WPP and InMobi enter strategic partnership to help marketers take on mobile-first world

CVL Srinivas, WPP India Country Manager; Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO, InMobi Group; and Abhay Singhal, Co-founder, InMobi Group; talk about the association that will “shape the market”

e4m by Srabana Lahiri
Published: Sep 11, 2019 11:03 AM  | 5 min read
WPPImmobi

Media and advertising giant WPP and India’s first unicorn, mobile marketing and advertising specialist InMobi Group, have announced a long-term strategic partnership that will leverage the expertise of InMobi and WPP agencies, including GroupM and Kantar, to help marketers fast-track solutions in a mobile-first world.

Though GroupM and InMobi have been working very closely together for almost 8-9 years, not only in India but also other markets, the partnership conversation apparently started at WPP Stream in Jaipur in February this year.

Speaking to exchange4media, CVL Srinivas, WPP Country Manager for India, said, "This partnership with InMobi is going to help us fast-track the process of providing cutting edge, holistic solutions to our clients. In one shot, it helps integrate the various offerings we have seamlessly, so we all operate in a more connected kind of world. The second thing this partnership does for us is, co-creation. We are actually going to create a lot of solutions jointly for clients. It could be products in data, research, measurement, content, media - any of those areas. Thirdly, it helps drive accountability in the market. Spends on digital have been growing over the years. Today, about 16%-17% of the total AdEx is just mobile spends. We’ll see that number going up drastically in the next few years. By coming together, we will help create the right structure in the market, and help shape the market so to speak when the floodgates really open up. I am very excited with the partnership because I see a huge rub off on to the larger WPP ecosystem in terms of partnering with a company that’s ‘mobile first’ in a market that’s ‘mobile first’ -  actually a world class mobile marketing company built out of India. When two partners complement each other, on the one hand, and there is a meeting of minds in terms of some of the larger goals, I think it’s a great win-win.”

“Shaping the market - that’s where the partnership construct actually even begins,” stated Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO of InMobi Group.

“We have always understood each other’s capabilities. By coming together, we are essentially saying that there is a potential to shape the market, as it goes from 16% digital media spends up to 50%. Almost 90% of media consumption is happening on mobile anyway. It requires a very different level of solutions, infrastructure and capabilities to be provided to the market. Today, we have a completely fragmented technology stack, and a completely fragmented data stack. The CMO of today is also the chief data officer. How do you solve this problem? Unless and until we create a very credible, efficient and frictionless world together, the movement of media spends from 16% to 50% over the next five years is not going to happen. India is poised for that change that has to happen. This partnership is in anticipation of accelerating that growth. It is a game-changing partnership for us as a company as well as for the advertising and marketing ecosystem. We are very excited about it, as the potential is massive.”

Abhay Singhal, Co-founder of InMobi Group and CEO of InMobi Marketing Cloud, said one of the things they are jointly going to work on is creation of new standards of measurement, and new currency that advertisers can trust from the advertising perspective.

“Fundamentally, what both WPP and InMobi grapple with is how do we increase the confidence of CMOs on any advertising medium, because in the absence of that confidence, they end up going back to what they are comfortable with, but their consumers are no longer on those services. CMOs are very confused at this point in time. So, if as two entities we are able to earn their confidence by putting standards, combined products, our common experiences together, that will probably be our biggest investment,” Singhal said.

He also cited the digital vernacular capability of InMobi’s Glance platform as a significant strength of the partnership as CMOs need to understand vernacular at its core ability if they have to reach India at the mass level.

An operating team is already in place, comprising senior people from GroupM and Kantar and all three InMobi Group companies, working to stitch the partnership together. While the teams could be sitting together too in some time, there is no talk as yet of appointing a leader to oversee joint operations.

According to a joint statement issued by the companies, WPP will provide in-depth expertise and a creative approach through four pillars - content, media, data and research. WPP’s GroupM will provide data-driven marketing and media planning with end-to-end audience insights integration and an engagement approach for in-app mobile content marketing. This partnership will also see Kantar’s research insights, including recommendations that combine delivery, engagement and impact measures through media. The collaboration between WPP and InMobi will enable brands to create personalised consumer experiences at scale, and empower marketers to translate up-to-the-moment insights into timely marketing action

The InMobi Group – comprising InMobi Marketing Cloud, TruFactor - a secure data platform for businesses, and Glance – an AI-powered ‘screen zero’ content platform - will provide mobile-first expertise across marketing software and media, data and consumer platforms. As a result of this partnership, brands can gain insights on and access to 200+ million mobile users in India through the InMobi Marketing Cloud, that includes mobile research platform Pulse and InMobi DSP, an in-app programmatic buying platform. Incidentally, Glance, which has 36 million daily active users, has just raised $45 million from Mithril Capital – the investment firm founded by legendary investor Peter Thiel and Ajay Royan.

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Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar to be part of enba jury panel

Bhandarkar is a renowned Indian director known for his socially conscious and female-centric movies

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 17, 2023 8:09 AM   |   2 min read

madhur bhandarkar

Madhur Bhandarkar, Indian film director, script writer and producer, has joined the exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (enba) jury panel. In 2016, Bhandarkar was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, by the Government of India.

Bhandarkar is a famous name in the film industry. His drama film Chandni Bar (2001) won him the National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues. He was also honoured with the National Film Awards for the Best Feature Film and Best Director for Page 3 (2005) and Traffic Signal (2007) respectively. Also, the drama film Fashion (2008) garnered him several accolades including National Film Award, Filmfare Awards nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

He was conferred PL Deshpande Award (Zenith Asia Award) for significantly shaping the film making culture in his unique works. He is known as the 'the Film Maker of the First Decade of the 21st Century'. In November 2010, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) announced to preserve all the films of Madhur Bhandarkar. With this, Chandni Bar, Page-3, Corporate, Traffic Signal, Fashion and Jail found space in Government's Archival data for Indian films.

The exchange4media Group formulated enba in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and to reward industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India. This year, enba is in its 15th edition. The grand jury this time will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat and former Election Commissioner of India.

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Amul MD Jayen Mehta joins enba jury panel

Mehta joined Amul in 1991 and has held several top positions in the company

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 17, 2023 8:04 AM   |   1 min read

jayenmehta

Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of Amul, has joined the enba jury panel.

Earlier COO, he succeeded RS Sodhi as Managing Director in January.

Mehta joined Amul in 1991 and has served as the brand manager, group product manager and general manager of the company. He has also been the MD in-charge of Amul Dairy, Anand in 2018.

Mehta is a gold medalist from Sardar Patel University and is an alumnus of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat.

The enba jury this year will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat, and former Election Commissioner of India.

In the last editions, the enba jury was led by Sh. Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr. Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N. Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.

exchange4media formulated enba in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and to reward industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India.

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Manja wins integrated digital creative mandate for Taco Bell

The account was earlier with BBH India

By Tanzila Shaikh | Mar 16, 2023 4:33 PM   |   1 min read

Manja
Sources have confirmed to exchange4media that Manja has won the integrated digital creative mandate for Taco Bell, the world’s largest Mexican-Inspired quick-service restaurant chain. The creative agency was launched by BBH's Arvind Krishnan and Leo Burnett's Prajota Guha Thakurta in July 2022.
The account was previously with BBH India, which was awarded the mandate in 2019. Manja will be the agency on record from now on.

Taco Bell, which has been leveraging influencer marketing, collaborated with youth icon and gaming enthusiast Rannvijay Singha in 2021 for the #CravingMeetsGaming experience through a virtual Game Session in the racing game Forza Horizon 4. In the same year, they also did #ISeeATaco campaign as well. 

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Former Rajya Sabha MP Syed Zafar Islam joins enba jury

He is the national spokesperson for the BJP and a former member of the upper house of parliament from the Uttar Pradesh constituency

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 16, 2023 8:40 AM   |   1 min read

enba

Syed Zafar Islam former Rajya Sabha MP, and politician with the Bharatiya Janata Party has joined the enba Jury Panel.

He is the national spokesperson for the BJP and a former member of the upper house of parliament from the Uttar Pradesh constituency. He has previously been an investment banker and managing director at Deutsche Bank.

He was appointed as the non-official independent director of Air India 2017. Zafar Islam frequently writes opinion pieces on economic and political affairs in national publications like the Hindustan Times.

The enba jury this year will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat, and former Election Commissioner of India.

In the last editions, the ENBA jury was led by Sh. Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr. Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N. Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.

exchange4media formulated enba in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and to reward industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India.

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Oscars 2023: RRR, The Elephant Whisperers win big for India

'Naatu Naatu' clinched a win for 'Original Song', and 'The Elephant Whisperers' bagged the golden statuette for 'Best Documentary Short Film' at the 95th Academy Awards

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 13, 2023 9:00 AM   |   1 min read

elephant whisperers

India has bagged its first Oscars for 2023 for the Netflix documentary movie ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ at the 95th Academy Awards for 'Best Documentary Short Film'. Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga the director-producer team behind the film have dedicated the win to India. SS Rajamouli's period action blockbuster 'RRR' also clinched a win for Original Song "Naatu Naatu."

The 40-minute documentary is centred on the bond between animals and humans and tells the story of a Tamil couple named Bomman and Belli who bring up an orphaned elephant named Raghu. The film reflects upon the struggles of the couple who fight against all odds to raise the elephant into a healthy juvenile. The film is set in the Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu.

The Telugu hit song was competing with "Applause" from "Tell It Like a Woman", "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun: Maverick", "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and "This is a Life" from "Everything Everywhere all at Once."

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Rohit Jawa: Meet the new CEO of HUL

Jawa is presently the Chief of Transformation for Unilever in London

By Ruhail Amin | Mar 10, 2023 5:11 PM   |   2 min read

rohit jawa

Rohit Jawa is all set to join as the CEO designate and whole-time director for HUL from April 1, 2023, and will also take over as the president of Unilever South Asia. He will join the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) on April 1, 2023.


Who is Rohit Jawa?

Rohit Jawa is presently the Chief of Transformation for Unilever in London since January 2022. Jawa started as a management trainee in 1988 and has worked in the company across India, South East Asia and North Asia.

He started his career with HUL as a management trainee in 1988 and has a proven track record of sustained business results across - India, South East Asia, and North Asia. As EVP for North Asia & Chairman for Unilever China, he led a significant transformation of Unilever China into a competitive, profitable, and consistent business, now Unilever’s 3rd biggest globally.

He was also the Chairman of Unilever Philippines where he led the business to become one of the top 10 markets for Unilever globally.

In a statement, HUL said, "Rohit’s ability to integrate the strength of traditional markets with digital technologies and future-fit business models, positions him well to take HUL into its next growth phase."

Having done a Bachelor of Science from St. Stephens College, Delhi and an MBA from Faculty of Management Study (1986-88), Jawa recently got an Executive Education Certificate in Advanced Management Program, Business Administration and Management, General from Harvard Business School.

In 1988, Jawa started his career with HUL as a management trainee and has a proven track record of sustained business results across - India, South-East Asia, and North Asia. In June 1988, he became General Manager for the Western Region in-charge of the sales and operations.

After staying in the role for nearly 16 years, he became Vice President for Unilever Vietnam from May 2004 to Oct 2006. He was Head of the Home Care business and Marketing function for Unilever Vietnam.

Jawa, throughout his marketing career, has contributed to the industry in the Asian region, including serving as an expert speaker and judge in several regional advertising and marketing forums. Internationalist Magazine recognised him as one of 'The Asia 50' marketers in 2013. He was also awarded the 'CEO Excel' Award for 2015 by the Philippines chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators for leadership in business communication.

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Rezolve secures $250 million in capital commitment from Yorkville Advisors

The proceeds will go into working capital and corporate purposes

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 2, 2023 10:00 AM   |   1 min read

rezolve

Mobile commerce and engagement platform Rezolve has secured $250 million in capital commitment from private alternative investment group Yorkville Advisors in the form of a share subscription facility.

Under the terms, Yorkville will invest $250 million in equity capital for a 36-month term following a public listing of Rezolve’s common stock. While Rezolve will not be obligated to draw the full $250 million, it can do so in part or in whole at its own discretion.

The timing and amount of all the drawdowns will be controlled by Rezolve, which will issue stock to Yorkville on each drawdown. The proceeds will go into working capital and corporate purposes.

“The Yorkville facility will provide significant access to capital upon the closing of our planned merger with Armada,” commented Dan Wagner, Founder and Chairman of Rezolve.

“Rezolve is an exciting and fast-growing business with a global appeal. They have developed impressive technology that can make a real and sustainable impact in the markets they serve,” commented BJ Arnold, Managing Director Yorkville Advisors.

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