Tag: India

India – India-based hyperlocal experience marketing brand, Things2do, has launched in four cities – Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Delhi. The brand is renowned for providing consumers with distinctive experiences across travel, lifestyle, aviation, food, and culinary.

According to Things2do, it has identified three sets of consumers, namely The Weekenders, who are always looking out for unique experiences to spend their weekends, The Explorers, who are in search of new experiences that they’ve not discovered, and The Aspirers, who want to update their lifestyle in a certain manner.

The brand currently caters to this set of audiences and provides a plethora of experiences to celebrate occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, weekends, topical days, and special events, and brings newness to their lives.

Roch Dsouza, CEO of Things2do, shared that the Things2do tribe is excited to diversify across newer cities after successfully being the discovery platform for experiences across ten cities; they have now successfully launched the experiences in four new cities and are seeing great traction, consumer insights, and needs that are coming through. 

“We express gratitude to all our partner brands for trusting us and introducing great curations and experiences, changing the face of the experiences industry. We are excited to be part of our consumer’s lifestyle journey and help them live a fulfilling life,” said Dsouza.

India – Latest ad from an Indian brand passes through our radar armed with a silly and comic punch. Lupin’s OTC brand Lupizyme Plus for gut health tells a documentary-style narrative of a man’s life with a unique gift – listening and interpreting the problems of the gut. 

Dubbed the ‘Gut Whisperer’, the ad is conceptualized by Contract Advertising and takes viewers on a journey of how the man’s ‘gift’ helped people who suffered from gut and stomach problems – ultimately directing them to relief through the real ‘ustaad-ji’ of gut problems – Lupizyme Plus. 

Anil Kaushal, head of OTC business at Lupin, said that in order to take the brand to the next level, it’s important to make it a conversation leader.

“This idea is the next step in that regard, to build engagement with our audiences, start conversations and make the brand top of mind when it comes to gut health,” said Kaushal. 

Supratik Sengupta, head of marketing of Lupin’s consumer healthcare, commented, “Breaking the norms of a category is always challenging. But this idea managed to weave in the voice of the brand with the need to tell the Lupizyme story in a disruptive, yet relevant and engaging way.” 

Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar, chief creative officer of Contract Advertising, vouches for the appeal of a documentary and says that the story of a life told in this way injects a different level of engagement. 

“And with the Gut Whisperer, we got a chance to disrupt traditional OTC communication conventions. And with Lupin, we had a great client who immediately saw the potential of this idea,” said Mahabaleshwarkar.

Lupin’s Lupizyme Plus is available as a tonic, capsule, and tablet and contains a PRO-Body formula that stimulates the body’s natural digestive process to provide relief from indigestion.

Mumbai, India – Global creative network WPP has announced that it has acquired the remaining 26 per cent stake in MediaCom Communications in India. MediaCom in India is treated as a JV between WPP and independent communications group Madison World. Following WPP’s decision to merge Essence and MediaCom globally, top management of Madison World has agreed to exit MediaCom to enable the merger. 

The initial agreement between WPP and Madison World dates back to 2008, under which the company owned 51%. In 2017, Madison World sold 25% to WPP. The unique deal between WPP and Madison World contributed to the rapid growth that MediaCom experienced in India. 

MediaCom Communications in India had offices in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru with a team of 165. It has done media planning and buying for a number of top brands such as Procter & Gamble and Dell.

Sam Balsara, chairman of Madison World, said, “This innovative partnership we invested in nearly 15 years ago has been a great success for all parties. It has established MediaCom in India as a fast-growing and highly respected agency by advertisers.”

Nick Lawson, Global CEO of MediaCom, commented, “It has been a pleasure working with Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara as we grew this successful business in India. We will build on that legacy to deliver the agency model our clients want for the future – founded on brilliant strategy and brand-building capabilities, with pioneering digital expertise running throughout.”

Sam Balasara and Lara Balasara are Madison World’s chairman and executive director, respectively.

It was in April 2022 when the EssenceMediacom merger was officially announced. The fusion combines the digital and data-driven capabilities of Essence with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel, audience planning, and strategic media expertise. 

India – Dentsu Creative India has announced the appointment of Benny Augustine as its new chief operating officer, where he will oversee the agency’s operations in India. He will be reporting to Amit Wadhwa, chief executive officer at Dentsu Creative India.

His objective will be to build various frameworks, platforms, and business processes that promote efficiency and effectiveness for clients using modern creativity. 

Furthermore, he will aim to foster the company culture by leading internal initiatives and implementing training programs to help develop talent.

Augustine will be also working closely with the global operations team at Dentsu Creative led by its global chief operating officer Andrea Terrassa.

Prior to his new role, he was with the senior management team at Dentsu Webchutney as chief financial officer (CFO). During that time, he played a key role in establishing the agency as one of the largest digital creative agencies in India.

Speaking on his new role, Augustine said, “I am super thrilled to take up this new assignment. It would be both challenging and exciting to be the COO of one of the most creative networks globally. I am thankful to Amit and the dentsu senior management for considering me for this critical role.”

Meanwhile, Wadhwa commented, “While we move into this new era of a strong brand like Dentsu Creative in India, it is important to have someone to spearhead the operational transformation who understands people as well as the business. To be honest, I don’t think I could have asked for a better person than Benny to do this.”

Augustine’s appointment follows a slew of local appointments, including Bhasker Jaiswal as new COO of media and Arjuna Gaur as new chief creative officer. The appointments follow their recent wins at the Cannes Lions Festival for their campaign with media company VICE.

Mumbai, India – Ferrero’s confectionary brand Kinder has partnered with interactive family entertainment destination KidZania is all set to enter the world of Metaverse with Natoons Metaverse Safari, this World Animal Day on October 4, with the aim to drive learning around animals in a unique way.

The companies are introducing an immersive metaverse experience for children to celebrate World Animal Day and understand its importance. To experience the metaverse zone, visitors can put on VR headsets and go on a Natoons Safari in the Metaverse and learn about animals in a unique way. 

The Metaverse Safari will showcase animals such as porcupine, whale, blue macaw, otter, tortoise and many more in their natural habitat. Kids will also have an opportunity to take photos in the experience.

Additionally, the phygital experience through the AR feature on the free Applaydu app, will further amplify the fun experience. The first Metaverse journey of Kinder Joy will be inaugurated in Delhi and Mumbai on 1st October and will continue till 9 October in Delhi up until 17 October in Mumbai.

Amedeo Aragona, regional marketing manager for Indian subcontinent for Kinder Brands at Ferrero said, “With our entry into the world of Metaverse, we wanted to engage children into learning more about animals while having fun. It is our constant endeavour to consistently find new and innovative ways to nurture the imagination and creativity of children through novel content, based on new technology platforms. Metaverse is one such initiative that drives children to learn, build, and explore exciting themes”.

Meanwhile, Prerna Uppal, chief partnership officer at KidZania India commented, “At KidZania we are always looking forward to the future. We did that by creating a one of its kind multi-sensory Kinder Joy Treat Factory experience that brings alive the joy of manufacturing everyone’s favourite treat. We are extremely excited for adding another innovative dimension to our partnership with Kinder Joy by creating a truly unique environment – “The Natoons Metaverse Safari”. Through this hybrid experience not just kids but even young parents will have fun, learn about animals and values of respecting nature & all its creatures – a truly inventive celebration for World Animals Day”.

India – Dentsu Creative India has appointed Joy Mohanty as its new chief creative officer. In his new role, Mohanty will be instrumental in accelerating the agency’s growth trajectory in the North region. 

Moreover, Mohanty will be aligning with Dentsu Creative India’s ambition and work closely with the creative teams to build solutions that have the power to transform brands and businesses through the lens of Modern Creativity.

In a career spanning over three decades, Mohanty’s professional journey has been deeply rooted in Indian culture. He has worked on a host of brands such as Maruti Suzuki, Google, Nestle, and Absolut, as well as Thums Up, and HP, amongst others. In his previous roles, he held creative leadership positions in agencies like Publicis Capital and Lowe Lintas. Prior to joining dentsu, he also led Goldilocks – an agency from the Usha International Group.

Some of the notable campaigns Joy has worked on include Maruti Suzuki’s ‘Kitna Deti Hai’, Absolut’s ‘Colourless’, Google Maps 2-wheeler’s ‘Paaon Zameen Se Door Rahenge’, and Housing.com’s ‘Yahan Search Khatam Karo’, amongst others. He was also a part of the ‘Money Made Simple’ campaign for Google Pay and Google Assistant’s India launch.

Commenting on her appointment, Mohanty said, “I am excited to join forces with Ajay and Amit and be part of the superb talent hub they have turned Dentsu Creative into. An enviable list of clients makes this a big opportunity. I look forward to adding to the energy and doing some great work.”

Meanwhile, Ajay Gahlaut, group chief creative officer at Dentsu Creative, said that the agency is transforming into a powerhouse of creativity, and they are rapidly building capabilities to stay ahead of the curve in a dynamically evolving industry. 

“However, the tallest structures are built on strong foundations. Joy’s appointment is, thus, vital to our plan for times ahead. He is a veteran who has worked on some of the most groundbreaking campaigns. I am certain that his experience will bring solidity and wisdom into the fresh, bubbling cauldron of creativity at dentsu,” added Gahlaut.

India – Appliance brand Panasonic in India has launched a brand new campaign which urges consumers to get smarter in a quirky way. The campaign is conceptualised alongside Dentsu Creative India.

The campaign is a series of short films that cleverly conveys the message to the world. The three-film campaign showcases Naveen – the protagonist, introducing Gupta Ji to a smarter way of washing clothes. The characters’ humorous banter illustrates the features of the washing machine in an entertaining and interesting way.

Said ads are for Panasonic’s washing machines, powered by its connected living platform Miraie.

Shirish Agarwal, head of brand and marketing communications at Panasonic Life Solutions India said, “Panasonic as a brand is committed towards helping consumers live their best by aiding them with the right choices customised as per their lifestyle. The digital campaign is an extension of this. It depicts the true, slice-of-life moments of an Indian household, on how we struggle to remove stubborn stains using various home remedies.” 

He added, “It goes on to highlight how technology can be the key enabler for clean and fresh laundry. Panasonic’s latest range of smart washing machines is designed with advanced technologies that offer a value proposition of comfort, convenience, and connectivity.”

Meanwhile, Ujjwal Anand, executive vice president at Dentsu Creative India, commented, “Very few people are aware that Panasonic is a noteworthy name in the domain of Home Appliances and washing machines globally. Even fewer people know about the astonishing features of these washing machines. So, as the brand custodians, it was pertinent for us to convey it to the audience; and what better way than utilising and leveraging the already established chemistry of Gupta Ji and Naveen for Panasonic?” 

He added, “We made sure to take that love-envy relationship of these two next-door neighbours to the next level and deliver the core message in a fun & interesting way. The catchphrases and punches in the communication will surely intrigue the TG to know more about Panasonic Washing Machines.”

Lastly, Mayank Khattar, executive creative director at Dentsu Creative India, commented, “Smart is what smart does. Easily. And that is what we wanted our TG to understand in a quirky way. We wanted to raise awareness without sounding ‘too techy’. Working on a simple insight that washing clothes need not be a mix of age-old hearsays, we decided to introduce the smart angle.” 

He added, “Through the banter between Gupta Ji and Naveen, we have tried to make it easy for the TG to understand what is it that the latest technology and features deliver to the consumers. Also, the quirky performances by the protagonists not only deliver the message effectively but are sure to bring a smile on everyone’s faces.”

A growth mindset is always the goal amongst teams, but Virat Tandon, MullenLowe Lintas Group’s Group CEO, said that the path to it isn’t always smooth and straightforward. 

“Growth initiatives always create resistance from within as well as from the environment,” said Virat. But–this is the ultimate test for leaders – creating a resistance-proof environment towards growth.

 Virat says that while a growth-inclined culture is substantial for any company, creative firms which have a fast demand for innovation and ingenuity make it not just a need – but a crucial element within its team. 

A growth-driven firm thrives on inclusivity 

For Virat, the top management of creative group MullenLowe Lintas Group (MLLG), inclusivity and diversity are indispensable in the aim to maintain a team that is susceptible to change and continuous improvement. 

MLLG, in fact, has its own DEI Apex Council which is focused on the task of promoting gender equality and inclusion. Through its Apex Council, the agency plans to steer initiatives and changes aimed at shaping and embedding DEI in the DNA of the organisation. 

Virat said that the agency’s gender ratio for women at the leadership level stands at 31%, where few of its business functions carry the same. He said that what is transpiring at present is a result of none other than years of inclusive leadership, to which Virat aims to continue himself and in the future by giving birth to leaders that are passionate about growth and diversity.

‘Like a Boss Baby’ 

As a leader, Virat’s aim is to create more leaders with the right mindset, so that growth snowballs into even more innovative improvements within the team. This principle is at the heart of MLLG’s’ corporate initiatives such as one that’s called ‘Like a Boss’ and ‘Like a Boss Baby’. The two programs circle soft skills development and eye to develop in team members, early on, entrepreneurial and leadership skills. 

Aside from definitive programs, the agency makes sure that practice that puts a premium on expertise development and leadership building is deeply embedded in the agency. Virat talks about the importance of exposing team members to Indian and international festivals like SXSW and Cannes to provide intellectual and creative stimuli. Besides this, coaching is also made available for anyone who needs it to enable their growth journey at crucial junctures in their career. 

We have a culture of accountability not only towards numbers but also towards people and developing an attractive place to work 

Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group

More interestingly, the agency introduced a referral program that would give 2X referral bonus to those that are able to successfully help in hiring women, PWD, and LGBTQ+ team members – in line with their DEI imperative and the goal of leading with accountability and intent.

For advertising, more than most other industries, DEI is not just a humanistic issue, it is a business case. At the heart of diversity and inclusion is getting diverse thinking, diverse perspectives, thereby inspiring imagination and impacting societal change

Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group

Developing leaders comfortable with making a difference 

Virat shares that the agency’s DEI initiatives are bearing fruit where aspiring women leaders are becoming more emboldened to step up and take key roles within the organisation. Part of their mission in inclusivity and leadership building is appointing from within. 

Ultimately, Virat says the idea of leadership is not to develop more people like yourself but to foster people that are unique and comfortable in the difference they bring to the team. 

“Promoting a culture of learning and diverse growth journeys is good for any business, but crucial for a creative company like ours,” reiterated Virat. 

He added,“This might sound like a cliché and it is. But it’s difficult to practice. Unconscious bias is a real thing and leaders must proactively watch out for it.”

India – Sanitary brand Stayfree has launched a new campaign in celebration of Daughter’s Day in India, encouraging parents to educate their sons about periods among women, which has perpetuated a long-standing stigma in the country.

The campaign’s ad, conceptualised by DDB Mudra, aims to positively change the narrative of shame and silence around periods. Commonly, men have been kept away from the menstruation conversation for generations, thinking of periods as a women’s secret – unsure of their role and choosing to make themselves unavailable because they don’t know how to offer the much-needed support.

Manoj Gadgil, vice president of marketing at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, said, “Stayfree set about to normalise period conversations to create a world where no girl feels embarrassed of periods. The campaign #itsjustaperiod started this journey 2 years back. This year, Stayfree urges parents to talk to their sons and tell them it’s just a period. When boys too are part of the conversation, we can truly create a period friendly world. Having an open dialogue and addressing a child’s curiosity of periods can help us build a generation that is free of societal shame around menstruation.”

Stayfree has also launched a microsite stayfree.in/talktoyoursons to help parents understand how to talk to their sons about periods and urges them to take a pledge to teach their sons about menstruation.

Meanwhile, Pallavi Chakravarti, creative head for West at DDB Mudra, commented, “At what point do children find out that periods are to be spoken about in hushed tones or preferably not spoken about at all? When we say a girl is ashamed about her period, do we ever wonder why? Or stop to think of whom she is hiding from?”

She added. “These were the questions we sought answers to, as we took the platform idea of ‘It’s Just A Period’ into another year. Stayfree has long believed that normalising the conversation involves everyone – not just one section of society – it was this belief coupled with our explorations that led us to the next chapter in our campaign – this Daughter’s Day, talk to your sons.”

India – India-based retail fashion brand Lifestyle has launched its new campaign, with an aim to encourage all fashion lovers to elevate their style with the brand’s latest collection ahead of the seasonal celebrations.

Called ‘Glam up & Style up’, the campaign is comprised of two quick, snappy, and fun 15-second digital-only films, which were conceptualised by Wunderman Thompson Bengaluru. Both films showcase the stylish range of season must-haves available at Lifestyle with a high celebratory vibe, almost like the trending reels made by fashion influencers around the world.

Inspired by the reel format, the brand intends to leverage the current trending format of a short-form social video as a new way of engaging with its customers. Each of the two films features four stylish ensembles from Lifestyle’s latest range with the transitions choreographed in easy and fun dance moves. The original upbeat background track of the film adds to the vibe, urging everyone to groove in style this festive season.

Lifestyle said that it intends to amplify the campaign through multiple celebs and fashion influencers grooving to the peppy track from the film and recreating the video in their own style. With the launch of this campaign, the brand intends to highlight the importance of having fun while you explore your options at Lifestyle, becoming the brand of choice this festive season.

Rohini Haldea, assistant vice president and head of marketing at Lifestyle, commented that they are delighted that this festive season their customers will discover Lifestyle’s on-trend styles through an entertaining film, to flag off a series of celebrations. 

“This is the first time that the brand has taken inspiration from a trending social media video format to break the festive clutter and engage with its shoppers in a fun and unique way. We are very excited and invite all our shoppers this season to not just style but groove in style with Lifestyle,” said Haldea.

Meanwhile, Priya Shivakumar, senior national creative director at Wunderman Thompson India, shared that it’s that scrolling through-your-phone-and-stumbling-upon-that-reel-you-just-can’t-skip moment they were looking to recreate through the lens of a brand with style at its heart. 

“Lifestyle’s eye-catching new collection also unveils its range of exciting festive looks. With music you want to dance to and clothes you want to reel, Lifestyle looks to make you sway to its beats and recreate your own reel moment, giving yourself many ways to glam up and give yourself a style upgrade,” said Shivakumar.