MAM
Kyoorius allows open jury for Kyoorius Creative Awards
MUMBAI: After two successful years, The Kyoorius Advertising and Digital Awards, which has been rebranded to Kyoorius Creative Awards in association with D&AD starting this year, has received a total of 1863 entries across the advertising, digital and media categories.
Figures shared by the company show that there is a jump of over 31 per cent from last year’s total of 1419 entries, while the number of participating agencies and corporates jumped 28 percent to 323 this year.
Moreover, organising body Kyoorius, the not for profit initiative by Transasia Fine Papers, has introduced Media Awards as part of the creative awards to highlight the innovation done across media in the country.
“I must compliment the Kyoorius team for keeping the media judging criteria in the similar space as the creatives, which makes the three criterias very sharp and clear,” said Media Jury member and Vizeum India MD Shripad Kulkarni, when attending one of the jury sessions which spanned between 4 to 7 May 2016. Jury members are expected to review, discuss and select the best of the best over the four-day jury session post which the organisers have also made arrangements for an open jury for the whole industry to come, review and discuss the entries.
While the growing number of participants and the inclusion of media as part of the creative award is a welcome move by the organising body, several within the jury feel that it will take a while for the industry to understand what the criteria for entering the awards is.
“Because it is the first year, I think the criteria has not been well understood by the participants. This entire space of creative media awards is very distinct, and therefore participants will need time to differentiate from the other awards they are used to entering. Rather than volume, it needs innovation and sharp focus. I guess next year we will see a dramatic shift in the type of entries,” Kulkarni added.
When asked if it made the job of the jury harder, Kulkarni added, “It definitely made it more tedious, but that is fine as all we had to do was to put more effort into understanding the entries.”
CEO Stephen Li who is also part of the media jury, candidly stated that he expected the quality to be higher. “There have been two or three interesting campaigns in the media jury entries we have seen so far, but there has been nothing that has jumped out and wowed us.” His word of caution for those who attempt to submit work on sensitive issues like women’s right, poverty and other social causes is to work harder on them and do the due justice to the subject. “As much as such topics pose one with opportunities, there is also a responsibility to do more compelling work,” Li pointed out.
The Kyoorius Creative Awards show will be held on 3 June, 2016 at The Dome (SVP Stadium), NSCI in Mumbai. The awards will be presented by Colors, powered by Hindustan Times and includes ABP News, Rishtey, Happy Finish & Kinetic as main partners.
The full list of Media, Advertising and Digital jury are as follows:
Apart from Media Awards:
Jury Foreman: Mike Florence, Head of Planning, PHD Media
Steven Kalifowitz, Senior Manager, Brand Strategy, Twitter, APAC
Kartik Sharma, Managing Director, Maxus
Stephen Li, CEO, OMD
Swati Bhattacharya, CCO, FCB Ulka
Pat Law, Founder, Goodstuphx
Shripad Kulkarni, Managing Director, India, Vizeum (A Dentsu Aegis Network Company)
Digital Awards:
Jury Foreman: Ralph Barnett, National Creative Director, SapientNitro
Corey Cruz, Head of Creatives, Digitas LBi
Gary Steele, Executive Creative Director, TBWA
Karl Gomes, Chief Fanatic, Fanatics
Shormistha Mukherjee, Co-Founder & Director, Flying Cursor Interactive
Gauri Joshi, Unit Creative Director (Digital), Lowe Lintas
Debashish Ghosh, CEO Zee Digital and Director at India Web Portal
Advertising Awards:
Jury Foreman: Mr. R. Balki, Group Chairman, Mullen Lowe Lintas Group
Agnello Dias, Co-Founder, Taproot
Nima Namchu, Chief Creative Officer, Havas Worldwide
Tista Sen, National Creative Director, J. Walter Thompson
Ajay Gahlaut, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy
Scott McClelland, Executive Creative Director Asia-Pacific, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH)
Daniel Comar, Regional Executive Creative Director, Geometry Global
Scott Dungate, Creative Director, Wieden+Kennedy (W&K)
Marco Bezerra, Executive Creative Director, J. Walter Thompsons Dubai
MAM
Kartik Vishwanathan returns to WPP Media as VP – investments
14-year Mindshare veteran takes special assignment role from February 2026.
MUMBAI: Kartik Vishwanathan has made a sharp return on investment rejoining WPP Media, the very organisation that shaped a big chunk of his professional journey. The seasoned media executive has been appointed vice president for investments (Special Assignment) at WPP Media, effective February 2026. He will contribute to both regional and global priorities in this strategic mandate.
With over 14 years and 7 months at Mindshare, Vishwanathan brings deep expertise across investment strategy, strategic initiatives, and integration. His most recent role was Head of Investment Strategy – Mindshare China (Dec 2019–Oct 2023) in Shanghai, following his stint as Head – Strategic Initiatives and Integration – Mindshare India (Jun 2018–Nov 2019). Earlier, he served as Principal Partner at The Exchange in Mumbai (Jan 2016–Jun 2018).
Before Mindshare, he held short-term roles as Process Manager – Pricing Analytics at eClerx and Project Manager at Fractal Analytics in Mumbai.
Vishwanathan holds an Executive Programme in Business Management from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (May 2007–Apr 2008) and a Post Graduate Certification in Advertising and Public Relations from MICA (2011–2012).
His return to WPP comes at a time when the media investment landscape is evolving rapidly, with brands demanding sharper, more integrated strategies across platforms. For someone who cut his teeth at the agency group years ago, this homecoming feels less like a new chapter and more like picking up a well-worn, high-return playbook.
