MUMBAI: DDB Mudra Group’s shopper marketing wing, TracyLocke India, has appointed Samir Mehta to the post of head- business and operations.

Pradeep Ramakrishnan will serve as TracyLocke India head - strategy & insights along with his current duties as DDB MudraMax Media VP.

Founded in 1913, TracyLocke is a creative agency and is a part of the DDB Worldwide Network. Its client list includes brands such as HP, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, Gatorade, Tropicana, PepsiCo, Sony and Unilever’s Lipton.

DDB Mudra Group COO Pratap Bose said, “Tracy Locke India will help build the B2R (Business to Retail) practice for clients and will create strategies for converting consumers into shoppers. With the appointments of Samir Mehta and Pradeep Ramakrishnan we now have the momentum to aggressively push the Tracy Locke India agenda, and build a great shopper marketing and retail capability for our clients.”

Mehta said, “Evolution of retail in India calls for a better understanding of how the shoppers, shop at the last mile in India. This becomes imperative for brands. For this, brands need to develop shopper insights. With TracyLocke, who have a commendable record with working on some of the best global brands, and with the Indian retail environment being unique in its own way, TracyLocke India will be customizing the requisites of each of our clients to suit this market, which currently comprises of 95% being unorganized and the remaining 5% organized.”

Ramakrishnan said, “Shopper Marketing in India is not just about marrying the interests of the brand, retailer and shopper. It is more complex than that. The role of insights in this scenario would therefore be about ‘Bringing a Method to the Madness’. TracyLocke India with its proprietary tool, processes and measurement systems will lead the creation of new ways of understanding, analyzing and influencing the shopper in India.”