Adfactors is top PR firm; SPAG Asia, Viacom18 Corp Comm among winners at IPRCCA 2015
Sunil Gautam honoured with Lifetime Achievement award, while Khurshid Ahmad of Advantage Services is adjudged PR Professional of the Year; Young PR Professionals of the Year are Shweta Chawla of Viacom18 Media and Henna Punjabi of Genesis Burson-Marsteller

Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd. walked away with the coveted title of PR Consultancy of the Year at the exchange4media Group’s India PR and Corporate Communication Awards (IPRCCA) 2015 held in Gurgaon today, while veteran PR professional Sunil Gautam, Founder, Pitchfork Partners (Founder and Chairman Emeritus, MSL Group India) was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Specialist Consultancy of the Year award went to SPAG Asia, a PR, Government Relations and Social Media consultancy.
Khurshid Ahmad, CEO of Advantage Services, was adjudged PR Professional of the Year, while Shweta Chawla, Executive- Communications (Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd) and Henna Punjabi, Senior Campaign Manager (Genesis Burson-Marsteller) were recognized as the Young PR Professionals of the Year. The In-House Team of the Year award was won by the Viacom18 Corporate Communications Team.
Among the gold winners (campaigns in brackets) were: Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd (GAIL (India) Limited - GAIL Pipeline Blast), Advantage Services (Cancer Awareness Society/CTFK - Fight Against Tobacco Consumption in Bihar), Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (LIVE Viacom18 - Vh1 Supersonic- From Likes to Love), Madison Public Relations (Procter & Gamble (P&G) - Whisper Touch The Pickle), Genesis Burson-Marsteller (L'Oreal Paris India - L'Oreal Paris at Cannes Film Festival), Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Viacom18 Motion Pictures - Breaking the Mountain of Mindsets!), Marico Ltd. (Saffolalife - #protectherheart), Mirum India (Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. - Fundtastic Cup), Genesis Burson-Marsteller (SAP India - Making the Shift), Madison Public Relations (PUMA goes 'Forever Faster' with Usain Bolt in India), Adfactors PR Pvt Ltd (Department of Tourism, Government of Goa - Marrying Goa to Wedding Tourism), Linopinion GH (GoLinopinion) (Lifebuoy - Help A Child Reach 5), Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Evolving with Viacom18) and Godrej Corporate Communications Team (Reimagining PR).
Here is a full list of winners at the IPRCCA 2015:
CAMPAIGN | ||
101.Issues Management or Crisis Management | Metals | |
Paras Hospitals - Breastfeeding and Work | Teamwork Communication Solutions Pvt. Ltd. | Bronze |
Encompass for WBIDC - Bengal Global Business Summit 2015 | Perfect Relations Pvt Ltd | Silver |
GAIL (India) Limited - GAIL Pipeline Blast | Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd | Gold |
102. Public Affairs | ||
Global Intellectual Property Center - Unleashing India's unlimited potential through IP & Innovation | SPAG Asia | Bronze |
Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease - Sankalp | SPAG Asia | Silver |
CANCER AWARENESS SOCIETY/CTFK - FIGHT AGAINST TOBACCO CONSUMPTION IN BIHAR | Advantage Services | Gold |
103. Most innovative use of Social Media | ||
Aditya Birla Group - How social powered a solar impulse | Tonic media | Bronze |
IIFL - Bol India Bol | Social Wavelength | Silver |
LIVE Viacom18 - Vh1 Supersonic- From Likes to Love | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Gold |
104. Integrated Campaign | ||
Viacom18 Motion Pictures - Margarita - shaken not just stirred! | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Bronze |
Viacom18 Motion Pictures - Breaking the Mountain of Mindsets! | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Silver |
Procter & Gamble (P&G) - Whisper Touch The Pickle | Madison Public Relations | Gold |
105. Continuous Campaign | ||
Continuous Campaign of Telenor India | Text 100 | Bronze |
Slum Free Mumbai | Omkar Realtors and Developers | Silver |
L'Oreal Paris India - L'Oreal Paris at Cannes Film Festival | Genesis Burson-Marsteller | Gold |
PRODUCT & PROMOTION | ||
201. Entertainment, education, sports and lifestyle sector | ||
Pernod Ricard India - Blenders Pride Fashion Tour evolves from 'FASHION to STYLE' 10th edition | Avian Media | Bronze |
Viacom18 Motion Pictures - Margarita - Shaken not just stirred! | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Silver |
Viacom18 Motion Pictures - Breaking the Mountain of Mindsets! | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Gold |
202. Healthcare \ Healthcare Providers | ||
Abbott India - Launch of Abbott Freestyle Libre Pro | MSLGROUP India | Bronze |
RB / Dettol- Banega Swachh India | Integral PR | Silver |
Saffolalife - #protectherheart | Marico Ltd. | Gold |
GeneOmbio Technologies - GeneSupport | Ideosphere Consulting | Special Mention by Jury |
203. Financial Services Sector | ||
BSE Limited - From mind-share to market-share | Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd | Bronze |
Indusind Bank - High-street banking initiatives unlock Indusind Bank's brand value | Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd | Silver |
Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. - Fundtastic Cup | Mirum India | Gold |
204. Technology | ||
GrowthEnabler - A start-up to help other start-ups | Integral PR | Bronze |
FireEye - Reframing Cyber Security as a National Issue | Publicis Consultants-Asia | Silver |
SAP India - Making the Shift | Genesis Burson-Marsteller | Gold |
205. Best use of PR by a Brand | ||
Viacom18 Motion Pictures - Breaking the Mountain of Mindsets! | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Bronze |
PUMA goes 'Forever Faster' with Usain Bolt in India | Madison Public Relations | Silver |
Procter & Gamble (P&G) - Whisper Touch The Pickle | Madison Public Relations | Gold |
206. Best Celebrity PR or PR used for individual image perception | ||
Asian Paints/Royale Play International Designer Collection - 'OLD LOVE' | Madison Public Relations | Bronze |
Nickelodeon - Motu Patlu: India's new superstars | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Silver |
PUMA goes 'Forever Faster' with Usain Bolt in India | Madison Public Relation | Gold |
CORPORATE & PUBLIC | ||
301. Public Sector | ||
Department of Tourism, Government of Goa - Marrying Goa to Wedding Tourism | Adfactors PR Pvt Ltd | Gold |
302. CSR & Not-for-profit | ||
Telenor India - Project Sampark for category CSR | Text 100 | Bronze |
Genesis Foundation - Music for a Cause | Genesis Burson-Marsteller | Silver |
Lifebuoy - Help A Child Reach 5 | Linopinion GH (GOLINOPINION) | Gold |
303. Internal Communications | ||
SAMVAD | Dainik Bhaskar Group | Bronze |
3M India Pvt. Ltd. - 'We will.' Campaign | Aim High Consulting | Silver |
EVOLVING WITH VIACOM18 | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | Gold |
304. Best use of PR by a corporate | ||
GE India - Making GE in India synonymous with 'Make in India' | Genesis Burson-Marsteller | Bronze |
ICICI Bank - Where 'I' stands for Inclusion | Adfactors PR Pvt Ltd | Silver |
Reimagining PR | Godrej Corporate Communications Team | Gold |
PEOPLE & CONSULTANCIES | ||
Specialist Consultancy of the Year | ||
SPAG Asia | ||
Young PR Professional of the Year | ||
Shweta Chawla - Executive- Communications | Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd | |
Henna Punjabi - Senior Campaign Manager | Genesis Burson-Marsteller | |
In-House Team of the Year | ||
Viacom18 Corporate Communications Team | ||
PR Professional of the Year | ||
Khurshid Ahmad, CEO | Advantage Services | |
PR Consultancy of the Year | ||
Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd. | ||
Life Time Achievement | ||
SUNIL GAUTAM Founder, Pitchfork Partners (Founder and Chairman Emeritus, MSL Group India) |
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Influencer Marketing has become central to the overall marketing strategy
ClanConnect.ai is an AI-enabled platform that allows brands to scale their influencer marketing efforts
By exchange4media Staff | Oct 16, 2020 1:21 AM | 3 min read
ClanConnect.ai, a self-serve influencer marketing startup for brands.The AI-driven influencer marketing platform is founded by Kunal Kishore Sinha, Co-Founder of Value 360 Communications), Sagar Pushp, Former Head of Digital Media at Cheil India), and notable filmmaker Anshai Lal.
ClanConnect.ai aims to provide an AI-driven Influencer Marketing platform that helps brands in making their influencer marketing campaigns more data and result oriented. We spoke to the founders about the new venture and more:
Excerpts:
What was the thought behind this entrepreneurial venture?
Working along with various brands for more than a decade now, we realized that this industry needed a certain amount of technology push. We also thought why influencers have not been able to organize themselves on to a platform where brands can actually benefit from the influencer marketing space.
So, we started working on this idea and came up with something which can actually change the entire dynamics of influencer marketing.
ClanConnect.ai aims to provide an AI-driven Influencer Marketing platform that helps brands in making their influencer marketing campaigns more data and result oriented.
Tell us about the tech highlights of ClanConnect?
ClanConnect.ai is an AI-enabled platform that allows brands to scale their influencer marketing efforts by bringing discovery, management, and performance analytics all in one system.
Through targeted searches and customizable analytics, marketers are able to identify and partner with more relevant influencers. ClanConnect.ai offers 30 different parameters to quantify the suitability and reach of each influencer. ClanConnect.ai has introduced a structured process of selecting influencers for brands. It simplifies the interaction between all stakeholders through instant analytics, progress reports, campaign ROIs, and so forth to help everyone derive the necessary learnings.
The platform further empowers smaller influencers to engage with larger brands, thereby democratizing the process for everyone. Setting the competitive aspects aside, ClanConnect.ai - the influencer marketplace- seeks to collaborate with all stakeholders, including individual influencers, talent hubs, agencies, and brands by bringing them onto a single platform.
How important has influencer marketing become for brands and for consumers?
Influencer marketing is driving the entire People to People marketing strategy for the brands. The reason it has become central to the overall marketing strategy.
Influencers are creating very meaningful conversations with their follower base which is helping brands create a relationship with the consumers at large. This relationship of trust can be effectively monetized.
Celebrities have been making news for all the wrong reasons right now. How is it going to reshape the entire influencer marketing paradigm?
Cricketers and Bollywood celebrities have always been part of the traditional advertising. Brands try to leverage the power of their reach. But, there are many brands that have ended their partnership with some of the celebrities who were in question for wrong reasons. There is a great opportunity for influencers beyond celebrities right now.
Also, influencer marketing is increasing accessibility for smaller businesses. So, this industry will help the smaller ones to mobilize their businesses. Many small influencers and KOL (Key Opinion Leaders) with a greater reach can make a livelihood out of this. Micro/nano influencers will become essentially important in the times to come. So, this will become an industry of its own, we are at a very nascent stage.
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Hotstar appoints Gopika Gulati as Communications & PR Lead
In a career spanning almost a decade, Gulati has been associated with companies like Alibaba, MSL and Weber Shandwick in the past
By exchange4media Staff | Dec 9, 2019 9:05 AM | 1 min read
Hotstar appoints former UNESCO Communications Consultant Gopika Gulati as Communications and PR Lead.
Gulati will be leading PR and communications for Hotstar’s AVOD (Advertising based Video on Demand) division which includes flagship properties like IPL, corporate and tech PR. In a career spanning almost a decade, Gulati has been associated with companies like Alibaba, MSL and Weber Shandwick in the past.
Gulati holds an MBA in Communication Management from Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Pune and a Bachelors in History from Jesus & Mary College, Delhi.
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Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages appoints Mukund Trivedy as Head of Communications
Prior to this role, Trivedy worked with SRF Ltd. as Head of Corporate Communications for almost a decade
By exchange4media Staff | Jul 16, 2019 8:38 AM | 1 min read
Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages has appointed Mukund Trivedy as Head of Communications and media relations. Prior to this role, he was associated with SRF Ltd. as Head of Corporate Communications where he served almost a decade long stint.
Trivedy was also associated with SAIL for over 13 years where he was working as Sr. Manager Corporate Communications. He is also the founder of communications start-up-- Straight Drive.
Trivedy is the alumni of the prestigious Management Development Institute and has an MBA in Marketing.
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Amazon appoints Suruchi Jajoo as Manager, Public Relations
Prior to this role Jajoo was working as Director of Strategic Initiatives, Gutenberg LLC.
By Ruhail Amin | May 22, 2019 9:43 AM | 1 min read
Suruchi Jajoo, former Director of Strategic Initiatives, Gutenberg LLC has joined Amazon as Manager, Public Relations.
Prior to joining Gutenberg, Jajoo was associated with Urban Ladder for over 4 years. She joined Urban Ladder in 2013 and her last role was as Head of Strategy Communications. She has also served stints at Myntra and Telenor India.
Jajoo holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree from Bangalore University.
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L&T appoints Yuvraj Mehta as Head of Brand Management & Communications
Mehta moved on from GMR after serving a four year stint with the group.
By Ruhail Amin | Feb 8, 2019 8:12 AM | 1 min read
Yuvraj Mehta, former Group Head, GMR Communications has joined L&T as Head of Brand Management & Communications. Mehta moved on from GMR after serving a four-year stint with the group.
Prior to GMR, he was working as Group Head & VP, Corporate Communications at Reliance Infrastructure Ltd where he served a long stint of over seven years.
Mehta has also been associated with Samsung Telecommunications Ltd as Head of Corporate Communications from 2006-08. He holds an MBA from KIIT School of Management and BSc from Calcutta University.
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Surabhi Patodia of Ola joins Practo as Head of Communications
Patodia served over three years at Ola as Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR
By Ruhail Amin | Feb 8, 2019 8:20 AM | 1 min read
Surabhi Patodia, former Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR at Ola has joined healthcare platform Practo as Head of Communications.
Patodia started her career in Communications with Adfactors PR, where she helped companies going to IPO with their communication plans. She then went on to be a part of Text100, India's premier Technology PR agency, where she worked with brands like Lenovo, Tata Power Solar, to name a few. She joined Ola in 2016, and was instrumental in building a strong narrative for the brand, across India and International markets.
Patodia holds PG Diploma in Public Relations & Corporate Communications from the Xavier’s Institute of Mass Communications, Mumbai and Bachelors in Business Administration from BIT, Mesra.
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IndiGo appoints Chhavi Leekha as Director, Corporate Communications & Brand Reputation
Prior to this role, Leekha worked with Nokia India as Head of Marketing and Communications
By Ruhail Amin | Jan 29, 2019 8:08 AM | 1 min read
IndiGo airlines, part of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, has appointed Chhavi Leekha as Director Corporate Communications and Brand Reputation. Prior to this role, she worked with Nokia India as Head of Marketing and Communications. Her role included setting the direction and leading Nokia's marketing strategy, demand generations, brand strategy, event management, advertising, external/internal communications, corporate affairs &CSR.
Leekha has also worked with Uber India as Consulting Director of Communications and also served a stint at Spice Global as Group President, Brand and Corporate Communications.
Leekha has completed her MBA from the prestigious Narsee Monjee Institue of Management Studies and BA from Shri Ram College of Commerce.
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