AD Agencies
Rediffusion throws open consumer research wing Red Lab
MUMBAI: Rediffusion Brand Solutions has launched its specialised consumer research and analysis wing called Rediffusion Consumer Lab (Red Lab).
This unit will specialise in consumer understanding, consumer behaviour and trend spotting to come up with actionable business intelligence which can then lead to brand solutions. Red Lab will be reporting to Rediffusion joint president Navonil Chatterjee.
Rediffusion Group chairman Diwan Arun Nanda said, “I have always believed in the power of brands, and brand building is all about looking beyond the short term and focussing on the long term. It involves understanding consumer behaviour and sometimes, even changing consumer habits. That’s possible only through actionable, data-backed intelligence and not lose assumptions and vague gut feelings. And Red Lab will be that voice of wise counsel for our client partners and prospects.”
Rediffusion Brand Solutions managing director Sandeep Goyal added, “This was a clear priority area so far as I was concerned. In the olden days, sailors looked at stars and constellations to navigate their way around in the high seas. To tide over the choppy waters of a hypercompetitive market, brands too need guiding stars and accurate category, market and consumer information can be those guide-marks for brands. Besides right from my Airtel and Mogae days, I have been a strong advocate of data-based marketing and this is a step in that direction from Rediffusion.”
Chatterjee said, “Think of it as a first step towards brand consultancy. We already had some fantastic brand workshopping and creative ideation tools and techniques. Coupled with that, this consumer intelligence gathering wing will help us further in spotting trends and insight mining, and we sincerely hope that we end up mining gold here.”
AD Agencies
Publicis Brazil’s creative chief Mauro Ramalho lands the jury chair at Abby Awards 2026
Mauro Ramalho brings 25 years of global advertising firepower to the new creative commerce, use of data and B2B category at Goafest
GOA: The Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show, has appointed Mauro Ramalho, chief creative officer of Publicis Brazil, as jury chair for its newly launched creative commerce, use of data and B2B category. The announcement, made on 18 March, signals the awards’ intent to bring serious international muscle to a category that sits squarely at the intersection of creativity and commercial performance.
Ramalho is not a name that needs much introduction in global advertising circles. Over 25 years spanning three countries, he has worked at some of the industry’s most creatively restless addresses. At AKQA in San Francisco, he worked across McDonald’s, Nike, Fox, Target, Kraft Foods and GAP, and helped lead “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s, one of the first alternate reality campaigns and among the most awarded projects of its era. He later moved to Organic in Toronto, bridging the Detroit and Toronto offices on Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, before spending over a decade building CUBOCC into one of Brazil’s most iconic and innovative independent agencies, which subsequently joined the IPG network.
A stint at FCB followed, where Ramalho led integrated work bridging online and offline, before he joined R/GA São Paulo as vice-president and executive creative director, stitching together the São Paulo office with New York, London, Portland and California on global clients including Verizon, Google, Meta, Samsung, American Express and Heineken. He now heads Publicis Brazil as its chief creative officer.
His trophy cabinet includes Clios, Effies, TikTok awards and MMA Smarties, and he has served on juries at the Andys, TikTok and the Lisbon Awards.
The Abby Awards 2026 is scheduled to take place at Goafest 2026 on 20, 21 and 22 May in Goa.
For Indian advertising, landing a jury chair of Ramalho’s calibre for a category built around data-driven creativity and commerce is a statement of ambition. Goafest just raised its own bar.
