MAM
Famous Innovations onboards Mitali Srivastava Hough as national planning head
Mumbai: Famous Innovations has roped in Mitali Srivastava Hough as national planning head for its Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore offices. She will also lead strategic planning for Garage, the digital and content agency from the group.
With nearly 22 years of work experience, Hough is the first planner in Indian advertising who co-founded a successful ad agency called Utopeia Communicationz and followed it up by another agency called Equal that specialised in CSR solutions. An accomplished strategic planner, digital expert, trainer and researcher, she has undertaken in-depth thought leadership on various consumer groups and is known for her disruptive approach to brand building.
Her career spans over brands like Volkswagen, J&J, Reliance Retail, Bournvita, Neutrogena, Nivea, Big Bazaar, Asian Paints, etc. Prior to steering the ship as an entrepreneur, she worked in DDB Mudra as associate vice president, across verticals of DDB India, DDB Health & Lifestyle, Rapp India & Tribal DDB. She has also worked at Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA India. Her awards include golds at Effies, AME, James Burke & Indian Marketing Awards.
Famous Innovations founder and chief creative officer Raj Kamble commented, “At Famous Innovations, we don’t just make ads. We aim to be partners with our clients and take accountability for their business, growth, and brands. Hough is one of those rare planners who champions this approach and has been effective and disruptive with MNC brands as well as entrepreneur-led brands from India. We are really excited about our partnership with her. Famous Innovations is gearing up to take a bigger leap as a group by bringing such unique talent together.”
Hough adds, “After being an entrepreneur for so long, I have evolved as a planner, and I wasn’t comfortable joining a place that would put me in just one box. Kamble has created a very interesting hybrid creative, planning and digital culture in Famous that resonated with my journey. His sharp creative acumen matches an equally strong business mind and everyone in the Famous group is being led to follow this new approach to advertising and marketing which is media agnostic, insight-led, creatively sharp and ROI focused for the client.”
For the record, Famous Innovations is a seven-time winner of South Asia Independent Agency of the Year, Digital Agency of the Year 2021 and the second most awarded agency at Goafest Abby’s x The One Show. Its list of clients includes Haier, Burger King, Titan, Times Group, Unilever, Van Heusen, Platinum Jewelry, Pernod Ricard, AB InBev, etc
AD Agencies
Prakash Nair reportedly quits Ogilvy after 23 years
One of the agency’s longest-serving leaders has moved on, with his next destination still unknown
MUMBAI: After more than two decades at one address, Prakash Nair has left the building. The president and head of office, north at Ogilvy has moved on from the agency, according to highly placed industry sources. His next move remains unknown. Ogilvy did not respond to requests for comment.
Nair spent over 23 years at the agency, making him one of its longest-serving senior figures. He was elevated to lead the Gurugram office in April 2022, a role that put him at the helm of Ogilvy’s northern operations at a time of considerable churn across the advertising industry.
Before taking charge in the capital, Nair served as associate president at Ogilvy Mumbai, where he worked on some of the agency’s most prized accounts, including Mondelez, Tata Motors, and BP Castrol. Over the years, he built a reputation for driving modern, integrated, and award-winning work, the kind that wins metals at Cannes and keeps clients from straying.
His departure was marked in style. A farewell gathering was held in Delhi, attended by senior figures from across the advertising fraternity, a signal of the regard in which Nair is held in an industry that does not always pause to say goodbye properly.
Where he goes next is the question the industry is now asking. After 23 years at one of the world’s most storied agencies, the answer, when it comes, will be worth watching.
