Publicis Groupe integrates with BBH To Create Joint Leadership For India

Publicis Groupe has joined hands with BBH and has formed a new entity BBH-PWW India. The merger between the two has been strategic on the part of Groupe as it aims to reinforce the Groupe’s creative credentials. The newly formed entity will come under the same umbrella of leadership, while the brands will carry out their operations separately. The organization will be headed by Subhash Kamath as CEO and Russell Barrett as CEO & Chief Creative Officer, both of them will be responsible to ensure the agencies’ business growth and creative ambitions.

Anupriya Acharya, CEO Publicis Groupe South Asia, says, “BBH has an unmatched creative pedigree and strong brand equity both globally and in India. Bundled alongside PWW’s scale, reach, structural muscle, and longstanding credentials, it gives us an opportunity to establish a creative powerhouse. A powerhouse that will also have full access and backing of the Groupe’s Power of One across Media, PR, Data, Tech, Commerce, Experiential, Content and Production. And so it gives our clients access to both incredible creative firepower as well as more integrated services at scale.”

Kamath brings with himself a rich experience of 32 years, in which 20 years were spent as a senior leader. Before starting BBH, he was contributing his service as Group CEO at Bates 141 (a WPP company) and COO at Ambience Publicis, part of Publicis Groupe. His passion and expertise helped him in building strong partnerships with clients regarding their brand strategies he also worked towards motivating people and nurturing their talents. Kamath being an industry expert is now the current Vice Chairman of ASCI (The Advertising Standards Council of India).

Talking about Barrett he comes with 24 years of experience in which he became the winner of various awards that are related to a creative advertisement in India and several other awards from overseas which includes Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, Andys, Spikes, D&ADs and London Internationals. He was also associated with Rediffusion DY&R, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Bates 141, and has been at BBH for a period 10 years. In his position as the CCO, Russell took the lead in the agency’s agile production offering along with playing an instrumental part in its entry into the Entertainment, Content, and Social.

Srija Chatterjee will retain her position as an MD in PWW India and in the same manner, Arvind Krishnan will be heading BBH India as MD. Sanjay Sharma will handle the responsibilities of the account planning function in the new entity within BBH and PWW as MD & Chief Strategy Officer. Speaking further on the move, Acharya added, “Its a win-win situation for everyone. This is a leadership team with a proven track record and strong complementarity. I have no doubt our clients will soon see the benefits of the collective experience and capabilities.”

Says Subhash, “It’s a privilege to have been entrusted this senior leadership role by Publicis Groupe. As a team, we have spent 11 years together, building the BBH brand with a clear focus on strategy & creativity. I’m now looking forward to working closely with the Publicis Worldwide team as well on their exciting portfolio of brands and some great talent within the agency. Given the investments made by the group in so many future-facing capabilities, especially digital & content, I see a huge opportunity for both BBH and PWW in bringing them all together to create complete and modern solutions for our clients.”

Says Russell, “This is a giant opportunity to create really sharp, modern advertising solutions at scale and I’m extremely excited to be a part of this super talented team. Over the past 10 years at BBH, we’ve been able to build a strong, differentiated point of view through our work. While the Publicis Worldwide brand has an enviable roster of clients and specializations, along with some amazing talent so the impact we can have on the market for our clients can be tremendous.”