MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Fearing a possible drop in viewership, ESPN Star inks long-term deals for advertising for long cricket season

    ESPN Star derisks on cricket viewership by signing long-term ad deals

    By Vijaya Rathore

     

    In what could be seen as a fallout of falling television ratings for cricket, broadcaster ESPN Star Sports has for the first time ever forged long-term deals with advertisers that will help protect itself from any further drop in viewership.

     

    Ahead of a long cricket season that kicks off with the India-New Zealand series on Thursday, ESPN said it entered club deals on almost all cricket events in its kitty for the calendar year like the T20 World Cup, Champions League, England’s tour of India and the Australia series. Broadcasters were until now only signing tournament-specific deals.

     

    “Nokia, Havells, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Docomo have already come on board as sponsors for the entire cricket season,” says Sanjay Kailash, executive vice president, ESPN Software India. Mr Kailash did not share numbers, but industry sources with direct knowledge of the deals said ESPN has already managed to get advertisements worth Rs 2.8 billion through these deals.

     

    Following the advent of T20, a shorter 20-overs-a-side form of the game, viewership for the longer 50-overs-a-side one-day internationals and Test matches have dipped. TV ratings for ODI matches during the year averaged 2.5, while TVR for T20 tournaments were around 4, according to a company that quoted data given by TAM India.

     

    Mr Kailash said the four brands put together have bought around 40% of the total cricket advertising inventory for the calendar. “We are talking to a few more and plan to have around five-six long-term sponsors from categories like two wheelers and broadband services, besides doing deals for individual events.”

     

    However, ESPN has not included the India-Pakistan cricket series to be played in December. “We expect a large number of people to watch that tournament and will work out separate deals,” said Mr Kailash, who expects to get premium rates for that series.

     

    Advertisers also welcomed the move towards long-term deals. The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki, for instance, believes long-term deals help a brand improve its media planning. “We can time our launches and other advertising events accordingly and reach out to the right set of consumers through cricket,” a senior Maruti Suzuki India executive said.

     

    Similarly, electrical goods maker Havells India said it expects its advertisements to grab a large number of eyeballs when India plays against high-profile teams like Australia and England. “The amount of cricket that is going to be played is huge and we expect good return by investing in it,” said Vijay Narayan, vice-president of marketing at Havells India.

     

    Media planners said the consolidation of major cricketing events on one platform enabled ESPN to work out such deals. “Earlier cricket was fragmented and different tournaments were being shown by different channels. Now that ESPN has all major events till March, it becomes easy for an advertiser to work out value-enhancing deals,” said Basabdutta Chowdhury, chief executive of Platinum Media, a division of media buying group Madison World. She said brands looking for a long-term association with cricket will consider such deals.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

     

  • Digital solutions agency FoxyMoron has bagged the duties to handle the Digital portfolio of L'Oreal Paris in India, replacing Jack In The Box

    L’Oreal appoints FoxyMoron for Digital duties

    By a Correspondent

     

    Digital solutions agency FoxyMoron has bagged the duties to handle the Digital portfolio of L’Oreal Paris in India. According to an industry source, prior to FoxyMoron, Jack In The Box was the incumbent agency handling the digital duties for L’Oreal Paris – India.

     

    Harshil Karia, Online Strategist at FoxyMoron said “It’s a huge opportunity for us to do something innovative with a legendary brand. We’ve also got a great canvas to work with. A brand that works in hair care, hair color, skincare and makeup is almost a dream and we’re sure it will always have something meaningful to say online.”

     

    Manashi Guha, Marketing Manager, L’Oreal Paris said, “For a beauty brand like L’Oreal Paris, the digital medium is a great storytelling platform.  We are excited to be working with FoxyMoron to evolve and execute our digital strategies for 2012 and beyond.”

     

    With its key focus on the current campaign, a large number of unique activities are said to have been planned out, to optimize the digital presence of L’Oreal Paris’.

     

    L’Oreal Paris has businesses in hair, skincare and makeup. While makeup and skincare will be led digitally, the hair business is said to see a lot of integration as far as campaigns are concerned. L’Oreal Paris has products like Total Repair 5 and Fall Repair which are said to be mass market products and here digital is said to play a role where it engages and educates the younger audience.

     

    It is also learnt from sources that McCann erickson is handling the mainline creatives for L’Oreal while Maxus is said to be handling its media duties.

     

  • Footwear manufacturer Relaxo has signed Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador for its casual fashion brand Flite

    Katrina is brand ambassador for Relaxo’s brand Flite

    By A Correspondent

     

    Footwear manufacturer Relaxo has signed Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador for its casual fashion brand Flite. The name Flite coined from the words ‘fashionable’ and ‘light’ itself says a lot about the brand and its promise.

     

    Gaurav Dua, Executive Director, Relaxo Footwear Ltd said, “Flite has carved out a niche for itself by becoming a brand symbolic to youth, comfort and elegance. And to carry this brand persona a step ahead, we could think of no one better than Katrina Kaif. With a fan following that is hard to describe in mere words, Katrina is looked upon as a fashion diva and icon. Her vibrant and unconventional style is often imitated by girls across the country. Which is why Katrina Kaif was the perfect match for Relaxo Flite’s new campaign. We are extremely proud to associate with her and we are sure her charismatic appeal in the ad will win hearts!”

     

    Katrina Kaif said “It’s like an integral part of your life, an everyday staple that you need. It’s how you don a pair of Flite with what you wear every day, and you are ready to go.”

     

    Katrina Kaif will soon be seen in a 30-second TVC for Flite created by Arms Communications.

     

  • The billboard is two-sided and front lit, with adverts on both sides, hence visible while approaching and while exiting the airport area

    Mediascope Publicitas OOH creates India’s largest billboard in Bengaluru

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mediascope Publicitas has created the largest billboard in India measuring 100ftx100ft, located at the airport approach road, welcoming travelers to Bengaluru. This puts Bengaluru in the league of global cities like New York, Dubai and Singapore with extraordinarily huge advertising media.

     

    The billboard is two-sided and front lit, with adverts on both sides, hence visible while approaching and while exiting the airport area.

     

     

     

  • Travel website Goibibo.com tracked the trend of travellers on their frequency of change in their plans, based on insight from its buyers' data

    25% Indian travellers change plans post booking confirmation: Goibibo.com

    By A Correspondent

     

    Travel website Goibibo.com has found that 25 per cent of travellers change their travel plans after booking. The website tracked the trend of travellers on their frequency of change in their plans, based on insight from its buyers’ data. The report adds that 20 per cent more women change their travel plans compared to men.

     

    According to the research report, the top routes for travel plan changes have been found to be Bengaluru-Delhi and vice versa followed by Mumbai-Delhi. The top five reasons are said to be: ‘Change in business travel plans’, Extension of stay at destination’, ‘Travellers’ health issues’, ‘Personal or family emergency’ and ‘Change in flight timings’ by the airlines. Women have been found to change their travel plans more frequently than men. It has also been seen that Bengaluru has the highest number of women travellers followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi.

     

    Ashish Kashyap, Group CEO, ibibo Web said, “At Goibibo.com we are obsessed with data and analytics and thereby leveraging the same to drive a superior user experience. We publish travel insights based on real data that we study every hour of the day.  With the insights of large volume of changes in a travelers plan, Goibibo has enabled the traveler to access the fastest re-scheduling, cancellation and refund processes.”

     

    Goibibo.com, which was launched in September 2009, is a part of the MIH India Group. It enables travellers to buy air, bus tickets, hotels and holidays.

     

  • What the government needs to do, is to come up with two solutions, one technical and the other political

    Anil Thakraney: Blocking websites is stupid

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    And, we Indians are back to doing what we do best: Try to cure malignant cancer by prescribing a dosage of Crocin tablets. This is exactly what the government has done, by threatening to block social media sites and by blocking many URLs. And by enforcing a rationing of SMSes. All this to deal with communal tensions present in the nation.

     

    Well, here’s what will happen: More web pages will be created. And mischief-mongers will figure out innovative code lingo to abuse social media. And the tamasha will simply carry on in this juvenile cat and mouse game. Totally ridiculous.

     

    What the government needs to do, is to come up with two solutions, one technical and the other political. There has to be continuous, smart monitoring of the internet, in collaboration with the website hosts, to regularly keep track of hateful and illegal content. This will ensure the culprits are quickly identified, and punished, if possible. And this will leave the 99.9999 perceent of the rest of the users to continue enjoying the internet freely. This is exactly what happens with offline crimes. If there are rapes happening in Delhi, you nab the rapists, you don’t lock up all Delhi men inside their homes. The truth is, the government hasn’t kept pace with the tech revolution, and is now trying to combat it like a headless chicken. There has been no comprehensive policy drafted in this matter, they’ve been caught napping.

     

    Secondly, and more importantly, this nation has a serious fault line, and it shows up again and again. Which is that, encouraged by the divide and rule policies of the various political parties, India is forever sitting on an active communal volcano, which can (and does) erupt now and then. This is where the metaphor of malignant cancer comes in. Our politicians should be investing their energies into solving this deadly disease. Because all the rest of the nonsense that happens is a symptom of this. You quit the divisive agenda, and with time, communal hatred will get diluted. But is there a political will to get to the root of the problem? Nope, there isn’t.

     

    Which is why threatening to block the social media is a joke. The time has come for the super-excited chicken to get its head back.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Ah! Finally, a cool way to test a person’s creativity skills. Here’s what I suggest you do, if work in an agency creative department: All those clients, client servicing dudes and account planners who think they are more creative than you, ask them to take this test. If they score high marks, great! If they f miserably, they’ll quit telling you what to do. 🙂

     

    Link: http://99u.com/articles/7160/Test-Your-Creativity-5-Classic-Creative-Challenges

     

  • From the look of the website, to your knowledge of the market – it has to be up to scratch

    The Anchor: 5 ways to build trust among e-consumers

    By Prasad Shejale

     

    #1 Your Image – Your Website

    Your ecommerce website should contain quality content and images. It is best to offer relevant content and display minimum advertisements as far as possible. At the same time, company profile and ‘about us’ content on the website adds to the trust factor of the consumer. The entire look and feel of the website should reflect a high degree of genuineness which in turn builds up the trust of the consumers.

     

    #2 Service & Support

    Customer service and support are the vital keys to build up trust and support. With many customer support options available such as email, chat, and phone support expert advice, do offer as much of them live as possible. The idiom ‘Striking when the iron is hot’ stands true and definitely goes a long way in building up customer support and loyalty too!!

     

    #3 Fortifying Customer Relations

    Social media and consumer trust are directly proportionate to each other. Along with your social media presence, offering genuine and consumer friendly advice and tips through an article, Facebook post or a tweet is what really counts. These efforts generate a feeling of trust and reliability which can be ascertained when these blogs/articles/posts are further referred by customers.

     

    #4 Know Your Market’s Vibe

    Grasping the pulse of the market and being very dynamic to adapt to the latest market trends is essential. Offering just what the customer wishes to purchase is one of the most preferred trust building efforts you can undertake. Always remember ‘Customer is King’, and this mantra does hold true even today.

     

    #5 Respect Privacy

    Don’t spam your customer’s mailbox. Just because he has bought once doesn’t mean that he wants your mail every day. Give him an option to unsubscribe or at least decide on the frequency.

     

    Prasad Shejale is Co-Founder & CEO (India), Logicserve Group

     

  • Two new Bhojpuri channels launch wanting a slice of around a Rs 100 crore (and growing) adspends market

    Boom in Bhojpuri broadcast

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    It started in right earnest in August 2008 when Mahuaa TV defined the advent of Bhojpuri broadcast media. The 24-hour general entertainment channel wanted to identify with and meet the needs of the Bhojpuri-speaking community through its programmes, which have a strong local essence and mix of aspiration and entertainment. The channel offers a potpourri of serials, feature films, reality shows, news etc.

     

    The media market, however, is not restricted to Mahuaa anymore with newer channels and programming wanting to cater to this dialect, and audience.

     

    Earlier this month, CNEB and Launch Pads launched music channel Hummra M. Delhi-based production house AAP Media has taken a plunge into television broadcast with the launch of Anjan, a Bhojpuri GEC. Big Magic, the regional entertainment for the Hindi heartland from the Reliance Broadcast Network, launched a Bhojpuri music band, titled ‘Hamar Des Hamaar Sangeet’ in January 2012. And very recently, starting August 18, the channel started airing Bhojpuri movies in its weekend band – ‘Superhit Bhojpuri’. Then there’s Sangeet Bhojpuri and Dabanng – the channel from Sri Adhikari Brothers that features Hindi content with a flavour of the Bhojpuri region.

     

    Opportunity

    Probal Gaanguly

    Talking about the size of the Bhojpuri broadcast market, Probal Gaanguly, Partner, Launch Pad, which consulted CNEB to launch Hummra M said, “The only Bhojpuri channel so far was Mahuaa, which is a general entertainment channel. All other channels are a mix of Bhojpuri and Hindi language content. Hence, the past has very little relevance for future. You must reflect on what happened to markets like Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam etc to see that till such time content is not well-packaged and developed in own mother tongue, the viewership always goes to Hindi. The only exception being Gujarati.”

     

     

     

    Nikhil Sheth

    Nikhil Sheth, President, Mahuaa Network pegs the market size of Bhojpuri broadcast media market at Rs 100 crore. He said, “Unlike other regional markets, Bhojpuri cuts across the state of Eastern UP, Bihar and Jharkhand. The sheer population is close to 12 crore, which is one-tenth of India. Therein lays the potential.” He is glad that Mahuaa had the first-mover advantage in the market.

     

    Outlining the growth of the segment, Anand Chakravarthy, Business Head, Big Magic, said: “Bhojpuri is a different socio-cultural market, with Bihar being a key market. It was a traditionally media dark market, and relatively poor. But in the last 5-6 years, it has evolved. The Bhojpuri area is culturally rich and has a distinct language. Even the Bhojpuri film market is of decent size. The people in this region have local sources of entertainment. And now, we have advertisers who want to reach out to this Bhojpuri audience.”

     

    Anand Chakravarthy

    Mr Chakravarthy also said that while Mahuaa had a good run when it began, it has seen a steep decline recently. But just as Big Magic saw the opportunity, other broadcasters are reach out to this audience. “Advertisers now can actually connect much better with their consumers. And this will be a cultural connect, an attitudinal connect, an emotional connect, a chance for the brand to speak their own language. The opportunities are endless,” said Mr Gaanguly, adding, “Bhojpuri is centrestage on most of the lead GEC channels today through their content. It is only a matter of time before Bhojpuris will have their own basket of channels to choose from eclipsing the hold of Hindi.”

     

    Not hunky-dory

    It is, no doubt, a huge market potential that is currently underserved and underserviced due to daunting marketing and media logistics. But the market is becoming a strong consumer market of FMCG, durables, jewellery and education, according to Mona Jain, CEO, VivaKi Exchange.

     

    Mona Jain

    The traditionally male-dominated viewership has skewed towards an equal gender ratio in this market. Interestingly, even as reality shows like Sur Sangam on Mahuaa, and Bhojpuri music shows continue to draw audiences, urbanised serials and quiz shows does not get much audience.

     

    “India is a young country and so is the case with the Bhojpuri-speaking. But youth is not just an age group. The manifestation of youth as understood by brand marketers are more to do with people who are seeking better life & life style. In fact the hard coded market data puts Bhojpuri people from Bihar and Jharkhand are as upmarket as an average urban Indian. Our incessant effort was to unearth it and then design a channel for them (Hummra M), and they loved it,” said Mr Gaanguly.

     

    Even as the entry of various players does show the interest in the market, the Bhojpuri broadcast media is also marred with challenges. TAM is restricted to Patna, and includes the area in Hindi-speaking market. “It is difficult to explain the advertiser that Bhojpuri is not an area, but a socio-cultural audience that speaks this particular dialect,” said Mr Sheth.

     

    Another challenge, according to Mr Chakravarthy is quality content. His view is supported by Satyajit Sen, CEO, ZenithOptimedia who added, “Even as the advertisers seek to reach the audience, it remains to be seen which channel emerges as primary and which one a secondary option for advertisers.”

     

    Sundeep Nagpal

    Sundeep Nagpal, Director, Stratagem Media, opined, “Bhojpuri is a widely spoken language. Given that there are so many channels for other languages, I see no reason why more players should not enter the Bhojpuri market. And yet, it’s not as if this market can accommodate anybody and everybody.  It’s as though several media houses seem to have identified the potential of this market at the same time, which might result in chaos and anarchy. Almost as though the potential of other language channels has been exhausted, and media houses are now planning to explore this untapped market. It may also result in a race for genres, in say, news, music, movies etc., within Bhojpuri itself..”

     

    The perception of Bhojpuri market as serving B-Grade content needs to be altered too. As the market grows, the advertising has grown too. While nobody shared the numbers, the interest of everyone to capitalise on this market shows the potential. And it is of course a win-win situation for the audience, who are now being catered content in their local language, and advertisers who need not spend on national GEC’s and expect their TG in this market to respond.

     

    “National GECs in India began with Doordarshan in 1969. But thanks to geo-linguistic pressure today even the best of GEC channels are producing soaps with the protagonist as Bhojpuri-speaking. Besides the number of songs movies and jokes in Bhojpuri are huge signifying the huge importance of Bhojpuri as a language. I have a feeling in this day of fragmentation we are about to see launch of many language channels, which are defined by language and not geography,” concluded Mr Gaanguly.

     

    And we thought we had one too many already 🙂

     

  • Currently, Priti is part of the Maxus India Managing Committee and is responsible for driving strategic initiatives with all major clients of Maxus.

    Priti Murthy: National director – Insights – Maxus India

    (Experience: 14 years)

     

    Priti Murthy is National Director – Insights at Maxus India. She has over 14 years of experience working and advising companies across FMCG, Financial Services, Telcos, Retail, Publication Houses, Media and Television. Priti in her various roles, has been responsible for strategic planning for one of the largest media planning business houses in India – Maxus of GroupM (a WPP Group company).

     

    Currently, Priti is part of the Maxus India Managing Committee and is responsible for driving strategic initiatives with all major clients of Maxus.

     

    She started her career with Creative Unit (agency of Magna Group) as planner and rose to drive the strategic planning and implementation roles with various clients across various verticals. She has also been part of Publicis and Media Edge. Priti has advised various prominent companies including Vodafone, Nokia, Perffetti, Parle, Britannia, Dabur, Hero Honda, Tata Chemicals (Salt), L’Oreal (Planning)  Colgate-Palmolive, Shoppers Stop, Stanchart Bank and Hutch.

     

    Priti is extensively quoted in Media and is also part of GroupM trainers – that focuses on delivering excellence in training team on Content and related skills.

     

  • Having been nurtured in this vibrant and aggressive environment, Kanupriya's pursuit has always been new and loftier pinnacles of performance…

    Kanupriya Seyal: Director – Investments at MPG

    (Experience: 11 years)

     

    Kanupriya Seyal has over 10 years of experience in Strategic Planning and Buying for clients across categories such as FMCG, telecom, mobile handsets, retail, on-line travel, media houses, apparels, liquor, real estate and white goods. This journey of over a decade has been filled with challenges, excitement and learning.

     

    Talking about her beginnings, Kanupriya said: “I cut my media planning teeth at Lodestar Universal where I worked on Madura Garments, General Motors and Bacardi before moving to Mudra to provide specialized holistic strategic solutions to clients such as Electrolux, Amway and Dabur. I was instrumental in winning multiple new businesses such as Spice, Hotspot and Yatra.com among others for the agency. I was also leading the team responsible for the Media launch of these brands.”

     

    She joined MPG in 2009 to spearhead the investment planning on one of the largest advertisers in a highly competitive category: Reckitt Benckiser to improve the ROI through structured buying and increased innovative usage of various mediums.

     

    Beyond Reckitt, Kanupriya has developed buying strategies for MTS and other MPG clients. She has added value to the client business through high level of commitment, passion and application of cross functional skills of planning and buying.

     

    “I always found something interesting and stimulating in all my jobs. Having been nurtured in this vibrant and aggressive environment, my pursuit has always been new and loftier pinnacles of performance, which continues to spur me on. I have been ambitious for the brands that I steward. My award winning contributions include: a bronze for the category of “Best use of Sponsorship” at Goafest Media Awards 2008 and the Young Media Turks Award organized by NDTV.”

     

    Kanupriya has a PGD with specialization in Marketing and Graduation in Advertising from Delhi University. Kanupriya said that she was prompted to take up this field as there aren’t many jobs which allow creativity and strategies to come to life to be observed by thousands of people. “Work results are very apparent and I felt that can result in a very satisfying career. It is one interesting field where one is not restricted to think within a square room.”

     

    Kanupriya said that she has good critical thinking skills in terms of being able to evaluate information and analyze its relevance and meaning – which she felt was crucial to succeed in this field.

     

  • Choosing media planning & buying has never been a conscious choice for Sanchita Roy…

    Sanchita Roy: Media Director, OMD

    (Work experience: 11 yrs)

     

    Sanchita started her career in media planning some 11 years ago and has worked across agencies like Carat, Mindshare and OMD. During her stint across agencies, she has had the fortune of working on key accounts like Berger Paints, National Insurance, Tea Board, Lafarge India and Airtel (East Circle). She currently manages the skincare portfolio for J&J comprising of brands like Neutrogena & Clean & Clear.

     

    On her most memorable moment yet, Roy shared: “Have been a part of the core team that worked on the biggest back to college activation program for Clean & Clear called “FRESH FACE” in partnership with Times of India based on strong consumer insights around TG. The campaign resulted in establishing C&C as the teen and went on to win an ABBY GOLD in Youth Marketing Category at Goafest 2011 and other J&J internal awards.”

     

    On what made her chose media planning and buying as a career option, she said: “Choosing media planning & buying has never been a conscious choice for me. Having said that once I started I have enjoyed every moment of it.”

     

  • Media planning became the obvious choice for Atrayee as she felt that she is more left brain oriented than right…

    Atrayee Chakraborty: Business Head, MEC

    Experience: 13 years

     

    Atrayee Chakraborty is a Master of Economics from Presidency College, Kolkata. She pursued her MBA in marketing from Institute of Business Management, Jadhavpur University. Currently, she is the Business Head on Colgate Palmolive at MEC, GroupM.

     

    Talking about her career graph, Atrayee said: “I started my career in the media industry 12 years ago, I have worked with HTA, Kolkata under Indrani Sen. I then moved to Lintas, Mumbai in 2002, where I worked for seven and a half years across multiple portfolios, both in media and in account planning. Thereafter, I joined MEC in 2010 to head the Colgate-Palmolive media business.”

     

    Atrayee said that since childhood she has enjoyed watching advertising on television, “At times even more than good old programming”. As she grew up, she decided to study marketing and join an ad agency. Media planning became the obvious choice as she felt that she is “more left brain oriented than right… I love numbers and have an analytical bend of mind”.

     

    She feels lucky to get her first break in HTA and work under Indrani Sen: “She was my mentor and responsible for creating my strong base in media planning. Since then I have never got bored of this profession…I enjoy every moment in my professional life without any regret or feeling of compromise.”