Raj Swaminathan Joins BrandStory Group As Chief Growth Officer
BrandStory Group has appointed Raj Swaminathan as chief growth officer, with a mandate that runs across three businesses at once: the full-stack agency, the AdTech platforms, and a performance marketing business the company has yet to build.
- Role: chief growth officer, BrandStory Group, Bengaluru
- Scope: overall growth strategy across agency operations, AdTech platforms and a new performance marketing business
- International brief: growth opportunities in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US
- Experience: more than two decades across digital advertising, AdTech, MarTech, SaaS, performance marketing and ad sales
- Previously: JWT, Genesis BCW, Publicis MS&L, BharatMatrimony Group, ValueFirst, Mobusi, Globale Media, Engagely.ai, FraudScore and RedTrack
The Unusual Shape Of Raj Swaminathan's Brief
Three growth engines under one officer is a wide remit, and the three do not sell alike. An agency sells relationships and craft. An adtech platform sells to procurement and engineering. A performance business sells measurable outcomes and lives or dies on margin. Most people who are good at one are indifferent at the others.
What makes Raj Swaminathan a reasonable fit is that his record actually crosses those lines. Agency side at JWT, Genesis BCW and Publicis MS&L. Publisher and platform side at BharatMatrimony Group and ValueFirst. Ad network and adtech at Mobusi, Globale Media, FraudScore and RedTrack. That is brands, agencies, publishers, networks and platforms in one career.
Where The Growth Is Supposed To Come From
For the agency business, which spans branding, search, social, content, PR, films and production, the stated focus is market positioning, deeper client relationships, new categories and geographies, and a larger share of business from existing clients.
The international piece is the more interesting bet. The Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US are three very different sells, and an Indian independent taking all three at once is ambitious. More appointments.
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