Will Ludlam, Managing Director, Porter Novelli, Partner Asia Pacific and Seattle

There are subtleties in each market, but I am continually surprised at the consistency. The Indian market is very similar to the professional market in the US. As far as the media is concerned, I think the nature of the media markets impacts the business a little bit. In India, even the regional broadcast stations are broadcast nationally, which is different in the US, where we find weekend segments through a local market, which is more specific geographically. But as far as the general relationship with clients is concerned, how programmes are developed strategically, how the agency interacts with the publications… It is very consistent.

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Dec 27, 2005 12:00 AM  | 8 min read
Will Ludlam, Managing Director, Porter Novelli, Partner Asia Pacific and Seattle

There are subtleties in each market, but I am continually surprised at the consistency. The Indian market is very similar to the professional market in the US. As far as the media is concerned, I think the nature of the media markets impacts the business a little bit. In India, even the regional broadcast stations are broadcast nationally, which is different in the US, where we find weekend segments through a local market, which is more specific geographically. But as far as the general relationship with clients is concerned, how programmes are developed strategically, how the agency interacts with the publications… It is very consistent.

Notwithstanding the over 15 years of public relations experience and a client background that ranges from consumer electronics to land use management, Will Ludlum’s down-to-earth demeanor is disarming. Currently the Managing Director of public relations firm Porter Novelli, Ludlum joined the agency in 1997 and was instrumental in setting up the Seattle office.

After taking over the additional responsibility of the Asia Pacific from 2005, Ludlum now splits his time between Beijing, China and Seattle. In addition to this responsibility, Ludlum has also led Porter Novelli’s US Hewlett Packard team, doubling the size of the account within that time. Over the past three years, teams under his leadership have earned two PRSA Silver Anvil Awards. Prior to joining Porter Novelli, Ludlum worked with well-known high-tech firms KVO (Burson Marsteller) and Waggener Edstrom.

Having managed the Portland office of regional powerhouse, The Rockey Company (Hill & Knowlton), Ludlum’s background includes a strong foundation in general practice public relations – providing strategic counsel and crisis communications support to many blue chip companies, including Airco Gases, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Washington Mutual, Blitz-Weinhard, Pharmavite and The Kimpton Group.

In conversation with exchange4media’s Netra Taneja, Ludlum shares his plans for India and provided insights into the changing scenario in the field of public relations today.

Q. What is the growth like in terms of figures in the Chinese and Indian markets?

In India, in this industry we are growing about 20 per cent annually, which is significantly higher than in other markets. We are happy about the response. But it cannot be wholly marked in figures and neither can it be quantified as there is a lot of untapped potential

Q. What are the major multinational clients that you have in India?

The major clients that we have are the Oberoi Group, Bvlgari, Swarovski Yum! Restaurants’ Pizza Hut and KFC, Radio Mirchi, Moet Hennessy, Channel 7, Standard Chartered Bank, etc. I believe it is more sector driven than anything else.

Q. Does China have a domestic PR agency or are they only working with the MNCs?

China does have other agencies and I am working with our affiliate there, called Blue Focus. There are about 160 people working in the Beijing office alone. They are very well established.

Q. How many branch offices do you have spread all over India?

Our head office is in Delhi. We have offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, with representation in Chennai. Plus, we have associates all over the country.

Q. What are the reasons for tying up with PR Pundit?

This agency has a good business approach, how they work with clients, technology clients and healthcare is commendable and we are very comfortable.

Q. In the present scenario, do you feel that the agencies are handling crisis communication well?

There is an open dialogue now and it is considered to be universal. It is everybody’s responsibility to handle this well and the agencies are handling it well, barring an incident or two in the past, where it was not handled well.

Q. How has PR evolved over the last 18 years that you have been in this profession?

In the last couple of years, say early 2000, many trends have changed. There was a lot of talk about international programmes, but we did not see any continuity. It seemed to be very dispirited. But in the last two years, we have seen the sophistication of the clients, global coordination, global marches, and key messaging for branding stand points. In Asia, particularly, there has been tremendous growth. India has a lot of potential, but in terms of growth, China hits the list while India comes second.

Q. What according to you are the factors that determine growth?

The demand from multinational clients makes all the difference and what one knows about the market and how one responds to opportunities play a very important role as well. It has been less than 15 years that the first agency started in China, but the response has been incredible. Nevertheless, clients in India do seem to be interested.

Q. Will you be based in India or will you be commuting to and fro Seattle?

My responsibility is throughout Asia, so I will obviously be staying here and also work in other offices in Australia, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and India. Our focus is on really small local people in the business, so my job becomes one of putting the right resources together. But I spend a lot of time traveling. One of the main purposes of my trip is training and intelligence gathering in the market. Our team is working on strategic planning in the agency. I don’t believe in pulling people together unless it’s for a unified purpose.

Q. What are the factors that you take into consideration when you say that China rules the other markets?

First and foremost what are multinational clients are asking us, what you know about the market and what you can provide make all the difference. Also, how you react to the opportunities that come your way is important. The relationship that you share with your clients and the objective of the clients make tremendous difference. The growth strategy is primarily based on opportunity. In India it is still at an early stage, where there is so much interest from the clients and we are hoping that it will be translated into business eventually.

Q. What are the major differences in the PR agencies in Asia as compared to the West?

There are subtleties in each market, but I am continually surprised at the consistency. The Indian market is very similar to the professional market in the US. As far as the media is concerned, I think the nature of the media markets impacts the business a little bit. In India, even the regional broadcast stations are broadcast nationally, which is different in the US, where we find weekend segments through a local market, which is more specific geographically. But as far as the general relationship with clients is concerned, how programmes are developed strategically, how the agency interacts with the publications is fun to see. It’s not what you would expect. It is very consistent.

Q. What are the factors that you keep in mind before deciding a PR strategy for a brand or a company?

We are firm believers in a PR strategy that is grounded against the business objectives of our client. It is easy to find PR programmes that have developed in support of the marketing objectives. And we have decided that our focus is on developing communications programmes that integrate with the overall business objectives. So, that is market growth or brand awareness.

Q. What are your plans regarding increasing the size of your agency?

Our growth strategy is based on opportunity, so I think as that happens perhaps there will be changes. I cannot foresee, I am just focusing on the general business development and trying to establish a much stronger base.

Q. What is the turnover of your organisation?

We are one of the top five firms globally. We touch on every major category in the industry, which includes public affairs, healthcare, technology, consumer, etc. Financially, we have performed better than any other agency. We have HP, Gillette, TOW and PWC among our clients. There is a lot of opportunity on the horizon in India. Australia has been very stable and very strong. Japanese companies are looking to expand in China.

Q. Where do you see the PR industry a decade from now?

Very exiting indeed! We are on the edge of having a much more globally sophisticated industry with a market having a broader reach. Companies are developing products globally with design teams in various markets and various functions of marketing located in different regional centres. If that becomes more and more sophisticated, the exciting part is really putting together product launches, branding campaigns. The next big challenge will be how do you measure those on a global scale.

Q. Do you think that the MNC agencies will take over local PR agencies?

There will definitely be more consolidation within the market. It will be a niche market for smaller firms and independent firms as well. A nice thing about a growing market is that you have an opportunity to have both, consolidation as well as new entrances.

Q. Given these new challenges, what professional qualifications should one have to enter the PR industry today?

It is essential to have an intuitive mind; the foundations or fundamentals never change. Great writing skills and strategic reasoning skills are important too. Clients are looking for partners in business who understand. How clients want business is incredible

Q. What is the Internet’s role in developing PR strategies?

The Internet is not going away. It is here to stay. Whether we wake up in New York, the UK, or the West Coast, we all go through the Internet, it has the ability to help us interact. It is playing a massive role to help functioning in all fields.

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Surabhi Patodia of Ola joins Practo as Head of Communications

Patodia served over three years at Ola as Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR

e4m by Ruhail Amin
Published: Feb 8, 2019 8:20 AM  | 1 min read
Patodia

Surabhi Patodia, former Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR at Ola has joined healthcare platform Practo as Head of Communications.

Patodia started her career in Communications with Adfactors PR, where she helped companies going to IPO with their communication plans. She then went on to be a part of Text100, India's premier Technology PR agency, where she worked with brands like Lenovo, Tata Power Solar, to name a few. She joined Ola in 2016, and was instrumental in building a strong narrative for the brand, across India and International markets.

Patodia holds PG Diploma in Public Relations & Corporate Communications from the Xavier’s Institute of Mass Communications, Mumbai and Bachelors in Business Administration from BIT, Mesra.

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IndiGo appoints Chhavi Leekha as Director, Corporate Communications & Brand Reputation

Prior to this role, Leekha worked with Nokia India as Head of Marketing and Communications

e4m by Ruhail Amin
Published: Jan 29, 2019 8:08 AM  | 1 min read
Leekha

IndiGo airlines, part of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, has appointed Chhavi Leekha as Director Corporate Communications and Brand Reputation. Prior to this role, she worked with Nokia India as Head of Marketing and Communications. Her role included setting the direction and leading Nokia's marketing strategy, demand generations, brand strategy, event management, advertising, external/internal communications, corporate affairs &CSR.

Leekha has also worked with Uber India as Consulting Director of Communications and also served a stint at Spice Global as Group President, Brand and Corporate Communications.

Leekha has completed her MBA from the prestigious Narsee Monjee Institue of Management Studies and BA from Shri Ram College of Commerce.

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Aditya Birla Group appoints Sandeep Gurumurthi as Head of Corporate Comm. and Brand

Gurumurthi who was part of the core team that launched ET NOW stepped down from his role as Managing Editor in August 2018

e4m by Ruhail Amin
Published: Jan 22, 2019 7:45 AM  | 1 min read
SandeepGurumurthi

Aditya Birla Group has appointed former ET Now Managing Editor Sandeep Gurumurthi as Head of Corporate Communications and Brand.

Gurumurthi who was part of the core team that launched ET Now stepped down from his role as Managing Editor in August 2018.

He was associated with the channel since inception and besides anchoring breaking news and other special shows, he hosted ET Now's flagship debate show India Development Debate weeknights at 9 pm. 

Gurumurthi began his career with national broadcaster DD News, and prior to joining ET Now, he was associated with CNBC TV18,

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Yaap appoints Deepak Singh as Chief Creative Officer

Singh is one of the most awarded creative talents in the country and has won over 1000 national and international awards

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Nov 1, 2018 1:30 PM  | 2 min read
DeepakSinghYaap

Rainmaker Ventures-backed Yaap, the digital advertising agency has appointed Deepak Singh as their Chief Creative Officer. Deepak will be based in the Mumbai office and will oversee all creative functions across the Yaap network in Mumbai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Shillong, Dubai, Singapore & Jakarta.  He will report directly to the Board of Directors at Yaap. 

Singh is one of the most awarded creative talents in the country and has won over 1000 national and international awards at Cannes, One Show, LIA, New York Festival, Goafest, Adfest, Spikes Asia, Young Guns and more. He has also been on the jury of some of these prestigious festivals and led creative teams across agencies including Leo Burnett, Grey Worldwide, McCann Erickson, DDB Mudra, TBWA, Dentsu and The Social Street. 

For the past 3 consecutive years, Singh has led a young team from The Social Street, which has gone on to give an exhilarating performance. He has been instrumental in securing the Creative Agency of the year title for the agency, several times during 2018. 

Commenting on his new role, he added, “Saying yes to Yaap was actually not a very tough decision to make for me. Right from the time we first met, Atul had a clear picture of why he wanted to hire me. I am glad he has chalked out a much bigger role for me. Being a young and vibrant company with expertise in Digital Content, Design and Influencer Marketing, Yaap I believe will be a great learning experience for me. I’m raring to go “

Atul Hegde, co-founder Rainmaker Ventures added “Deepak is a welcome addition to the array of Partners we have at Yaap, which has a unique non CEO model, our aim as investors, is to ensure that we are able to attract the best & brightest of talent into the senior management pool at Yap. Within a short span of fewer than 3 Years, Yaap has grown into 70+ people across 7 offices in South East Asia, India & the Middle East and it was the right time for us to bring in a Senior Creative talent. I wish Deepak all the very best and I’m sure he will be a great asset to Yaap. “

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Leo Burnett India promotes Rakesh Hinduja to COO, West

He has been leading the operations of Leo Burnett’s head office in Mumbai as the Executive Director and Branch Head

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Nov 1, 2018 9:06 AM  | 3 min read
RakeshHinduja

Leo Burnett has announced the promotion of Rakesh Hinduja to Chief Operating Officer, West. He will continue to report to Dheeraj Sinha, Managing Director, India and Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia and Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director, India and Chief Creative Officer, South Asia.

Hinduja has been leading the operations of Leo Burnett’s head office in Mumbai as the Executive Director and Branch Head.

Speaking about the elevation, Dheeraj Sinha said, “Rakesh is the perfect role model for the new-age agency we are building. His leadership on all the three parameters of People, Product and Profit has been stellar. Under his watch, we have consistently seen spectacular work that has won our brands market-share, and glory at platforms such as Cannes Lions, Spikes and Effies. He has delivered high-quality growth for the Mumbai office, leading the teams to win a new business almost every two weeks. The momentum and buzz at Leo Burnett Mumbai are palpable. Rakesh has been an amazing team player, helping push the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One agenda. Leo Burnett Mumbai’s contribution to our services such as Prodigious has helped Prodigious to become the number one ‘agency production house’ in the country within a span of two years. More than anything else, Rakesh has a never-say-die attitude and he always plays the game with a sense of camaraderie that we really value at Leo Burnett.”

In his new role, Hinduja will drive the Power of One agenda for Leo Burnett in the West. He will help build cross-platform solutions for our clients using our services in Entertainment (Publicis Entertainment), Content (Content Factory), Experiential (Arc Worldwide), Production (Prodigious), Digital (Indigo Consulting and Digitas) and Media (Zenith Optimedia, Ecosys and Beehive). He will lead all the functions of Leo Burnett Mumbai to create world-class work, build a high growth business and create a culture where people come to do the best work of their lifetime.

Commenting on Rakesh’s promotion, Rajdeepak Das said, “Rakesh is always there, backing great creative work and making integrated thinking happen for our clients. He has been an essential part of the journey to get where we are today. This elevation is much-deserved and will take all of us to greater heights.”

Talking about his promotion, Rakesh Hinduja said, “I am happy with my journey at Leo Burnett – a new-age, solution-providing ‘Wave 3’ agency. I’m proud of the brave we have work done and I am hungry for more. Hereon, there are a lot of exciting things to do and in quick time. I want to take a critical pause here to thank all our clients and the Burnetters for their belief in me.”

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Publicis India appoints Neeraj Bassi as Managing Partner & Chief Strategy Officer

Along with Srija Chatterjee and Bobby Pawar, Bassi will help in fostering collaboration and delivering on the Power of One synergy across the Groupe

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Nov 1, 2018 8:55 AM  | 3 min read
NeerajBassiPublicis

Publicis India has announced the appointment of Neeraj Bassi as Managing Partner & Chief Strategy Officer. Neeraj will work from the agency’s New Delhi office. Along with Srija Chatterjee and Bobby Pawar, Neeraj will help in fostering collaboration and delivering on the Power of One synergy across the Groupe.   

With over two decades of professional experience, Neeraj has worked with some of the world’s most renowned brands including Coca-Cola, Asian Paints, Cadbury, BMW, KFC, Adidas, Samsung, British Airways, WeChat, Voltas, Audi, HSBC, Max Life and Tata Singapore Airlines – Vistara among others.

He joins Publicis after a brief stint as an independent Consultant where he provided strategic guidance and brand solutions for multiple clients across various categories. Neeraj has worked with some of the top market research networks such as TNS, IMRB, and NFO and led the Strategic Planning function in advertising agencies including Cheil, Ogilvy, JWT, McCann in India and abroad. Neeraj has also won multiple awards across reputed award festivals that recognise effectiveness such as Effies (India & APAC), AMES, WARC, etc.  

Announcing the new appointment and welcoming Neeraj aboard, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications, South Asia said: “In Neeraj, we found a partner with a shared vision of driving a deeper level of integration within the Groupe by leveraging the Power of One model. Neeraj’s vast experience and media neutral planning approach will help clients in building a holistic brand experience which will aim to create one-to-one consumer engagement, at scale. I look forward to working with Neeraj and wish him the best of luck.”  

Welcoming Neeraj to the Publicis family, Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director - Publicis Worldwide, India said: “Neeraj joins at a time when the Groupe is implementing a profound transformation which puts our clients front and centre of everything that we do. His wealth of experience of working across diverse sectors and with cross-functional teams will help build a narrative around our clients’ business and marketing transformation that connects data, content and technology in an omnichannel world. I’m excited to welcome Neeraj to the Publicis Groupe family, and we look forward to him riding the next strategic wave at the agency.”  

Bobby Pawar, MD & CCO - Publicis Worldwide, India added: “I’ve always believed great work is born out of a strong partnership between strategy, creative and clients. Neeraj Bassi has a history of creating strategic platforms that killer ideas can springboard from. His cross-platform approach to planning will also be a huge asset to our march towards the future of creativity. It also helps that he is fun to be around. I can chat with him for hours; the chemistry is very important when you are going to be more or less living out of each other’s metaphorical pockets.”  

Commenting on his appointment, and his plans for the agency, Neeraj Bassi said: “I am really excited to be part of Publicis India and looking forward to partnering Bobby and Srija to create stellar work that stands out in the market. Working with clients as an independent consultant has given me insight on the primary concerns of CXOs and how communication can help resolve them. Clients today need an omnichannel approach to planning that focuses on identifying and solving their business problems holistically, rather than getting trapped in a discipline-specific approach. I am fascinated by the way all Groupe companies have come together at Publicis to create Power of One, and I look forward to wielding this power to build successful campaigns for our clients.”  

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Airbnb appoints Google's Aristotle Balogh as Chief Technology Officer

Balogh formerly served as Vice President of Engineering, Application Storage, Indexing and Serving at Google

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Oct 26, 2018 9:06 AM  | 1 min read
AristotleBaloghAirbnb

Airbnb has announced the appointment of Aristotle Balogh as Chief Technology Officer, according to media reports.

Balogh is expected to begin his tenure with Airbnb in November and will head the engineering and data science teams. He will also be in charge of infrastructure, information security and IT, as well as engineering for payments and community support.

Balogh formerly served as Vice President of Engineering, Application Storage, Indexing and Serving at Google, where he was instrumental in developing the infrastructure and data platforms of Google Search. He also worked as Chief Technology Officer at Yahoo and VeriSign.

According to reports, the company is expected to file for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) next year and Balogh's appointment comes at a time when Airbnb is still without a Chief Financial Officer after Laurence Tosi stepped down from the role earlier this year.

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