DDB MUDRA GROUP
THE PEOPLE MADHUKAR KAMATH, GROUP CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR, DDB MUDRA GROUP THE STORY Founded in 1980 by AG Krishnamurthy, the Mudra Group had 15 employees to begin with, a 500 sq.ft office space in Ahmedabad, Rs 40,000 in its kitty and brand Vimal as its first client. Today, the DDB Mudra Group operates out of its offices in 15 leading cities and is represented in more than 22 other locations. It has more than 1,100 employees and a reach across 1,75,000 villages and 4,000 towns. On November 1, 2011, the Omnicom Group Inc., a leading global advertising and marketing communications services company, bought majority stake in the Mudra Group, which led to a complete group re-structuring and makeover. Post this development, the Mudra Group was rechristened as ‘DDB Mudra Group’. It is one of India’s largest integrated marketing communications and services networks. The holding company Omnicom Group Inc. manages a portfolio of global market leaders comprising three global advertising agency networks - BBDO, DDB and TBWA; numerous leading national advertising agencies; a global network of more than 175 marketing services companies; and a media group, the Omnicom Media Group, that includes two of the world’s premier providers of media planning and buying services. The DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc is a global community of talent, cultures and ideas united by the fundamental belief that creativity is the most powerful force in business. DDB Worldwide was founded in 1949 and opened its first international office in West Germany. Today, it has a digital agency Tribal DDB, direct marketing and CRM agency Rapp Worldwide, brand consultant Interbrand and retail specialist TracyLocke, that speak for themselves. THE NAME Mudra in Sanskrit refers to a body position or a physical gesture believed to have magical powers. The magical power of ‘Mudra’ is an everyday kind of power. The hand, which is a part of the Mudra logo, is a symbolic expression of the thought that hands that work together to create are hands that deliver. This is the core of Mudra’s ideology. DDB Worldwide gets its name from its founders – Ned Doyle, Mac Dane and Bill Bernbach, the ‘Father of Modern Advertising’. THE DIVISIONS Agencies: DDB Mudra Group comprises three agency networks – DDB Mudra, Mudra and DDB MudraMax THE PRACTICES The DDB Mudra Group’s scope of services run the gamut through Advertising, Media Planning & Buying, Digital & New Media, Data-driven Marketing, Health & Lifestyle, OOH, Retail Design and Visual Merchandising, Navigation Solutions, Experiential Marketing (Promotions, Events, Rural), Trade Marketing, Youth Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Localisation and Pre-Media Services, Content Creation, Strategy and Design Consultancy. THE CLIENTS The DDB Mudra Group’s clients include the Aditya Birla Group, Aircel, Arvind Stores, Akai, Ashok Leyland, Asian Paints, BPCL, Bank of Baroda, Baxter, Castrol, Cipla, Colgate, Dabur, Emirates, Emami, Federal Bank, Future Group, Gillette India, Godrej, Gulf Oil, HDFC Bank, HPCL, Hindustan Unilever, HP, IDBI Bank Group, ITC, Jaypee Group, Jyothy Laboratories - Henkel, ICICI Prudential Mutual Funds, Johnson & Johnson, LIC, Lavasa, L&T, McDonalds, MSD, Malayala Manorama, Mother Dairy, Nestle, Nirmal Lifestyle, Novartis, PepsiCo, Philips Healthcare, Policybazaar.com, Reebok, Rotomac, Sab Miller, Shell, Star India, Standard Chartered Bank, Symphony, Tata Communications, Tourism Australia, TTK Prestige, UNICEF, Union Bank of India, United Spirits, Videocon, Volkswagen, Western Union, Wockhardt, World Gold Council, Worldwide Media, Wipro, Wrigley, YOU Broadband and Zydus. THE BUZZ • In 2011, the DDB Mudra Group was India’s most awarded agency network at Cannes, Spikes and Abbys, among others.
SONAL DABRAL, CHAIRMAN & CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, DDB MUDRA GROUP
PRATAP BOSE, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, DDB MUDRA GROUP
DILIPKUMAR UPADHYAYA, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DDB MUDRA GROUP
RAJIV SABNIS, PRESIDENT, DDB MUDRA GROUP,MUMBAI
VANDANA DAS, PRESIDENT, DDB MUDRA GROUP, DELHI
RANJI CHERIAN, PRESIDENT, DDB MUDRA GROUP, SOUTH
MANDEEP MALHOTRA, PRESIDENT, DDB MUDRAMAX
SATHYAMURTHY NAMAKKAL, PRESIDENT, DDB MUDRAMAX MEDIA
SOUMITRA SEN, PRESIDENT, DDB HEALTH & LIFESTYLE
VENKAT MALLIK, PRESIDENT, RAPP AND TRIBAL DDB INDIA
S. RADHAKRISHNAN, PRESIDENT, GUTENBERG NETWORKS INDIA
ASHISH MISHRA, CHIEF STRATEGIST & HEAD, WATER INTERBRAND
ANEIL DEEPAK, HEAD OF IDEAS, CREATIVE & PLANNING, DDB MUDRAMAX
SUDARSHAN BANERJEE, DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, DDB MUDRA GROUP AND HEAD, MUDRA AHMEDABAD
ADITYA KANTH, SENIOR VP, PLANNING, DDB MUDRA, MUMBAI AND DELHI
AMIT KEKRE, SENIOR VP, PLANNING, DDB MUDRA, MUMBAI
Specialist agencies: Tribal DDB India, Rapp India, TracyLocke India, Gutenberg Networks India, Water Interbrand and DDB Health & Lifestyle
Strategic business units: Eleven strategic business units offer their expertise under four disciplines (Media, OOH, Retail and Experiential) – Media, Primesite, Streetsmart, Clearchannel Mudra, Prime Wayfinding, Kidstuff, Celsius, Terra, Videotec, 10 Integrated and Mudra Concrea
• At Cannes Lions 2012, the Group walked away with the No.1 spot again, amongst Indian agencies, with one Gold Lion, one Bronze Lion and 20 shortlists.
• It led the Indian tally at Adfest (Asia Pacific Advertising Festival) by bagging the maximum number of awards.At the Abbys, DDB Mudra Group stood at No.4 with a total of 33 awards including two Golds, 13 Silvers and 18 Bronzes.
• It also won a Gold and a Silver award at the International Advertising Association’s Olive Crown Awards. At the D&AD awards, the Group bagged the ‘In-Book’ award for its client Philips Electronics.
• Most recently, at the PMAA-Dragons of Asia, the Group won a total of 11 Dragons including one Gold, one Silver, two Bronzes and seven Orders of Merit, the maximum number of awards won by an Indian agency.
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