AD Agencies
Publicis opens AI-powered content studio in India
MMUMBAI: The age of one-size-fits-all advertising is over. Brands now need content that speaks to specific audiences, on specific platforms, at specific moments—and they need it fast.
Publicis Groupe India has launched a content studio designed to meet precisely that demand, combining artificial intelligence with traditional creative talent to produce personalised, localised marketing material at speed.
The facility, the group’s fifty second globally, integrates AI-powered tools with editing suites and CGI workstations to help brands respond quickly to cultural moments and platform changes. Unlike standard production houses, the studio focuses on creating what the company calls “intelligent content”—assets tailored to specific audiences, platforms and contexts rather than generic material produced at volume.
“Marketers today aren’t short on data or ideas. What they need is the ability to turn those insights into powerful, relevant content—faster than ever before,” said Publicis Groupe south Asia chief executive Anupriya Acharya. “This studio does exactly that.”
The Mumbai operation joins Publicis Production’s network of studios in creative hubs including New York, London, Paris and Shanghai. It is equipped to handle both high-end production and agile content creation, offering post-production services to complement prodigious India’s existing capabilities.
The studio integrates with Publicis’s international production ecosystem through LucidLink and data asset management systems, enabling real-time collaboration across markets. It has already produced content for brands across beauty, automotive, fast-moving consumer goods and technology sectors, creating thousands of assets for markets from southeast Asia to Australia and America.
“Production is no longer the final step; it’s the creative engine that connects strategy, media, technology and commerce,” said Publicis Production managing partner C. “Today, it’s not just about producing more content, it’s about producing intelligent content, made for the right audience, tailored to the right platform, and delivered at the perfect moment.”
Publicis Groupe South Asia chief creative officer Rajdeepak Das said the studio brings “creative, production and technology under one roof,” enabling the company to match the pace of cultural change.
AD Agencies
WPP appoints Hephzibah Pathak CEO of WPP Creative India
Ogilvy India chair takes charge of unified creative model in key market
NEW DELHI: WPP has appointed Hephzibah Pathak as chief executive officer of WPP Creative India, putting a local leader at the helm of its newly created creative operating model in one of its most important growth markets.
The move brings clarity to how WPP’s global restructuring will play out in India, weeks after the group unveiled WPP Creative as part of its Elevate28 strategy. The unit sits alongside WPP Media, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions, and is designed to simplify what the company previously described as an overly complex structure.
Pathak, who continues as executive chairperson of Ogilvy India, will represent all agencies under the WPP Creative umbrella in India. Her role centres on driving integration across brands, expanding capabilities and ensuring clients can tap into the network’s full talent pool without friction.
WPP said Pathak will work closely with agency brand CEOs to “enhance integration, expand capabilities, and ensure seamless client access”, while maintaining the distinct identities of its agencies.
The portfolio under WPP Creative includes leading networks such as VML, Landor, AKQA and Grey, along with Burson and its affiliated firms. Leaders across these agencies will now report into Pathak, even as each brand continues to operate independently within a unified system.
The appointment also formalises a dual-track strategy in India, preserving agency identities while accelerating collaboration. Pathak is expected to work closely with media leadership to align creative and media capabilities, reflecting growing client demand for integrated, multi-market solutions.
WPP Creative global CEO Jon Cook has described the unit as “not an agency” but an operating system that helps creative, design and PR brands work together more effectively. The group has been clear that it is not merging or phasing out legacy agency brands, instead aiming to reduce complexity on the client side.
Pathak brings nearly three decades of experience within the network, having joined in 1997 and held roles ranging from Mumbai office head to chief client officer. She made history in 2024 as the first woman to lead Ogilvy India in its 95-year presence in the country.
Her expanded mandate positions India at the centre of WPP’s Asia-Pacific strategy, with a focus on strengthening brand presence, deepening client relationships and unlocking growth in a fast-evolving market.
The appointment signals WPP’s intent to move beyond the traditional holding company model towards a more integrated, AI-enabled structure. With Pathak now steering WPP Creative India, the group appears set to test whether simpler structures can indeed deliver sharper creative outcomes.
