MAM
OMG India CEO Jasmin Sohrabji gets south east Asian responsibility
MUMBAI: An increasing number of Indian media professionals are being given more and more regional and global responsibility by large global advertising agency and media groups.
Now joining the ranks of India-based Maxus Worldwide CEO Vikram Sakhuja, Aegis Group chairman India & CEO south east Asia Ashish Bhasin, is Omnicom Media Group (OMG) India CEO Jasmin Sohrabji. Following a recent restructuring in OMG in the Asia Pacific region, Sohrabji has been additionally made charge of the south-east Asian markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand for OMD, PHD and M2M – brands OMG.
A release issued by the group says that “the restructuring effort is to sharpen focus on the continued growth of the Asia Pacific region.”
The new structure, which becomes effective 3 June, has two sub-regional assignments covering south east Asia and Greater China being added, in addition to Australia and New Zealand.
Sohrabji has been given responsibility of India and south east Asia, OMG China CEO Doug Pearce has added Greater China responsibilities overseeing Hong Kong and Taiwan to his roster, while Leigh Terry will continue to lead OMG’s operation in Australia and New Zealand.
In addition to that, OMG Asia Pac, has a new CEO Cheuk Chiang who is replacing outgoing CEO Barry Cupples (who has got a global position in OMG based out of London). Sohrabji along with Pearce and Terry will report to Chiang.
Says Cupples: “Asia is vibrant and the lens of the world is on this region. The media and communications industry is being shaped by seismic shifts, and the south east Asia region is at the heart of many of these changes. OMG SEA and India has a strong and talented leader in Jasmin. She has a clear vision that will help in strengthening our eco-system. Jas has our complete faith and trust to be an even bigger star in the new role.”
Adds Chiang: “Bolstering our regional management capacity with a new sub-regional structure reinforces our commitment to this region. Jasmin is an asset to the senior leadership team and I am confident that under her guidance and vision, our presence in South East Asia and India will get stronger.”
Says Jas (as everyone in industry is prone to call her): “Setting up OMD India was a huge opportunity and which the India team is very proud of. I am looking forward to the additional responsibility and working closely with the south east Asian team to further strengthen the sub-region.”
She adds: “All the Asian markets are at very different points in their growth story or their life cycle. There can’t be a one uniform strategy addressing everyone. The India story will be very different from a Vietnam or an Indonesia. Mine is a management role; it will be more collaborative with the other countries that come under me.”
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
