AD Agencies
Upbeat with ’16 billing, Dentsu Aegis aims to be No. 2 in ’17
MUMBAI: Large account wins and a number of acquisitions in creative, digital and PR segments, Dentsu Aegis Network is on a roll with an approximate 2016 billing of Rs 4,500 crore.
Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia chairman and chief executive Ashish Bhasin is upbeat about his target of dislodging IPG from the number two spot by 2017. Industry experts however believed that while Dentsu could be on a growth path, overtaking IPG might be a distant dream.
DAN has managed to beat British and American advertising conglomerates such as WPP and IPG in rapid acquisition. Now, its real challenge will be to ensure integration of acquired companies in its network.
Dileep Cherian-owned Perfect Relations was acquired by DAN last September for an estimated Rs 200-250 crore, followed by creative marketing agency Happy Creative acquisition for an estimated Rs 300 crore followed by experiential design studio Fractal Ink purchase for Rs 250 crore. DAN earlier acquired Milestone Brandcom, WAT Consult, Fountainhead-MKTG, Webchutney and Taproot.
Bhasin hoped that that 50 per cent growth would come from acquired businesses.
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.
