Tag: South Asia

Mumbai, India – Essence, a global data and measurement-driven media agency under WPP’s GroupM, has been appointed as the integrated media agency of record by online restaurant company Rebel Foods in India. 

Rebel Foods is home to brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story Pizza, Lunch Box, and Wendy’s, amongst others. It currently operates over 45 own and partner brands, ranging from startups to global majors, to cater to consumers’ different food missions.

As part of the partnership, Essence‘s scope of work includes strategy, analytics, media planning, and media activation for the internet restaurant company’s brand marketing activities. Its first few activities for Rebel Foods include campaigns for Faasos and Sweet Truth, along with integrated communications plans for Behrouz Biryani and the company’s food court on an app experience, EatSure, in key markets.

Ankush Grover, Rebel Foods’ co-founder and CEO for India, shared that keeping their vision in mind, it is inevitable for their brands to have a communication strategy that focuses on customer-first offerings, while complementing their brand promise. 

“Over the years, our communication has been authentic, relatable, creative, innovative, and at the same time, has reflected the brand’s core value. We believe Essence is an ideal partner to help us in our journey with an insight-led analytical approach, while bringing a unique style of creativity and innovation. We are looking forward to collaborating with Essence on some exciting campaigns and strategies,” said Grover.

Meanwhile, Sonali Malaviya, Essence’s managing director for India, said that with their data-driven approach to strategy, analytics and media, focused on delivering value to brands and consumers through innovation, they see opportunities to help Rebel Foods drive greater synergies and efficiencies across its brands while defining bespoke growth paths for each brand.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Rebel Foods on its exciting growth journey and become its ally in achieving its growth goals,” added Malaviya.

Mumbai, India – BBH India, an advertising agency under Publicis Groupe, has promoted Radhika Burman, former vice president of strategy at BBH India, to be its new VP, head of Delhi.

As part of her new role, Burman will be responsible for current clients, people, and new business performance in Delhi, along with driving strategic thinking across clients.

With over 12 years of experience, Burman brings a sharp understanding of consumers, culture, and new media. In the past year, Burman has been an essential part of the BBH Delhi team, spearheading the strategic thinking on existing clients like Beam Suntory and Nestle, along with successful new business wins like Hitachi and Godrej ProClean, amongst others.

Commenting on his appointment, Burman said, “I am excited to take on this new role at BBH Delhi. With growth as the key focus for this office, I hope to energise the teams towards building truly integrated solutions for our clients and leveraging our areas of expertise in strategy, data and creative thinking to deliver experiences and brand narratives that are differentiated and help solve real business challenges.”

Meanwhile, Dheeraj Sinha, Leo Burnett’s CEO for South Asia and BBH India’s chairman, noted that at BBH India, they want to empower their people to grow from within. 

“In Radhika, we have found someone who is not only a fantastic strategy professional but someone [who] is also passionate about building value-creating client relationships, fostering talent and creating culturally relevant work. I am excited to see her shine,” said Sinha.

In July 2022, BBH India appointed George Sebastian, former senior creative director at DDB Mudra, as its newest executive creative director. He will report to BBH India’s chief creative officer & CEO Russell Barrett and lead a talented team of copy, art and design professionals.

India – Global consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive has appointed Prabha Narasimhan, former executive director at Hindustan Unilever (HUL), to be its new managing director and CEO for India.

Colgate-Palmolive India announced Narasimhan’s appointment in March 2022, and she has been special projects vice president for Colgate’s Asia Pacific Division.

In her previous role at HUL, Narasimhan led the Home Care category and served as a member of the HUL Leadership Team. She has nearly 25 years of rich and varied experience in customer development, consumer marketing, and innovation across geographies and multiple categories, including home care, foods, personal care, and skin care. 

Mukul Deoras, CP India’s chairman and president of APAC division, commented, “I am delighted to welcome Prabha as the leader of the CP India business. Prabha has a successful track record of strong performance across categories, and I am confident that she and the team will build on our strengths to grow the business and reimagine a healthier future for the communities we serve.”

India – dentsu in India has appointed Bhasker Jaiswal, former APAC lead at Publicis Media, to be its new chief operations officer of media.

In his new role, Jaiswal will be leading integration, transformation, and operational excellence agendas while driving innovations and excellence for dentsu clients and businesses through its three media agencies, namely Carat, iProspect, and dentsu X. He will be reporting to Divya Karani, CEO of media at dentsu South Asia. 

Moreover, Jaiswal will also be working closely with Karani to deliver business transformation, set up and standardise operations and systems, govern product leadership, and enable sustainable revenue growth.

With over 24 years of experience in the media and advertising industry across APAC, Jaiswal specialises in building solutions for advertisers and media companies across monetisation, research, and media investments. His key strength sits in understanding the eco-system of consumers, advertisers, and media owners, as well as the decision-making heuristic. Jaiswal is also passionate about disrupting the current thinking and has developed industry-leading proprietary products which bring efficiency and effectiveness across geographies and clients.

Speaking on his appointment, Jaiswal said, “I am excited to be joining dentsu and being back in India, a big and complex market growing dynamically. I look forward to adding value by improving dentsu processes to impact client outputs as well as improving the lives of our biggest assets – our people.”  

Meanwhile, Karani commented that Jaiswal joining the team here in India is another great step on their journey to become the go-to network of choice for brands in India. 

“His impressive track record, savvy business judgment, operational excellence, and an innate understanding of people and their motivations make him ideal to lead our transformation and integration,” she said.

Mumbai, India – As India celebrates 75 years of Independence this year, Spice Money, the country’s rural fintech, has launched the ‘RedBlue Revolution’, a brand agnostic initiative that aims to create a distinct identity for rural banking outlets. The outlets are being branded in the colours of red and blue which have traditionally been a choice of the banking and financial services industry as the colour red represents growth and energy whereas blue represents trust and safety. 

Through its extensive on-ground presence, Spice Money has witnessed the problem of rural citizens not being able to identify a banking outlet in their local areas, since they never had a distinct identity, be it in terms of colour or nomenclature. A lot of these outlets are also selling other multiple products, hence, it becomes difficult to identify or spot the specific store in a crowded spot, leading to poor visibility, and hence low footfalls, thereby limiting the access of rural citizens. 

The ‘RedBlue Revolution’ aims to register these outlets as ‘Smart Banking Points’ in the minds of rural citizens and ensure that rural customers are able to spot a rural banking outlet in their respective regions in a hassle-free manner. It urges every rural banking outlet in India that provides banking and digital services, irrespective of the brand across the country to paint the exterior of their shops in red and blue, making it easy for customers to identify ‘Smart Banking Points’ and establish a clear and unique identity as a local banking point and get more footfall and business leading to increased interest in rural financial services led businesses.

Additionally, the initiative will act as a catalyst in furthering the reach of rural banking outlets and will help in bridging the rural-urban divide by bringing the unserved population to the financial fold thereby driving financial inclusion for the last mile.

Sanjeev Kumar, co-founder and CEO at Spice Money, said that while rural India has showcased massive growth for digital financial services in recent years, they have barely scratched the surface, and one of the biggest challenges that rural banking outlets across the country face is the lack of identity and awareness of the financial services they offer amongst the customers in their respective regions. 

“Spice Money has pledged to address this issue on the historic occasion of completing 75 years of India’s Independence with the launch of ‘RedBlue Revolution’ that will create a distinct identity for the category itself and build awareness for Smart Banking Points and further the reach of rural banking outlets across the country,” added Kumar.

Mumbai, India – Global cosmetic retail giant Sephora has appointed Mumbai-based creative agency Yellow to be its creative agency partner in India.

As part of the remit, Yellow will be responsible for Sephora India’s online and offline communications, including social media, celebrity campaigns, and e-commerce. 

Moreover, the partnership will help Sephora bring the global experience to Indian consumers across all touchpoints. The chief prerequisite for the brand’s new agency will be to navigate the burgeoning Indian market while keeping intact its core values and global identity.

Sephora is a luxury beauty retailer that offers a well-curated selection of makeup, skincare, and fragrance brands. Its India business is helmed by Arvind Lifestyle Brands in India. 

Shrey Doshi, Yellow’s creative director and founder, shared that Sephora is the go-to source for all things beauty and skincare across the world and they are looking forward to working with such an illustrious brand and growing it across India. 

“Over the years, we’ve worked extensively with D2C beauty and skincare brands, and are excited about merging our local know-how with the global expertise that Sephora brings to the table,” said Doshi.

Mumbai, India – Media network Omnicom Media Group (OMG) in India has appointed Anand Chakravarthy, former managing director at Essence, to be its new chief growth officer. 

In his new role, Chakravarthy is set to use his strategic foresight and over two decades of industry experience to create new opportunities for growth and play an instrumental role in shaping OMG India’s future trajectory. He will be reporting directly to Kartik Sharma, group CEO of OMG India. 

Chakravarthy has over 24 years of experience in the media and advertising industry and has worked with many reputable businesses, all of which witnessed exponential growth under his guidance. He has also led many profitable businesses, including during his leadership stints at Essence Global, Wavemaker, and Reliance Broadcast Network. Chakravarthy’s strength lies in his ability to formulate crucial strategies that help businesses scale up and become sustainable in an extremely competitive market.

Commenting on his appointment, Chakravarthy said that he is thrilled to be a part of OMG India, as the network is recognised globally for its thought leadership and building future forward capabilities – a critical need in the industry today. 

“Working in this ecosystem with this team and leveraging these capabilities to help brands evolve without any limitations is a fantastic opportunity. I look forward to fully committing to OMG’s vision and pushing the boundaries of innovation & growth,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sharma said, “I am delighted to welcome Anand on board. His extensive knowledge, values-based leadership style and commitment to delivering results will undoubtedly be a great asset to our business going forward. His work speaks for itself and shows that he has the propensity to lead and help companies capitalize on new growth opportunities in an emerging market.”

Mumbai, India – India’s sexual e-superstore under TTK Healthcare Ltd., Love Depot, has launched a new digital campaign ‘#ThePleasureIsAllYours’, in an aim to normalise pleasure of all kinds for everyone – regardless of age, gender, and orientation, amongst others.

The campaign, which was developed in collaboration with creative agency The Glitch, seeks to encourage candid conversations around pleasure and what it means for love, partnership, and lust. Conscious efforts were made to ensure that there was a clear distinction between cool and crass. Ultimately a full-fledged campaign was created, that took steps towards not only normalising pleasure but also making it look cool, appealing not to a particular age group, but to a cohort willing to have conversations around sexual wellness out in the open.

Moreover, the campaign highlights the various ways in which people seek or engage with pleasure, showcasing choices, habits, and more, eventually stating that no matter what gets one kindled, Love Depot holds the potential to bring one’s fantasies to life. The brand promotes pleasure with no strings attached, helping people acknowledge it so that one day they may embrace it.

The film is also part of the wider campaign which includes a KOL awareness campaign, health and sexual wellness articles across lifestyle publications, and prominent blogs, as well as a full social activation including story content, reels, and a media plan.

Yudhajit Mukherjee, creative director at The Glitch, shared that they have long believed that tapping into culture is the key to connecting with their audience and with Love Depot, they’re able to show a part of a regular Indian’s life that either gets skipped or gets judged. 

“The campaign acknowledges that pleasure is different for different people and that all kinds of pleasure are normal, and we’re proud to work with a partner like Love Depot who shares our inclusive, purpose-powered values,” said Mukherjee.

Meanwhile, Arjun Siva, digital marketing head of TTK Healthcare Ltd & Love Depot, said, “Love Depot is fearless when it comes to breaking traditional boundaries. The Glitch has truly understood the Love Depot ethos, in making pleasure accessible to everyone, and I look forward to paving the way for open dialogue, which will ultimately lead to education, acceptance and of course safety.”

India – Advertising agency DDB Mudra Group has appointed Manish Darji as its new head of art for West. This appointment reinforces the agency’s commitment to craft at a time when visual storytelling is constantly evolving.

In his new role, Darji will be leading the design mandate for the agency’s west office and will be reporting to Pallavi Chakravarti, DDB Mudra’s creative head for West. He will also be exploring applications of craft in newer categories like digital, data, entertainment, and content. 

With a career spanning two decades, Darji has worked on some of India’s leading brands like Coca-Cola, NDTV, Big Bazaar, Volkswagen, and Marico, as well as Viacom 18, and Mondelez. He has also served as executive creative director and associate creative director at DDB Mudra in the year 2014 and 2010 respectively. Moreover, Darji has worked at BBH, McCann Erickson, Ogilvy, and Rediffusion Y&R, as well as Bates 141.

DDB Mudra said that its Unexpected Works philosophy lays a strong emphasis on creating clutter-breaking work that drives results, and craft plays a crucial role in this advanced approach. 

Speaking on his appointment, Darji said, “Bill Bernbach was the first to put Art and Copy on the same floor, back in the 60s, and that’s been the model for all agencies ever since. With it comes the opportunity to let craft shine as we pursue our promise of Unexpected Works. I am truly excited to be on this ride.”

Meanwhile, Chakravarti noted, “It is impossible to look at a piece Manish has worked on and not be wowed. His passion for craft and grasp of distinctive visual languages are skills sorely needed in this day and age. We’re delighted to have him on board to further the creative vision for DDB Mudra West.”

India – Independent creative company Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) has appointed Ayesha Ghosh, former CEO at Taproot Dentsu, to be its new managing director for India. She, who will be based in Mumbai, will partner with Santosh Padhi, CCO of Wieden+Kennedy India.

In her new role, Ghosh will be joining Padhi in building out an expanded leadership, talent, and client roster for W+K to create transformative work for local and global brands.

Aside from her previous role Taproot Dentsu, Ghosh was part of the leadership team for Contract Advertising for over a decade, helping build and grow the agency’s presence. Prior to Contract Advertising, she has also held permanent positions in a number of industry shops including Grey Worldwide, Trikaya Grey, and PSL McCann Erickson.

The company said that the current W+K Delhi’s managing director, Gau Narayanan, will be leaving India and W+K to return home to the United Kingdom. Narayanan will be staying on in his current role to help with the transition through August. 

Commenting on her new appointment, Ghosh said, “It’s astonishing how W+K consistently produces off-the-charts work, across the world. I hope to absorb some of that genius and with the help of a talented team in India and an ace like Paddy, create some genius of our own. With scattered attention, infinite distractions, only work that is honest and primal, will win for brands. And that’s what we mean to do.”

Meanwhile, Padhi commented that he is glad Ghosh is joining them to be part of this wonderful journey, as she is absolutely blunt and honest when it comes to work, which is extremely important these days for their business. 

“Clients too prefer to have conversations that cut to the chase. Ayesha and I have worked closely together for a good number of years at Taproot, we understand and complement each other. An organization is known by the kind of people that work for it and both of us will be focusing on putting together a crazy, talented bunch of people, across departments. And we believe that magic will follow,” he said.

Neal Arthur, global CEO at Wieden+Kennedy, said, “Ayesha’s first day is a great day for W+K. W+K India has big things ahead. Their collective creative ambition, optimism and connection to both local and global culture will no doubt usher in the next wave of transformation for the brands they work with. We are excited and grateful to have Ayesha with us.”