Category: Brand Makers

Ajit Gurnani appointed as chief business development officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia

Ajit Gurnani has been with Groupe for nearly 8 years now across various roles in Zenith and Publicis Media. Apart from the agency and media experience he gained through leadership roles in leading media networks, he also brings a wide spectrum of client-side experience from his stint at Marico and others.

Gurnani takes on this role in addition to his current role as chief growth officer, Publicis Media Services, India wherein he works closely with Tanmay Mohanty, CEO, of Publicis Media Services India.

With IPL in sight, govt to crack down on online betting ads disguised as content, says consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh

Rohit Kumar Singh says, "We also must realise that this regulation versus innovation debate is something the whole world is struggling with. If you regulate too much, then technology will not develop. If you regulate too less, then it is harmful."

Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, speaks exclusively to Storyboard18 on influencer marketing guidelines, violators, crypto ads, and more.

Kellogg India’s Sumit Mathur joins Paytm as CMO

Previously, Sumit Mathur was the CMO at Kellogg India and led the overall category strategy/vision and business P&L as part of the South Asia Leadership team for five and a half years. (Image source: LinkedIn)

From FMCG to fintech, Paytm’s new CMO Sumit Mathur started his career at Unilever as an area sales manager.

Bookstrapping: The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel

As per the book, the horror of horrors appears in the introduction itself- in the 19th century, art dealers used to erase women’s signatures from paintings and replace it with more well-known male names. Because women’s smaller less creative brains were supposed to be less capable of professional art. (Image source: Amazon)

The book lists details on various forms of art, highlights on the Italian city of Bologna, traces ‘Western Art History’ and mentions global names in western art. Rating: 4 Stars.

Mullen Lintas appoints Ram Jayaraman as CCO

As per LinkedIn, at Meta, Ram Jayaraman conceptualised platform-first ideas across Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for India’s biggest clients and also co-created campaigns with the best creative agencies. (Image source: LinkedIn)

Ram Jayaraman is armed with an experience of 22 years and has been a part of agencies like JWT India and Grey Group where he worked on brands like Rin India (Unilever), Smirnoff, Amit Enterprises, Fortis Hospitals followed by many more.

Ad filmmaker and director Pradeep Sarkar passes away

Pradeep Sarkar directed several commercials, including Cadbury’s Pappu Paas Ho Gaya, Eveready’s Give Me Red, Tata Yellow Pages, ICICI Prudential, and Onida KY Thunder, among others. (Image source: Twitter handle - Shubho Sengupta)

Pradeep Sarkar directed several advertising campaigns before transitioning to the world of cinema, where he directed acclaimed films such as ‘Parineeta’, ‘Laga Chunari Mein Daag’, ‘Mardaani’, and ‘Helicopter Eela’.

‘No app will take away jobs’: Adobe’s Duncan Egan on gen AI, reading manuals and going to school with the founder’s son

Adobe's Duncan Egan says, "I also think when a CEO and CMO are in sync, learning from mistakes is much more an easy process. I am a fan of learning from failures. It is important to pause and revaluate things, especially when things are tough. I would rather do less than take up unrealistic tasks and goals. In a CEO and CMO partnership, the ability to think holistically increases. Both keep each other in check and things are in balance."

Duncan Egan, VP of marketing, Asia Pacific & Japan at Adobe, talks about generative AI, why marketers are still heavily relying on cookies, and more.