Y&R picks Arvind Mohan for Global Planning board

Rediffusion Y&R’s chief strategy officer, Arvind Mohan has been appointed to the Global Y&R Planning board with immediate effect. The Global Planning board, which works as a think tank for ideas and challenges affecting the communication industry across the Y&R network, consists of members from diverse markets.

Speaking to Campaign India, Mohan explained the core focus of the Global Planning board and added, “If you look at the advertising and marketing communications business today, there is a certain level of bankruptcy and a need for a new definition of brands. The global planning board is basically a group of talented minds put together to harness intellectual capital and to weather the challenges of the 21st century. I believe brands are going to be built by asking new questions. What emerges out of this global think tank could apply to any brand in the marketplace, anywhere.”

Mohan says the new role will not impact his domestic one in any way. “Think of this new role as something that adds onto what one is doing, not as something that substitutes what one is doing. Think of it as being plugged into a global ecosystem, where everything will become open source. So one feeds into it, and draws from it. A lot of it is about collaborating with good minds to produce new thoughts, using news tools to debate and question what we are doing to mark out what the Y&R brand will call its world view.”

Mohan believes there has been a large shift in the way India has grown into becoming a source culture. “The Global Planning board is going to shape the agenda. The India office has a representation there because they recognize Rediffusion Y&R, the strength of the agency and the understanding that India today offers a source culture, it’s not a backend for the world, it’s a new starting point for the world.”