Latest news with #VML
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Suhana Khan inspires youth to fearlessly chase their dreams
Vivo, the innovative global smartphone brand, has introduced its campaign called the Dreamchasers. The campaign, launched in collaboration with Suhana Khan , reflects vivo's continued commitment to India's young consumers, inspiring them to pursue their ambitions confidently while staying true to their individuality. Rooted in the core philosophy of empowering self-expression, Dreamchasers speaks directly to the Gen Z mindset — a generation entering the real world with big dreams, limitless ambitions, and the determination to carve their own paths. Conceptualised by VML, Dreamchasers is an extension of vivo's long-term brand philosophy of enabling the youth to express who they are while chasing their goals, and that too is their own unique style. Geetaj Channana, head of corporate strategy at Vivo India , said, 'With Dreamchasers, vivo is deepening its connection with India's youth — a generation that believes in defining success on its own terms. Suhana Khan's journey resonates with this ethos, making her the perfect face for the campaign.' Babita Baruah, chief executive officer at VML India, said, 'The Dream Chasers campaign for the Vivo Y series is a celebration of this attitude. Featuring Suhana Khan, this campaign unravels the mindset of today's Dream Chasers.' The launch of Dreamchasers also sets the stage for vivo's upcoming product introduction, the Y400 Pro — the latest addition to its highly popular Y Series. Crafted for the youth, the Y Series carries vivo's distinctive proposition: 'As Unique As You'. The Y400 Pro continues this legacy, combining bold design, advanced AI-powered cameras, and seamless performance, tailored for the content-first, style-driven lifestyles of Gen Z users. Watch the video here:
Business Insider
09-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
5 WPP execs who insiders say could be top candidates to become the ad giant's next CEO
Who wants to fill Mark Read's shoes? The hunt is on for a new chief executive at WPP after Mark Read announced he intends to step down after seven years leading the advertising agency giant. Whoever takes over will inherit a company that's recently been usurped from pole position within the agency sector by Publicis Groupe. WPP has already undergone a series of restructures and repositionings that insiders and shareholders are hoping will convert into new business and turn around a period of decline. WPP and its competitors are also battling for relevance as their clients face downward pressures on their ad budgets and as new technologies like artificial intelligence threaten the traditional ad agency business model. Jay Wilson, a VP and analyst at research company Gartner's marketing practice, said the next WPP leader will need strong expertise in launching new products and experience guiding teams through periods of volatility. "In the current agency environment, what is needed is a leader with a strong track record in crisis management, financial expertise, and people leadership," Wilson said. WPP is assessing both internal and external candidates for the role. Business Insider asked six industry analysts and insiders to suggest the current WPP execs who could be considered for the top position. They are listed below, in alphabetical order by surname. The execs mentioned didn't respond to requests for comment or declined to comment. Devika Bulchandani, Ogilvy Global CEO While many of WPP's iconic agency names have been flattened out through mergers and restructures in recent years, Ogilvy, named after its founder David Ogilvy, still retains its name above the office door. Bulchandani joined Ogilvy in 2021 as the global president and CEO of its North American business from McCann, a creative agency owned by rival holding company IPG. She was promoted to the global CEO in 2022. Ogilvy has been a bright spot for WPP's creative businesses. Last year, Ogilvy was named the "most effective agency network in the world" by the World Advertising Research Center, for work like "Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad" from its Mumbai office for the confectionery brand Cadbury. It was also named "network of the year" at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Jon Cook, VML CEO Cook is a WPP veteran who is no stranger to a merger. Cook joined the digital ad specialist VML in 1996 and continued to lead the agency as it combined with famed ad firm Young & Rubicam to create VMLY&R. Another merger followed in 2024, when the digital agency Wunderman Thompson was folded into the group, which became known again as simply VML. He's now responsible for a head count of around 26,000 people across 55 markets, working for brands like Ford, Microsoft, and AstraZeneca. WPP last year said VML's expertise in shopper marketing was one of the key reasons it won Amazon's media account outside the US. Laurent Ezekiel, WPP chief marketing and growth officer Ezekiel spent 16 years at rival Publicis Groupe before joining WPP as its chief marketing and growth officer in 2019, leading its new business efforts. WPP hadn't had a CMO before Ezekiel's arrival. He's also been leading Open X, a unit created to serve WPP's $4 billion Coca-Cola account. This account spans the full gamut of marketing services, from media to creative and data. It's had mixed fortunes, after Coca-Cola shifted its North America media business to Publicis earlier this year, though a WPP insider told BI this represented just a single-digit percentage of the overall billings from the account. Coca-Cola renewed the remainder of the partnership with WPP in May. Johnny Hornby, CEO, WPP specialist communications agency division Hornby rose to advertising fame as one of the cofounders of the UK marketing agency CHI, named after its founders Simon Clemmow, Hornby, and Charles Inge, which created acclaimed campaigns for brands like Lexus, The Sunday Times, and Drench. In 2007, WPP acquired a 49.9% stake in CHI, which later rebranded to The & Partnership, with Hornby at the helm. Last year, WPP fully acquired T&P, and this year, Hornby was promoted to the holding company's executive committee and became CEO of WPP's specialist communications division. Hornby is well-connected beyond the ad industry. He was a guest at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, and he's a cofounder of Hawkstone, former "Top Gear" presenter Jeremy Clarkson's lager and cider brand. Brian Lesser, WPP Media CEO Lesser is a WPP boomerang who returned to the company in 2024. He leads WPP Media, the new name for its media investment division, previously known as GroupM. He previously did a 10-year stint at WPP, with highlights including his founding of its programmatic media buying arm Xaxis, and rising to become CEO of GroupM North America between 2015 and 2017. He joined AT&T to lead its $3 billion advertising and analytics division in 2017. He oversaw AT&T's $1.6 billion acquisition of the adtech company AppNexus and later launched the Xandr advertising brand, setting out a bold ambition to build a marketplace for TV and video advertising, bolstered by AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. The vision was never fully realized: AT&T ended up spinning out its WarnerMedia business unit, and Xandr was sold to Microsoft, which recently shut down much of the tech. Lesser's name is often in the mix when big advertising and media roles become available (he also once had his eye on becoming WarnerMedia CEO). Andrew Scott, WPP chief operating officer The WPP CEO succession speculation might feel a little like Groundhog Day for Scott, who took on the co-chief operator role alongside Read in 2018 when former CEO Martin Sorrell abruptly exited the company. Scott was also considered a contender for the CEO role that was ultimately awarded to Read. Scott has been integral to WPP's M&A activity for more than 20 years, and has helped close deals like its acquisition of the UK digital ad specialist Essence. He's also been a key leader of WPP's simplification strategy, helping to structure the VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson mergers.
Forbes
03-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Retailers Are Using AI And Emotion To Build Loyalty In 2025
Artificial Intelligence Customer loyalty isn't something retailers can take for granted in today's crowded marketplace. It's something they have to earn and re-earn through ongoing, meaningful engagement. And changing consumer behavior is only adding to the complexity. Shoppers today no longer think solely in terms of 'online' or 'in-store.' According to VML's Future Shopper 2024 report, 61% of shoppers globally want seamless communications across sales channels, with their journey documented and data following them the whole time – up five percent from just one year prior. They expect what is often called a 'phygital' experience: a seamless journey that spans digital and physical channels, where retailers can adjust to customer preferences, life events, and life stages in real time. To meet these rising expectations, retailers are reimagining loyalty as not a points system or occasional reward, but an ongoing relationship. A recent report from Braze, the 2025 Global Customer Engagement Review (CER), explores the ways leading brands are stepping up to meet the moment by rethinking how they engage and retain their audiences. According to the report, leading retailers break away from a one-size-fits-all approach by blending together AI-powered personalization, emotional resonance, and experimentation. These retailers are treating loyalty not as a fixed outcome, but as a continuous conversation – one that is shaped at every touch point, treating it both as an art and a science. AI is powering the next generation of retail engagement It's no secret that AI is now a key driving force behind the next generation of retail experiences. Retailers already use it to analyze sentiment, predict behavior, and personalize at scale, with leading brands being 39% more likely to use AI to adjust messages based on real-time interactions. As AI becomes more embedded in workflows, it's not just about automating tasks, but also unlocking new levels of impact. Braze Chief Product Officer, Kevin Wang, shared 'the real magic of AI is in helping marketers operate with greater efficiency and creativity. It allows teams to deliver personalized experiences in the moment faster and more seamlessly than ever before, while driving meaningful business results.' But with great power comes greater responsibility. As AI and data driven strategies advance, so does the need for transparent, consent driven data practices. According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, 58.5% of consumers are either extremely or very concerned about AI using their data, signaling a growing public unease that can't be brushed aside. In response, retailers are increasingly cautious about how customer data is used and shared. Prosper - How Concerned are You About Privacy Being Violated From AI Using Your Data More notably, Braze's 2025 Retail CER shows that internal data sharing now outweighs legal or regulatory worries among surveyed marketing executives, suggesting that today's retailers are motivated not just by compliance, but by a deeper commitment to doing right by their customers. The future of AI-powered retail engagement depends not only on smarter technology, but also on how thoughtfully it's applied, in addition to how well it sustains consumer trust. As marketers unlock new levels of capability, the next challenge is ensuring those interactions feel authentic, and emotionally resonant. Leaning on technology to drive emotional connection Beyond efficiency and seamless journeys, retailers that are doing this well today are leaning into technology to listen to their customers' digital body language, delivering messages that resonate in the moment and create emotional connections, not just transactions. Braze data found that brands that are emotionally connecting with their customers are the ones who are more likely to exceed their revenue goals. Moreover, top leaders show a strong willingness to course-correct when messaging misses the mark. According to Prosper Insights & Analytics, 73.3% of shoppers prefer to speak with a live person while making online purchases. This highlights that technology should enhance, not replace, the human element of engagement. Prosper - Prefer To Communicate With Live Person or AI Chat Program for Online Shopping Technology allows brands to reach customers one-on-one, but without great content, those connections fall flat. If the endgame is enduring relationships with customers, a focus on customer retention and the relative cost of customer acquisition makes perfect sense. But what does that mean in practice? It means using customer data more efficiently, leaning on technology to enhance, not replace human connection, and embracing a culture of experimentation to continuously improve. In fact, Braze data shows that 93% of retailers rely on technology to add emotional resonance to their messaging, whether through personalized channel preferences, milestone triggered messages, or community based campaigns. A strong example of this can be seen when looking at e.l.f. Cosmetics, a brand under e.l.f. Beauty. The company partnered with Braze and Stitch to revamp its digital engagement strategy and loyalty program. By expanding into channels like SMS and push notifications, the company saw a 125% increase in monthly mobile app usage (over six months) and stronger customer connections. This demonstrates how creative, cross-channel messaging can drive both emotional resonance and measurable results. Culture of experimentation separates leaders from the less agile Leading retailers share a common trait: they work collaboratively and prioritize frequent experimentation. There is no doubt that the most successful teams are agile, cross-functional, and committed to refining engagement strategies to uncover valuable customer insights. These efforts go beyond marketing alone. 'The most forward-thinking retailers treat experimentation as a team sport. When marketing, data, and engineering come together around a shared goal, that's when real innovation and customer understanding happens,' shared Wang. Top brands are bringing in analytics, engineering, and other teams to build a more robust and dynamic understanding of their customers. Still, there's room for growth. While many retailers have embraced experimentation, too few are breaking down internal barriers. This lack of shared ownership creates gaps that could be closed through stronger communication and alignment. Ultimately, retailers that foster a culture of testing and collaboration are far better positioned to meet changing customer expectations and lead with greater agility. Winning Loyalty is an Ongoing Conversation Loyalty isn't a one-and-done achievement; it's a continuous dialogue between brands and their customers. To win loyalty, retailers must listen closely and evolve with each interaction. AI and emotional resonance give retailers the tools to do this at scale, but it's the commitment to transparency, experimentation and human connection that sets leaders apart. The retailers who will thrive in 2025 and beyond will be those who lean into their customers' digital body language, and treat engagement as a relationship to be nurtured, not a transaction to be optimized.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
An AI-powered Coca-Cola ad campaign mistakenly invented a book by a famous author
A new ad campaign from appears to mistakenly attribute a non-existent J.G. Ballard work to the author. The section of text used in the ad is actually from a book of various interviews the author gave, published years after his death. This apparent error follows previous backlash over Coca-Cola's AI-generated Christmas ads. Coca-Cola's recent AI-powered advert appears to have got its facts mixed up. In an April campaign called 'Classic," the company aimed to highlight examples where its brand name appears in classic literature. The ad uses Stephen King's The Shining and V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas as examples. However, it also includes a book called Extreme Metaphors by J. G. Ballard, which does not exist. What the advertisement appears to reference is a book called Extreme Metaphors: Selected Interviews with J. G. Ballard 1967-2008, which is a book of interviews with J.G. Ballard that was published in 2012, three years after the author's death, and edited by Dan O'Hara and Simon Sellars. The ads show someone typing out passages from novels on a typewriter, but where Coca-Cola is mentioned, the company has replaced the typewriter font with its iconic red logo. In promotion images of the ad shared with media outlets, the company also shared mocked-up images of book pages that seem to show J. G. Ballard as the author of Extreme Metaphors. 'The sequence of words being typed out by the imagined J. G. Ballard in the ad was never written by him, only spoken, and the only person ever to type that exact sequence out in English is me,' O'Hara, the book's editor, told 404Media's Emanuel Maiberg, who first reported the error. 'What most outraged my eye was the word 'Shangai' being typed. Ballard would never have misspelled the name of the city in which he was born. Seeing the ad triggered an academic neurosis: Had I? I checked my copy of Extreme Metaphors and, thank god, no: It's printed as Shanghai in the original text," he added. VML, a marketing agency that worked with Coca-Cola to create the campaign, told 404Media that AI was used "in the initial research phase to identify books with brand mentions," but the company manually fact-checked and reached out to get permission from the various authors, publishers, and estates. O'Hara said he was concerned the ad would mislead viewers to believe his translation of Ballard's words could were actually the author's real-life prose. 'If you read the text in the ad, you're not reading his prose: You're reading mine, translating his recorded words from French,' O'Hara told 404. 'I've done my best to render his meaning, but that's all I've managed to do. My prose is a pretty poor substitute for the real thing, and I feel anyone seeing the ad and thinking there's nothing special about the writing is both right, and misled to think it's Ballard's own writing.' Representatives for Coca-Cola and VML didn't respond to a request for comment from Fortune by press time. This isn't the first time Coca-Cola has run into issues when using generative AI in its ads. Late last year, the company released a series of AI-generated Christmas ads that was met with criticism online. Some artists, filmmakers, and viewers blasted the ads as eerie, low-quality, and a cost-cutting move to replace creative labor. Many artists and creatives have protested the use of AI in the creative industries, arguing that it risks supplanting human talent and that AI models are trained on creators' work without offering proper credit or compensation in return. One of the ads, intended to pay homage to Coca-Cola's classic 1995 'Holidays Are Coming' campaign, and features AI-generated people and trucks, was slammed by social media users as 'soulless' and 'devoid of any actual creativity.' This story was originally featured on
Tahya Masr
12-05-2025
- Business
- Tahya Masr
ALEXBANK, In Collaboration with VML Egypt, Wins Three Awards at the 2025 Dubai Lynx Festival for Its 'Save Your Money at ALEXBANK' Campaign
ALEXBANK has proudly announced its win of three prestigious awards at the 2025 Dubai Lynx Festival, the region's leading creative platform, for its Financial Inclusion Campaign 'Save Your Money at ALEXBANK.' The campaign was developed in collaboration with VML Egypt, a creative marketing agency and ALEXBANK's strategic partner. ALEXBANK is part of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, within the International Banks Division led by Paola Papanicolaou. ALEXBANK has been recognized at the 2025 Dubai Lynx Awards, landing 2 awards—a Silver and a Bronze—in the Consumer Services category, and a bronze for the creative use of sense of humor throughout the campaign recognizing its excellence in delivering financial messages in an innovative and engaging way . Nermine Hassouba, Head of the PR & Marketing Communication Department at ALEXBANK, commented on the great achievement: 'Winning three awards at the 2025 Dubai Lynx Festival is a great honor for us. These awards reflect the success of our vision to deliver creative, relatable, and effective marketing campaigns that resonate with the audience and encourage positive engagement the banking sector.' She added, the 'Save Your Money at ALEXBANK' campaign was part of our ongoing efforts to enhance financial literacy and inclusion, particularly among segments of the population that are traditionally unbanked. Our aim is to make a real difference in people's lives through accessible and innovative products like our 'Ebda'' Saving Account'. Mai Azmy, Chief Operating Officer at VML, added: "These awards reflect the power of collaboration and creativity in delivering impactful campaigns that resonate deeply with audience and ultimately drive positive change. At VML, we are distinguished by our ability to transform strategic insights into profound and inspiring experiences that not only drive success but also foster long-term partnerships. Our collaboration with ALEXBANK serves as a prime example of this approach. ALEXBANK launched the 'Save Your Money at ALEXBANK' campaign to promote the "Ebda'" Saving Account. The account can be opened using only the national ID card, with no opening or maintenance fees, and no minimum balance required. It also offers a competitive monthly return of up to 14%, making it an ideal option for various segments of society. The campaign achieved significant success, reflected in a strong uptake of new account openings .
