Mumbai: MullenLowe Lintas Group has unveiled a specialised content business unit under the Lintas C:EX (Lintas Creative Executions) brand. The unit called Lintas C:EX Entertainment will create content & IP that entertains and engages, said the statement.
To lead the entertainment business unit at Lintas C:EX, seasoned media and entertainment (M&E) specialist Yogesh Manwani has been appointed as president. Manwani comes with a rich and diversified experience of over two decades across different facets of the M&E business having worked in organisations such as Star, Zee5, and most recently, Applause Entertainment as head revenue and marketing. He was involved in multiple premium drama series like "Scam 1992," "Criminal Justice," "Hostages," "Undekhi," "Avrodh," "Mind The Malhotras," "Bhaukaal," "Chakravyuh," and "Call My Agent" to name a few.
Manwani’s appointment is with immediate effect and will operate from the Mumbai HQ of MullenLowe Lintas Group. In his role as president at Lintas C:EX Entertainment, Manwani will work with Naveen Gaur, who is responsible for the new and specialised lines of business at MullenLowe Lintas Group.
In his previous roles, Manwani has managed responsibilities across various content genres - Hindi News, regional news, regional entertainment, Hindi entertainment and English entertainment – across mediums such as TV and digital. A UCLA Anderson alumnus, he has handled varied challenges like business launches and turnarounds, brand strategy, customer acquisition & retention, market development and affiliate marketing.
Speaking about the formation of the new business building block and the leadership announcement, MullenLowe Lintas Group – group CEO Virat Tandon said, “We are seeing a huge surge of digital content, platforms, creators as well as viewers and this space is only going to grow in the coming years. Lintas is uniquely poised at the intersection of powerful ideas that shape pop culture, master creative storytelling, extraordinary video production ability and ambitious brands and clients. Lintas C:EX Entertainment is the logical next step for us to unlock the huge potential that lies ahead of us.”
“In the past, we have had a few tactical brushes with this space. The memorable ones were when Alyque was involved with producing the pilot for “Karamchand” and then later when we conceptualised the show 'Smart Shrimati' for brand Wheel. This time, Lintas C:EX Entertainment is a deliberate and a strategic foray into original and branded content space. There couldn’t be a better person than Yogesh Manwani to lead this venture. He comes with a deep experience in the original content business. He is a big believer in our vision for Lintas C:EX Entertainment and I am sure he will make it a success,” he added.
The Lintas C:EX Entertainment unit has ambitions to develop, create, produce and distribute distinct forms of curated and original content cutting across genres, languages and formats, said the agency in a statement.
Not only will the unit create original content for various streaming platforms, it will also work with brand partners to create and distribute ‘content for & by brands.' The unit will also help brands identify and participate in relevant content led marketing opportunities, it added.
“We are breaking the shackles of the ad agency descriptor that we had imposed on ourselves," stated MullenLowe Lintas Group – group CCO and chairman Amer Jaleel. "There has been such an abundance of talent that has sprung from Lintas and gone on into the world of entertainment, I have no clue why we did not give it the shot it deserved up until now! With Yogesh at the helm of this completely separate and independent initiative, we are opportunising the era of original content and content for brands, that’s landed smack in our lives! Yogesh will spearhead, shape and structure Lintas C:EX Entertainment into possibly an equal or bigger rival to our brand and marcomm business.
"He has both the relationships and the experience in building channels, platforms, intellectual properties which will now propel the Lintas group into a full-blown media and entertainment powerhouse," Jaleel added.
Reacting to his appointment, Yogesh Manwani said, “Backed by strong, fearless and visionary leadership, the group is on a critical self-transformational journey. Entering the Content business is an integral and important part of this journey and with the acceleration of the creator economy it could not have been better timed. The long term vision that Group’s leadership has for this independent and specialised business under the Lintas C:EX brand is what excites me to lead this mandate. I look forward to bringing my experience and learnings to the table that could help in building this content company as the magic glue that binds content creators with brand owners & platform partners.”
