Tag: India

India – Edelman has promoted Bhavna Jagtiani, formerly chief operating officer of India, to chief executive officer for its India operations. Additionally, Kunal Arora, previously managing director for India digital and APAC studio lead, has been elevated to head of digital, APAC, expanding his regional responsibilities.

Over her 22-year tenure at Edelman, Jagtiani has grown with the firm, starting as an account executive and advancing to lead integrated teams across India and briefly in Hong Kong.

As COO of India, she enhanced operational efficiencies, fostered a strong organisational culture, and expanded client mandates both locally and regionally.

Now, as India CEO, Jagtiani will oversee business strategy, drive market growth, strengthen client relationships, and further enhance the firm’s capabilities to deliver award-winning, impactful solutions.

Meanwhile, as MD of digital in India for the past 10 years, Arora has developed global client offerings in digital crisis management, social media, and digital reputation. He has also led the APAC expansion of Edelman Studio, strengthening the firm’s global production capabilities with local expertise and AI-driven solutions.

As head of digital for APAC, Arora will collaborate with leaders across the network to scale the firm’s digital operations. His responsibilities include overseeing APAC Studio, enhancing team capabilities, and integrating digital solutions across all client offerings.

Jagtiani and Arora will continue to report to Rakesh Thukral, Edelman’s APAC CEO, with their appointments taking effect immediately.

Speaking on the appointments, Thukral said, “Bhavna is an undisputed culture champion, having fostered a strong workplace community of collaboration and empowerment. Her leadership in India has been instrumental in driving consistent growth for the market. And Kunal has ensured we continue to integrate the best capabilities and innovation into our offerings, ensuring the firm is equipped to help our clients excel in a constantly changing landscape.”

He continued, “Having worked side-by-side with Bhavna and Kunal, I can personally say their commitment and ability to nurture client relationships and talent make them deserving of their new roles, and I look forward to what we will accomplish together next, in their new capacities. Our digital business in Asia and our India business have the potential to grow, and I have no doubt that Kunal and Bhavna are the right leaders to partner with our teams and clients to achieve this.” 

India – Madison Media Infinity, a division of Madison World, has been appointed as the media agency of record (AOR) for Samsonite India, overseeing its traditional and digital media strategy.

As part of this mandate, the agency will oversee Samsonite India’s traditional and digital media strategy, covering TV, print, radio, cinema, outdoor, and digital platforms.

Samsonite India, a subsidiary of global luggage company Samsonite International, offers a range of travel products, including luggage, backpacks, and accessories. The company’s portfolio also includes brands such as American Tourister and Kamiliant, which will be part of the agency’s mandate.

Anushree Tainwala, vice president of marketing at Samsonite India, commented, “Samsonite has always been at the forefront of creating high-quality, durable luggage & travel accessories with a strong focus on innovation, continually adapting to evolving consumer needs.”

“This strategic partnership with Madison, known for their impactful & integrated media strategies, is a perfect match to further propel our brand’s leadership in the market. With a shared commitment to innovation and excellence, Madison’s expertise will play a key role in our vision to make Samsonite brands the preferred travel companion in India,” Tainwala added. 

Meanwhile, Abhik Banerjee, COO of Madison Media Infinity, said, “We are excited to partner with Samsonite India and look forward to driving impactful media strategies across both traditional and digital platforms to strengthen their brand presence.”

India – Santosh Padhi (Paddy) has launched his independent advertising agency, ‘Into Creative’, with a six-member founding team. The agency aims to revive bold, fearless creativity and deliver ‘Big Directional Ideas’ for brands across platforms.

Into Creative focuses on developing ‘Big Directional Ideas’—concepts that extend beyond communication to shape a brand’s broader identity. The agency takes a deep, collaborative approach to brand-building across multiple disciplines.

The agency’s ‘Big Directional Idea’ will serve as a foundation for various brand needs, from advertising campaigns and media properties to social content strategies, app design, tech-driven innovations, in-game content, and PR. These ideas take shape through collaboration, with a team working alongside a diverse group of creatives, technologists, and industry experts to bring fresh perspectives and drive ideas forward.

Leading the new creative agency is a six-member founding team, with Paddy as chief creative officer and chairman and Ayesha Ghosh as CEO and co-founder.

They are joined by co-founders Yogesh Rijhwani (creative lead), Tania Dey (strategy and digital lead), Namrata Gosavi (design and digital lead), and Gargi Vegiraju (business lead).

Bringing diverse skills and perspectives, the founding team combines contrasting viewpoints with complementary strengths. Their shared history of debating approaches, strategies, and ideas shapes their collaborative dynamic.

The six founding members previously worked together at Wieden+Kennedy India, which ceased its advertising operations in India in December 2024. They bring experience from handling major brands such as Jio 5G, Hero Vida EV, Hero Cycles, Jindal Steel, Jockey, and Zoya. Additionally, Yogesh, Gargi, Paddy, and Ayesha have a shared history at Taproot, the agency Paddy co-founded in 2009 before its acquisition by Dentsu Group.

“More experiments happen when independent. And experiments often fail but every now and then give birth to a gloriously unexpected, triumphant discovery. We’re here for that. We see ourselves as multipliers. When one collaborates with high creative integrity, respecting every platform, that’s when true magnification of ideas happens,” Ghosh said. 

Paddy and Ghosh will oversee all aspects of the agency, with Paddy holding the majority stake while the other co-founders also have equity. The agency may bring in additional leaders for specialised verticals, with stake allocations as needed.

Into Creative is set to launch in Mumbai on March 30, 2025, coinciding with Gudi Padwa/Ugadi, a festival marking new beginnings in many parts of India. Discussions with potential clients are ongoing, with announcements expected in due course.

“I would have easily retired on an island, but the calling from adland is loud and clear. This industry has given me everything, and it is time for me to give back,” shared Paddy. 

“Our focus will be on doing brave, fearless, creative brand work. Indian brands and platforms have grown in number, but creativity hasn’t. Oddly enough, brands are being built on creativity. Somewhere the passion of creative agencies to push boundaries has been lost. In a world where anything is now creatively possible, we are here to fill this vacuum,” he added.

India – Venturi Partners has announced the launch of its second fund, targeting $225 million with a hard cap of $250 million, to support high-growth consumer brands in India and Southeast Asia.

Building on its first fund, the new fund will continue Venturi’s strategy of investing in consumer brands that are reshaping their industries and developing products and services for the changing needs of Asian consumers.

Venturi aims for a first close of $130 million by June 2025, with backing from existing investors. The second fund will focus on high-growth sectors, including retail, education, healthcare, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), across India and Southeast Asia.

Nicholas Cator, founder of Venturi Partners, said, “Our investment philosophy remains unchanged: backing brands that create meaningful change and deliver innovative solutions to consumers. We take an active ownership approach with our portfolio companies, working closely with founders to help unlock growth and scale their businesses. With this second fund, we are excited to continue partnering with ambitious entrepreneurs across the region.”

In April 2022, Venturi raised $180 million from prominent families in Europe and Asia. Its first fund invested in seven high-growth consumer companies across education, F&B subscription, beauty and personal care, retail, and home interiors, including Livspace, Country Delight, Believe, Pickup Coffee, DALI, K-12 Techno, and JQR.

Venturi takes a hands-on approach, working closely with management teams to scale operations and drive long-term growth. Its experience in identifying and expanding consumer businesses has established it as a key investment partner for founders in India and Southeast Asia.

India – Flipkart and consumer electronics company Nothing have teamed up with Pepper Creative, a unit of Pepper Content, to launch a campaign promoting mindful tech use while reinforcing Nothing phones’ unique market positioning.

Titled ‘Don’t Buy Me,’ the campaign took an unconventional approach to smartphone marketing, moving away from spec-driven promotion to encourage mindful technology use.

Acknowledging the role of smartphones in daily life, Flipkart and Nothing focused on usage habits rather than screen time. The campaign disrupted real-life moments with reminders to look up, resonating with Gen Z, urban youth, and early adopters who recognize their reliance on devices but struggle to break the habit.

The campaign supports the launch of Nothing’s Phone (3a) Pro on Flipkart, promoting responsible tech use while positioning Nothing phones as a distinct alternative in a crowded market.

“As a platform bringing the best of technology to users, Flipkart was excited to launch a campaign that flipped conventional marketing on its head,” Smrithi Ravichandran, vice president – head of mobiles & travel at Flipkart, said. 

“The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro delivers top-tier performance, but it’s not designed to pull you in. This campaign wasn’t just about selling a phone – it was about changing the way we think about them,” Ravichandran added. 

Crafted and executed by Pepper Creative, the campaign used guerrilla interventions to mirror real-life phone habits. It included bold print ads, taking over the front pages of Hindustan Times and Mint with striking messaging.

The campaign extended to public spaces, incorporating traffic signal installations with timed countdowns to highlight habitual phone-checking. At Lollapalooza, billboards challenged concertgoers with the message: “If you’ll pay for the ticket but still watch through your phone—Don’t Buy Me.” In-flight announcements reminded passengers, “Your cloud pictures will look the same, but you need to feel this moment—not see it through a screen.”

Sahil Siddiqui, global creative head at Pepper Creative, explained, “Nothing has always positioned itself differently, and Flipkart was eager to push the messaging envelope.”

“Great ideas are counterintuitive. In a market filled with predictable smartphone campaigns, my team (Nikhil and Pratyush) and I wanted to craft something that matched the anti-aesthetic of Nothing phones while still driving results for Flipkart. If this campaign made even a handful of people rethink their screen habits, we’ve already won. If it also makes them buy a Nothing phone, we’ve won twice,” he added.

India – Landor has strengthened its Asia-Pacific leadership team with the appointment of Geet Nazir as managing director for India and Joël Céré as managing director for Southeast Asia, reinforcing its commitment to brand transformation and regional growth.

Based in Mumbai, Nazir has a strong track record of working with brands such as Zydus Lifesciences Limited, Tyger Capital (formerly Adani Capital), PayU, Reliance Jewels, Usha Martin, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Tata CLiQ.

Before joining Landor, Nazir was the managing director at Conran Design Mumbai under Havas, where she led a team focused on developing design-led brand solutions. Since February 2021, she has worked with clients to navigate the complexities of the Indian market, drawing on Conran’s global design expertise.

Commenting on his appointment, Nazir said, “With an abundance of choices, Indian consumers today are increasingly drawn to brands they trust—ones that resonate with their values and aspirations. I’m thrilled to join Landor at this pivotal moment, where our purpose-driven, customer-centric approach to design and branding fosters progressive brands that not only empower our clients’ business but also create a positive impact on their customers and society as a whole.

Based in Singapore, Céré has co-founded an open-innovation agency and a boutique consulting firm in technology, alongside mentoring start-ups. He has worked with major brands including Unilever, P&G, Mondelēz, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Abbott, AstraZeneca, DBS, Kirin, Sennheiser, Electra, Intel, and City Energy across Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Céré has held key roles in various agencies, including managing global accounts at Aegis, shifting a global crowdsourcing platform from content to innovation, leading Hill & Knowlton’s digital practice across EMEA, and overseeing innovation and strategy at Grey, Bates, and Kantar.

“More than ever, Southeast Asian consumers need strong brands to navigate today’s uncertainty. With its unrivalled mix of creativity, data, and strategy, I’m excited to join Landor at this critical time to help businesses unlock their brands’ potential to drive short-term growth and build long-term value,” Céré commented.

Starting in March 2025, the new appointments are set to enhance Landor’s consulting, design, and experience capabilities across the region.

Christian Schroeder, global president of Landor, shared, “APAC is a critical growth market for Landor, and we are committed to investing in the best talent to serve our clients in the region. The addition of Joël and Geet to our leadership team underscores this commitment. Their extensive experience and proven leadership will be invaluable as we continue to help brands in APAC navigate the evolving market landscape and achieve their business objectives.”

Lulu Raghavan, APAC president of Landor, added, “I am thrilled to welcome Joël and Geet to Landor. Their diverse backgrounds and impressive track records will be instrumental in driving our growth and innovation in APAC. I am particularly excited about partnering closely with them as we focus on expanding our presence and delivering exceptional results for our clients in Southeast Asia and India.”

India – Truecaller, the global caller ID and call-blocking app, has launched a new campaign celebrating its long-awaited arrival on iPhone, capturing the joy and relief of accurately identified calls.

Conceptualised by Talented and produced by Potli Baba Mediahouse, the campaign features Bollywood veterans Deepak Tijori and Sheeba Chaddha dancing with joy as Truecaller finally arrives on iPhone.

The campaign captures the spirit of ‘dance like no one’s watching,’ illustrating how Truecaller’s Live Caller ID lookup enhances caller identification and security for iPhone users.

Speaking about the films, Ashwani Sinha, vice president for global brand at Truecaller, said, “The films try to capture a moment of undiluted jubilation that one may experience when something were to happen after a long, long wait. Now that Truecaller finally works as effectively on iPhones as it does on Android, we decided to celebrate and share our ‘mic drop’ moment with iPhone users in a mutually relatable manner! ”

Binaifer Dulani & Prashant Gopalakrishnan, founding partners at Talented, added, “When every call is no longer a guessing game, but instead a moment of clarity, you can finally enjoy your ringtone again. In a film without dialogue, conscious elements like body language, music, choreography, and sets work harder. With Truecaller finally arriving for iPhone users, this marks a monumental milestone in Truecaller’s India journey.”

India – Monarch Networth Capital, an India-based financial services provider, has launched a new campaign highlighting the cycle of financial dependence passed down through generations of women and the need for financial education to break it.

With the message “Financial independence is not inherited, it’s taught,” the campaign film follows the experiences of three generations of women. It highlights a mother from the second generation who, having witnessed financial dependence firsthand, strives to equip her daughter with the knowledge and confidence to manage her own finances. The story explores how financial education can help break the cycle of dependence and shape a more independent future for women.

Produced by First Take Films, the campaign film is part of Monarch Networth’s broader initiative to promote financial literacy among women, offering tools, resources, and expert guidance to support informed financial decision-making.

Vaibhav Shah, managing director at Monarch Networth Capital Ltd., said, “At Monarch Networth, we believe that true empowerment for women is more than just earning money; it’s owning your entire financial journey. This Women’s Day, our campaign is a call to action—to educate, encourage, and enable women to take charge of their finances and secure their futures.” 

India – For the first time in its history, Britannia has redesigned both its ‘Marie Gold’ biscuit and packaging to honour Avani Lekhara, India’s first female athlete to win gold at both the Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020 Games, marking a historic tribute to her extraordinary achievement.

As part of the ‘Avani Lekhara Special Edition,’ each Britannia Marie Gold biscuit has been redesigned to match the dimensions of the target from Lekhara’s gold-winning performance at the Paris 2024 Games. Additionally, every biscuit is etched with the exact position of her winning shots, offering a tangible representation of the precision required to hit a 10-meter target in competitive shooting.

Developed in collaboration with creative agency Talented, Britannia’s special edition Marie Gold biscuits also mark a first—featuring an athlete of Avani Lekhara’s stature on the packaging—reflecting her achievements while acknowledging the broader conversation around women’s representation in sports.

Commenting about the launch, Avani Lekhara shared, “In shooting, perfection is measured in millimetres. I hope that by holding this biscuit, people understand the immense focus and precision it takes to win at the highest level. I’m honoured that Britannia Marie Gold is celebrating this journey and inspiring young girls to aim high.” 

Siddharth Gupta, general manager for marketing at Britannia Industries, added, “Britannia Marie Gold has always stood for women’s empowerment, celebrating their resilience and ambition. Avani’s achievement exemplifies what Indian women can accomplish when given the right opportunities. This special edition is a tribute to her and to every woman striving to make history.” 

The launch of the special edition biscuits is accompanied by a campaign film, highlighting the brand’s redesign of both its biscuit and packaging. This initiative aligns with Britannia Marie Gold’s ongoing commitment to ‘Do More. Be More.’

Javaad Ahmed and Teresa Sebastian, creatives at Talented, emphasised, “By transforming the very shape of Britannia Marie Gold, we aim to offer India a powerful, tangible way to appreciate Avani’s feat. This campaign not only celebrates a pioneering athlete and furthers intersectional feminism but also highlights the under-represented sport of air rifle shooting.” 

Tanvi Gandhi, director at Little Button Films, remarked, “Avani doesn’t just break records—she breaks perceptions. Through the film and this campaign, our target was to make an invisible challenge visible, and we’re proud to create a film that does justice to air rifle shooting’s quiet dynamism and to the superstar/supergal that is Avani Lekhara.” 

The Britannia Marie Gold Avani Lekhara Special Edition pack is available on Swiggy Instamart in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, with rapid delivery for quick access to the limited-edition release.

India – Eveready Industries India Ltd., in partnership with Times OOH, has unveiled a high-impact airport advertising campaign for its latest innovation, Eveready Ultima batteries, aiming to maximise visibility and brand recall at Kolkata Airport.

Named ‘Ultima: Ultimate Power, Non-Stop Action,’ the month-long campaign seeks to enhance brand visibility across Kolkata Airport’s Domestic Departures and Arrivals, ensuring strong recall among travellers.

Executed in collaboration with Times OOH, the campaign incorporates a combination of digital and static media to engage passengers at key touchpoints within Kolkata Airport. Digital placements include high-street domestic screens, digital arcade videowalls, Neo-Digital Charging Network screens, and Touchdown digital screens. In addition, static media elements such as the Discover package feature three large-scale displays to enhance visibility.

The campaign highlights Eveready Ultima’s extended battery life, with the theme ‘Ultimate Power, Non-Stop Action.’ A key visual features a youngster racing a battery-operated car, illustrating the product’s durability.

Positioned in high-traffic areas of Kolkata Airport, the campaign aims to engage a diverse audience, including frequent travelers, families, and business professionals. Bold visuals in Eveready’s signature red are also strategically placed across key locations to enhance visibility.

Anirban Banerjee, senior vice president and SBU head (Batteries and Flashlights) at Eveready Industries India, commented, “With Eveready Ultima, from India’s No. 1 battery brand, we set out to dominate Kolkata Airport with bold visuals in the iconic Eveready red, highlighting Ultima’s 400% longer-lasting power. The imagery of a youngster racing a battery-operated car perfectly captures the essence of ‘Ultimate Power, Non-Stop Action,’ resonating with a dynamic, discerning audience.”

Sumit Chadha, business head—airport and city media at Times OOH, added, “Eveready is further strengthening its market leadership in Kolkata with expansive airport branding. The power-packed creative, deployed on premium media formats, creates a compelling impact for extended brand recall. We are delighted to partner with this category-leading brand to execute such an extraordinary campaign.”