MAM
Starcom onboards Niti Kumar as chief operating officer
NEW DELHI: Media agency Starcom has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Niti Kumar as chief operating officer. She will be responsible for client deliverables, revenue growth, and new business development across the agency’s offices.
Kumar will report to Starcom India CEO Rathi Gangappa, and will work closely with the senior leadership at Publicis Media to consolidate businesses and drive integrated solutions.
During her 20 years in the media and marketing industry, she has dabbled in media planning, marketing, digital communications, and media investment management, and has worked across a variety of categories like publishing, FMCG, telecom, automobiles, garments, and BFSI.
Gangappa said, “I believe that there is immense growth potential in the market today, especially considering the shifts we are likely to see in consumer and workplace habits in a post- pandemic era. This is the right time for Starcom to recruit the right talent, drive future-focused capabilities and to grow the agency’s business through innovative and organic streams.”
Before joining Starcom, Kumar was the senior vice president at Penguin Random House India, where she spearheaded marketing along with the digital and data initiatives of the organisation. A graduate from MICA, she has held leadership roles at GroupM (managing partner north & east at Mediacom) and Mudra Communications (office head, media, Delhi & Kolkata).
A TEDx speaker, Kumar has closely led and managed media investments and strategy for global and local businesses like Mars Wrigley, Shell Plc, Makemytrip.com, Gillette, Amway and Reckitt Benckiser, to name a few.
“I’ve always believed in the power of communications to influence a brand’s business impact and their relationship with consumers,” said Kumar. “Starcom has a diverse and interesting portfolio of clients, and I’m looking forward to working with them to drive more value, innovation and effectiveness for their media investments while also using the agency’s unique offerings to grow and strengthen the teams and the business.”
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
