MAM
Dentsu Webchutney to handle creative for Goomo
MUMBAI: Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis network, has been assigned as the lead creative agency for Goomo.com, an omnichannel, travel-tech company that operates across consumer, corporate and B2B segments. The account will be managed by Dentsu Webchutney’s Mumbai office.
Goomo.com is a new player in the already complex online travel agency category. While Denstu Webchutney’s mandate as the lead agency will include both online and offline campaigns, it will also involve building the brand’s positioning and awareness. The agency will work closely with Goomo’s branding and marketing team.
Goomo CMO Gaurav Khurana says, “Goomo is a young and an aggressive challenger brand in this hyper-competitive market. For us, it was imperative to find a partner who not only understood us as a brand but also shared the same vigour as us. An agile and strategic partner who is ready to shake things up in the travel domain. Dentsu Webchutney, India’s number one digital agency with its expansive expertise in digital is our partner of choice. The driven team behind the name and the strong leadership makes it an ideal choice.”
Dentsu Webchutney EVP and branch head Nishi Kant adds, “It’s an absolute privilege to have won the creative & branding mandate for Goomo. What excites us the most is that we have the opportunity to co-create the identity and positioning of the brand that resides in a particularly challenging category. It’s going to be a thrill-a-minute but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Both sides share a great rapport and we’re looking to partner together every step of the way as we prepare to change and challenge the norms of the category.”
Brands
Air Canada ceo to quit over “English-only” message after New York plane crash
English-only condolence video after fatal LaGuardia crash triggers outrage in Quebec and hastens succession
MONTREAL: Air Canada’s boss is heading for the exit after a linguistic misstep collided with a national faultline.
Michael Rousseau will retire by October, the airline said on Monday, days after a backlash over his English-only video tribute following a deadly crash involving an Air Canada Express jet in New York. The March 22 collision with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport killed two pilots and injured dozens, but Rousseau’s message, bookended only by “bonjour” and “merci”, ignited fury in French-speaking Quebec.
Mark Carney welcomed the departure, calling the video a “lack of judgment and lack of compassion”. “It is absolutely essential that his successor is completely bilingual,” he said in Toronto. “He did a good job technically as CEO but as the leader of an organisation you have broader responsibilities. It’s the right decision at the right time.”
The row quickly metastasised. Quebec’s National Assembly voted 92–0 for Rousseau to quit. More than 1,800 complaints flooded the federal languages watchdog. Even Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a major shareholder, weighed in. “There is no doubt that the video should have been in both official languages.”
The symbolism cut deep. One of the dead pilots, Antoine Forest, was from Quebec. Language, long a live wire in the province, remains entwined with identity and politics, fuelling the separatist Parti Québécois ahead of an election due by October.
Rousseau, 68, had form. In 2021, soon after taking charge, he drew fire for delivering a Montreal speech largely in English and boasting he had lived there for years without speaking French. He apologised then and again last week, saying he was “deeply saddened” his limitations had “diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees.” He had logged more than 300 hours of French lessons since taking the helm in February 2021.
Operationally, his tenure was steadier. He steered Air Canada through the pandemic and its messy aftermath, though labour tensions, most notably a four-day cabin crew strike, dogged the recovery. Shares slipped more than 2 per cent after the news before trimming losses to about 1.2 per cent on the Toronto exchange.
The airline, bound by the Official Languages Act to serve customers in both English and French, said it is accelerating a succession plan already under way, with candidates to be judged in part on their French. Analysts say the next chief must pair operational discipline with strategic clarity amid fuel volatility, labour costs and fierce competition.
A dual crisis—metal on tarmac in New York and politics at home—has now claimed its most senior scalp. In Canada’s flag carrier, competence got Rousseau far. In the end, fluency finished the job.
