IPG nabs Elango for social role

IPG Mediabrands has brought Anbazhagan Elango on as the latest addition to its social marketing division Rally.Elango, a computer engineer with an MBA in marketing, joins the agency as director of social analytics from HP, where he was responsible for social media analytics of HP's owned and earned assets.Among Elango's accomplishments include being the recipient of HP's ‘League of Legends' award where his co-written algorithm for contextual influence is under patent filing process.Prashant Kumar, president, world markets Asia, said this appointment is recognition of the "centrality of the ROI question in social marketing"."A lot of the hype regarding social media is driving a sort of gold rush and this exuberance needs to be complemented with an objective and accountable view of return on social investment. Anbu is uniquely placed to own that for our clients," Kumar said. Elango said social media continues to transform the marketing and business landscape with analytics at the heart of it."Robust analytics aligned with well-defined marketing and business objectives can drive higher ROI and optimize efficiency."Earlier this year Rally launched new hubs in Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.