Saatchi & Saatchi names Vidhya Sankarnarayanan as Strategy Head, Mumbai

Saatchi & Saatchi India today announced the appointment of Vidhya Sankarnarayanan as Strategy Head, Mumbai. As part of her responsibilities, Vidhya will work closely with Sourabh Mishra, Chief Strategy Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi and play a key role in driving brand solutions and creating brand opportunities through multichannel experiences.

 

Speaking about his new team member, Sourabh Mishra, Chief Strategy Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, said, "Vidhya is one of the best account planners in the business today, is passionate about great ideas that can positively impact our clients' business and brings a very strong digital perspective. This combination of skills and attitude epitomises the way forward for Saatchi & Saatchi India".

 

Speaking on the development Nisha Singhania, GM, Saatchi & Saatchi - Mumbai said, "We are in the middle of a huge makeover at Saatchi India. We are about transformational ideas which are media agnostic. Vidhya's consolidated experience of unearthing human truths along with her recent digital experience are just what we need at Saatchi because we believe we are in the Age of Now - which is all about Participation, Inspiring, Interaction, Return on Involvement and creating Movements. Vidhya is going to be one of the critical change agents for the new Saatchi."

 

Vidhya has worked on a number of industries that sit on the cusp of studying, feeding off and creating popular culture. In her previous avatars she has been a radio jockey, ethnographic scout, brand consultant, communication strategist and new media evangelist. Her passion for the branding business comes from an innate curiosity about people and the immense impact media and brands have on their lives. She has had the privilege of spending over a decade indulging this passion while partnering marketers, NGOs, technologists, entrepreneurs, and professionals from the creative arts.

 

Vidhya's experience as a strategist has been shaped by the varied and eclectic mix of categories and businesses she has worked on over the last 12 years. These include FMCGs, finance, retail, food & beverages, clothing & accessories, health & hygiene, beauty, B2C services, pharmaceuticals, travel, alcohol, technology and gaming. Her last assignment was as head of strategy for SapientNitro India, where she was integral to establishing the global start up tech-agency's business in the country over the last two and a half years. Some of the key brands she helmed India digital strategy for during this time include Sprite, Fanta, Blenders Pride Fashion Tour, Chivas Regal and Taco Bell. She also pitched for and went on to partner some of the agency's key regional businesses, including Unilever's Lifebuoy and Paddle Pop brands. 

 

From launching Ragnarok Online (India's first MMORPG) in 2005, to winning Sprite an EFFIE for best use of social media in 2011, and helping Taco Bell India achieve record sales in India earlier this year using just Twitter, Vidhya is among the new breed of strategists in India who are at the forefront of building brands in the new media space.

Fascinated by the way technology and new media are transforming the way people and brands think and behave today, she firmly believes that there are no experts in this space, only enthusiasts who are unafraid to experiment and who thrive on constant change.

 

About her new assignment, Vidhya Sankarnarayanan, VP – Integrated Brand Strategy, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mumbai, said, “I join Saatchi with a mandate to drive brand solutions and create brand opportunities through multichannel experiences that hinge on social, cultural and human truths. Given Saatchi's rich creative heritage and current focus on India, it is at the same time the most challenging and most exciting assignment I have had till date."

 

"This is a time when people, companies and brands in India are being revolutionised by technology and new media. The greatest imperative for Saatchi as a brand as well as for the brands we will shape in the future, is the opportunity to be agents of this revolution, as we will inevitably be products of it", she added.