For Anupriya Acharya, once shortlisted for the first batch of women to be inducted into the IAF, being CEO of the newly formed Publicis Media India is all about piloting the combined strength of Starcom, Zenith, Performics, Convonix and Resultrix towards a shared vision to accelerate growth
BY SRABANA LAHIRI & SAMARPITA BANERJEE
It was in the spring of 1992 that Anupriya Acharya received a crisp envelope, bearing the colourful crest of the Indian Air Force. Her application had been accepted and she had been shortlisted for the first batch of women being inducted into the Indian Air Force. However, her eagerness to be in the IAF ranks was dampened by certain personal constraints at the time, which meant that she had to decide against joining the force. Though she could not adopt the IAF motto ‘Touch the Sky with Glory’, Acharya wound up being a spirited aviator, just the same. Very soon, she found herself in the cockpit of leading media agencies in India and Singapore.
Rapid turnaround in agencies and client businesses alike has been Acharya’s hallmark all through her career, which took her from McCann Erickson to Mindshare Fulcrum, Group M’s mConsult and TME, then Aegis Media in Singapore and a second stint with Mindshare Fulcrum, before moving to ZenithOptimedia Group and now assuming charge as leader of the newly created Publicis Media in India. Her mandate is to build on the ‘Trust, Talent and Transformation’ agenda even as she brings together Starcom India, Zenith India, Performics, Convonix and Resultrix to drive scale and client value for the unified Publicis Media India.
‘A MEETING OF MINDS’
The blueprint of the newly formed Publicis Media India is just starting to set. On July 8, the plush boardroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai transformed into the control room of a slick team of specialists, the Publicis Media Leadership Council, in their first ever ‘Crafting the Narrative’ session. This narrative was to introduce the various members of the council to each other, and give clarity on the shared vision, clear agenda, resolution of issues and collective learning that would accelerate growth.
“More than a business meet, it was a meeting of minds. And the talent and energy in the room was palpable. The chemistry was crackling, and so were the ideas,” says Acharya. “One of the greatest strengths of our new organization in India is its team of leaders, all of whom have a proven track record within our system. They have been integral in accomplishing what we have in the last two to three years and are now committed to setting strategy and charting the course for the new organization.”
Publicis Media, across Starcom and Zenith, has added significant business over the last few years, such as Dabur, Oppo, Visa, Jet-Etihad, Toyota, Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), Truecaller, Singapore Airlines and Fitbit. On the Performance and Digital Media side, there are significant wins such as Air Asia pan APAC performance business, Tata Docomo and Tata Vistara, amongst others. The meet involved an eclectic bunch of Publicis Media leaders, including Mallikarjun Das (Malli), the Group CEO of Starcom India, Tanmay Mohanty, the Group CEO of Zenith India, Pallav Jain, Co- CEO of Performics.Convonix, Sarfaraz Khimani, Co-CEO of Performics. Convonix and Mayoori Kango, MD of Performics.Resultrix, and the diversity they bring added to the upbeat mood.
“While Malli trained to be a statistician, Sarfaraz Khimani has been an investment banker at JP Morgan. Tanmay Mohanty has experience in areas as diverse as aeronautics, stockbroking and digital media. Pallav Jain was part of corporate banking at Citi, while Mayoori Kango has had a film career. It is this diversity that both sets us apart as well as binds us together,” Acharya remarks.
MAPPING THE ROAD AHEAD
The new Publicis Media structure announced in India follows the framework of the agency’s global vision, intended to fit the future and serve clients better. Recently, Publicis Media India consolidated its agency brands Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Optimedia, Equinox, Performics, Convonix, Resultrix, Ninah, Newcast into four agency brands, in line with the global structure, namely: Starcom, Zenith, Mediavest|Spark and Optimedia|Blue 449. According to this new model, the agency network names of Starcom Mediavest Group and ZenithOptimedia Group have been done away with to enable a flatter organizational structure. Also, in a big transition of its programmatic operation, trading desk VivaKi’s capabilities have been fully integrated into Publicis Media’s Global Practice called Data, Innovation and Technology, while Performics remains Publicis Media’s global performance marketing brand and delivers scale within all agency brands.
Commenting on the new structure and key plans in each of the verticals, Acharya says, “It is a fresh opportunity to simplify our organization, invent more modern approaches to gain effectiveness and efficiency, introduce structures for greater collaboration, and drive new levels of client value and delight. We have taken care to ensure that the maximum talent is within the brands Starcom, Zenith and Performics. The central practices are key areas that need scale, investment and focused effort to bring in cutting edge thought leadership. These have been designed to enable the brands to deliver better for their clients.”
