MAM
Cannes Lions: Starcom MediaVest Group grabs ‘Media Network of the Year’ award
MUMBAI: Starcom MediaVest Group has bagged the ‘Media Network of the Year’ award at the ongoing Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Three days into the annual festival, SMG’s total across all categories includes 34 wins and 120 shortlists.
‘The Media Network of the Year’ win comes as a result of SMG’s three Silvers, nine Bronzes and 14 shortlists in the Media Lions category. Winning campaigns have come from clients including Bank of America, Esurance, Heineken and Samsung, among others.
The win has come less than two weeks after SMG was named the Most Effective Agency and Most Effective Agency Network by the Effie Index at the North American Effie Awards Gala in New York, where Publicis Groupe also took top honours as Most Effective Holding Company. In April, SMG was awarded Agency Network of the Year at the Festival of Media Global Awards in Rome for the second year in a row.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the work SMG is producing for its clients around the globe,” said Starcom MediaVest Group Global CEO Laura Desmond.
“Winning Media Network of the Year after our previous wins is truly incredible and proves that we’re at the top of our game. The work we’re producing for our clients is inspired by creativity and informed by converged data, a combination that is clearly resonating with the industry. We’re thrilled to be able to create these campaigns for our clients and have that hard work and dedication recognised here at Cannes,” added Desmond.
Brands
Vodafone Idea elevates Vineeth Jayendranath as VP, marketing head Mumbai
Telecom marketer takes charge of Mumbai circle with growth and brand focus
MUMBAI: Vodafone Idea Limited has promoted Vineeth Jayendranath to vice president, marketing head for the Mumbai circle, marking a key milestone in his career as the telecom operator sharpens its regional strategy.
In his new role, Jayendranath will lead marketing efforts across prepaid and postpaid segments in one of the country’s most competitive telecom markets. His mandate includes driving revenue growth, strengthening brand positioning, and deepening customer engagement, while also managing profit and loss responsibilities for the circle.
Sharing the update, Vineeth Jayendranath said, “Excited to share, I am starting my new stint as Vice President, Marketing Head for Mumbai circle at Vodafone Idea Ltd. Would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this journey.”
Jayendranath brings over 12 years of experience spanning telecom and IT, with a strong focus on customer value management and data-led marketing. Since joining Vodafone Idea, he has held multiple leadership roles, most recently serving as general manager leading customer value management and prepaid business across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
During this period, he handled large subscriber bases and multi-billion rupee revenue portfolios, while rolling out hyper-personalised campaigns and a “segment of one” strategy to improve customer retention and upgrades. He also championed a digital-first approach, pushing adoption of data services and unlimited plans through targeted, insight-driven initiatives.
Earlier, he worked with Idea Cellular Ltd in strategy and business intelligence roles, and began his career at Infosys as a systems engineer. A brief stint at Hyundai Motor India Ltd during his internship added early exposure to marketing strategy.
An alumnus of SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Jayendranath has steadily built a reputation for combining analytics with marketing execution.
His elevation comes as telecom players double down on circle-level strategies to stay competitive, and Vodafone Idea appears to be betting on data-backed marketing to keep Mumbai firmly in its corner.
