MAM
Publicis Worldwide India hires Radhika Burman as VP – strategic planning
NEW DELHI: Publicis Worldwide India has brought on Radhika Burman as vice president – strategic planning. She will be based out of New Delhi and will report into BBH-Publicis Worldwide India MD & chief strategy officer Sanjay Sharma.
In her role, Burman will lead the strategy mandate for the New Delhi office, spearheading the strategic planning function for existing clients as well as driving growth through new business for the region. She will play a crucial role in the agency’s growth ambitions with an objective to deliver solutions driven by a well-rounded view on consumer insights that can be translated into powerful and actionable brand insights.
Sharma said, “In today’s complex and fast changing world, our clients need strong strategic partnerships more than ever. Radhika is an exceptional strategic mind who has the experience, expertise and energy to partner our clients in providing the right solutions for today’s challenges. In the coming days I see her playing a pivotal role in driving the growth and creative agenda for Publicis Worldwide in New Delhi.”
Burman has over 11 years of experience both on the client side as well as across network agencies. In her last role, she was manager – strategy and consumer insights at Platinum Guild International and played a central role in the strategic planning process to build the platinum jewellery business for India by effectively analysing and translating consumer and trade research into insightful strategies. Prior to that, she has worked at FCB and JWT and was part of the strategic planning team that worked on brands such as Zee, PepsiCo, Hero, and Cargill among others.
“I am excited to be part of this new phase at Publicis, and very thrilled at the opportunity to work cohesively on an integrated communications approach to deliver growth and success for our partners,” said Burman. “The focus will be to create seamless and consistent experiences for the brands we work on, across multiple channels and touch points. Given the challenging times we are in, the need to deliver unified marketing and messaging strategies has never been stronger. Our efforts will be to give our partners just that.”
MAM
Happy Pawdcast launches merchandise with The Souled Store
Season 2 success leads to co-branded line celebrating pet-parent bond.
MUMBAI: The Happy Pawdcast just gave fans something to wag their tails about because when your favourite pet show gets merch, even the couch starts feeling like a runway. Building on the momentum of Season 2 which reached over 14 million pet lovers, clocked more than 20,000 hours of content consumption and engaged over 23,000 users, The Happy Pawdcast has teamed up with The Souled Store for an exclusive co-branded merchandise collection. The line translates the podcast’s emotional core into wearable designs that celebrate the everyday bond between pets and their parents.
Hosted by Sonali Bendre and Icy Behl, Season 2 featured candid conversations with celebrity pet parents including Remo D’Souza, Diana Penty, Kubbra Sait, Rohan Joshi, Karan Wahi, Tusshar Kapoor and Amala Akkineni. The episodes tackled responsible adoption, stray welfare, pet emotional well-being and debunked common care myths, earning strong resonance across digital platforms.
Sonali Bendre said, “Season 2 reaffirmed how deeply people connect with stories around pets, responsibility, and companionship. This collaboration with The Souled Store is a natural extension of that bond, taking the conversations beyond the screen and turning shared emotions into something tangible for pet parents.”
Rose Audio Visuals head of marketing & branded content Megha H Desai added, “With Season 2, The Happy Pawdcast evolved from a content property into a strong, community-led IP. The collaboration with The Souled Store reflects our approach to building meaningful extensions around our shows where audience insight, brand alignment, and scale come together.”
The Souled Store co-founder Vedang Patel noted, “Pet parenting today is as much about identity and expression as it is about care and responsibility. This collaboration allowed us to tap into a deeply engaged, emotionally invested community and co-create designs that feel authentic and accessible.”
Produced by Rosepod (the podcasting division of Rose Audio Visuals), the merchandise marks the podcast’s shift from audio-video content into a broader lifestyle IP, while aligning with The Souled Store’s focus on pop-culture-led, community-first products and its animal welfare initiatives through World For All.
In a pet-parent world where love often comes with a leash and a hoodie, The Happy Pawdcast isn’t just telling stories anymore, it’s letting fans wear them, proving the bond between humans and their fur-babies deserves more than likes, it deserves to be flaunted.
