MAM
McCann wins GM account
MUMBAI: McCann Erickson has won the corporate and digital creative business for all of General Motors‘ brands in India.
Talking to Indiantelevision.com, General Motors India vice-president P Balendran said, “McCann will handle the creative and digital duties of all our brands in India. They will have a dedicated team working on our brands and the work has already started.”
Balendran, however, refused to comment on whether the account size amounted to Rs 1.5 billion.
The pitch process that went on for 2-3 months also involved Leo Burnett and Contract Advertising.
For the first time, General Motors India has decided to award the creative duties of all its brands to a single agency. Until now, the company had two agencies on its roster – Leo Burnett and Wieden+Kennedy.
Henceforth, McCann will now work on the creative business of GM‘s existing brands as well as on the forthcoming launches.
McCann had previously worked on Chevrolet nearly half a decade ago and is one of other global agencies that handle the brand.
The relationship between McCann and GM has been a very flirtatious one.
It all began in 2005, when McCann won the creative duties of GM’s car lines including Chevrolet Optra and new car launches — along with Rediffusion Y&R that took over Tavera and Chevrolet corporate business. Enterprise Nexus was the incumbent agency for Chevrolet Optra.
After spending almost three-and-a-half years in the relationship, GM decided to move its properties — until now with McCann to Wieden + Kennedy (W+K) in September 2009.
Brands
Hiili names Sanjay Hemady as country manager India
Media veteran to drive digital decarbonisation push
MUMBAI: Climate tech firm Hiili has announced its entry into India, appointing industry veteran Sanjay Hemady as India country manager to steer its growth in one of the world’s fastest-expanding digital markets.
Hemady, a familiar name across India’s media and consulting circles, will lead Hiili’s India operations from Mumbai. His mandate is clear: help Indian companies measure, manage and reduce the carbon emissions generated by their digital services.
Hiili offers a scientifically validated platform, certified by the UC3M-Santander Big Data Institute, that enables businesses to improve the efficiency of their digital infrastructure while cutting emissions. As organisations race to meet ESG targets, the company positions itself as a practical bridge between climate pledges and measurable action.
“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as country manager, India at Hiili,” Hemady said in a LinkedIn post, adding that the company aims to move beyond broad sustainability promises towards precise, science-based decarbonisation.
Hemady brings more than three decades of experience spanning print, television, radio and digital media. He has previously served as chief executive officer at HIT 95 FM, assistant general manager at CNBC TV18, and held leadership roles at MTV India and The Indian Express, among others. Most recently, he worked as an independent business consultant advising firms across media and technology.
With India’s digital economy expanding at pace, the environmental cost of data, streaming and online services is climbing quietly in the background. Hiili’s bet is that carbon efficiency will soon sit alongside cost efficiency in boardroom conversations.
For Hemady, the move marks a shift from selling airtime and ad inventory to championing climate accountability. If successful, Hiili’s India play could make digital growth not just faster, but cleaner too.
