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Analytics: Essence establishes hub in India to help data-driven solutions
MUMBAI: Essence, a global digital agency, has announced the launch of its Global Analytics Hub in Delhi, India. The establishment will focus on campaign analytics for leading global clients. In addition, it will serve as R&D center for work in mobile analytics, machine learning, social data mining and customer analytics.
The newly opened unit will work closely with the agency’s analytics team in driving innovation and overall operational excellence. Qianqian Wu, global director of the hub, has plans underway to make several key senior hires, and considerably expand the current team in India.
“Launching the global analytics hub is a step in right direction and it supports Essence’s continued commitment to providing clients with superior, data-driven solutions,” said Wu. “Investment in sound strategic solutions, advanced analytics and cutting-edge technology will be paramount to the success of the initiative.”
“We recognise the increasing importance of creating innovative and high quality data and technology solutions,” said Essence global head of analytics Anant Mathur. “Opening the hub is critical in driving future readiness and growth for Essence in the analytics space globally, we have carefully chosen India for establishing the global hub given the progressive ecosystem of talent and technology available in India”
Essence, a global agency that blends data science, objective media and captivating experiences to build valuable connections between brands and consumers, has clients such as Google, FrieslandCampina, Tesco Mobile and the Financial Times.
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Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
