Vinit Karnik, the Business Head of GroupM’s Entertainment & Sports practice (ESP) has been promoted to the role of Head – Sports, Esports and Entertainment, GroupM South Asia and Karthik Nagarajan, Chief Content Officer for Wavemaker India will oversee the additional responsibility at GroupM in the new role of Head of Branded Content, GroupM India. In the new roles, Karnik & Nagarajan will report to Prasanth Kumar, CEO of GroupM South Asia.
Referring to the GroupM’s legacy, Prasanth Kumar, CEO of GroupM South Asia said, “Disruption and evolution go hand in hand and it also brought in opportunities in the content, sports and entertainment space and it is consistently redefining the market place. Over the years, we have been building these spaces by shaping great solutions for our clients. While we will continue to build on advertising technologies that will add speed and scale, we are equally committed to enhance our creative process and enable larger solutions in the content space.”
Commenting on the promotions, Kumar further added, “We are fortunate to witness leadership grow within as they bring in experience, adaptivity and inventiveness for being fit for the future. These leadership appointments signify our commitment to the journey and I am confident in both Vinit and Karthik’s abilities and together we look forward to creating great solutions and opportunities for our clients as well as our partners.”
On taking up the new role, Karnik, Head – Sports, E-sports and Entertainment, GroupM South Asia said, “The new-age consumers have a better understanding of advertising and this can be seen by their ongoing interactions with brands and readiness for participation. The demand for higher personalization shows that. Data indicates that delivering high-quality personalized content is what sets successful brands apart from their competitors. Today a brand has various means to reach out to its audience be it via sports, social media, eSports, influencers etc. Hence by strengthening our offerings and by bringing together creative optimization and data, we want to ensure that the brands get to reach their consumers with content, which is highly personalized, effective and relevant for them.”
Talking about the new duties, Nagarajan, Head of Branded Content, GroupM India & Chief Content Officer for Wavemaker India, said, “Content is a cultural intervention for a brand and the need to be authentic has never been more critical. Hence the journey of an idea today is steeped in data-led audience truths as much as it is in creativity. From an era when brands rode the trend waves, we are well and truly in a phase where brands author their sub-cultures. This is what makes it an extraordinary time to be in this industry. I am looking forward to taking on this additional responsibility at GroupM, at a time when the lines between content and commerce are blurring.”
