Indranil Datta joins Sakal as head, marketing

Earlier, he was senior vice-president, Mudra Max.

The Sakal Media Group recently appointed Indranil Datta as head, marketing. The position is a newly created one. Earlier, Datta was senior vice-president, Mudra Max.

Since Datta's new job responsibility encompasses the entire group, he will shuttle between the Pune and Mumbai offices of Sakal Media.

Datta says, "I have been consulting Sakal when I was with Mudra for the past one and a half years. During the time, I found a lot of fascinating things about this group. I also realised the power of brand 'Sakal' in Maharashtra. Being a passionate media person, it is a dream to be associated with such a power brand. Also, my interactions with the senior team of Sakal Media tilted my decision in favour of joining them."

With more than 22 years of experience, Datta has worked with many agencies in the country, handling various media functions and his area of expertise includes strategic planning, business development, developing integrated marketing communication and unearthing consumer insights.

Apart From Mudra Max, he has been associated with Mudra Radar (earlier known as Optimum Media Solutions) as vice-president and national head, strategy and knowledge. Earlier, he was executive director, Starcom Worldwide, Bengaluru. As a consultant, he has also worked for Bates Asia Strategic Alliances, Colombo.

Armed with an MBA degree from Bharati Vidyapeeth, he started his career with FCB Ulka Advertising, Mumbai as a management trainee and later moved on to Clarion Advertising Services Mumbai as media supervisor, planning. He has also had stints at Lowe India (then Lintas India) Mumbai as senior manager; Initiative Media Kolkata as media supervisor, planning; and Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai as senior consultant.

He is also credited with the re-launching of Zenith Media in India as the company's senior vice-president and streamlining the Nokia account. He also set up Zenith Media's Delhi branch from scratch and helped increase the company's business from US$638,000 to US$39 million in two and a half years.

About his immediate plan of action for Sakal Media, he says, "Obviously, the initial months will go in understanding the group's values and taking a deep dive into the portfolio of brands. Each brand is uniquely positioned in the market place, catering to its own loyal audience. So, I have a lot of home work to do."