Simon Odisho, planning director for PepsiCo at PHD Media, has moved to PepsiCo as digital and media manager.
Odisho will lead PepsiCo's digital transformation journey, media strategy and relationships, working under CMO Vandita Pandey and senior digital and ecommerce manager Gill McHattie.
Working on agency side for eight years, Odisho told AdNews he approached Pandey for a role as he wanted to grow his knowledge of the other side.
"I asked [PepsiCo] if there was appetite for my expertise on their side, they told me I had to formally apply and conversations between PHD needed to happen, but that all went smoothly and everyone was on board in terms of the development of me and development of the relationship with the brand," Odisho said.
Odisho started at the PepsiCo office this week. He is excited about understanding consumers on brand side and what happens behind the scenes.
"On agency side understanding consumers is a lot about audience, upper funnel work, a lot of awareness and consideration, but I really want to understand full funnel development," Odisho said.
"I want to see the different functions within businesses, as opposed to just media in general. I'm excited to follow a journey of a brand's growth, from conceptual design phases to audience decisions, seeing campaigns out in market and closing the loop reviewing and optimizing results."
Odisho has also been largely involved in extracurricular activities within the industry from hosting panels at the MFA 5+ and giving advice to juniors through NGEN. Going client side has forced him to drop the MFA 5+ work to allow another media agency person take that opportunity.
"But I've definitely pressed interest in continuing to help support the media industry from a client perspective," Odisho said. "I'll be looking for an opportunity to be a voice for the industry because that's one of the things I enjoyed the most - the people.
"I don't know what the future holds for me, but I'm really excited to grow wherever it takes me."
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