MAM
GroupM launches a consulting division
MUMBAI: GroupM has launched GroupM Consulting Services, a new division designed to help clients achieve improvements to their marketing effectiveness and business results.
The announcement was made by GroupM North America CEO Kelly Clark, who said the new unit would be led by Ernie Simon, a media agency executive with more than 25 years of experience.
Simon was most recently OMD chief strategy officer. He also spent 10 years at the GroupM agency Mindshare.
GroupM is the parent company to WPP media agencies Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, and Mindshare. It is the leading global media investment management operation with 2011 global billings of $90.7 billion (Source: Recma).
Clark said that Simon, whose new role is effective immediately, was the ideal candidate to lead the new division.
“Ernie‘s credentials speak for themselves. He‘s a total professional with a great mix of strategic and analytical skills. He also has extensive experience in a wide range of product and service categories, and we are delighted to welcome him back.”
Simon will serve as president of the new division and will lead a team of analysts and consultants. The group will work with its clients to leverage capabilities and resources from across GroupM and its holding company WPP. The group‘s services will include the following:
- Marketing and media analytics
- Portfolio management
- Marketing budget allocation and optimization
- Target prioritization and optimization
- Business forecasting
- Return on media/marketing investment
Simon worked at Mindshare from 1998 until 2009 where his roles included Chief Strategist and President of Strategic Planning, among others, most of them related to client leadership. At one point he served as Worldwide Strategic Planning Director on the Gillette account encompassing 50 brands in over 100 countries. He also managed the Bristol Myers-Squibb US account, as well as the Warner-Lambert/Pfizer business. He joined Mindshare when it was founded in 1999; he previously worked in the media department of WPP sister agency JWT.
Digital
Galgotias apologises after AI summit robot sparks backlash, blames ‘ill-informed’ representative
University says no intent to misrepresent innovation
NEW DELHI: Galgotias University has issued a formal apology after a controversy over a robotic dog displayed at the India AI Impact Summit led to scrutiny, backlash and the university’s exit from the venue.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the university said it “apologises profusely for the confusion created” at the summit, attributing the episode to an “ill-informed” representative manning its pavilion. The individual, it said, was unaware of the product’s technical origins and was not authorised to speak to the media.
The controversy erupted after online users identified the robotic dog as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available model made by Unitree Robotics, contradicting claims made during the event about its development.
Galgotias said there was “no institutional intent to misrepresent this innovation” and reiterated its commitment to academic integrity and transparency. It added that it had vacated the stall in line with organisers’ sentiments.
Events at the summit venue, Bharat Mandapam, took a dramatic turn as electricity to the Galgotias pavilion was cut, followed by barricades being installed around the stall. A video circulated by PTI showed workers at the site saying they were acting on instructions from their supervisor.
Summit organisers have yet to issue a detailed public explanation outlining the sequence of decisions that led to the stall’s shutdown, even as the incident fuels wider debate around claims, verification and accountability at high-profile technology showcases.
