MAM
Gunn report names Publicis as the most creative global media organisation
MUMBAI: The Gunn Report for Media, the global evaluation of media creativity, has named Publicis Groupe Media as the most creative global media organisation in its second report on the state of the media industry.
The report, which examined several categories, including the most creative media agency, media network, advertiser and media campaign, also identified Hewlett Packard which is a client of ZenithOptimedia as the advertiser of the year, specifically citing HP’s Virtual History as the media campaign of the year.
Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Levy says, “Publicis Groupe Media, bringing together Starcom MediaVest and ZenithOptimedia under one management, has established itself as the most
innovative media force in the world. The findings of the Gunn Report for Media are a clear recognition of this – and we are thrilled by the news.”
Second only to OMD with 160 points, Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) earned 150 points, and ZenithOptimedia followed with 95 points. SMG was the third most awarded agency in Cannes. Its US agency was also the most awarded at the US Effies as well as winning two Clios. Starcom won the Grand Prix for its client Malaysia Airlines MAS KL Monorail Train & Column Sponsorship at the Malaysian Media Awards.
It also performed well in Latin America, with two prizes at FIAP a Gold for Ariel and a Bronze for Fiat, and in last year’s new European Union entrants. ZenithOptimedia was in third place thanks in large part to its star agency, London, which orchestrated the Virtual History campaign for Hewlett Packard. Also among the top awarded campaigns was Hype Gallery for Hewlett Packard in France. ZenithOptimedia also earned two Effies in the US.
The combined strength of SMG and ZenithOptimedia gave the organisation 247 points, 40 points more than the second runner up. Isabelle Musnik who is the, editor of The Gunn Report for Media says, “The Gunn Report for Media has combined the winners lists from all of the world’s most important award contests so as to establish the annual, worldwide ‘league tables’ for the marketing industry. The aim of this publication is to send a signal to the marketing industry, to put a global spotlight on media innovation and success, and ultimately, to inspire a higher quality media product around the world.
“The future of the industry lies in the innovative strength of its media creativity. The 50 contests that I have reported on this year are witness to that compelling truth.”
In order to move The Gunn Report for Media forward, its author enlisted the help of advertising giant Procter & Gamble as its sponsor. P&G Manager of Global Media and Communication, Bernhard Glock said, “It has become clear that the media channels we use to “connect” to our consumers are as vital as the creative content that we deliver to them. As consumers gain more control over their media consumption, and as more content and messages vie for their attention, it becomes harder and more complex to engage with them”.
Publicis Groupe Media chairman Jack Klues says, “It is testament to the importance of media in the marketing mix that so many festivals have included media as a category worthy of evaluation and recognition. Of course, the best work is that which marries message and media, and which melds content with contact.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
