MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Dada teams up with Sunil Gavaskar to promote tech platform

    Sourav Ganguly to be brand ambassador of Actyv.ai

    By Our Staff

     

    Actyv.ai, a category creator in the enterprise SaaS with embedded B2B BNPL and insurance space, has signed up Sourav Ganguly as their brand ambassador. With this, Actyv.ai has two legendary cricketers endorsing the brand – Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly.

     

    Commenting on this, Founder and Global CEO of Actyv.ai, Raghu Subramanian, said: “Sourav Ganguly is one of the most successful and greatest cricket captains that India has seen. He is known for nurturing talent and being fearless in decision-making. Dada personifies inspirational leadership and an unflinching commitment to win. We are inspired to imbibe these attributes as we grow actyv.ai to be a built-to-last company, recognized for its leadership, commitment and dependability. He further added, “In the last few months, we have seen huge traction for actyv.ai with Sunil Gavaskar as our brand ambassador and we intend to strengthen the advantage with another brand ambassador, Sourav Ganguly. We are excited to have him as part of the actyv.ai family”.

     

    Added Yash Daga, Director of KPRD Fiberboard Advertising: “Sourav Ganguly’s values, both as a cricketer and a leader, are recognized and appreciated by people across the world. actyv.ai is a category creator, transforming the B2B supply chain ecosystem with their embedded offerings. We take pride in bringing together actyv.ai and Dada.”

     

  • Brings the best of the OTT subscriptions to one place

    Dish TV India launches Watcho OTT plans

    By Our Staff

     

    Following a successful run on its original content, Watcho is expanding its offering by providing bundled packages of the most popular OTT platforms, thus providing its subscribers with a whole new world of digital content along with the convenience of a single subscription.

     

    Watcho will offer OTT content from Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Sony LIV, Lionsgate Play, Hungama Play, HoiChoi, Klikk, EpicOn, Chaupal, and Oho Gujarati via a single login and subscription model. Additionally, subscribers will also be able to enjoy the massive library of original content including 35+ enthralling web series, Swag (UGC content), snackable shows, and live TV from WATCHO exclusives. DishTV will further enhance its plans as more OTT platforms are in the pipeline to join Watcho to make it a comprehensive entertainment destination.

     

    Speaking on the launch, Anil Dua, Group CEO, Dish TV India Limited said: “As pioneers of DTH technology, Dish TV India has played a significant role in changing the Indian television landscape. With rapid digitization, evolving consumer preferences, and a paradigm shift in the industry dynamics, we are moving a step ahead by aggregating video streaming apps (OTTs) and thereby expanding  Watcho’s offerings. With Watcho’s new service, we have strengthened our OTT content distribution platform by creating a single subscription gateway that delivers amazing value and convenience to our subscribers. With the introduction of this new services, we intend to make Watcho a one-stop entertainment destination with original content, linear TV and on-demand diverse entertainment anytime, anywhere, and on any screen.”

     

  • Campaign is conceptualised by Lowe Lintas Mumbai

    Bayer launches multivitamin Supradyn Immuno

    By Our Staff

     

    Supradyn Immuno+, the multivitamin brand Supradyn from Bayer, was recently launched through an innovative educational campaign. Conceived by Lowe Lintas, the campaign is rooted in the growing importance of immunity boosting in an age of new infections.

     

    Said Sandeep Verma, Country Head, India, Bayer Consumer Health Division: “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused consumers to reset their focus, making immunity key for every household. This presented a need for an authority to come in and help simplify and educate how people could ensure maximum immunity. The launch of Immuno+ marks an important milestone for Supradyn which in its six-decade-long rich legacy has been helping consumers make self-care more accessible.”

     

    Added Tasneem Ali, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas: “We are delighted to be a part of the launch of Supradyn’s Immuno+, a milestone, that brings to light a timely conversation around boosting immunity in a simple yet memorable form. Our take on the brief from get-go was to create a campaign that not only educates our audiences but also gives them a first-hand solution. The light-hearted film will make the consumer stop and reflect on ways to achieve 100% immunity confidence.”

     

  • Created by Posterscope, the location based marketing specialist

    Saif & Kareena feature in Pepperfry meme campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Posterscope, the location based marketing specialist, location specialist agency from Dentsu India, has launched its latest OOH (out-of-home) campaign for Pepperfry. Titled, ‘A meme perfect experience’, the campaign is India’s first memevertisement on OOH. The campaign has turned brand ambassadors, Saif Ali Khan & Kareena Kapoor Khan into memes on OOH.

     

    Naveen Murali
    Naveen Murali

    Speaking on the campaign, Naveen Murali, Head of Marketing, Pepperfry said: “With Diwali right around the corner, we are back to opening up our homes to celebrations and hence, also setting up or upgrading our homes for this occasion. What Pepperfry offers is what the consumer of today seeks in their furniture shopping experience – the true omnichannel shopping experience. It offers the convenience of online shopping with endless choices and the possibility to experience the ones they wish to, up close at the walk-in studios. Outdoor as a medium needed to be treated differently and once the campaign creative was locked, Posterscope helped in crafting a perfect outdoor plan to break the clutter with innovative thinking and creative execution, backed by location-based intelligence.”

     

    Imtiyaz Vilatra
    Imtiyaz Vilatra

    Imtiyaz Vilatra, MD, Posterscope India added: “We got an opportunity to create INDIA’s FIRST OOH Meme campaign and left no stone unturned to create a high-impact campaign for the brand. The idea here remains to create buzz and drive talkability. With Diwali being a highly cluttered environment in OOH space, this MEME campaign truly broke that and made us stand out in minds of TG.”

     

  • Content is unimportant. It just needs to be high decibel and low quality for best results, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Perfecting the Art of Non-News

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiRahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is clearly causing heartburn. Within Big Mainstream Media, which refuses to cover it, and some political parties which denigrate intent and outcome. The second is understandable: that’s politics.

    But the media is another story.

    Or, let’s be honest, the same story.

    Both Rahul Gandhi’s walk across India and the terrible collapse of a bridge in Gujarat have got similar media treatment. Scant, local and biased in favour of the BJP whenever possible.

    When it comes to Morbi and the deaths of 135 people, the best that we get now from the media is from local coverage. And soon, even that will dry up. The police have arrested some low-level managers and security guards, and subcontractors.

    Anyone who lives in India knows that a mess of this magnitude could not have happened without political and bureaucratic collusion. Fans of the government blame people for being on the bridge, shaking the bridge and so on. Fans in the media have so many other things to talk about like the annual winter pollution in Delhi.

    Delhi is a tiny small part of a gigantic nation. But we will now discuss bad air quality for the next few months as if it affects everyone. We will never find out what happened in Morbi. The prime minister is already off inaugurating other things. No one will check whether those things work, are necessary or important. The fact of inauguration by a Great Man is all the proof we need.

    The national television media has perfected the art of non-news. News-gathering costs money. It requires time and effort. A “debate”, according to a former TV journalist I met recently, costs about Rs15000 or less. Easily affordable and far more effective in drawing in viewers. Content is unimportant. Largely, it needs to be high decibel and low quality for best results.

    Media watchers have been fed this diet of sound, filled with toxicity and dubious information, with intent, not just impunity. And the same media worthies who create and revel in bad journalism, especially if it creates social dissonance and disaffection, are overjoyed that The Wire is under police and government scrutiny.

    Of course, as always in such matters, our dear liberal friends within the media and outside are at the forefront of the criticism of The Wire. These liberal, upstanding, fair, just, and sanctimoniously self-righteous members of the media are outraged that The Wire made so many mistakes in its articles on Meta and even worse, got taken for a ride.

    It is therefore heartening to see media organisations like the Press Club of India, Editors Guild, Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists, NWMi, DigiPub, to name a few, condemning police action against The Wire, based on the complaint of one member of the BJP’s IT Cell.

    “Without glossing over The Wire’s lapse, it would be pertinent to recall that in the recent past there have been numerous instances of media excesses and completely over-the-top stories by media houses: be it absurd reports of chips in currency notes; fake WhatsApp forwards on Chinese soldiers killed in Galwan or unalloyed hate-mongering and incitement. These “reports” have enjoyed complete immunity and have hurtled India into a post-Truth conjuncture, where the right to be reliably informed itself has been steadily jettisoned.”

    The above paragraph from the BUJ statement makes the situation clear to anyone with a clear head on their shoulders. The negative response to The Wire’s transgression, from within the media, is lopsided and biased. The Indian media is notorious for lacking introspection. Why The Wire has to be held to a higher standard than everyone else beats me. And then there is the horror of having the government “investigating” journalists.

    I personally remain sceptical about Big Tech and its policies, especially when it comes to rightwing authoritarian governments.

    In general, I prefer to remain sceptical of fascism.

    Unlike, you know…

     

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal

     

  • To help grow brand

    Himanshu Chakrawarti is CEO, Snapdeal Marketplace

    By Our Staff

     

    The AceVector Group which operates several platforms in the e-commerce space, including Snapdeal, has elevated Himanshu Chakrawarti as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Snapdeal marketplace business.

     

    Commenting on Himanshu’s elevation Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, co-founders of Snapdeal and AceVector Group said: “Himanshu has played an integral role in steering Snapdeal’s marketplace business over the last year. His success in building brands and expertise in retail operations clubbed with an in-depth understanding of the value retail segment has helped us build a comprehensive toolkit to serve India’s mega cohort of value-savvy users. We are confident that under his leadership, Snapdeal’s marketplace business will continue to grow and excel on its chosen path of focused and profitable growth.

     

  • Study sheds light on how TV audiences engage with streamed ads

    Samsung Ads & Verve table survey on response to ads on TV

    By Our Staff

     

    Samsung Ads India, the advertising division of Samsung Electronics, partnered with global market research agency Verve to survey a panel of 700 Smart TV users in India.  The research aimed to uncover advertising engagement across various TV platforms, including linear TV (cable) advertising supported video on demand (AVOD) and subscription based video on demand (SVOD) that are set to introduce ads as part of some subscription tiers.

     

    Said Prabhvir Sahmey, Senior Director, Samsung Ads India & South East Asia, of the report: “The Indian market demonstrates a high degree of receptiveness to ads shown to them on their TV screens. To maintain this momentum, it’s important for advertisers to understand the dynamic TV landscape and how audiences respond to differing  platforms so that ads can be delivered to the most appropriate audiences at the right moments. To keep high degrees of engagement, a data-driven approach to advertising will be critical so that brands continue to  reach the right audience with the most relevant message at the best time. ”

     

    According to the survey, 81% of Indian consumers are happy to watch ads on their TV screens in return for free content, according to a new study commissioned by Samsung Ads India.

     

    :: Relevancy of ads

    In addition to the vast majority of respondents who are willing to watch ads in exchange for free content, a similar amount (80%) claimed to be happy to watch ads if they featured content relevant to them.

    Respondents considered AVOD and SVOD services to be the best at delivering relevant ads with 63% and 64% of respondents agreeing, respectively. More than a third of Indians (38%) [LB1] who watch ads in full on AVOD find them to be engaging due to their length and relevance. The ads are perceived as shorter and therefore less disruptive to the viewing experience.

     

    :: Emotional response

    According to the research, over half of respondents in India demonstrated a positive emotional response to ads across all platforms. Both SVOD and AVOD generated the most positive emotions amongst audiences.

    SVOD prompted 63% of respondents to feel excited, whereas AVOD prompted 60% of respondents to feel the same emotion. Similarly, 64% of respondents thought SVOD ads were enjoyable and 62% considered AVOD ads to be enjoyable.

    These positive reactions help to explain why Indian respondents said they were more likely to take action in response to advertising on AVOD (64%), followed by SVOD (62%).

    This reflects how effectively streaming services have been at delivering ads to Indian audiences in OTT settings. Unlike in other markets, Indian audiences demonstrate little distinction between these services, with some SVOD services already offering an ad-supported tier. Whilst SVOD is a strong performer in India, there is consumer frustration that ads are being shown on paid subscription-based channels. Whereas in other markets, the introduction of ads to the streaming giants is still very much in its infancy.

     

    :: Trustworthiness of ads

    Just under two thirds (62%) of Indian respondents were likely to take action in response to an ad shown to them across all three platform types (AVOD, SVOD, and linear). This is likely a reflection of how highly this market trusts the ads which are delivered to them.

    More than 60% of respondents in the survey considered ads across platforms to be trustworthy. This is highest in an SVOD setting where two thirds (66%) of respondents trusted the ads. Similarly, 64% of Indians trust the ads they are shown in AVOD.

     

  • To create end-to-end media solutions for the business

    Omnicom wins mandate for Electrolux

    By Our Staff

     

    Omnicom Media Group (OMG) India has been appointed to manage the integrated media mandate for Electrolux. This will involve creating end-to-end media solutions for the business and accelerating its growth journey in the market.

     

    Notes a communique: “Team OMG will help Electrolux scale to new heights by drawing on its talent, strategic capabilities and data-driven approach; as the brand ramps up its proposition and presence in India to achieve sustainable growth.”

     

  • The Wunderman Thompson report can help up marketing investment in various forms of digital media for reaching target consumers, writes Indrani Sen

    The Changing World of Inspirations

     

     

    By Indrani Sen

     

    Indrani Sen Wunderman Thompson’s recently published ‘Inspire Score: Top 100 2022’ (now in its third year) reflects how people’s ideals and aspirations have been changing with the digital and technical innovations as well as the conditions of the uncertain times that we have been living over the last two years. The Inspire Scores are no longer influenced by the brands’ inherent core values, their relationship with the consumers and their ability to adopt to the changing environment but are influenced by the changing focus in the consumers’ lives, consumers’ wish list for achievements.

     

    According to the report, Inspire is a “proprietary global platform that explores what makes brands inspiring and what inspires consumers, making Wunderman Thompson the world’s leading researcher into inspiration.” Wunderman Thompson has designed the ‘Inspire Score’ based on robust methodologies in order to find out how elevating, magnetic and motivating the different brands are to determine their inspire scores which in turn guide the brands about how they can connect better with the consumers to become more inspirational in their eyes and achieve tangible growth in terms of market share. Within a category, the brands with high inspire scores can charge a higher premium for their products and services enabling them to increase their profitability. Cross category comparisons of inspire scores help in understanding the changing mindset of the consumers.

     

    For the second year running, Google is the most inspiring brand in the world followed by Apple, Samsung and Amazon, who have also managed to hold their positions within the top four. Apart from Nike (37), brands like Adidas (51), Unilever (56), IBM (76), etc. do not even feature in the Top 50 inspiring brands. In the automobile industry, Toyota (16) and Ford (17) lead the pack, followed by Tesla (26), Volkswagen (30), Hyundai (34), BMW (35), Mercedes Benz (38), Audi (43), Honda (45), Nissan (46), Volvo (64) and Mazda (99). The presence of a dozen automobile brands in the Top 100 shows the category continues to be highly relevant to the consumers, though the brands have become comparatively less inspiring than brands in digital, social media and ecommerce categories.

     

    Social media brands have seen strong gains in 2022 over 2021 reflecting their growing importance in people’s lives through social interactions.  Facebook has moved up from 16 in 2021 to 12 in 2022 and the inspiring power of both Instagram and WhatsApp has grown despite various problems. Twitter (83) has gone down the Inspire Score ladder in 2022 due to the controversies surrounding the brand and what the industry has started describing as the “Elon effect”. The Chinese brand TikTok (100) has managed to enter the Top 100 for the first time in 2022.

     

    Streaming brands remain inspiring with YouTube moving up two notches within the Top 10 brands and Netflix’s score has risen from 28 in 2021 to 13 in 2022. Spotify has also moved up couple of notches from 52 in 2021 to 49 in 2022 and Disney+ has entered the Top 100.

     

    It was surprising to find Microsoft has slipped in the inspire score though it has managed to stay within the Top 20 brands. Intel which ranked 87 in 2021, has dropped out from Top 100. The Chinese brand Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology, has gone down the inspire score ladder drastically from 26 in 2021 to 72 in 2022. Does this show a trend where the consumers are taking digital technology for granted and are finding the applications of the technology more inspiring?

     

    In the personal care and beauty categories, Colgate and Dove have gained hugely and have entered the Top 10 in 2022, while Nivea has manged to retain its position within the Top 10 and L’OREAL has slipped one notch from 10 in 2021 to 11 in 2022.

     

    Impulse brands have done well in the post lockdown year, with inspire scores of soft drinks, beer and spirits rising. However, coffee shops and fast-food chains have lost the inspiration momentum which they had during the Covid years.  Except Nestle which continues to feature in the Top 10, other CPG food brands have also become less inspirational.

     

    To sum up,  Wunderman Thompson’s efforts to generate ‘Inspire Score’ year on year would surely help in accelerating globally the growth of marketing investment in the various forms of digital media for reaching target consumers.

     

  • Phew! So India has made it to the semis of the T20 World Cup. As have Pakistan, England and New Zealand. But our heart goes out to South Africa. Sad loss. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the November 7 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | Ireland bt England and Netherlands robbed South Africa a berth in the semis. Clearly one can’t treat any competitor lightly. Any lesson in life from this?

    Bhaskar DasPhew! So India has made it to the semis of the T20 World Cup. As have Pakistan, England and New Zealand. But our heart goes out to South Africa. Sad loss. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the November 7 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

     

    If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

     

    Q. Ireland bt England and Netherlands robbed South Africa a berth in the semis. Clearly one can’t treat any competitor lightly. Any lesson in life from this for our readers?

     

    A. Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties, specially the short format of the game. A team is as good as the last match. I doubt, in this case, any team has taken their competitor lightly. It is just that on that day, one team has better mental control over the game. Besides, all the teams have understood the algorithm of the game. The underdogs (ie probability-wise in the global pecking order) had nothing to lose. So they give their best to create disruption. This year’s World Cup has caused unexpected exits of powerful teams like West Indies, Australia and South Africa, inspite of the fact that the latter two teams have great track records. At the same time, Pakistan has risen from ashes. And that’s the fun and excitement of T201 format of the game.

     

    One can stretch one’s imagination and there are certainly possible lessons in the area of business. But the business world is replete with stories of Davids upsetting Goliaths. And the message was clear even before T201 was invented.

     

  • Created by TBWA India

    Manoj Bajpayee stars in brand film for ManipalCigna Health Insurance

    By Our Staff

     

    ManipalCigna Health Insurance Company Limited has launched a new brand film ‘Health Ki Keemat’ starring its brand ambassador Manoj Bajpayee. Through this brand film, ManipalCigna aims to reach out to potential buyers, seek deeper penetration into the market, and highlight the value propositions people can expect when buying health insurance from the expert. The film emphasizes the significance of ‘Expert Ki Suno, Sahi Chuno’ and highlights the importance of seeking an expert to simplify the choice, help choose the right health insurance plan to suit unique health needs, and to easily access quality healthcare.

     

    Speaking on the new brand film, Sapna Desai, Chief Marketing Officer, ManipalCigna Health Insurance said: “Our new brand film leverages the insight that while health insurance has today moved from a ‘grudge’ purchase to a ‘nudge’ purchase, there exists a knowledge gap and limited product understanding. We believe Health is priceless, and people who value their and their family’s health will trust an expert. Based on this insight, we have designed the new film, ‘Health Ki Keemat’. The story builds on the ‘real moments of health recovery’ to drive brand connect and affinity.  We have a new brand tagline, ‘Expert Ki Suno, Sahi Chuno’ to assure consumers that now they can count on the health insurance expert, ManipalCigna who understands the value of health and knows best how to protect it “

     

    Speaking on the new brand film, Parixit Bhattacharya, Managing Partner-Creative, TBWA India added: “We are delighted to partner ManipalCigna again, especially at this exciting juncture for the brand. The Health Ki Keemat brand film spotlights the need to choose an expert while considering health insurance. After all, what’s invaluable can only be trusted with experts. During the process of creating this film, we discovered that people who demanded the most out of their health insurance, preferred someone with the right expertise. This is a massive advantage for the business and speaks to the great values of the brand. So when Manoj Bajpai says “Jo health ki keemat jaante hain woh ManipalCigna Health Insurance ko maante hain”, he is speaking the truth.”

     

  • The event was headlined by actor Varun Dhawan. Over 350 creators, including Komal Pandey, Vishnu Kaushal and RJ Abhinav, were in attendance

    Meta holds ‘Creator Day’

    By Our Staff

     

    Meta (formerly Facebook) highlighted its commitment to creators in Delhi and across the country, by organising its first ‘Creator Day’.

     

    ‘Creator Day’ is Meta’s annual flagship event to celebrate creators, and provides an opportunity for them to create, collaborate and learn from each other. The 2022 version of the event took place across five cities – Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi being the city for the event finale.

     

    Said Manish Chopra, Director & Head of Partnerships for Facebook India (Meta): “Young people across India, and what some call Bharat, are expressing themselves on Reels and being discovered by audiences across the country. They’re becoming the new generation of creators, with a national following, in the process shaping culture and influencing trends. For this reason, we believe a key pillar of India’s new economy is going to be built and fuelled by creators. And with Reels, everyone has a stage to be a global icon of tomorrow.”

     

    Actor Varun Dhawan added: “It’s impressive the way young people are showcasing their talent on reels, and how they’re breaking through everyday, every moment. Being authentic and keep experimenting – is the advice I can offer creators. From ‘Student of the Year’ to the upcoming ‘Bhediya’, these are two principles I’ve lived by and maybe that’s something you could follow too. I wish you the best in finding your own path, and being advocates for your collective success. I’m glad Meta’s providing you with opportunities like Creator Day, and I’m happy I got to be a part of it too.”