MAM
Nikhil Kumar joins Publicis India as VP
MUMBAI: Publicis India has announced the appointment of Nikhil Kumar as vice president. Based out of Mumbai, Nikhil will focus on both organic and inorganic growth for the agency.
Nikhil Kumar will report to Publicis India COO Paritosh Srivastava.
Nikhil joins Publics India from Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd where he was the chief manager for The Economic Times (ET), looking after the brand performance and brand health of ET while heading the Brand Equity product portfolio.
Speaking on his appointment, Srivastava says, “We are happy to have Nikhil Kumar on-board the agency. Nikhil has donned multiple hats and comes with rich experience of both sides across organisations. We’re confident that his vast exposure in the realm of marketing and advertising will play a distinctive role in offering meaningful solutions to clients and further strengthening the agency relations.”
An MBA in International Business Management from University of Maryland, USA, Nikhil has a decade-long experience in building brands. In the past, Nikhil has worked both in a marketing role as well as had a fair share of exposure to the advertising world. His experience across diverse brands & agencies including Jet Airways, MullenLowe Lintas Group, Bosch & Siemens and ET will be key in translating the client’s business needs into distinctive brand strategies. In addition, his exposure within the product development domain and his ability to gauge the profitability of brands will further assist agency partners in creating a sustainable impact for their brands.
Nikhil Kumar adds, “Publicis India has been in the news lately for putting out a plethora of good work and key people appointments. I was impressed by the vision and direction that Paritosh and the team had for the future of the agency and how I would play a key role in shaping it. I’m excited to begin this new chapter and help achieve bigger milestones for the agency.”
Brands
From mega bills to spontaneous dates: Swiggy Dineout Valentine’s report
From mega bills to last-minute plans, India celebrated love with flair
MUMBAI: Valentine’s Day 2026 was a feast for the senses and wallets alike, according to Swiggy Dineout. India’s on-demand dining platform revealed how the nation celebrated romance with big gestures, lively nights out, and plenty of spontaneous bookings.
Metropolitan hubs continued to rule the roost with Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad seeing the most reservations. Emerging cities aren’t far behind, with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh joining the party. Growth was particularly striking in Surat (up 180 per cent), Vadodara (155 per cent) and Bhubaneswar (145.5 per cent) compared with the previous Saturday.
Mumbai stole the headlines with a single customer splashing out Rs 130,155 – the highest bill in the country. The city also hosted the largest single group booking, with 30 diners coming together to celebrate in style. Most Valentine’s transactions took place between 10pm and 11pm, proving love, and hunger, strike late.
Mumbai stole the spotlight with a mega-spender whose bill made everyone else blush, while savvy diners were cashing in on discounts, including a Pune customer saving 60% and another in Bengaluru saving 50 per cent. Fine dining was on fire, with bookings up 121 per cent year-on-year, though pubs, bars, and lounges remained the crowd favourites, accounting for 30.6 per cent of all reservations. Last-minute romance was the order of the day, with 66 per cent of diners booking within two hours of heading out. Together, India saved over Rs 6 crore, proving that love can be grand, yet thrifty.
Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi led the premium dining rush, showing a growing appetite for curated, high-end experiences. Meanwhile, spontaneous bookings reinforced modern lifestyles, where convenience and instant gratification rule the day.
Whether it was big spends, huge groups, or a last-minute romantic dash, Valentine’s Day 2026 proved love and dining go hand in hand – and sometimes, they go all out.
