Neo@Ogilvy, Smile Group announce JV

Ogilvy India today announced a joint venture between Neo@Ogilvy and the Smile Group to strengthen its performance marketing, e-commerce and mobile offerings. The JV will also set up a global media delivery hub to service Neo@Ogilvy's global media operations.

[caption id="attachment_1228127" align="alignleft" width="380"] Sanjay Ramakrishnan, President and Country Head, Neo@Ogilvy India[/caption]

Sanjay Ramakrishnan has been brought on board as Country Head, Neo@Ogilvy India. He has over 15 years of work experience and moves in from Vizury, where he was the GM for India and SE Asia.

Harish Bahl, Chairman, Smile Group, said, "The vision of the partnership is to be able to offer world class services to local and global clients of Ogilvy and Neo respectively, using the expertise and experience of Smile. Sanjay, who will be the Country Head of Neo@Ogilvy India, brings on board a good blend of e-retail and performance marketing expertise both in internet and mobile and is best positioned to build a leadership position for Neo India around this business focus, which we believe are the future high growth areas for digital agencies."

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Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy South Asia, said, "This JV is one more step ahead in our digital journey. Harish's experience in Digital Media and e-commerce will help drive rapid growth in these areas. And Sanjay Ramakrishnan is a fantastic young business leader with the right skills to lead Neo@Ogilvy in India."

Vikram Menon, President and Country Head, OgilvyOne India, said, "We're really excited with the JV with the Smile Group. Strategically this fits perfectly into our plans to offer the best capability across digital to our clients. The Neo-Smile JV, with Sanjay at its helm, will do just that."

Sanjay Ramakrishnan, President and Country Head, Neo@Ogilvy India, said, "I am excited to be part of Ogilvy and drive this JV with the Smile Group. The aim is to recast Neo@Ogilvy as one of the most effective digital mediacompanies in the country with a clear focus on performance marketing, mobile and e-commerce. I have been a marketer all my life and I believe there is a gap in the way paid digital media is intergrated with traditional marketing and communication.The goal is to change that through Neo@Ogilvy. End-to-end, e-commerce solutions is another unique offering that this JV brings to the table and I'm keen to use the skills I have to drive it."