Rajiv Rao, Abhijit Avasthi are now O&M NCDs

O&M has promoted its executive creative directors Rajiv Rao (pictured, left) and Abhijit Avasthi (pictured, right) to the role of national creative directors, effective immediately. The duo will report to Piyush Pandey. A company statement says the move will ensure “that we are ahead of the game in these changing times. Their responsibility is to ensure that Brand Ogilvy shines creatively in all disciplines of our business to deliver even more dramatic brand-building for all our clients.”

Speaking to Campaign India, Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director, O&M India and South Asia confirmed the news. He said, “They have both earned the job, after the years that they have put in doing solid work for our clients. Their new role will be to define the creative strategy for India and in ensuring that the right people are selected for the right job. The mantle now rests on them.”

Talking about their partnership, Pandey commented, “It’s not visibly clear to people outside how closely the two have worked together, albeit informally, in the past. I am aware of the mutual respect that the two share amongst each other and both of them bring their own spirit to the new role. They are both ideas people, one with an art background and the other with a copy background and I am confident that they will complement each other’s style of working, going forward.”

Talking about the new role, Avasthi said, “Till now we mainly looked after some of the brands out of Mumbai, besides helping out on other brands in cities outside of Mumbai. This was mainly advertising. In addition, we also had a responsibiity for Pakistan and Nepal. Now we are responsible for the creative output of Ogilvy India, across cities and across disciplines.”

Talking about their plans, Avasthi and Rao say they have quite a few ideas.

“We have a few plans in mind. Both of us believe that an agency is capable of doing so much more than just advertising. We have a talented bunch of people on board, across creative, servicing and planning. We genuinely believe that agencies can make a big difference not just to brands and clients but also to issues beyond advertising.”

Rao added, “This signifies a much bigger role, since it is a transition from handling a few accounts in Mumbai to being responsible for Ogilvy India. Our role will be in ensuring that we maintain Ogilvy’s standard, push the creative envelope further and refresh the creative profile constantly.”