MAM
IPG, Omnicom in JV for $1 bn Chevy account
MUMBAI: In a first of its kind move, global giants Omnicom and Interpublic Group have entered a 50:50 joint venture to service the global creative account of General Motors‘ brand Chevy.
The JV, Commonwealth, will be led by a global advisory board of eight members including McCann Worldgroup South Asia president Prasoon Joshi.
The collaboration is between Omnicom owned Goodby Silverstein & Partners, which was previously Chevy‘s lead agency in the US and IPG’s McCann Erickson, the brand‘s lead agency in India, China and Latin America will be called Commonwealth.
The size of the account serviced by the JV is $1 billion. Prior to this Chevrolet employed 70 agencies across the globe.
The account was awarded to the two agencies after a multiagency pitch that started at the end of 2011. The other agencies involved in the pitch include Publicis Groupe and Cheil Worldwide.
The new business which will be based in Detroit, will develop creative campaigns across all media platforms for Chevrolet.
Earlier this year GM awarded the global media mandate to Aegis‘ Carat Media.
The global advisory board will oversee creative initiatives and strategy. Goodby Silverstein & Partners founder Jeff Goodby will serve as creative chairman while other members will include McCann Worldgroup Latin America chairman and chief creative officer Washington Olivetto and McCann New York and London chairman and chief creative officer Linus Karlsson.
These four creative leaders will work in collaboration on all major creative initiatives and resource allocations. Campaigns will be handled through global hubs, which will operate in Detroit, Milan, Mumbai and Sao Paulo.
According to the company‘s annual report GM spent $4.47 billion on advertising in 2011 most of which was used to market Chevy. The company said that cutting back on the number of agencies, and streamlining ad production and its media buying process could save the company $2 billion over the next five years.
MAM
Manappuram Finance appoints Sreekanth P V as group head – operations
22-year veteran from Bajaj Finance to drive efficiency and customer experience.
MUMBAI: Manappuram Finance just upgraded its operations engine because when customer delight needs turbocharging, even the gold loans get a smoother ride. Manappuram Finance Ltd has appointed industry veteran Sreekanth P V as group head for operations & customer experience at the grade of president. In his new role, Sreekanth will lead efforts to strengthen operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, streamline processes, drive service innovation and scale the company’s digital ecosystems across all business verticals.
Sreekanth brings over 22 years of experience in operations management, digital platforms, product innovation and customer experience within the financial services sector. Most recently he served as deputy executive vice president for digital platforms at Bajaj Finance Ltd, where he led the development of a unified app and web platform strategy and built a cohesive digital ecosystem.
Manappuram Finance, chairman and managing director V. P. Nandakumar said, “We are pleased to welcome Mr Sreekanth P V to the leadership team. He brings extensive experience in operations management, digital platforms and customer experience. As we continue to strengthen our operational capabilities and enhance customer engagement, his expertise will play an important role in driving efficiency, innovation and service excellence across the organisation.”
The appointment reflects Manappuram Finance’s ongoing focus on building a stronger leadership bench and elevating operational standards as the company scales its lending and customer engagement capabilities.
In a sector where every rupee counts twice, Sreekanth isn’t just joining the team, he’s the new conductor making sure the entire orchestra of loans, digital flows and customer smiles stays perfectly in tune.
