Anupriya Acharya​​​​​​​ - In Step With The Times

Acharya Believes Her Job Has Become All The More Exciting With The Digital Medium Working Fundamental Changes In The Advertising Industry.

- T. Surendar

WHEN ANUPRIYA ACHARYA joined ad-vertising as a rookie at Ogilvy & Mather in 1994, the industry was undergoing massive churn. Media executives used to dealing with print for decades were grappling with the rise of television as a new medium. Advertisers were no longer willing to pay fat commissions and big advertising companies were simply breaking up.

It was a valuable learning experience for Acharya that’s probably coming in handy now: Today, she’s the head of the India division of French advertising giant Publicis Groupe at a time when the digital medium is again fundamentally changing the business. Acharya is undaunted by the change. The 48-year-old CEO of Publicis Media India, which has gross billings of over $1 billion, says digital offers a challenge and an opportunity which makes her job exciting. She feels the phenomenon of India becoming a mobile-first country and easy access to data will further tilt the scales in favour of the digital medium, in which Publicis enjoys an advantage. “My job is the most interesting thing I am doing today and I can’t think of doing anything else even if I had an option to choose,” she says.