Ameer Ismail to lead the digital-first creative PR agency | Sarvesh Raikar appointed as Creative Head
MullenLowe Lintas Group today announced the launch of its digital-first creative PR agency Lintas Live in India. The agency recognises that whether it is a corporate brand, a personal brand or a product/service brand, in today’s ever connected world, they all need to be LIVE. This will form the ethos of the new PR and Communication agency framework which will be powered with data-led insights and LIVE storytelling across digital and conventional platforms. GolinOpinion will be rebranded as Lintas Live with immediate effect and will be part of MullenLowe Group’s global communications network which includes U.S. based agency MullenLowe PR – voted Global Creative PR Agency of the Year in the Holmes Report 2017. Today, as an industry-first move by a PR agency, Lintas Live also announces the appointment of Sarvesh Raikar as its Creative Head.
With its rich experience on some of the most prestigious brands such as Seiko, Etihad Airways, Tata Starbucks, Sony Pictures Networks and Porsche amongst many others, GolinOpinion had been recognised as one of the leading and most respected PR firms in the country. Building on those strengths, its repositioning and renaming as Lintas Live is a move to be best equipped for today’s evolving environment. Lintas Live incorporates boundless energy, restless curiosity and fearless thinking in everything it does. Thereby creating living conversations that give an unfair share of media attention to clients’ brands, businesses, and reputations. It is live-wired to proactively help brands with agile solutions for their business challenges through PR, Digital, Content, Moment Marketing and Technology. Bringing together the best PR teams, leading creative minds and digital experts, gives Lintas Live the opportunity to build a first-of-its-kind LIVE framework for brands. Our unique strategy of cultural newsjacking will ensure that our brands morph into an integral part of the conversations that matter the most.
Speaking about the launch, Amer Jaleel, Group CCO and Chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group said,“From Mumbai Police to Starbucks, every brand wants to throb with its own energy and charisma, stay part of conversations by streaming its thoughts, it’s consciousness to its franchise. We deconstructed and re-built our PR organisation to not just reflect the current times but to lead the thinking for times to come. And recognising the need to be digital in our behaviour but creative at our core we have at the tip of Lintas Live one of our brightest RCOs Sarvesh Raikar who is possibly India’s most experienced and celebrated brand creatives to head a PR company. We recognise that brands should lead from PR into campaigns and that creative thinking will evolve PR into becoming seamless and inextricable from marketing.”
“In today’s digitally interconnected world, opinions get formed not only through the news media, but through influencers, experts, leaders, bloggers, celebrities and all other individuals and communities who have a voice and want to use it. Moreover, corporations, leaders and brands have to operate real-time in this “always live” world. Lintas Live will be able to provide our clients with agile, proactive and “always live” PR and communications solutions. I am quite confident that this new offering will be quite the game- changer for our clients” said Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group.
Talking about his new role, Ameer Ismail, President, Lintas Live said, “Golin has been an outstanding partner and we will always cherish our many achievements and learnings together. Our PR practice in India has gone from strength to strength and this rebrand is a bold move in our evolution. I’m excited about the relevance of our new offering to brands, marketers and leaders in these changing times. Being part of the MullenLowe Lintas Group has given us a unique opportunity of drawing on the core of our creative skillsets. We are confident of being able to deliver ideas and solutions that are bold and impact worthy in a digital age.”
Golin’s operations in India will now report through IPG’s Constituency Management Group in line with Golin operations elsewhere.
“We thank Ameer and his team for a productive partnership over the last 5 years and we look forward to ongoing collaboration with the Mullen Lowe team within our IPG family,” said Darren Burns, President of Asia for Golin. “India remains an important market for us and we will continue to evolve our business there under the Golin brand.”