GroupM hires ex-Myntra hand Manu Prasad as social media head for South

Based in Bengaluru, Prasad will report to Karthik Nagarajan, national head for social media.

Manu Prasad, erstwhile head of social media with online retailer Myntra.com, has joined GroupM social media practice as head, south. Based in Bengaluru, Prasad will report to Karthik Nagarajan, national head for social media.

Prasad comes with almost a decade of experience in traditional and digital brand management, having worked on consumer (WorldSpace) and media brands (MidDay, Times Group) and handled all aspects of brand communication (strategy, media planning, advertising, digital marketing).

In the recent past, he headed the social media function for Myntra. During his two-year stint, Prasad had worked on a social strategy built around business outcomes connected to brand, customer connect, product and acquisition. This involved building brand credibility on various social platforms through specific content strategies, launching a fashion blog, evolving a process for quick resolution of customer issues on social channels, social integration at a product level and achieving revenues from social platforms.

Commenting on Prasad's appointment, Karthik Nagarajan says, "Manu brings in a wealth of marketing leadership experience, across media platforms. His experience of having built a social media programme ground up, in a category as dynamic as e-commerce, will be a huge asset. Our clients, especially the ones in the southern markets, will benefit substantially from his contribution."

Besides working at Group M, Prasad also utilises his time in mentoring select start ups at the Microsoft Accelerator and contributes to restaurant review columns in Bangalore Mirror.

Speaking about his responsibilities, Prasad comments, "GroupM has an exciting roster of clients and I am thrilled at this opportunity to work with a diverse set of brands across product categories, and at different stages of their lifecycle and social evolution. The goal would be to make each of them the gold standard in social, in their respective domains."

GroupM India manages the social media journeys of over 70 different brands. Some of its key clients in India include Nestle, Arvind Mills, P&G, Frito Lay's, PepsiCo India, Titan Industries and STAR TV.