MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • To position Melbourne and the State of Victoria as the most preferred destination

    Lintas Live wins back mandate for Visit Victoria

    By Our Staff

     

    Visit Victoria, the primary tourism and events company for the State of Victoria in Australia, has reappointed Lintas Live to help reimagine the brand’s PR and digital strategy for India. The agency will build and curate an overarching integrated communication framework for the brand to strengthen positioning of the destination and enhance its appeal to the discerning Indian traveller.  Lintas Live will support Visit Victoria in its mission to position Melbourne and the State of Victoria as the most preferred destination for outbound travellers from India.

     

    On the appointment of Lintas Live, Ms. Celia Ho, Regional Manager – South & South East Asia, Visit Victoria, said: “We are delighted to have Lintas Live back, an agency that exhibits an exceptional knowledge of our brand DNA. Working with them over the years, Lintas Live has truly become our brand custodian. At a time when many are looking forward to travelling again, we need an agency partner that understands our brand, knows the Indian audience, and has the capability to connect with them in fresh new ways. The association with Lintas Live will entail delivering a range of marketing campaigns to create desire and position Melbourne and State of Victoria as one of the most preferred destination.”

     

    Added Ameer Ismail, President, Lintas Live: “We are excited to onboard Visit Victoria again and to build new relevance for them in a modern live digital first way. Indians have been waiting to travel and the State of Victoria already enjoys great salience. With our new digital first framework in place our objective will be to capture the hearts and minds of consumers while ensuring Melbourne is at the top of people’s travel bucket list. We look forward to this partnership.”

     

  • Rakesh Kumar appointed as Director Sales

    DangleAds strengthens its performance business

    By Our Staff

     

    DangleAds Technologies has announced the appointment of Rakesh Kumar as Director Sales. The strategic hire in the business team is in line with DangleAds renewed focus on its global expansion and brand building across the digital ecosystem to drive business growth, customer acquisition, product innovation and greater adoption of performance marketing.

     

    On the expansion of the business team, Pulkit Narayan, Founder and CEO, DangleAds Technology said: “We are expanding into global markets and have also increased our product portfolio. We are on a resilient progression trail and with such promising progress, we felt the need to strengthen our business team that could lead us to desired future campaigns and success. We require good talent who can help grow our business many folds and provide us great market penetration in different vertices. I am delighted to have Rakesh in my team and confident that his rich experience and skill – set would help us in building DangleAds as a market leader in performance marketing and lead us on a growth path in India and abroad.”

     

  • Chronicles over 25+ successful brand stories

    MullenLowe Lintas launches commemorative book

    By Our Staff

     

    MullenLowe Lintas Group has launched a book to showcase what it callsits purpose-led brand building philosophy – ‘Brands to Stands’. The book has been authored by S. Subramanyeswar (Subbu), Chief Strategy Officer – Asia Pacific and Head of Global Planning Council, MullenLowe Group

     

    The book has learnings from brands such as Tata Tea, Surf Excel, Havells, Axis Bank, Swiggy, Lifebuoy, Bajaj Avenger etc. It also features a prologue by film-maker and former Chairman & CCO of MullenLowe Lintas Group – R Balki, and an epilogue by Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons.

     

    Commenting on the occasion, Amer Jaleel, Group CCO and Chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group said: “Our work has been spoken of at various forums and awards separately because it’s always been brand-linked, client-linked. It deserved to be celebrated together because when you see just a fraction of what Lintas has produced over the years you can see the patterns of our thinking, the volume of our contribution to the world of marketing and the scale of our impact on the work being churned out today.”

     

    Added Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group: “Our journey on Brands to Stands started much before the term brand purpose became popular. It is an approach that has helped provide a long-term distinctiveness to the brands and create respect and love for it. The book covers 25+ cases that have set a benchmark in the world of branding and marketing. These ideas have won the effectiveness awards at every level – India, Asia and the world. We have a robust strategy process to arrive at the brand purpose and point of view and the creative mastery to craft that into a narrative that is fresh and yet consistent over time.”

     

    Talking about ‘Brands to Stands, Subbu said, “Marketing will significantly benefit as brands take stands in a world that will no longer stand for a glut of commoditized products and services without any meaning. Our book ‘Brands to Stands’ floats an idea that inspires brands and businesses to embrace this fresh new wave of thinking by showcasing how some of India’s top brands have positively impacted the way society at large thinks and behaves. Each of the brand stories chronicled in the book captures a wealth of marketing wisdom, powerful insights and memorable anecdotes from their respective brand custodians as well as prominent industry experts. The book appeals equally to corporates, entrepreneurs, students and about anyone who wants to elevate the role of brands to ensure that they are in the vanguard of transforming society. This is not a book with an end, but one that prompts a new beginning.”

     

  • Lulla will be on board wef April 4 and will work with the business until Dentsu India hires a permanent CEO. 

    Sunil Lulla joins Dentsu as Consultant Advisor for India

    By Our Staff

     

    Sunil Lulla
    Peter Huijboom
    Peter Huijboom

    Dentsu has announced the appointment of industry veteran Sunil Lulla as Consultant Advisor for India. Lulla will work closely with, and report into, Peter Huijboom, Interim CEO, Dentsu India to focus on driving business growth and activation in the market while continuing the search for the right candidate to lead the Dentsu India business. Lulla will be on board wef April 4 and will work with the business until Dentsu India hires a permanent CEO.

    Commenting on the appointment, Huijboom said: “Sunil is joining us at a critical time as we realise the benefits of our transformation through our integrated offering. He has had an impressive career with significant achievements in the businesses he has worked with, and I am looking forward to our partnership. We see significant opportunity in the India market and I am pleased with the momentum we are seeing. Sunil will continue to accelerate our growth trajectory while working with our teams to define, activate and ignite Dentsu’s winning culture in the market. It’s an exciting time to be at Dentsu India.”

    Added Lulla: “I am thrilled to participate in Denstu India’s growth and transformation journey. I could not refuse an opportunity to work with a business that is relentlessly focused on shaping their own business to help clients navigate the changing market context and pioneer a new way forward. I am excited to partner with Peter and build on the progress made with the leadership team, being a part of the team that works together to transform into the agency of tomorrow.”

    An MBA from SP Jain Institute, Lulla has spent long and successful years in advertising, broadcast and digital. He spent 11 years in JWT in India, China and Taiwan, three years at HMV (now Saregama), three years at MTV India which he turned around, a year at Diageo, two years at Indya.com, three years at Sony Entertainment and then eight years as CEO and MD of the Times Television Network. Later he spent nearly four years as CMD of Grey Group India before making the switch to Balaji where he was there for a year-and-a-half. He took charge as CEO of television audience measurement body BARC in October 2019.

  • But newsprint prices will tear 300-350 bps off operating profitability, adds the report

    Print media revenue to grow ~20% new fiscal: Crisil

    By Our Staff

     

    Accordiing to Crisil, Print media revenue to grow ~20% next fiscal, but newsprint prices will tear 300-350 bps off operating profitability. India’s print media sector could log ~20% topline growth next fiscal, driven by recovery in its two major revenue streams — advertisement (ad) and subscription — albeit on a low base.

     

    However, higher newsprint prices will tear as much as 300-350 basis points (bps) off the operating margin, shows an analysis of print media companies rated by Crisil Ratings, accounting for ~40% of the sector’s revenues. Ad revenue should rebound as economic activity improves, given their high correlation, while reopening of offices and people moving back to work locations should shore up subscription revenue. Next fiscal, revenue could climb to ~Rs 27,000 crore from ~Rs 18,600 crore seen in fiscal 2021. But that won’t be enough to reclaim the pre-pandemic highs of over ~Rs 32,000 crore (refer to Chart 1 in annexure).

     

    Said Nitesh Jain, Director, Crisil Ratings: “Ad revenue, which accounts for ~70% of the sector’s topline, recovered sharply after the second wave of the pandemic, supported by the festive season and state elections. The impact of the third wave was milder and limited to January. Next fiscal, we expect ad revenue of print media companies to grow ~25% on a low base, in alignment with economic activity. Ad volumes are expected to rebound fully to the pre-pandemic level next fiscal, but ad yield will recover only gradually.”

     

    Subscription revenue — accounting for the balance ~30% of the topline — has recovered to a large extent for Hindi and regional language newspapers, but remains impacted for English dailies. This, too, is expected to grow ~10% next fiscal, led by resumption of offices and migration of working population back to metros. However, the increasing shift in reading preference to digital media would continue to keep subscription of physical newspapers below pre-pandemic levels. Interestingly, lower subscription volume of physical newspapers has helped print media companies sail through the pandemic as it kept a leash on the volume of newsprint consumed (key raw material that accounts for 30-35% of the total operating cost for print media companies). Newsprint prices have risen a whopping ~60% (refer Chart 2 in annexure) in the past one year because of shortage of new and recycled newsprint, rise in freight rates, depreciation of the rupee, and fall in supplies following closure of manufacturing capacities.

     

    Added Rakshit Kachhal, Associate Director, Crisil Ratings, “Operating margins of print media companies is seen contracting to 6.0-6.5% next fiscal from 9-9.5% this fiscal (refer Chart 3 in annexure), because of elevated newsprint prices. This is despite rationalisation of newsprint consumption and expected increase in cover prices. India imports more than half of its total newsprint demand. Russia is a major exporter, so its war with Ukraine could affect the demand-supply situation and impact newsprint prices.”

     

    While the credit risk profiles of large print media companies will be cushioned by healthy liquidity and strong balance sheets — most of them are net debt free — liquidity management will be crucial for the smaller ones because of the rise in newsprint prices, as their interest cover is estimated to be 2-2.5 times as on March 31, 2022. The base-case assumption is that newsprint prices will peak over the next few months and soften by the second quarter of next fiscal. Any continued rise in prices, or prolonged geopolitical issues, or further waves of the pandemic impacting India’s economic growth, will bear watching.

     

  • To manage strategic PR and reputation management

    Perfect Relations bags GreenCell Mobility mandate

    By Our Staff

     

    Perfect Relations, the PR agency part of Dentsu, has won the communications mandate for GreenCell Mobility. The consultancy will be responsible for managing the end-to-end PR solutions for GreenCell Mobility in India. GreenCell Mobility is India’s leading e-Mobility company backed by EverSource Capital, the fund manager of Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF).

     

    Speaking of the association, Ashok Agarwal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, GreenCell Mobility said: “We are committed to redefining the future of shared mobility in our country by providing smart and sustainable mobility solutions for all Indians. We look forward to working with Perfect Relations on our communication objective as we strengthen our presence across key cities in the country.”

     

    Commenting on this new association, Rohan Sukhatankar, Principal Lead at Perfect Relations said:, “We are honoured to be associated with GreenCell, a brand that is endeavoring to revolutionize the shared electric mobility space. Looking at our team’s experience and knowledge in the mobility industry and differentiated storytelling approach, I’m confident that we will be strengthening brand’s affinity and helping the company in achieving its set ambitions.”

     

     

  • To lead cohesive view across advertising, digital marketing and media

    DDB Mudra Group names Anand Murty and Mehak Jaini as Strategy Chiefs

    By Our Staff

     

    DDB Mudra Group has announced Anand Murty and Mehak Jaini as the Strategy Chiefs of DDB Mudra and 22feet Tribal Worldwide respectively. They will lead the group’s promise of a cohesive view across advertising, digital marketing and media. The company’s unique structure offers strategists an opportunity to shape and track the entire consumer journey. Their teams will marry the fundamentals of brand planning – a deep understanding of culture and consumers – with the demands of digital transformation for some of India’s most respected and fastest growing brands.

     

    Speaking of this change of guard, Aditya Kanthy, CEO & MD, DDB Mudra Group said: “We’re so excited about Anand and Mehak taking charge of the strategy department at the Group. They are the key to the kind of success we want to create for our people and clients. From brilliant creative work and beautiful, seamless experiences through to measured and disproportionate brand and business growth – the strategists are at the heart of the action here.  While one part of the task is to bring changes to the ways of traditional marketers, equally, they will help bring the basics of brand building and consumer thinking to help set a foundation for long-term sustainable growth for digitally forward companies.”

     

     

  • Will endorse the wide range collection of the brand

    Tara Sutaria to be face of Madame fashion wear

    By Our Staff

     

    Madame, the western wear fashion brand, has signed up Tara Sutaria as the face of the brand. The 26-year-old Bollywood actor will be endorsing the spring-summer and autumn-winter collection of the brand.

     

    Said Sumedha Jain, Head of Marketing and Communications: “We are delighted to partner with Tara to endorse our new collections of MADAME. This is in line with our motto of supporting the modern Indian women who dare to achieve their dreams. I think Tara is a wonderful representative of what our brand stands for. We want all the women to feel inspired and be confident about themselves.”

     

  • With a series of four films

    Motilal Oswal Home Finance launches maiden Brand Campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Motilal Oswal Home Finance has launched  a campaign for brand awareness. The campaign comprising a series of digital films, shares funny incidents of daydreaming that people can relate to when planning to buy their own home.

     

    Speaking on the campaign, Prathamesh Pathak, VP- Marketing, Motilal Oswal Home Finance said: “Owning a home is a once in a lifetime decision and hence for hassle free home loans one needs a partner whom they can trust. The Motilal Oswal brand has the legacy of over 30 years in the financial services business. We use this experience to provide hassle free home loans. We decided to use humour as a genre to connect with the affordable home loan audience and hence came up with the daydreaming concept. The films depict different kinds of people thereby connecting with different affordable home loan audiences. Boundless Media conceived and executed the project to give us a simple to understand yet entertaining films.”

     

  • To expand the platform's brand

    Whitepixel & GapBox bag sales mandate of Sidharth TV

    By Our Staff

     

    Odia GEC Sidharth TV has mandated Whitepixel and GapBox to handle its sales operations. Founded by Namita Agrawalla and Sitaram Agrawalla, Sidharth TV has four channels: Sidharth TV (GEC), Sidharth Bhakti (Devotional) Sidharth Gold (Movie), Jay Jaganath (Niche channel on Lord Jaganath).

     

    Talking about the mandate, Bibhuti Bhusan Mishra, Head-Operations ( Sidharth TV Network), said: “We have been in the field of creating artistic and engaging content for the Odia audiences for nearly four decades now. We had earlier established Sarthak TV which became a household name and was later acquired by Zee TV. We have also built a strong presence in the digital entertainment field with 23 YouTube channels across devotion, music, entertainment, and other popular verticals with combined followership of 22 million subscribers. With Sidharth TV, Sidharth Gold, and Sidharth Bhakti, we are aiming to bring the best in entertainment, cinema, and devotional content to Odia viewers. We have entrusted our sales duties to Whitepixel and GapBox and look forward to using their expertise.”

     

    Added George Kuriakose, Co-founder, of Whitepixel: “Sidharth TV is a prestigious name in the Odia entertainment sector. With visionaries such as Namita Agrawalla and Sitaram Agrawalla at the helm, the brand is going to be a market leader in the years to come. It is a matter of great pleasure and delight for Whitepixel to partner with Sidharth TV and expand the platform’s brand outreach among audiences within Odisha and outside.”

     

    Added Srinivas, Founder, GapBox: “As India’s leading branded content/Infomercial (DRTV) agency, we have been successful in establishing links between brands and communities. We believe in building modern brands that foster the rich cultural heritage. This is where Sidharth TV comes across as a perfect partner. They have built a network that has Odisha’s rich cultural heritage, practices and devotional depth at its core. The network also caters to all popular entertainment genres in vogue among the audience today. It is a joy to work with such a valued brand and bring about a transformation in Odia language entertainment industry, and we look forward to a long-term association with them.”

     

  • Roll out new TVC to promote 'CSK Yellow' paint colour

    Nippon Paint celebrates 5-yr truck with CSK

    By Our Staff

     

    Nippon Paint launched a new TVC, in line with its fifth year of partnership with leading Indian Premier League cricket franchise, Chennai Super Kings.

     

    Speaking about the association, S Mahesh Anand – President, Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division) said: “We are delighted to yet again team up with IPL’s most celebrated team, the Chennai Super Kings and say ‘Yellow’ to another IPL season.”

     

    Added Mark Titus- Assistant Vice-President- Marketing, At Nippon Paint India Private Limited (Decorative Division): “We see cricket as something that draws us Indians together and spreads much cheer and celebration amongst Nippon Paint’s customers and Indians across the world. We are excited about what CSK has in store for us. For our customers, we have just the colour to celebrate IPL and CSK – the Nippon Paint ‘CSK Yellow’. Apart from that, we have a series of digital ads and contests on our social media pages for CSK fans to look forward to. With the CSK Yellow, we are all set for IPL!”

     

  • You know this: the festival has been a precursor to Cannes for 30 years now

    Montreux entries close on April 10

    By Our Staff

     

    The 33rd edition of Golden award of Montreux Advertising Festival is scheduled this year at Montreux in end April 2021. Montreux Festival has been a precursor to Cannes for 30 years now and is one of Europe’s leading Advertising and Media Festivals.

     

    At last year’s Golden Award of Montreux Festival, Indian entries were successful despite tough international competition. Indian companies were awarded five gold medals. Viacom won two golds while MTV, Chrome pictures and Miami Ad School won one gold each. Viacom, MTV and Chrome Pictures also won finalist certificates.

     

    The Montreux Festival Talent Award has a contest for students and young professionals working on innovative projects in the field of advertising, e-contents and design. Miami Ad School Mumbai was awarded with a Gold and a Finalist.

     

    The Grand Prix of the Golden Award of Montreux was presented to Energy BBDO Chicago. Our own Ajay Chandwani is on the jury this year as well along with a galaxy of other global leading lights.