Publicis' Ajay Ahluwalia moves to Guardian Pharmacy as marketing head

Ahluwalia will be responsible for conceptualising the Guardian brand as also synchronising marketing plans with sales

Ajay Ahluwalia, creative director with Publicis India, has decided to move on. He is slated to join one of Publicis’ clients, Guardian Pharmacy, the pharmacy retail chain, as marketing head. Ahluwalia has spent 12 years in the advertising industry.

For the record, Guradian Pharmacy is a three year old pharmacy retail chain which has 65 stores across North India. It plans to take the count of its outlets to 100 this year. The company also markets children’s products such as diapers and baby shampoos.

According to Ahluwalia, his mandate at Guardian will be to define and execute what the brand stands for. “Increased consumer awareness and integrating marketing plans with fruitful implementation in terms of sales are what I plan to build upon,” Ahluwalia says.

Ajay Ahluwalia

When asked about what made him switch from the creative function to marketing, Ahluwalia explains that this is not his first stint in marketing. In fact, he began his career in sales with HCL Computers, Chennai, in 1989. Before joining Publicis, too, he worked with NIS Sparta as a consultant in the psychometrics division.

“I started my career in sales and I have landed up where I started from,” quips Ahluwalia. “Retail fascinates me and establishing a corporate brand and creatively marketing the company’s products seemed challenging to me.”

Ashutosh Garg, CMD, Guradian Pharmacy, adds to this: “Ahluwalia has worked on the business for seven months and he knows what needs to be done and when. Besides, it is not different from what he has been doing in advertising.”

“He needs to conceptualise Guardian as a brand and oversee the launches of the various products of Guardian, which he will do with ease with his rich experience in advertising and marketing,” Garg adds.

Ahluwalia has worked with agencies such as RK Swamy/BBDO, Contract Advertising, Triton Communications, Mudra Communications and McCann-Erickson in his 12-year career span.

In between, he also set up his own design studio and art gallery. During this time, he converted the ATM counter of Bank of America on Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, into an art gallery cum ATM. This was to convey the message that good art is also affordable.

Ahluwalia is passionate about photography and an active freelance photographer.

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Ajay Ahluwalia Guardian Pharmacy