MAM
DDB MudraMax elevates Rohit Samarth as head, experiential
MUMBAI: There’s some movement in the DDB MudraMax office. Rohit Samarth has now been elevated to head DDB MudraMax, Experiential. Samarth will report to DDB MudraMax president Mandeep Malhotra and will be the incharge of the agency’s experiential campaigns, nationally.
Samarth joined the agency’s rural marketing branch, Terra, as senior vice president in April 2012.
Alvin D’souza, Subhashish Sarkar and Amit Singh, who have been elevated to Head, Experiential, West, North and East, respectively, will be working under the guidance of Rohit.
About his new role, Rohit said, “I have a vision and some strategic thoughts for my new role. Development of strong teams and setting new standards in the experiential business are high on the agenda. It is my sincere belief that DDB Mudra Max’s experiential division, which is already a great force to reckon with in the experiential business, will grow to be one of the most competent and respected experiential communication solutions agencies over the next two years.”
Samarth joined DDB MudraMax from Percept Out of Home, where he was the business head of its rural vertical responsible for all its communication and marketing strategies. With more than 25 years of experience in the industry, Samarth started his career with Nestle India, and later worked with various other companies like Media Workshop India, Amar Ujala Prakashan, India Infrastructure Publishing, UCP Integrated Marketing Solutions, and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Linterland.
Commenting on the new appointment, Malhotra said, “Rohit has shown passion, hunger and discipline in his current role. Will be looking forward for him making all three infectious in his extended team.”
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.
