Structural changes at Leo Burnett to induce specialisation
Leo Burnett India has significant changes taking place in its structure to suit the fast changing Indian market. Tom Bernardin, CEO and Chairman, Leo Burnett Worldwide explained that even as Leo Burnett India wasn’t one of the highest contributing units to Leo Burnett revenues, expectations were high from Indian operations.

More active than ever, Leo Burnett India has significant changes taking place in its structure to suit the fast changing Indian market and consumer needs. Tom Bernardin, CEO and Chairman, Leo Burnett Worldwide explained that even as Leo Burnett India wasn’t one of the highest contributing units to Leo Burnett revenues, expectations were high from Indian operations.
Essentially, the change involves specialists. Explaining this, Arvind Sharma, Chairman, Leo Burnett India, said, “Our belief is that as any industry grows, it needs to have specialists within the industry or within that sector. To give an example, if you look at civil engineers today, within that segment itself, there are basic civil engineers, site engineers, structural engineers, architects and interior designers. There are different levels of specialisation and this is important for efficiency and quality. We are doing similar restructuring.”
Elaborating further on this, Sharma informed that the entire client servicing function was broken into four streams. There is Projects, headed by Seema Sood, with Prem Kamath as an AVP on the function. There is Brand Services, which Sharma defined as people who need to partner brands in their explorations of options. “They partner them on the whole range of brand extensions to advertising,” he said.
In a similar way, there is a group of people looking after consumers and the unit is called Consumer Trends, which is headed by Ajitha Bhardwaj as Director. “They worry more about the consumers of the brands. What are the consumer needs and expectations and whether that is met,” observed Sharma. And finally there are the Strategists, who understand brands and consumers and chalk out the move forward. Kavitha Kailash is Brand Strategy Partner at the agency.
“So, client servicing here is no longer old client servicing – it is far more specialised and well defined, ensuring that all aspects needed are covered, which is what we have done with the creative function as well,” said Sharma.
He pointed out that within creative, there were those who cracked the Big Idea, and once that was done, there was no need for this set of experts to be directly involved in the further execution and extension of that idea. Then there is the basic mechanical requirement of the creative function itself. Keeping this in mind, the function has been divided into three units. Of these, Creative and Neo Surround hail within the agency itself.
The creative function is headed by Santosh Padhi (aka Paddy) at the all India level as Executive Creative Director, while Nitesh Tiwari looks after the Mumbai operations. Neo Surround is headed by Praveen Garath. The third function – mechanical adaptation – is outsourced.
Sharma observed, “This structure allows us to be able to pay the best minds in the industry in these specialised functions. At the same time, the objective is to forge partnerships with our clients and together explore the various options that are available to them today.”
He further informed that the need to have a structure like this came from Leo Burnett’s initiative to delve in to consumer studies – both in-house and commissioned. “We wanted to be in a much stronger position to give consumer insights whenever clients needed it and have firsthand access to understand the extent of change and how brands need to be addressing consumers based on that change. We keep reading kids making decision for cars – how far is this true. Hence, we embarked on consumer studies to understand the extent of changes in consumer behaviour,” Sharma said.
These structures are already in place, but the agency is still in the process of identifying the right teams for these projects.
What is the way forward for Leo Burnett India? Bernardin replied, “To be the best source of business and brand ideas for our clients and to build the businesses of our clients in changing environment. These changes are a great opportunity and we want to seize them.”
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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