Facebook launches India Client Council

The India Client Council is a forum where some of India's leading marketers can listen, inspire and share ideas about the future of marketing.

Facebook India has announced the India Client Council to serve its agency partners better. The forum comprises heads of businesses and the council will help share ideas on the unfolding opportunities and the future of marketing. This is Facebook's fifth client council in the world. It had formed a 12 member EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) Client Council in September 2014. In addition to the India Client Council, Facebook has global, Brazil and UK councils.

Made up of a diverse group of leading client and agency partners, the India Client Council is a forum where some of the country's leading marketers can listen, inspire and share ideas about the future of marketing.

The members in the India Client Council are Delna Avari, head of marketing and communication services, Tata Motors; Sam Balsara - chairman and managing director, Madison World; Sachin Bansal - CEO, Flipkart; Mohit Beotra - head of brand, Airtel; Sonali Dhawan - director of marketing, South Asia, Procter & Gamble India; Sujit Ganguli - head, corporate brand and communications group, ICICI Bank; Ashish Kashyap - founder and CEO, ibibo Group; Heavent Malhotra - MD, Jabong; Daniel Meynen - marketing director, RB India; Ronita Mitra - senior vice president, brand and consumer insights, Vodafone India; Vishal Sampat - CEO, SMG Convonix; Samir Singh - executive director, Hindustan Unilever; Jasmin Sohrabji - MD, India And Southeast Asia, OMG; CVL Srinivas - CEO, GroupM; Vineet Taneja - CEO, Micromax; Sandip Tarkas - president of customer strategy, Future Group and Kirthiga Reddy, head of Facebook India.

"The India Client Council is an incredible initiative to discuss the future of marketing by igniting conversations amongst some of India's most influential marketers. I'm excited that Facebook has decided to set this in motion and we're looking forward to contributing and learning from this wonderful initiative," says Srinivas.

"Facebook has been one of the key growth partners for Flipkart and the e-commerce industry at large. As a Council member, I'm really keen on engaging in an open and transparent idea sharing platform with other people in the Indian ecosystem to find ways in which we can grow not just our business, but trade and commerce in general," adds Bansal of Flipkart

This rapid acceleration of mobile presents businesses with unprecedented opportunities to reach their customers, as well as also new challenges. Facebook says that it is committed to help businesses navigate this changing landscape. "As a client that has advertised on Facebook for both direct response as well as brand campaigns, I'm delighted to work with some of finest marketing gurus in India to incubate ideas that will make this platform and the marketing ecosystem even better for brands," says Beotra of Airtel.

"The India Council hopes to find a meeting ground for many brands that no longer just want to talk at young consumers in India, but CONNECT with them and Facebook's really huge and growing base of young Indians who desire to fulfill their social needs, through a win-win programme. I am happy to be a part of the Council," comments Balsara.

"Being a leading mobile phone player, we have been instrumental in driving the growing penetration of smart phones in the country, thus sharing a symbiotic relationship with Facebook as well as other players in the ecosystem. As marketers, we are increasingly pivoting to mobile-centric ideas, and with many people in India accessing Facebook through their mobile device it offers an immense opportunity for all of us to reach out to our customers in a meaningful way at any time of the day," adds Taneja of Micromax.