Raihan Ali Merchant is a Pakistani businessman and the founder of Brainchild communications. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Z2C Pakistan, Chairman of Brainchild Communications Ltd. and Blitz (Pvt) Ltd. In 2012, the government of Pakistan awarded him the

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

(Medal of Excellence) for public service, recognizing his contributions to the advertising industry of Pakistan. Merchant has served on the advisory boards of a number of public and business organizations, and currently sits on the Board of

Engro Corporation Engro Corporation (Engro), ( ur, ) is a conglomerate headquartered in Karachi. Founded as a fertilizer business in 1965, it is one of the largest companies in the country that employs over 2,600 individuals across the Group and has operatio ...

Early life and education

Raihan Ali Merchant was born in Karachi on September 9, 1967. He was educated at the Bai Virbaiji Soparivala (BVS) Parsi High School in Karachi, and then at the

Institute of Business Administration (IBA) The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi; (انسٹيٹيوٹ آف بزنس ايڈمنسٹريشن) is a public university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Academics Admission * * * Admission to IBA KARACHI is based on En ...

, where he received his Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree.

Career

Merchant started Pakistan's first

media agency Media agencies advise companies on how and where to advertise, and on how to present a positive picture of themselves to the public. Primary services include advertising, public relations and other forms of media management. Media agencies were fi ...

in 1997.

Early career

After completing his MBA from the Institute of Business Administration, Merchant joined the advertising industry of Pakistan. He worked on multiple well-known brands including Citibank, Coca-Cola, and P&G, and eventually formed Pak Mediacom, the first media buying house to open in Pakistan.

Brainchild Communications

Brainchild Communication was founded by Raihan Merchant in 2010. It is affiliated with the

Publicis Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. One of the oldest and largest marketing and communications companies in the world by revenue, it is headquartered in Paris. After 1945, the little-known Paris ...

brand Starcom, with clients like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, China Mobile, Engro Foods, and National Foods.

Content Monetization

Brainchild Communications has been a stakeholder in content monetization ventures like PSL and ''Coke Studio''.

''Coke Studio''

The concept of ''

Coke Studio Coke Studio may refer to: * ''Coke Studio'' (Pakistan), a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio'' (India), an Indian television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio Bangla'', a Banglade ...

'' was a joint effort between Brainchild Communications and the marketing team at Coca-Cola

Pakistan Super League (PSL)

Merchant was also instrumental in the launch of the

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...

, the biggest sporting event in Pakistan. He is currently working on monetizing sports in Pakistan.

Recognition

In 2012, the President of Pakistan awarded Merchant with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for public service. He is also frequently quoted to be one of the most influential media industry executives in Pakistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Raihan Living people Advertising people Institute of Business Administration, Karachi alumni Pakistani chief executives Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Pakistani company founders Businesspeople from Karachi Year of birth missing (living people)