  WPP Medi national head – performance marketing Satheesh Kumar, the powerhouse panel included industry moguls from Phonepe’s Indus Appstore, Ajio, Rapido, Pocket FM, Jar, redbus, Payrupik, Stable Money, My Growth Club, and mfilterit.

    Durgesh Rathore of mFilterIt highlighted the session’s depth and practical value, noting that discussions around KPIs, media mix, and the challenges posed by SRNs and third-party channels made the forum highly engaging. He emphasised that despite reliance on standard validation metrics, brands still face gaps due to opaque models, underscoring the need for robust checks and AI-driven solutions.

    Rathore also valued the opportunity to exchange insights with industry veterans. “Presenting in front of a focused group of industry peers was a proud moment. The insightful exchanges with veterans like Pawandeep Singh and Utkarsh Garg provided diverse perspectives and a deeper understanding of the evolving digital ecosystem,” he noted.

    Reflecting on the value of the discussion, Phonepe Indus Appstore VP product Rohit Utmani said, “The discussion was an insightful, high-quality exchange. The most valuable aspect was the focus on real-world examples and best practices from the panelists’ companies.”

    “It was refreshing to learn from their practical experiences on scaling, rather than relying on a traditional market research approach. It was also great to hear the positive reception to Indus Appstore and the enthusiasm that developers in the ecosystem have about exploring our platform as a new way to acquire users,” he added.

    For moderator Satheesh Kumar, the event exceeded expectations. 
    “My expectation was to have a candid, insightful discussion around the opportunities and challenges in the app ecosystem, particularly on growth, fraud prevention, and attribution. The session absolutely lived up to that, with panelists openly sharing their practical experiences and perspectives.”

    “What I enjoyed most was the diversity of viewpoints, each panelist brought a unique lens from their respective industries, which made the discussion rich and well-rounded. It even went to the extent where the panelists started building on each other’s points of view, turning the session into a super engaging conversation rather than a typical Q&A. What made it truly insightful was that the dialogue wasn’t limited to just app marketing, it naturally expanded into broader aspects of marketing, product, and business strategy,” Kumar added.

    From highlighting fraud patterns like CTIT anomalies, invalid OS versions, and click hijacking, to stressing the importance of independent AI-powered validation, the session offered a roadmap for marketers to move beyond vanity installs toward growth-focused, transparent, and efficient strategies.

    For Indiantelevision.com Group, co-hosting the roundtable augmented its role as a trusted knowledge partner for the industry, while for mFilterIt, it further demonstrated its leadership in shaping cleaner, more accountable digital ecosystems.

  • WPP Media blends mischief and curiosity with ‘Horlicks Chhoto Byomkesh’

    WPP Media blends mischief and curiosity with ‘Horlicks Chhoto Byomkesh’

    MUMBAI: Detective stories just got a Horlicks twist. WPP Media has teamed up with Horlicks and Hoichoi to launch ‘Horlicks Chhoto Byomkesh,’ a branded content initiative that reimagines Bengal’s beloved detective in his childhood. The campaign marries the legacy of Bakshi with Horlicks’ brand values of curiosity and growth.

     
    Led by team Fulcrum, WPP Media’s dedicated HUL team, the series demonstrates how culturally resonant content can turn a brand association into a meaningful entertainment property. By spotlighting Bakshi’s early years, the initiative builds an organic connection with Horlicks’ ethos while celebrating Bengal’s collective memory of the detective. 

    Directed by award-winning Kamaleswar Mukherjee, the series stars Aarush Dey as young Byomkesh and Priyanka Sarkar as his mother, Sulochona. Anchored around Durga Puja, it leverages the cultural festival to amplify impact while creating a social-first, digitally amplified experience that resonates with families across Bengal. 

    WPP Media South Asia, president – client solutions, Amin Lakhani, said, “This first-of-its-kind AFP showcases how creativity, data and cultural insight can deliver impactful brand stories.”  HUL, executive director, foods, Rajneet Kohli added, “Byomkesh Chhoto Byomkesh inspires kids’ curiosity and love for problem-solving while connecting with families in a unique way.” 

    Hoichoi, co-founder, Vishnu Mohta said, “Byomkesh is a beloved character for all ages. We’re thrilled to bring a fresh, reimagined version of this iconic detective to our audience.” 

    Premiered on 24 September 2025, Horlicks Chhoto Byomkesh is more than a branded content initiative, it’s a cultural moment, showing how insights, storytelling, and platforms can come together to create lasting consumer connections. 

  • Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    MUMBAI: Averill Sequeira has landed the plum job of chief strategy officer at Essencemediacom, the WPP Media brand, marking another step up the corporate hierarchy for the seasoned media strategist. The appointment, which began in July, caps a career spanning over 20 years in India’s bustling advertising and media planning sector.

    Sequeira’s ascent through the ranks reads like a textbook case of steady professional progression. Her journey began modestly in 2004 as a media planner at Madison Communications, before moving to Lodestar Universal where she cut her teeth on communication planning and media tools development.

    The real acceleration came during her lengthy stint at Mindshare, GroupM’s media agency, where she spent nearly six years climbing from senior director of business planning to principal partner for strategy. Her remit there included managing strategic units, delivering marketing solutions, and shepherding blue-chip clients like PepsiCo through the digital transformation.

    A brief entrepreneurial detour saw her founding TranSkills India, a skills development venture, in 2013—though the appeal of agency life proved too strong to resist for long. She returned to the media fold at Cheil India as general manager of planning, before joining EssenceMediacom India in 2021.

    At EssenceMediacom, Sequeira has worn multiple hats, serving first as chief product officer and later as head of creative futures, before her latest promotion to the top strategy role. Her expertise spans customer insight, creative problem-solving, and marketing communications—skills that will prove essential as media agencies grapple with an increasingly fragmented advertising landscape.

    The appointment signals WPP Media’s confidence in homegrown talent, particularly as multinational agencies face pressure to localise their leadership teams across key markets like India.

  • WPP Media places Mindshare veteran to steer Fulcrum’s south Asian operations

    WPP Media places Mindshare veteran to steer Fulcrum’s south Asian operations

    MUMBAI: WPP Media has nabbed Vinish Mathews, former chief strategy officer at Mindshare India, to head its team Fulcrum operations across south Asia. The appointment marks a homecoming of sorts for Mathews, who previously orchestrated strategic planning for Hindustan Unilever’s sprawling personal care empire during his decade-long stint at Mindshare.

    Mathews arrives with 22 years of battle-tested experience spanning India, China and Southeast Asia. His CV reads like a tour through advertising’s most cutthroat markets—from steering Nestlé and PepsiCo campaigns in China’s digital-first landscape to managing Unilever’s 30-brand portfolio including Dove, Lux and Fair & Lovely in India.

    The 45-year-old executive cut his teeth at The New Indian Express before climbing the ranks at The Media Edge and Mindshare. His most recent role saw him as managing director of Mindshare China, where he juggled marquee accounts including Royal Caribbean and Tourism New Zealand whilst leading Alibaba’s outbound business across Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.

    At Essence, Mathews served as vice-president and client partner for Google across India and Southeast Asia, cementing his reputation as a digital media heavyweight. His expertise spans the full spectrum from FMCG giants to fintech upstarts, with forays into automotive, tourism and consumer durables.

    WPP Media’s decision to bring Mathews aboard signals its intent to capitalise on south Asia’s booming advertising market. The region has become a crucial battleground for global agencies as brands chase the spending power of India’s burgeoning middle class and the digital transformation sweeping across emerging markets.

    Mathews will now task himself with driving growth and transformation for team Fulcrum’s client roster, leveraging his cross-cultural expertise and proven track record in building “immersive consumer connections.” For WPP, it represents a strategic coup in the ongoing war for talent between the world’s largest advertising groups.