MAM
WPP merges Meridian with Soho Square
MUMBAI: Indian born agency Meridian Communication, which operates under Ogilvy and Mather, has merged with WPP‘s Soho Square.
The aim of the merger is to take Meridian international and grow Soho Square‘s business in India. Soho Square has a growing international network in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America.
Soho Square, has three boutique agencies operating independently in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
Soho Square will deliver cross-disciplinary work spanning a full spectrum of marketing communications including brand development, brand identity, strategic planning and integrated creative solutions.
Given the complex nature of the Indian market and its geography, the Soho Square approach in India will be to establish itself as a standalone in each city rather than a nationally integrated network. The India plans attempt to have Soho Square in many more cities in the near future.
While the individual operations will share the same philosophy and principles as the international network in India, for the purpose of business the three city agencies will operate independent of each other.
“Integrated solutions are central to our structure and philosophy. At Soho Square we can select and customize learning by drawing upon Ogilvy & Mather and other WPP resources in Asia Pacific,” Soho Square said.
In Mumbai Soho Square‘s core team comprises Soho Square Mumbai head of office Samrat Bedi, executive creative directors and creative heads Anuraag Khandelwal and Satish deSa, VP account management Mohit Ahuja and SVP planning Shashank Lanjekar.
Clients in Soho Square Mumbai include ITC‘s personal care products, Perfetti‘s Stop Not, Piaggio‘s Vespa, Bisleri, Pidilite‘s Raincoat, Hungama.com, Oberoi Realty, Nutrela Soya, H&R Johnson and Hockey India.
In Bangalore, Soho Square‘s core team comprises head of office Shenaz Bapooji and creative directors C Ravikumar and Manoj.
Clients in Soho Square Bangalore are Himalaya Healthcare‘s Consumer Products Division (Purifying Neem Face Wash, Clarifying Fairness Face Wash, Toothpastes, Face packs, Shampoos), Himalaya Asia Pac, The Bengaluru International Airport, GKB Opticals and iGate.
In Delhi, the Soho Square clients are Honda Cars India Ltd. (formerly Honda Siel Cars India Ltd.), Godfrey Phillips India Ltd., HTC Ltd, HDFC Ltd and Voltas Ltd.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
