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Two key appointments at Dentsu India
MUMBAI: Dentsu India Group has made another two key appointments. Ashwin Parthiban has joined Dentsu Communications, Bangalore as executive creative director, while Rajesh Bhargava has been appointed as GM, studio and production, Dentsu Marcom.
Based out of Bangalore, Parthiban will be heading the creative team at Dentsu Communications for Bangalore and Chennai. Operating from Dentsu India Group‘s headquarters in Gurgaon, Bhargava will oversee all studio and production related services for Dentsu Marcom offices in India.
Parthiban joins from JWT, Delhi where he has VP and senior creative director — Global Team Ford where he led creative across mainline, digital and direct on the Ford account in India. Prior to this, he led the 27-strong Chennai creative team as VP and senior creative director at JWT, Chennai.
Bhargava joins from Wieden + Kennedy, India where was head – production services. He began his 30 year career with Clarion Advertising (now Bates) in 1981. He moved to Contract Advertising in 1985 where he was for almost 20 years.
In June 2004, Bhargava was transferred to JWT, Delhi as associate vice-president – art and production. He has been with Wieden + Kennedy, India since April 2008.
Dentsu India Group executive chairman Rohit Ohri said, “Both Ashwin and Rajesh bring rock-solid competencies on board. Ashwin straddles creative across disciplines and categories. While he aces mainline creative, he also understands both digital and direct; he can ‘think creative‘ across each of these distinct practices and this allows for great integration.”
MAM
Agoda honours over 200 Indian hotels with Gold Circle Awards
Platform celebrates top performers as international searches for India surge.
MUMBAI: When it comes to rolling out the red carpet for hotels, Agoda clearly knows how to make the awards feel golden especially when over 200 Indian properties are shining bright this year. Agoda has awarded more than 200 hotels across India in the 17th edition of its Gold Circle Awards, placing the country fourth globally in the number of awardees. The annual honours recognise properties that deliver consistently high guest standards, strong digital engagement and operational adaptability. This year’s winners were heavily concentrated in India’s top business-and-leisure hubs such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru.
Interest in travel to India has grown significantly among international travellers, with accommodation searches experiencing a 24-fold year-on-year increase. Searches from the United Arab Emirates rose 81 per cent compared with the previous year, while travellers from Malaysia, the United States and Singapore recorded 40 per cent growth.
This momentum coincides with the Government of India’s announcement at the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exhibition to double airport capacity, a move expected to strengthen international connectivity and unlock further hotel and tour demand as infrastructure scales up to meet tourism growth that is currently outpacing supply.
Agoda country director for the Indian Subcontinent and Indian Ocean Islands Gaurav Malik said the rising interest is a win for both the market and hoteliers. “It’s encouraging to see how quickly the ecosystem and its partners are rising to meet that demand. As connectivity improves and airport capacity expands, India is well positioned to welcome even more travellers and to showcase the incredible depth and variety of experiences the country has to offer,” he noted.
2025 Gold Circle Awards ranking by market (number of winners):
Globally, the 17th edition of Agoda’s Gold Circle Awards recognised over 3,000 hotel partners for excellence in operational performance and guest experience. Insights from Agoda’s “Tailored to Win” report further highlight that nearly 98 per cent of Indian hotels using advanced localisation strategies reported a positive impact on revenue, underscoring the importance of tailored content, payments and guest touchpoints in capturing both international and domestic demand.
In the race for travellers’ attention, it seems Indian hotels are not just keeping pace, they’re earning gold medals while doing so.
