Nobel Hygiene, manufacturer of disposable hygiene products, has announced the appointment of Lara Balsara to its board of directors.
Said Kartik Johari, VP-Marketing & Commerce, Nobel Hygiene: “We are glad to have Lara onboard with us. She is a legend in the media and advertising industry. Her insight and expertise will add great value to the company especially at a time when our brands are embarking on media intensive journeys. There is an emotional connect with her, too—Nobel Hygiene was one of her first accounts that she reached out to as a media trainee during the beginning of her career at Madison. Our association has only grown stronger with time. Throughout the years, Madison has been a valued partner and we hope to deepen this relationship over the next phase of brand building.”
Added Balsara: “My association with Nobel Hygiene started way back in 2005. I have seen the company and its various brands grow from strength to strength over the years. I am delighted to be a part of its Board. The categories that Nobel Hygiene operates in, come with their own set of very unique challenges. With the right mix of media and medium we can create an unbeatable combination that can take brand awareness to the next level. The sky is the limit.”
Vega, the personal care appliances and beauty care accessory brand, has awarded its digital mandate to Liqvd Asia. The agency will be responsible for leveraging the digital space to optimise the brand’s online visibility, and outreach across multiple relevant platforms, and engage its growing customer base.
Speaking about the win that happens to coincide with the company’s 9th anniversary celebrations, Arnab Mitra, Managing Director, Liqvd Asia, said: “The beauty and grooming industry in the country is booming, thanks to the growing desire among both men and women to look stylish and feel good. VEGA is committed to its consumers, keeping its brand idea and ethos intact. It is a great brand to work with and will continuously challenge us to innovate and execute unique digital strategies. We look forward to create interesting content as there are many opportunities to communicate with target audiences via multiple touchpoints, and to enhance the brand into the digital space.”
Speaking on the occasion, Eiti Singhal, CMO, Vega Industries Pvt. Ltd, added: “As a brand, we are looking to reach out to more and more millennials & Gen Z’s in the digital space and have meaningful conversations with them. Our continuous endeavour is to inspire consumers about being comfortable in their own skin and grooming is the springboard for this self-confidence, comfort and joy. We are excited to partner with Liqvd Asia who has the expertise and insights in creating a top mind recall & consideration for the brand.”
SleepX from Sheela Foam Ltd has announced the launch of a new campaign titled ‘Good sleep is your superpower’. The campaign highlights the impact of a good night’s sleep on one’s productivity and well-being during the hours they are awake.
On the campaign, Sumit Sehgal, Business Head – ECommerce, Sheela Foam Ltd., said: “Sleep is our best energy source – both mental and physical. With the launch of our brand idea – ‘Good Sleep is your superpower’, we aim to build on the importance of good sleep that will help the millennial generation sleep better. Curve is one such innovative product which is designed basis our body contour with curved foam layers for a restful sleep. We will be launching many new bedroom products to enable consumer sleep better and power through the day.”
Added Sreekumar Puthan Veetil and Namaah Kumar, Creative Leads, Sideways: “Indians are among the most sleep-deprived in the world. And the last 2 years have forced us all to look at our lives a little differently; to focus a bit more on our well-being, both mental and physical. And here, we sensed there was space for a sleep solutions brand like SleepX to engage in a conversation, educate and eventually help us realize the importance of a good night’s sleep.”
Bharti AXA Life Insurance has roped in Vidya Balan as its brand ambassador. The actor will help deepen the narrative of #DoTheSmartThing championed by the brand.
Commenting on the announcement, Parag Raja, MD & CEO, Bharti AXA Life Insurance said, “Vidya Balan has been a challenger in her field, expressing herself authentically and has always questioned stereotypes. She has excelled in bringing compelling and unique narratives to life on screen and is self-made, reliant, and audacious- values that strongly resonate with Bharti AXA Life as a brand. We believe in long-term relationships and are excited to bring Vidya on board to further our goal of broadening life insurance penetration across India.”
Ha ha. It’s a Friday question. But a serious one. Let’s hear it from Dr Bhaskar Das in Das ka Dum dated March 4. Read on…
If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.
Q. And we are in March. The last month of the financial year. Do you see businesses scampering to ensure their P/Ls look good? Or will it be a weekend well spent?
A. Why can’t it be both? When P/L looks good, the weekend gets better too. Of course weekends can be well spent on a standalone basis too. Human proclivity towards an either-or outcome may not always land one with optimal decisions-making
Signify has rolled out its latest TV advertising campaign ‘Beauty that moves you’ for its Philips decorative lighting range. Sanya Malhotra has been appointed brand ambassador for its Philips lighting range. The film is developed by BBH India.
Speaking about the new campaign, Nikhil Gupta, Head of Marketing & Integrated Communications and Commercial Operations, Signify Innovations India Limited said: “We have a wide variety of beautiful designs in our decorative lighting range that includes chandeliers, pendants, wall lamps and outdoor lights, that are sold exclusively at our 200+ Philips Smart Light Hubs spread across the country. Our latest TVC showcases how beautiful decorative lights can completely transform the ambience and aesthetics of a room. We are also delighted to welcome Sanya Malhotra as the brand ambassador for our Philips lighting range. She was a natural choice for us as her fresh and youthful personality deeply resonates with our brand.”
The Indian media as ever has covered itself in nationalistic glory in its coverage of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Every angle has been explored in all possible ways to present India and its most patriotic government led by the greatest leader ever, Narendra Modi, in the best light ever.
Has there been a better war that India has not fought?
No!
Has there been a better rescue of Indians from a war zone by a most patriotic government?
No!
Has a former chief of army staff done a better job as a traffic warden on a cargo plane?
NO! NO! NO!
Have Union ministers been better humiliated by mayors in foreign nations?
Emphatically no!
Have Indians ever been as ungrateful for not being rescued in time?
Definitely no!
Has India ever shown in such spectacular displays of pusillanimity its inability to take a stand on the world stage?
Absolutely no!
It is thus conclusively proved that India is the best and the greatest.
Meanwhile. In Times Now-land, the chief target in the Ukraine invasion is NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. And thus, India’s best known geopolitical and strategic analyst Rahul Shivshankar, has ushered in, in his own words, “the Age of Bharat”, by consistently attacking NATO and also the United States of America.
India at this, its best moment, is caught somewhere between the left and the right. Sometimes our TV people love the USA and hate Russia. Sometimes it’s the other way around. It all depends on the mood of their great leader and adviser.
After this long-winded build up, we reach one of the best moments in Indian TV entertainment. Provided by Shivshankar. Someone told me he’s editor in chief of Times Now. Is this true?
Anyway, in fine TV tradition and also in contention for an award for worst journalistic impersonation by a non-journalist and also best example of TV anchoring as India understands it, Shivshankar provided his loyal bunch of brainless Times Now watchers as well as global social media, an absolute gem. It is not possible to describe the humour, the expressions, the hysterical grandstanding, the enormous effort to abuse and attack your own invited guests, and then, the denouement.
Priceless. I revise this whole para. Best moment in TV.
The best of TV anchoring: no idea who your guests are, misidentifying one guest for another, going off on a massive rant aimed at the wrong person, endless grandstanding, showing off your knowledge of slightly not current teenage slang… the examples are endless.
I understand that in TV some anchors just dress up and yap on air, and the ground work is done by others. But where my ignorance shows is here: what stops these stars from doing even five minutes of pre-show homework to familiarise themselves with their studio “guests”?
I guess I will never understand TV. And why I separate TV from all other forms of journalism.
Meanwhile, Mr McAdams has become world famous for just saying his own name. But watch to the end, please.
**
The glory of the Indian TV media does not end here. Across most channels, we have the fabulously entertaining spectacle of students stranded in Ukraine upending the Modi government line on rescue and evacuation operations to the considerable distress of our TV reporters. Much as our reporters and a few anchors followed their hourly list of instructions from the PMO: praise Modi every few seconds, get the students to praise Modi, these students refused to comply and toe the toady line. Please say something nice begged the TV people. Angry angry angry at government incompetence went the students.
You understand now why the Modi government has hated students from Day 1.
This show for The Wire, by independent journalist, Saahil Murli Meghani, who also brought us the farmers protests, lets the students have their say. And exposes a few of the Modi government’s lies.
Somewhere, there are people dying, there is a chance of further disaster, there is a world crisis. But if you follow Indian TV, basically there’s Modi singlehandedly doing everything in the Universe.
Wow.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal
Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited (FGII) has announced the launch of ‘Oh My Dog!’, a digital campaign to create awareness around the importance of purchasing dog health insurance cover towards protecting our furry friends. This 360-degree digital campaign is conceptualised by Mullen Lintas.
On the launch of the campaign, Ruchika Malhan Varma, Chief Marketing Officer, Future Generali India Insurance said: “As a brand that is focused on having a pulse on its customers evolving needs and providing innovative solutions across their life cycle, we realized the place a dog holds in a household today – that of a family member. This meant bringing forth an unfelt need – just as one would protect a loved one with health insurance, a pet parent can also consider purchasing a dog health insurance cover for safeguarding their four-legged doggie family. However, here is the twist. Insurance is a serious matter while we associate dogs with mischief and play. Hence, to drive home the importance of dog health insurance cover we decided to launch a playful digital campaign that showcases the mischiefs that dogs get into while also being value accretive.”
Said Garima Khandelwal, Chief Creative Officer, Mullen Lintas: “Dog insurance is a first mover advantage in India for Future Generali India Insurance. We have a lot more dog parents, which means more pet stores and pet products around us today and it’s a fresh category for mass media that is catering to this spike, and as an insight for the offering, it’s something that works across borders. To be relatable and sharply land the need for insurance for your furry babies was the only lookout. Cute dogs being silly with a catchy track that was a fit for this film. The challenge was to shoot these situations such that it doesn’t harm or pose any threat to the 14 dogs on set, involving immense pre planning and many cheats on post. The campaign hashtag OH MY DOG, is a memorable hook to witnessing a dog land in trouble, without any intention to of course.”
Advertising expenditure by over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare brands in 13 key markets (including India) will expand by 7.6% in 2022 and 5.0% in 2023, according to Zenith’s new Business Intelligence – OTC Healthcare report, published today. This growth will be driven by tailored digital brand advertising, as well as performance advertising driving traffic to OTC ecommerce platforms.
OTC advertising grew throughout the pandemic. OTC adspend expanded by 6.8% in 2020 while the market as a whole shrank by 3.5%, as healthcare messages soared in relevance for consumers. Demand for cold and flu remedies sank sharply as social distancing cut their transmission, but most other sub-categories continued to grow, and sales of sleep aids spiked. When the pandemic hit, brands in many categories cut back or even ceased their communications, concerned that their messaging was no longer appropriate, or in some cases counterproductive in the new context. This gave OTC brands the opportunity to use plentiful cheap media to reinforce their contribution to consumers’ health and wellbeing.
“The continued shift to digital allows OTC brands to use smart segmentation and dynamic creative to market the same products to different people with different needs, within the framework of regulations for digital advertising in this category,” said Benoit Cacheux, Global Chief Digital Officer, Zenith. “The gym-goer with muscle ache, the office worker with a headache and the parent whose child has growing pains all need pain relief, but brands need to talk to them in different ways to persuade them most effectively. This ability to tailor the creative to the needs of the audience gives digital advertising an advantage that traditional media never had.”
“The pandemic has focused consumers’ attention on their health and disrupted their reliance on traditional OTC distribution channels,” said Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting, Zenith. “Brands will continue to step up their investment in digital advertising as the rise of ecommerce gives it a greater role in driving OTC sales and brand growth.”
From the communique issued by Zenith:
OTC advertising then rose a very healthy 12.8% in 2021, though in this case its growth was slightly behind the overall market, which had its lost ground to make up. Zenith forecasts growth in OTC advertising to remain healthy over the next two years, as brands defend their price premiums and ecommerce platforms compete to establish dominance.
OTC has lagged some way behind the market as a whole in embracing ecommerce, but the lockdowns and other restrictions led to a leap in OTC ecommerce in 2020. Now that more consumers are aware of and comfortable with the option of shopping for OTC products online, it will become an ever more important sales channel over the next few years. This means traditional distributors such as pharmacies and supermarkets are facing new competition from digital ecommerce platforms, and brands have new opportunities to launch new partnerships or even direct-to-consumer ventures. The increased competition for traffic and sales will fuel continued growth in brand and performance advertising.
Zenith forecasts that OTC healthcare adspend will grow from US$20.1bn in 2021 to US$22.7bn in 2023, 36% above pre-pandemic spending level of US$16.7bn in 2019.
Shift to digital helps brands tailor messaging to consumers’ specific needs: When consumer first buy an OTC product, they often spend time researching the purchase and discussing it with family, friends and trusted advisors like pharmacists. However, after the first purchase, buying OTC products quickly becomes routine, part of the regular shop. The fundamental role of OTC advertising is therefore to maintain brand awareness at the point of purchase, much like FMCG advertising. Similarly, OTC healthcare makes heavy use of television for its high-impact mass reach. OTC advertisers spent 38% of their budgets on television advertising in 2021, compared to 21% for the average advertiser across all categories. OTC brands also spend more on radio and magazines – radio for its mass reach and magazines for their high impact.
Until recently, it was difficult to use digital advertising to create emotional connections and lasting brand awareness. The rise of high-quality advertising environments, online video and retailer media – ads that appear on retail websites and ecommerce platforms – means brands can use digital to convey brand values effectively right through to the sale. Brands are also spending more on performance advertising as OTC ecommerce scales up.
Zenith forecasts that OTC brands will increase their digital adspend at an average rate of 11% a year between 2021 and 2023, while radio grows by 5%, television by 3%, and magazines shrink by 3%. Digital will account for 49% of OTC advertising in 2023, up from 46% in 2021.
*The 13 markets included in this report are Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA, which between them account for 74% of total global adspend. The report covers medicines and remedies sold over the counter, including cold and allergy remedies, contraception, digestion care, eye care, oral care, pain relief, skin care, sleep aids, stop-smoking aids and wound care.
It’s an unfair question to ask, because how can anyone give the perfect answer?! But, it’s when there are shades of grey that we turn to our Wizard with Words for counsel. Without any further ado, let’s hear it from Dr Bhaskar Das in Das ka Dum dated March 7. Read on…
If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.
Q. Do you see the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacting adspends? Or too early to say?
A. Fundamentally we stay in a connected world and everything is going to affect everything, directly or indirectly. Ukraine isn’t going to be an exception. Secondly, these are early days of the conflict (may not be for the victims) since the sabre- rattling had started. One can only simulate multiple scenarios but the real scenario would alter differently, everyday.
But as Bertrand Russell opined once: war doesn’t determine who is right – only who is left. So we have to wait and watch the repercussions of this aggrandisement on business sentiments. Already some impact has started showing on oil prices and the auto industry. In short, the outcome won’t be very palatable for sure, if the war hysteria continues to escalate, irrespective of the sector.
Indiatoday.in and Amazon Alexa have come together to bring viewers the Ground Zero report for the UP elections.
Notes a communique: “The partnership puts the focus on delivering most factual information and insightful analysis through three episodes of our flagship show Trigger Point hosted by Preeti Chaudhary,” adding: “As the 7 phases of polling nearly comes to an end and exit polls being around the corner, their unique content partnership comes at the crucial juncture in the most anticipated political festival of Hindi speaking belt of India – UP elections.”
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Audible, the online audiobook and podcast service of Amazon and Delhi Press have announced the release of over 60 popular Hindi stories, from the publishing house’s magazines Grihshobha, Sarita, and Saras Salil in audio format exclusively on Audible, absolutely free.
Said Shailesh Sawlani, VP and Country GM, Audible India: “This International Women’s Day, we are bringing some already popular Hindi stories, from some of India’s most renowned Hindi magazines to life via audio. I hope all listeners enjoy the heightened listening experience these stories offer, and the convenience it offers to those multitasking throughout the day. With such initiatives now and in the future, we want to continue to bring unique, diverse content to our listeners across the country”
Added Anant Nath, Executive Publisher of Delhi Press, added: “Our magazines are loved and admired by millions of readers, especially women, for their heartwarming and relatable stories that resonate with the myriad of emotional hues they live through in their daily lives. This Women’s Day, we are extremely pleased to bring a selection of these stories in audio format on Audible, to a wider audience.”
Ha ha. It’s a Friday question. But a serious one. Let’s hear it from Dr Bhaskar Das in Das ka Dum dated March 4. Read on…
By Ranjona Banerji