Omnicom Forms New Creative Group With DDB Mudra, BBDO & TBWA\India; Names Aditya Kanthy As CEO

To supercharge its creative offer in India, Omnicom has formed a new group called Omnicom Advertising Services (OAS). As part of the OAS, DDB, BBDO and TBWA will maintain their current branding in the Indian market with Aditya Kanthy as CEO.

Kanthy will oversee Omnicom’s creative agencies in the region, focusing on talent, cross-agency collaboration, and innovation to drive growth in one of the company’s fastest-growing markets. 

“Omnicom Advertising Services India will be able to offer the best creative capabilities and talent for our clients from across the group. It will attract, retain and develop the best talent in India. It will bring together integrated services tailored to client needs and foster greater collaboration across teams. It will also drive more innovation and develop new and better offerings and solutions while accelerating our growth and operating efficiency,” says John Wren, Chairman & CEO of Omnicom.

Consolidating Creative Power

Omnicom explains that Omnicom Advertising Services will bring together its power to provide exceptional integrated solutions to meet marketers’ needs in India. The group will capitalise on the talent housed within its leading networks and work in partnership with other Omnicom agencies, such as Omnicom Media Group, to further strengthen Omnicom’s comprehensive offering in India. 

“This year India will become the most populous nation on the planet. It is an important growth engine for Omnicom. By centralising the leadership of three creative powerhouses under Aditya, we will continue to build on our agencies’ strong foundations to deliver a wider breadth of capability and scale for our clients,” John Wren, adding, “Aditya brings deep experience to the newly created Omnicom Advertising Services, and our India operations is primed to thrive under his leadership.”

At present, Kanthy also wears the DDB Mudra Group CEO hat. It is understood that he will continue in the dual role for now. The Omnicom Advertising Services leadership includes BBDO\ India’s Chairman & CCO Josy Paul and CEO Suraja Kishore, TBWA\ India CEO Govind Pandey and CCO Russell Barrett.

Kanthy, currently CEO of DDB Mudra Group, began his career in Mudra in 2003 as a strategic planner, taking on various responsibilities over the years including Chief Strategy Officer, a role in which he helped shape India’s most successful independent advertising agency into an Omnicom-owned integrated marketing communications group. As the new leader of Omnicom Agency Services India, he will further strengthen Omnicom’s presence and ensure all of our capabilities are extended to our top clients.

Speaking about this development, Aditya Kanthy said, “Omnicom is the most creative global network in the world. Our agencies represent the enduring power of creativity to build brands and businesses. I look forward to bringing the might of the Omnicom network to clients in India and continue to attract the best creative talent in one of the most exciting markets in the world.”

The Campuses

Omnicom recently announced the creation of large global capability centres with four campuses out of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon.

“Today, we have over 4,000 people in India in Global Centers of Excellence in four major cities (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon) supporting our clients around the world. Our teams support services offered by all our practice areas from media to precision marketing, creative services, PR, to health. We are rapidly scaling and expect to triple these capabilities over the next 24 to 36 months resulting. Our India operations are helping our company transform from within, improving our client offerings and providing operating efficiencies. The Global Centers of Excellence will be further strengthened in 2024 through newly built, state-of-the-art office locations that will provide best-in-class environments for our talent,” adds Wren in a conversation with BW Marketing World.

Omnicom is upping its focus across levels, reiterating India’s importance as a critical market of growth for the company.