MAM
Omnicom Group’s ipsh! launches mStore
MUMBAI: US mobile phone marketing leader – ipsh!, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Omnicom Group Inc., announced its new mStore for Start Soma.
Start Soma, a San Francisco art gallery for emerging visual artists will roll out Smart Mobile powered by ipsh!. Smart Mobile will be the first gallery to sell new art for cell phones, transforming the devices into pocket galleries.
The ipsh! mStore is a mobile storefront that enables companies to display, promote and sell any type of mobile content, including wallpapers, ringtones, mobile videos, games, and now art. According to the Gartner group, more than 800 million phones will be sold in 2005, so the market for new mobile applications, services and accessories like mStore and Star Mobile offers huge potential for companies and organisations using this technology to expand their business.
“To ipsh!, this is more than mobile commerce, this is the convergence of the artistic flavor of San Francisco’s south of market culture and new mediums of display, in this case the phone screen. We first worked with Start Soma in 2003, using SMS messaging to promote its art openings, and are excited about this new venture into selling mobile art,” said ipsh! CEO Nihal Mehta.
“With thousands of original works by hundreds of artists, we required a decidedly robust and powerful platform to power our mobile gallery, which is why we chose ipsh!. We’re excited to bring new art to the most popular consumer technology device used today -the cell phone. Without ipsh! there was no way to ensure the level of quality we required to effectively showcase the amazing range of artwork available via Start Mobile, and we are absolutely honoured to be the first mStore,” said Start Soma founder John Doffing.
ipsh! mStore is built on the firm’s proprietary Prism platform and includes connectivity to all supported North American carriers. Mobile content is automatically optimised to the customer handset and is billed through the carrier. The product is available either as a complete customer-facing solution, providing web and wap full-service, storefront experiences, or as a back-end service/interface for existing web or wap sites. More than 100,000 images are currently for sale in the Start Mobile mStore.
All art showcased on Start Mobile is optimised for display on more than 200 handsets from national carriers. Users will be able to buy art for their phones using premium SMS, billed directly to their phone bill.
Brands
Emami names Dhruv Aggarwal as chief growth officer
Former Bain partner steps in as FMCG firm sharpens growth playbook
MUMBAI: Emami Limited has appointed Dhruv Aggarwal as its chief growth officer, effective 25 March 2026, following the resignation of Giriraj Bagri.
Aggarwal joins the FMCG major from Bain & Company, where he most recently served as partner. With over two decades of experience across consulting and strategy, he brings a global perspective shaped by work across India, the US, the UK and Germany.
During his tenure at Bain, Aggarwal advised consumer, retail and media companies on large-scale transformations, business turnarounds and growth strategies. He was also closely involved with India’s startup ecosystem, guiding early-stage ventures on scaling and digital expansion, while supporting private equity and venture capital firms on investment decisions.
His earlier stints include a brief role at Barclays Capital and operational experience at Jindal Power, giving him a mix of financial and industry exposure.
Academically, Aggarwal holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and has also been associated with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a PhD candidate and teaching assistant.
The appointment comes at a time when Emami Limited is looking to sharpen its growth strategy in a competitive consumer market. With a seasoned strategist now at the helm of growth, the company appears set to double down on transformation and expansion in the months ahead.
