Author: Kashmeera Sambamurthy

Biz Moves: LodestarUM, BBDO India, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and Social Neeti

Mediabrands India’s agency Lodestar UM, who has been working with BMW India for the last five years has retained the integrated media mandate. The mandate spans the entire media spectrum across mainline, digital, out-of-home, events and special projects. The agency retained the account in a competitive pitch which was held from March to October.(Representative image via Unsplash)

Keep up with all the key business wins and account movements.

Virat Kohli: With a brand value worth Rs1500 crore, Kohli is one of India’s most bankable stars

Being the most followed cricketer after footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the cricketer leverages his presence on social media by charging Rs 8 crore per post

Virat Kohli, cricketer and investor, is the face of brands like Audi India, Manyavar, Myntra and Fire-Boltt. Kohli became the first cricketer to sign a Rs 100-crore deal with Puma.

FIFA World Cup 2022: Qatar bans beer sale in all 8 stadium venues

Bira91’s current portfolio includes craft, lager and strong beer with products such as Bira White, Gold and Boom, besides cider ale and seltzers. (Representative Image via Unsplash)

Alcohol is more available in Qatar than some Middle East states though it is served only in hotel restaurants and bars that have licences. It is illegal to consume it elsewhere.

Exclusive: Nilesh Gupta takes additional charge of branding and creative strategy at Meesho

Prior to joining Meesho in 2021, Gupta was with Kearney where he primarily worked on the Consumer & Retail practice including co-authoring a report with CII to help unlock the full potential of retail growth in India

Gupta has taken over the additional role from Meesho’s VP and brand head Lucky Saini who has recently quit the e-commerce firm.

Colvyn Harris to receive AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2022

With over four decades of experience, Harris career was built in one company – JWT (now called Wunderman Thompson), a WPP Group Company, across varied roles, across India and JWT Sri Lanka where he was MD

The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has been a practitioner of advertising for twenty-five years.

HCLSoftware signs sponsorship deal with Formula One racing team Scuderia Ferrari

The HCLSoftware logo will make its debut on Scuderia Ferrari’s F1-75 single-seater, driven by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at Formula One’s season finale at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The three-year long deal with Ferrari S.p.A. sees HCLSoftware become a strategic partner to the Scuderia Ferrari racing team, with a focus on supplying high-performance and precision technology.

Sandhya Devanathan takes over from Ajit Mohan as Meta’s head for India

Beyond benefiting Amazon, this partnership is expected to boost Snap's advertising business, which has faced challenges in recent years. Following the announcement of the deal, Snap's shares experienced a notable increase of over 9%. (Image source: CNBC-TV18)

Devanathan, who is leading the company’s gaming vertical for the APAC market, will transition to her new role on January 1, 2023 and will report to Dan Neary, VP, Meta APAC. She will also be a part of the APAC leadership team.

How do you talk about sex in a country where talking about sex is taboo? We ask Reckitt’s Dilen Gandhi

Gandhi, who has a background in P&L management, brand strategy, innovation, new business development, key account management and marketing communications, started his career at Gillette India as area sales manager.

In conversation with Dilen Gandhi, regional marketing director, South Asia- Health & Nutrition, Reckitt (maker of Durex).