MAM
Ogilvy India wins gold at APAC Effies 2016, gives credit to adding soul to campaigns
Mumbai: Ogilvy India won a gold for their campaign ‘Akanksha Anthem’ for Akanksha foundation, apart from two silver trophies at the prestigious EFFIES APAC awards held at Singapore last night.
Speaking on what may have worked in favour of the campaign, Ogilvy and Mather India Discovery and Planning Vice Chairman and Country Head Madhukar Sabnavis said, “I guess beyond creativity and effectiveness, the fact that the campaigns aimed to make a major social difference made them appealing to the judges. That added a soul to the work beyond the heart appeal.”
Apart from the gold, the agency also earned the two silver metals for their work on Vodafone Mpesa, and Make Love Not Scar — Reshma.
“I owe this to the teams that worked on the campaign, and the overall culture that is continuously striving to push the bar to drive results,” Sabnavis added.
The other five of the entries submitted by the agency shortlisted as finalists included their campaign for Sanifresh, Kinley Tata Sky, Diu and Satyamev Jayate season 3.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
