MAM
Kan Khajura Tesan wins Grand Prix WARC Prize for Asian Strategy
MUMBAI: About a month ago, Lowe Lintas + Partners had achieved an incredible feat of India’s best performance yet at the zenith of strategy awards in the world – the 4A’s Jay Chiat Awards in Chicago, with a silver and a bronze. The recognition goes further now with the agency bagging the top honour at another platform that recognises strategic excellence just as widely in Asia – The WARC Prize for Asian Strategy 2014.
The fourth edition of The WARC Prize for Asian Strategy that was held in Singapore last night, saw the agency’s work on ‘KKT – From the ‘dark’ to connectivity’ bag the all-important Grand Prix for Best Strategy. KKT is an initiative for Hindustan Unilever developed by Lowe Lintas + Partners with media partner PHD.
In another first for WARC, KKT was also conferred with the ‘Asia First Special Award’, for insight the rest of the world can learn from.
As an awards platform, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy easily is a class apart from the others on numerous counts. Some of these include:
– Run by the World Advertising and Research Council, it is Asia’s leading platform that recognises great strategic thinking in marketing
– The award is open for all countries across the Asia Pacific region
– This year, it received over 180 entries, a record high for the competition
– The 40 that made the shortlist came from 11 countries, and from a mix of major networks and local independents
– The judging panel comprised of senior client-side marketers and agency experts that gave away a total of 19 awards
Sharing his excitement on the news, Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas + Partners India said, “KKT is a true innovation where a business problem was addressed with a platformic solution. The recognition it continues to amass at a global scale is a great testament to Lowe Lintas’ culture of creative effectiveness. The first Grand Prix for India at WARC makes it a little more sweeter.”
For Anaheeta Goenka and Deepa Geethakrishnan, the team from Lowe Lintas + Partners that led the KKT initiative, the awards are a reiteration of the fact that no matter how small or simple an idea be, the true measure of its success is the change it brings about in the marketplace. Sharing their thoughts, they said, “This win is a crucial milestone of the global journey of creative effectiveness for Kan Khajura Tesan. From Europe to the US to now Asia. The WARC win further demonstrates that ‘solving real problems for real people’ is what the industry celebrates, in any part of the world. We are humbled and delighted by the honour conferred on us, by some of the best in the world.”
With over 30 wins so far including World Mobile Congress, Cannes Lions, Jay Chiat and Spikes Asia so far, KKT is already among the most awarded ideas in the world on creativity and effectiveness this year.
KKT is a ‘mobile radio’, that provides free entertainment to people in the ‘media dark’ regions of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Jharkhand, India’s Hindi- and Bhojpuri-speaking belt. The content is provided to the mobile user for FREE when (s)he gives a “missed call” to a designated number. The content is interspersed with ads for several brands of HUL.
After the initial success in these regions, KKT continues to grow and expand to more regions of the country and is on its way to becoming the largest company-owned medium in the country.
Brands
Vodafone Idea elevates Vineeth Jayendranath as VP, marketing head Mumbai
Telecom marketer takes charge of Mumbai circle with growth and brand focus
MUMBAI: Vodafone Idea Limited has promoted Vineeth Jayendranath to vice president, marketing head for the Mumbai circle, marking a key milestone in his career as the telecom operator sharpens its regional strategy.
In his new role, Jayendranath will lead marketing efforts across prepaid and postpaid segments in one of the country’s most competitive telecom markets. His mandate includes driving revenue growth, strengthening brand positioning, and deepening customer engagement, while also managing profit and loss responsibilities for the circle.
Sharing the update, Vineeth Jayendranath said, “Excited to share, I am starting my new stint as Vice President, Marketing Head for Mumbai circle at Vodafone Idea Ltd. Would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this journey.”
Jayendranath brings over 12 years of experience spanning telecom and IT, with a strong focus on customer value management and data-led marketing. Since joining Vodafone Idea, he has held multiple leadership roles, most recently serving as general manager leading customer value management and prepaid business across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
During this period, he handled large subscriber bases and multi-billion rupee revenue portfolios, while rolling out hyper-personalised campaigns and a “segment of one” strategy to improve customer retention and upgrades. He also championed a digital-first approach, pushing adoption of data services and unlimited plans through targeted, insight-driven initiatives.
Earlier, he worked with Idea Cellular Ltd in strategy and business intelligence roles, and began his career at Infosys as a systems engineer. A brief stint at Hyundai Motor India Ltd during his internship added early exposure to marketing strategy.
An alumnus of SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Jayendranath has steadily built a reputation for combining analytics with marketing execution.
His elevation comes as telecom players double down on circle-level strategies to stay competitive, and Vodafone Idea appears to be betting on data-backed marketing to keep Mumbai firmly in its corner.
