Mindshare's India operations to play the role of network's Mobile Marketing Centre of Excellence!

Mindshare announced today its Indian operation will become the network's Mobile Marketing Centre of Excellence. Mindshare India will be responsible for driving mobile thought-leadership and establishing best practice with the rest of the network as well as developing and nurturing new talent. In addition, India will also act as a production hub for mobile content production needs, including mobile web sites, augmented reality and online advertising units such as Apple's iAd's. The Indian full-service offering will extend to everything from mobile strategy to ideas to actual development.

GroupM and Mindshare have had a dedicated mobile practice in India since 2006. Since that time, the agency's Mumbai operation has led the industry with many firsts to its credit and has emerged as a market leader with over 55% share and a preferred partner status with over 25 companies. The Centre of Excellence team will be led by Ashok Lalla, Leader, Digital Mindshare South Asia. He will be working with Vinod Thadani, Regional Director - GroupM South Asia.

Norm Johnston, Global Digital Leader said: "India is a fast evolving digital market with a strong history and future connected to mobile devices. Consequently, our Mumbai office has consistently been at the forefront of mobile marketing. We want to tap into this expertise and share it throughout our network. Our clients are increasingly looking for smart, cost-effective mobile marketing solutions given the exponential growth in smartphone and tablet penetration and the corresponding uptake in mobile Internet usage."

Alice Manners, GroupM Interaction COO, Asia-Pacific, added "The quality of service here in India is arguably the best we have globally. From both production and advertising point of view, business is at a tipping point. We are producing some exceptional work, including a groundbreaking augmented reality campaign for Nike that connected the real and virtual worlds."