MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Even international chains such as German retailer Metro Cash & Carry believe that the reform move may impact local businesses

    Multi-brand FDI to hit kirana shops: Metro boss

    By Dipti Jain

     

    It is not just small traders and kirana stores who are worried over loss of business if foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail is allowed. Even international chains such as German retailer Metro Cash & Carry believe that the reform move may impact local businesses.

     

    While the influx of international retail giants will bring in investments in back-end and supply chain management, the Indian arm of Metro Cash & Carry said this will decrease the importance of small traders in the country as consumers would shift to large format stores from the local kirana shops.

     

    “Consumers will shift to large format stores, so the relevance of small traders will decrease. Because of substantial increase in disposable income due to a growing economy, the focus has today shifted from small to large format stores,” said Rajeev Bakshi, managing director, Metro Cash & Carry, India.

     

    The statement by the German company comes as a surprise especially after international chains have been waiting for the opening of FDI in the sector as they reason it would benefit smaller players by way of technological enhancements as well as creation of new jobs, besides giving them an opportunity to tap into the growing retail market in India.

     

    The government and other retailers have argued that the entry will help local outfits get more efficient and innovative and also check wastage as nearly 40 per cent of the farm produce is lost due to poor storage and distribution facilities in the country. Several global giants such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour are waiting for the government to finally permit FDI in the multi-brand segment, an area that Metro does not intend to enter immediately.

     

    In recent weeks, the government has pitched for opening up multi-brand retail and even cited the backing it has received from several states.

     

    The government allowed 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail last year. However, the permission for 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail had to be put on hold after widespread protests by Congressmen as well as UPA allies, including Trinamool Congress.

     

    While the impact on small traders would affect Metro’s business in the country, the company is betting on a growing business from hotels, restaurants and caterers (Horeca) for continued growth. “This will indirectly impact our business, but then the other business takes off. People are eating out much more than before. So our Horeca business will go up. The net effect on us is balanced,” Mr Bakshi said.

     

    However, Mr Bakshi added that it is not just foreign retail majors, even large cash-rich domestic players have the capacity to exploit the market. Despite discussions that modern stores and wholesale chains would make the local channels irrelevant, Mr Bakshi said with the demand pattern shifting, these models are becoming irrelevant themselves. Metro Cash & Carry entered India in 2003 and currently has 11 wholesale distribution centres.

     

    The company has already invested close to Rs1,000 crore and plans to open six to eight stores annually, each entailing an investment of around Rs 60 crore. The company recently opened its store in Delhi and Jaipur and is planning two more stores in Chandigarh and Indore.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • The business will be approximately in the range of Rs15-20 crore once the product gets launched countrywide

    Danone Narang appoints Scarecrow for B’lue

    By A Correspondent

     

    Danone Narang Beverages has appointed Scarecrow Communications as its creative agency for its beverage brand, B’lue. The agency was selected after a comprehensive selection process. The business will be approximately in the range of Rs15-20 crore once the product gets launched countrywide. The incumbent on the business is Everest Brand Solutions. The win is significant to Scarecrow as Danone, as a brand internationally, is aligned to the Y&R group and has strayed from this in just few markets, and India is one among them.

     

    An official from Danone Narang has confirmed this development.

     

    The brand B’lue is a new concept in ready-to-drink beverages. It is a restorative drink that leaves you feeling refreshed and uplifted, thanks to it’s unique formulation. B’lue is currently being test marketed in Pune. In 2010, Danone (the world’s second largest bottled water company) partnered Narang Beverages through a joint venture.

     

    Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications said: “It’s a source of personal and professional pride to be associated with a brand like B’lue from Danone Narang Group. And there is a genuine opportunity to create interventions at multiple levels through the power of creativity.”

     

    Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications added: “Danone has given the world iconic brands like Evian. Working on this new innovative FMCG brand conceived by Danone Narang – B’lue  – is one of the most exciting opportunities for Scarecrow. ”

     

  • While there has been an increase in online railway ticketing and online air tickets, matrimonial profile uploads and activities on e-commerce sites; there has been a slight decline in the number of resume uploads on recruitment sites

    IAMAI: E-commerce witnesses upward swing

    By A Correspondent

     

    There has been a surge in the e-ticketing category of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (irctc.com). In May 2012, IRCTC recorded over 6.22 million bookings as against 4.02 million bookings in May 2011, thus witnessing a year on year growth of 55 per cent.

     

    While there has been an increase in online railway ticketing and online air tickets, matrimonial profile uploads and activities on e-commerce sites; there has been a slight decline in the number of resume uploads on recruitment sites. These are some of the findings from the Internet Economy Watch data released by IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India).

     

    The Internet Economy Watch data released is said to be based on absolute numbers captured from relevant sites of verticals encapsulating online usage for e-tailing, online travel and vertical classifieds.

     

    Besides the online railway tickets bookings, the data also reveals that there has also been an increase in the online air tickets as well. The booking of online air tickets is said to have witnessed an increase of 82 per cent year on year wherein on May 2012 online air tickets received 1.67 million in May 2012 from 0.92 million of the corresponding month last year i.e. 2011.

     

    Source: IAMAI/ Online Travel Portals

     

     

    Vertical Classified Sites:

    Interestingly, the number of resume uploads on recruitment sites have seen a slight decline in May 2012 as compared to the resume uploads in May 2011. Resume uploads on recruitment sites declined from 3.70 million in May 2011 to 3.02 million in May 2012. The resume uploads in April were however 2.05 million. The data captured from 28 online matrimonial sites however shows an annual increase in matrimonial profile uploads from 2.35 million in May 2011 to 2.42 million in May 2012.

     

    Source: IAMAI/ Vertical Classified Sites

     

    E- Commerce Sites:

    The study shows there has been an increase in user visits to branded apparel and footwear sites from 5.42 million and 5.55 million visits respectively in May 2012 as compared to 4.15 million and 3.28 million visits for the corresponding month last year. While the designer label segment has registered 1.80 million visits in May 2012 as compared to 1.47 million visits in May 2011. The jewelry category has witnessed 1.64 million visits in May 2012 as compared to 1.89 million visits in corresponding month last year.

     

    Source: IAMAI/e-Commerce sites

     

    Compared to April 2012, there has been a significant increase in e-ticket bookings at irctc.com, resumes uploaded on recruitment sites and visits in e-tailing of branded apparel, footwear and designer label segment in May 2012. On the other hand, there has been a notable decrease in online booking of air tickets and profile uploads on matrimonial sites in May 2012 as compared to April 2012.

     

    Source: IAMAI

     

  • In my belief, that answer lies inside the marketing office of Cadbury India, the company that enjoys a 70 per cent market share in this category

    Anil Thakraney: How ads helped chocolates treble sales

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Read an interesting story in The Times of India. It reported that chocolate consumption has trebled in India, not in the last 30 years, but in the last seven years alone! This is a huge rate of growth in any product category, and by any stretch of imagination.

     

    So, then what happened? Has India suddenly developed a sweet tooth? Can’t be that, because mithais and other sweetmeats have been part of our tradition and eating habits for centuries together. There must be another explanation. TOI’s story seems to link the growth in choc consumption to the rising income levels in this country. I find this link a bit tenuous. Because rising income usually translates into increased expenditure on consumer durables and other high ticket items, those that import some degree of status to a person’s life. How on earth does a bar of chocolate fit in this scenario? It’s a low cost impulse purchase product, much like all other sweets and snacks. So the answer lies elsewhere.

     

    In my belief, that answer lies inside the marketing office of Cadbury India, the company that enjoys a 70 per cent market share in this category. All those years and efforts the chocolate major has invested in expanding the market in India, to make their brands attractive to the adult segment, have paid off big-time. And Cadbury’s rivals have benefited in the process, too. This is the key reason behind the booming choc market.

     

    Some of you may not know this, but as recently as 20 years ago, chocolates used to be targetted only at kids, and this imagery of the product totally alienated the vast adult population. In the year 1992 if you dared to consume a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar in a public place, you ran the risk of being scoffed at for ‘shamelessly eating a bachchon ka product’. And in just twenty years the market has turned on its head.

     

    And this has been achieved by Cadbury purely on the power of advertising. It took some years, but the results are showing now, and how! The Cadbury commercials have won many awards over the years but their biggest victory has been that they turned the fortunes of the entire category. Cadbury India has shown the world the magic you can do when your strategy is innovative and when the creative work shines. The trebling of the choc market in India is the victory of advertising alone.

     

    * * *

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI7Oq8y-jXA[/youtube]

    PS: This is why I am so looking forward to watching The Newsroom, the latest, hottest American TV serial. Am excited not just as a viewer, but also as a journalist. It’s high time the media looked at its own self. This is gonna be something else, going by this kickass capsule. Must watch.

     

  • The account will be handled out of Scarecrow's Mumbai office

    Scarecrow bags creative duties for Emami Healthy & Tasty

    By A Correspondent

     

    Emami Healthy & Tasty has appointed Scarecrow Communications as its creative agency. The account will be handled out of Scarecrow’s Mumbai office.

     

    Healthy & Tasty, from Emami Biotech Limited with a presence across 6 states, has an ambitious plan to go national during the course of this financial year. Despite being in existence for a short period of just over two years in a highly complex category with various regional variants and preferences and a litany of national and local players, the brand has been able to create a premium imagery and consumer preference for itself and is well on it’s way to becoming a strong national brand.

     

    Saroj Chakraborty, CEO, Emami Biotech, said: “Healthy & Tasty is a young brand with a strong appetite for growth and needed an equally young creative agency with great creative abilities to be able to match its aspirations. Scarecrow fits the bill and I have no doubt that their creative skills would be able to bring forth the inherent goodness of the brand to the consumer and help translate the brand’s aspirations into reality.”

     

    Manish Bhatt, Founder-Director, Scarecrow Communications, said: “This is one of the sweetest wins for Scarecrow. Emami is one of the most advertising-savvy companies inIndiaand it is an honor to work on one of their most prestigious brands.”

     

    Joy Sengupta, Founder-Director, Scarecrow Communications, added: “There are truly very few national brands in edible oil. We hope to create advertising that will help Healthy & Tasty find a place in a woman’s heart and also, her kitchen.”

     

  • The second edition of Power Brands provides a bigger platform for the brands to stamp their authority

    BIG FM among 100 most successful brands in Power Brands 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIG FM has been named amongst the 100 most successful brands of the nation in Power Brands 2012. It is said to be the only radio network to get on the list this year. The brands were selected through one of the most extensive surveys conducted panIndiaover a research base of 20 centres and 5,000 respondents.

     

    In addition to BIG FM, the mega launch of the second edition of Power Brands saw brands like Apple, IPL, LUX, Sunsilk, Hero Motocorp, McDonalds, Airtel, HP and SBI Bank being honoured as part of the 100 Power Brands. The Power Brands Hall of Fame ceremony also took place, along with the book launch which salutes icons and leaders who have carved a niche for themselves with their remarkable strategies and vision.

     

    Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, 92.7 BIG FM said: “This recognition speaks volumes of the efforts put in by our associates across the country over the years in living the promise of ‘Life Banao’. This is the first time that a radio brand got into the power-brands, which highlights the power of the medium and its effectiveness. We are humbled by this honour and would like to thank Power Brands for this credit, as we stay committed to offering value to our stakeholders.”

     

    The second edition of Power Brands provides a bigger platform for the brands to stamp their authority. The ‘Power 100’ exemplifies the 100 most successful brands of the nation.

     

  • Sameer Suneja moves on to a global role as Executive Vice President – Innovation and Business Development

    Perfetti appoints Ramesh Jayaraman as MD

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ramesh Jayaraman

    Perfetti Van Melle, the confectionery giant will shortly be appointing Ramesh Jayaraman as the Managing Director of Perfetti Van Melle, India. Prior to this Mr. Jayaraman was the Managing Director of PVM’s businesses in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He will take over this responsibility from Sameer Suneja who has been promoted to a global role as Executive Vice President – Innovation and Business Development.

     

    Mr. Suneja will now be based out of Netherlands, having a larger responsibility in the global operation of the company and will report to the Global CEO of Perfetti Van Melle.

     

    Mr. Jayaraman is well respected for his extensive skills and knowledge across all functions of the company. His leadership has been a key driver in transforming the company’s operations and sustained growth in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh markets.

     

    Sameer Suneja

    In India, he worked for Cadbury and Britannia, in the Marketing area. He also had a brief stint with Ogilvy and Mather. From early 1999, he has worked mainly outside India, and his assignments have taken him to China, France, Egypt, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

     

    Prior to joining Perfetti Van Melle in 2006, Mr. Jayaraman was Project Director India for Danone, and the Deputy Managing Director of Yakult Danone India Private Limited, a joint venture between Groupe Danone and Yakult Honsha of Japan.

     

    Mr. Suneja, who now moves on to this international assignment, has been with Perfetti for more than 15 years in various capacities. During his tenure in India he has played a key role in the company’s distinguished growth and he has been heading the Indian business for the past 4 years.  During his tenure the company forayed into the snacks category in India, thus becoming the first subsidiary in the group to diversify into non-confectionery segment.

     

    In his new role as Executive Vice President – Innovation and Business Development, Mr. Suneja will identify and eventually develop projects in different markets related to new product ideas and exchanging cross-Group successful experiences in the marketing and commercial fields.

     

  • Archies says the logo change is to make the brand relevant to customers to ensure that it is not the same brand with whom their parents grew up with

    Archies changes logo to make brand contemporary

    By Writankar Mukherjee

     

    Greeting and gifting major, Archies Ltd has unveiled a new logo to make the brand more relevant amongst the target group of consumers from early teens to mid 40s.

     

    Archies says the logo change is to make the brand relevant to customers to ensure that it is not the same brand with whom their parents grew up with. The logo change will also involve a change in store decor and retail experience. However, the logo change will not involve any change in the brand’s tagline of ‘the most special way to say you care’.

     

    The new logo has both the colour red and the heart, which the company says will help them communicate better with consumers, who today fall into various categories.

     

    “The new look Archies will reflect in the stores, which will have a brighter, fresher look. The stores will sport the new logo and exude warmth, with the liberal use of the new house colours, in decor and internal signages. The attempt is to communicate to the customers that the Archies store is the fresh, new, rejuvenated kid in town,” the company said in a press release.

     

    Till 3 pm on Monday, the Archies stock went up by 3 per cent at Rs25.45 in the Bombay Stock Exchange.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare in the morning papers and the nightly news. And sometimes the afternooners, the newsmags and all that's on the Web

    Ranjona Banerji: Don’t be jingoistic; do your job, journos!

    Ranjona Banerji

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    The coverage of the arrest of Abu Jundal or Zahibuddin Ansari has, sadly and as usual, tilted towards being a spokesperson for the investigating agencies. Rather than take a cold and dispassionate look at investigations into terrorist attacks or activities, all too often even very senior journalists become jingoistic, as if criticism of the way a probe is being conducted somehow impacts on their own personal patriotic duties.

     

    Yet the fact is that in the Mumbai terror attacks at least, it was the personal bravery of constable Tukaram Ombale that led to the capture of the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab. The shame of the attacks is still enormous and the blame for that rests solely on our police force and state administration. (Is that my own sense of nationalism asserting itself, albeit in a converse manner? Perhaps.) The court which sentenced Kasab to death let off the other two names added to the case by the Mumbai police for lack of evidence. This was the worst, most audacious terrorist attack on India’s premier city and the police could not come up with enough evidence.

     

    The media in any other country would have gone to town on this. We instead had some mild criticism and more PR activity. It is only when there is enormous embarrassment like sending a list of wanted criminals to Pakistan for return to India only to find that some are dead and others are in Indian jails that there is obvious criticism.

     

    Crime reporting in Indian newspapers veers between police mouthpieces and gangster mouthpieces – a sad outcome of which is the murder of one journalist J Dey and the arrest of another, Jigna Vora, in his death. The onus for this lies with editors who seem unable to analyse the bigger picture in the race for some exciting story. Sensationalism is fine but somewhere there has to be a larger responsibility to present the reader with a more comprehensive story.

     

    In the Abu Jundul case, I would like to read more about how the police have been unable to crack these apparent sleeper cells all over the country, how the same names crop up as being responsible for most terrorist attacks in the country and yet we never get closer to catching them, why we still don’t know which dreaded terrorist is in the country and which is not, how the conflicts between various investigating agencies is impacting their efforts, the progress of our diplomatic efforts with Pakistan on the issue of terrorism… the list goes on. Yet what is available in newspapers is scanty and one can only glean all this from throwaway remarks here and there.

     

    TV news has to absolved from all this because its levels of maturity are still low. One of the funniest moments for me remains when the verdict on the Mumbai terrorist attacks was pronounced and the judge acquitted ?? and ?? for lack of evidence.

     

    Policeman turned activist and lawyer YP Singh was on NDTV. He said the acquittal reflected very badly on the Mumbai police. The NDTV anchor said: “how can you say that sir, they work so hard”. The expression of speechless incredulous horror on Singh’s face was classic!

     

    * * *

     

    As with terrorists, so also in the killings of “Naxals” in Chattisgarh, we put “patriotism” or adherence to state policies before journalistic rigour. It took the Indian Express to point out that many of these so-called dreaded Naxals were ordinary villagers and school children. If the media does not call out the government on these transgressions, then it is conceding all its “freedom of expression” space to NGOs and activists and thus abdicating one of its biggest responsibilities.

     

  • It looks like the media (who thrive on noise of their own kind) has accepted that every Indian famous and otherwise, has an inalienable, constitutional right to make as much noise whenever and wherever he/she pleases, notes Gouri Dange

    [MJR] Gouri Dange: Why this silence over the noise?

    By Gouri Dange

     

    Since the feeding frenzy over the Saif tidbit that fell into the media shark tank is over, one is loathe to bring it up again and create more sites where the moronic incident will pop up on search engines. But there’s one thing that no one asked or discussed anywhere in any medium, earth, fire, water, or air – meaning print, Hindi news channels, English news channels and on the internet: Is it not at all legitimate and reasonable for a person to ask for quiet and decorum in a public space?

     

    As backward and foolish and boorish as the punching out of a diner in the Taj by Saif, is the attitude that he (and crores of his fellow Indians) display when he airily said to the man who asked him and his women and men pals repeatedly to keep it down: ‘If you want silence, go to a library’. (Fortunately he thought of ‘library’ and not ‘graveyard’).

     

    Ha! Is that the only place where one can expect and demand some quiet in this sub-continent, is what SOMEONE should have asked this Nawabling, when the story was being followed so closely. But, typically, all we had by way of coverage is ‘who started it’ and ‘what did the Taj have to say’ and ‘was there CCTV footage or not’, and ‘was Saif’s phone on or off’ and other such nitty-gritty matters delivered to us with such round-the-clock efficiency by every media that there is. But about the fact that he was making enough noise for fellow diners (who are not all gosh-golly about Bollywood) to find him and everyone at his table galling and bad for the digestion, no one said a thing. At least someone could have asked him that prim but significant question that our teachers asked us often: “Is this what your mummy-daddy taught you to do?”

     

    However, it looks like the media too (who thrive on noise of their own kind) has accepted that every Indian famous and otherwise, has an inalienable, constitutional right to make as much noise whenever and wherever he/she pleases. No one asked the Princelet whether he felt free to talk, shout, laugh and horse around in any country outside the sub-continent. I’m trying to think of him and his gang in some toney restaurant in the western world behaving this way in the first place (forget punching out a fellow-patron) and I can’t see it happening. On top of it, the media reports that 48 hours later, when he had come down off his uncha-ghoda, he admitted that he had done something wrong (as opposed to the previous day’s “mummy-tell-him-no…he-beat-me-first” stance) he said something about “We (the royal We) should set a good example as we are constantly watched…etc”. My point is, you should behave well not because you are watched but because your mummy-daddy spent good money getting you an education and some polish. And because other people have a right to be in a pleasant dining situation (outside of a library).

     

    It was only some voices of Facebook et al that were all a-twitter with the right questions on this ‘silence is only in libraries’ school of Indian philosophy.  And about how the same minor-Mughals behave impeccably in public places outside of this great land, where silence and not shoving people is kind of expected of everyone.

     

    One last point that any responsible media person must kindly caution these Beautiful People (various Khans, Aroras, and suchlike) about after such a fracas, is this: don’t get into physical brawls, because you never know, those hair weaves, that botox, the silicon, and the stitches, can all come undone right there in public, and then what a mess there will be to clean up. (And can the media possibly NOT quote a bunch of puranay-paapi ‘vouching’ for each other’s decency and honesty? I mean come on, do we really want to hear about solidarity for Saif coming from sundry blackbuck shooters and hit-and-run-drivers with infamous anger-management issues of their own?)

     

  • Simplicity and hard work seem to have worked for Scarecrow Communications which has been on an account-winning spree

    Scarecrow’s simple way to Success

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    We try harder as we are not number 1! This line aptly sums up the attitude that has helped in the success of Scarecrow Communications. Launched in February 2010, the agency has seen growth which has surpassed the expectation of the four partners – Manish Bhatt, Raghu Bhat, Arunava (Joy) Sengupta and Vivek Suchanti.

     

    The mantra for success as Manish Bhatt himself puts is that like the name of the agency, Scarecrow: We as an organization are rooted to ground and are earthy in our approach. We believe in doing hard work and we have taken the longer route to success while slogging to reach where we are today. We don’t get swayed by things happening around and do not get into creative indulgence, but do work that brings a real difference to our clients’ brands.

     

    Mr Bhatt recounts the journey that they embarked on with Scarecrow – even before they started, the duo (Manish and Raghu) were approached by a few network agencies and some independents to work for them as freelancers. So when they actually announced Scarecrow, they had four clients on board.

     

    CLIENTSPEAK
     

    Subhrangshu Neogi, Director- Brand and Corporate Communications, Religare Enterprises

    Working with Scarecrow has been exciting so far. They don’t approach the engagement like a typical client-agency matrix but do so more from a partnership context. They sit and co-create – co-creation is not just lip service. The team, including the founding partners themselves, make that extra effort to understand the little details and nuances which eventually leads to the creation of a good breakthrough end product.

     

    Jiby Thomas, Co-founder, VP, Marketing, Quikr

    We decided to partner with Scarecrow because of their ability to  align their creative thinking to business strategy and develop breakthrough creative that connects with consumers. They are young, hungry and passionate about the work they do and brands they work for.

     

    Dinesh Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, Anchor Electricals

    From the outset, Anchor was clear that we wanted to associate with a small agency. As the company was evolving and moving away from being a family owned business to being a part of an MNC, there were a lot of processes which were not in place and it was time for a change. What we had in mind was an agency that would become an integral part of our organisation and understand our challenges and meets them effectively. We wanted the agency to grow along with the company. With Scarecrow, the partnership has unfolded exactly as we had envisioned. They understand our issues and requirements and very often they come with more solutions than what we have asked for. In fact, even during the pitch process we were impressed by their involvement with the brand. More importantly, my team is comfortable working with them and I would say that its been a positive relationship.

     

    One thing the partners were clear about, even when they started, was to not establish themselves as boutique, but as a full service agency. Raghu Bhat said: “We wanted Scarecrow to be one-stop that delivers a client’s business and marketing solutions. Also we were clear that for an organization to sustain growth, we need to deliver diverse solutions.”

     

    Interestingly, the agency’s digital presence is just one page that gives their contact details along with their logo. The explanation being that they don’t want people to come with any prejudice while approaching the agency, hence the single contact page works best for them as it gives out crucial detail and has even given them many leads.

     

    As Mr Bhatt explained: “It’s a clean slate for those who want to connect with us with no preconceived notions, and I think this approach has worked best for us.”

     

    When they started out, Joy Sengupta explained, there were 18 people and within 4-6 months they wanted more people on board. “The truth is that we have ambitions but we were never over-confident or over-ambitious, and in that sense we underestimated our potential. Now the agency has over 50 people on board and has offices in Mumbai and Delhi and is looking to expand footprint.”

     

    Another reason, according to Manish Bhatt, that has worked to Scarecrow’s advantage: “Advertising is ultimately people’s business and if you don’t recognize that, you would not grow. We have consciously tried to get fairly senior resources in the agency and have focused on empowering our second line of resources. We take pride in the fact that we have invested in people.”

     

    The focus has been to give best service to the clients, and for this the agency had to do certain trade-offs. Most importantly, the agency didn’t concentrate on any awards nor entered for awards, instead they focused on client servicing and acquiring new businesses. However, getting new business has not been an issue, as many came because of the equity the partners enjoy in the industry.

     

    Mr Bhatt said: “Scarecrow, since its launch, has managed to create buzz and remain at the top of mind of the industry. For us getting new business has not been a constraint.”

     

    So what is it that has made the independents take the industry by such a storm – is it because the value for money small sized agency would provide? On the contrary, Mr Sengupta pointed: “We are rather expensive, as we don’t have scale that big agency networks provide. So, if I have a new client, I might actually hire new people to look after that business, than in a bigger agency which might just end up reshuffling the resources.”

     

    Another practice that Scarecrow doesn’t encourage is taking up businesses on project basis, 90 per cent of their business is on retainer basis, allowing them a sense of stability.

     

    While they have Nestle, Danone, Religare, Future Capital and a host of other businesses but when asked where are the big ticket spenders who many of the independents have in their kitty, Mr Bhatt said: “We are only two-years old, and I think the big brands would come to us, but we have not designed from the beginning to have them, as we believe we must do good work and we will get good work by default. We have got the mid-sized businesses and probably the bigger spenders too will follow.”

     

    Right now the focus for the agency is to build the Delhi branch and look at getting more visible work. It has recently come out with 10 second ad for Quickr that has been garnering good reviews.

     

    Scarecrow also has a gallery that is a platform for encouraging talent. Besides they encourage industry experts to come at the gallery and share their view points with others in the industry. They also have initiated MoM or Method of Madness which is a reverse internship program, where instead of few interns coming and working with them, team Scarecrow goes on campus and participates and interacts with the students.

     

    Asked if Scarecrow was open to selling its stakes, Raghu Bhat replied: “I think we have enough going in India, so we not looking for selling any stakes. However, we are open to collaborating with partners that will help us in maximizing our potential.” The agency also doesn’t rule out the possibility of acquiring an entity outside of India which will help them in expanding their footprint.

     

    Mr Bhatt concluded: “We are a group of well grounded, down to earth people. When you see us at any pitch you can make out that we don’t come with any swagger that many in the business come with. We are genuinely interested in the brand and want to make it work for the clients in the market place. We might not have the big telecom spender or the cola giant but our clients, with variety of portfolio, truly gives us an opportunity to bring creativity that will help their businesses grow.”

     

  • Mr Sharma will oversee the Dabur business and report to Sulina Menon, Executive Director, SMG

    Mediavest appoints Atul Sharma as GM

    By A Correspondent

     

    MediaVest Worldwide, a Starcom MediaVest Group agency has appointed Atul Sharma from Madison Media as GM in their Delhi office. Mr Sharma, who joined on June 20, will oversee the Dabur business and report to Sulina Menon, Executive Director, SMG.

     

    Mr Sharma is a postgraduate in marketing with specialization in research and consumer behaviour. He has more than 11 years experience in Strategy, Procurement and Implementation. He started career with NDTV in research and marketing. He worked extensively on audience segmentation models, business development and marketing plans.

     

    Mr Sharma had stints at Initiative Media and MPG, working with clients such as LG, Nestle, ITC, Maruti and Reckitt Benkiser.  He spent the last four years at Madison where he worked on Coca Cola amongst other clients.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Sulina Menon said: “We are happy to have Atul on board for Dabur. With his extensive FMCG experience and the research background we are looking at him to drive strategy led solutions to the Dabur brands.”

     

    On his reason for joining SMG, Mr Sharma said: “SMG is a future ready organization and I am excited to work with the new age tools like Tardiis and optimize plans across TV and Web in one go.”