MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Joining Bhattacharyya are two co-founders, Hanoz Patel and Abhishek Kabra

    Nabendu Bhattacharyya launches new agency

    By Our Staff

     

    Nabendu Bhattacharyya, Founder of Milestone Brandcom and one of the seniormost OOH professionals in the country, has announced the launch of his new company: Ideacafe.agency.

     

    Notes a communique: “Ideacafe.agency. (written ideacafe.agency.) promises to be a new age independent company that redefines the ‘brewing’ of ideas…  Ideacafe’s aspirations are much bigger than being just another out of home agency and revolve around doing OOH the right way that is idea-driven and data-led.”

     

    Joining Bhattacharyya are two co-founders, Hanoz Patel and Abhishek Kabra, both specialists in the space who were part of the Milestone Brandcom journey.

     

    Said Bhattacharyya: “I am super thrilled to announce the setting up of this new age independent company ideacafe.agency. will concentrate on building ideas and content across all spectrums of the brand communication space. I have always believed in creating disruptive, clutter-breaking ideas and bringing them alive to make a difference in a brands growth trajectory and will continue spearheading the same ahead.” The new agency has set up offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

     

  • But if you're aiming to get someone to lose control, how personally should you take it if the person loses control, asks Ranjona Banerji

    Job of journalists to be tough & provocative..

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiRahul Gandhi held a press conference.

    And what a palaver resulted within the press.

    Let’s write this without context.

    Those present at the press conference – members of the press and of TV channels – were eager to question Gandhi. Most of the questions asked were asking him to respond to BJP allegations. Gandhi reacted sharply. He accused one person from TV of being part of the BJP and after he shut him down, said in Hindi that the questioner had been deflated like a bust balloon. Several people present – whether members of press, or of TV or bystanders – laughed.

    Gandhi asked another questioner, a prominent TV person, to wait until he had answered the question and then added that the person was known for speaking for him, implying that words were put into his mouth.

    Now, the context.

    Gandhi had just been sentenced to two years in jail after he lost a criminal defamation case. The two-year sentence meant that he was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP.

    The press conference was a response to these two consequential events.

    How rude was Gandhi here?

    Quite rude, you might say. The “hawa nikal gayi” response was uncalled for.

    But the rest was par for the course, to me anyway.

    It is the job of journalists to ask tough and provocative questions. It is acceptable to try and rile the person you are questioning as much as possible, in order to get more spice to your copy. As long as there is no personal abuse or insults, you would prefer the questioned to get riled. This means that the response is likely to be unpleasant. If you’re aiming to get someone to lose control, how personally should you take it if the person loses control?

    Let’s add more context.

    There is no doubt, even in the minds of those who are extremely upset at the insults piled on the poor unsuspecting members of the press and TV people who are only trying to do an honest day’s job and take home a measly wage to feed their families, even in these minds we know that the media in India is deeply polarised.

    The RSS/BJP combine and the Modi government has made sure that it is almost never questioned except by a small handful of journalists and almost no TV people. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has famously not held a press conference in years and thus is never directly questioned by members of the press, and definitely not by TV people.

    As Dhanya Rajendran of NewsMinute pointed out recently in her Chameli Devi award acceptance speech, it is the digital media which questions governments more than the mainstream media.

    The extent of outrage from the media over these few comments by Rahul Gandhi is laughable, to be honest. As other journalists have pointed out, we as a community have not been as angered when members of the BJP called us “presstitutes”. In fact journalist Swati Chaturvedi has listed several of the compliments which the BJP has paid us: “presstitutes, bazaaru media, piddi, paid media, sickular, anti-national”.

    I would add to that urban naxals, Lutyens gang, and my personal favourite: being untrustworthy because my surname is Banerji. Going by the logic of the Surat court which sentenced Gandhi to two years, I could have a good portion of the BJP’s supporters in jail if I filed a case claiming criminal defamation of all Banerjis!

    The point made by those of us in the media who’re calling the outrage an overreaction is simple: we are under worse threat from the BJP than we have ever been from any other political dispensation. We know this. We know why we fall down press and freedom rankings year after year. Journalists are jailed on flimsy pretexts, stopped from travelling abroad, abused constantly on social media and by BJP worthies. Some have even died in the pursuit of showing truth to power.

    The bulk of the mainstream media is party to this and is a major part of the larger societal silence on attacks on media persons.

    At the end, though, what Rahul Gandhi said at the press conference was largely ignored.

    And this is the media’s biggest failure, insulted and sulking or otherwise.

    His main point was that he would continue to question the Adani Group and its financing via alleged shell companies. And no one wanted to take him up on that.

    Hmmm. I wonder why.

    Hawa..?

     

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

     

  • After reading his response, we figured that this was perhaps a wrong question to ask. Let's read Dr Bhaskar Das's response to our question in the March 28 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | Would you say that other than Diwali, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the biggest ‘festival’, pan-India?

    Bhaskar DasAfter reading his response, we figured that this was perhaps a wrong question to ask. Let’s read Dr Bhaskar Das’s response to our question in the March 28 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. Would you say that other than Diwali, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the biggest ‘festival’, pan-India?

     

    A. I understand the razzmatazz of IPL has led to this conclusion by you. It certainly engenders an impression of an extravaganza akin to a festival. But I have a different take on the subject: I feel there is an intrinsic difference. While a festival like Diwali or Ganesh festival or Navratri is vertically integrated in the religious and cultural ethos of a community, they also horizontally infect others’ participation through osmosis (you may consider it herd mentality or a ploy to escapism to get out of the humdrum of life). You would notice the same trend in case of Christmas. The latter has been adopted as a national festival and not confined to any community only. Now, in case of IPL, it’s more horizontal audience participation without any vertical jingoism for a team. Consequently, while there are genuine fans for some teams, it hasn’t yet taken the shape of support akin to Brazil or Argentina where soccer is like a religion and fans get obsessed with their team. In EPL also, you may notice audience fanaticism. I think it is still missing on a large scale in the case of IPL. One can notice a tad bit in case of the CSK or MI teams.

     

  • In new packaging with cola, lemon and orange flavours

    Reliance brings back Campa with Elephant

    By Our Staff

     

    Reliance Industries relaunches Campa Cola in a completely transformed avatar. A popular brand from the 1970s and 1980s, is now being launched in cola, lemon and orange flavours.

     

    The rebranding echoes brand’s bold & confident personality, where the use of deep purple is complemented by category-defining red in the Campa ‘swoosh’.

     

    The all-new Campa Cola packaging has been conceived by Elephant design-led strategic consultancy.

     

    Said Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder & Director, Elephant: “Rebranding Campa was once in a lifetime opportunity. How many independent brand agencies can claim to develop a megastar cola brand? With the ambition & resources of Reliance team, we had a solid backing for venturing into new ways of bringing the brand to life. As we had a consensus that Campa would be built on the codes of being confident, unpretentious, and highly differentiated, there was no need for creating multiple brands for different flavors as the attitude and promise would remain consistent across all Campa beverages. This would also be a ‘first’ in this category.”

     

    Explains Nidhi Isaac, Director – Brand & Design, Elephant: “We set out to develop a contemporary brand for the confident young India. We believe branding is about helping consumers identify with the product and navigate better; whether through e-commerce or on retail shelves. Our work is always focused on people and guiding them towards the right choices.”

     

  • To unlock business growth

    W+K India bags mandate for Clove Dental

    By Our Staff

     

    Clove, dental clinic chain, has appointed Wieden+ Kennedy India as its creative agency across key business verticals. Wieden+Kennedy will be collaborating with Clove to unlock business growth through creative interventions across the Clove ecosystem

     

    Amar Singh, Chairman & CEO Clove Dental said: “Driven by Quality and Transparency for our customers we have always hired the best talents in the industry at Clove. We are excited about our partnership with Wieden Kennedy as we step into our next phase of expansion. It’s a very critical phase in our journey and we are looking forward to this partnership to steer us positively towards the growth path.”

     

    Ayesha Ghosh, President W+K added: “We’re thrilled and grateful to be Clove’s partner of choice in their brand building journey. It’s impossible to not be infected by the palpable energy that radiates from Amar and the people in charge at Clove. Happily, we too have abundant new energy and hunger waiting to be channelised into something as ambitious as Clove Dental’s expansion plans. We’re looking forward to creating a strategic brand platform that’s compelling enough to hold together the marketing activation plan.

     

  • To launch #BridgeTheGap campaign

    Buffalo Soldiers wins mandate for NLB Services

    By Our Staff

     

    NLB Services, a global technology and digital talent solutions provider, has re-appointed Buffalo Soldiers, a new-age advertising agency to launch their second diversity campaign – #BridgeTheGap. The agency will manage the strategic planning, social media amplification and management, campaign launch and creative execution.

     

    Said Ashima Kakar, Head – Marketing, NLB Services: “In 2022, we achieved a reach of 10 million women in STEM in India across social media channels and affiliate networks. The endeavor from the onset has been to build a platform uniquely for women and thus influence a more diverse workforce in STEM. I congratulate the Buffalo Soldiers team for being true partners on the campaign and beyond.  I am optimistic that this year too we will set new benchmarks.”

     

    Added Sumon K Chakrabarti, Co-Founder & CEO of Buffalo Soldiers: “Our partnership with NLB Services is one of the most exciting in our B2B journey, because we work with a bold marketing team which is breaking every cliched approach in the sector. We are super excited to deliver another award-winning campaign.”

     

    The #BridgeTheGap campaign has been launched with a hackathon announcement targeted towards women IT professionals for the second consecutive year. Like last year, where more than 2500 women in technology participated, NTT DATA and NLB Services aim to bridge the women’s participation gap in the IT sector. The month-long hackathon will be hosted from March 08, 2023, to April 16, 2023 and will offer women tech professionals a platform to showcase their skills through a series of challenges. The hackathon has been conceptualized in line with this year’s theme of International Women’s Day – #EmbraceEquity.

     

  • GroupM, Publicis Media Group, Dentsu International lead Agency Groups

    COMvergence releases New Business Barometer FY 2022 India report

    By Our Staff

     

    COMvergence an independent research and data consultancy, which analyses media spend investments and produces benchmark studies on new business performances, released its latest New Business Barometer for the FY 2022 for India.

     

    India saw a lower number of account moves and retentions this year of 246 with media spends estimated to be around $1.5BN as compared to a higher number of account moves in 2021 which were 332 with media spends estimated to be around $2.3BN

     

    In 2022, 66% of the total pitches held globally were local in nature ( country specific pitches) India was well above this average with 81%  of total pitches being local which is $1286M whereas global and multi- country pitches made up 19% of the pie with  $297M in 2022 for India.

     

    Mondelez ,Pepsico, ITC, Nestlé, Meesho, Lenovo, Hyundai-Kia, NPCI, Abbott Nutrition, Rebel foods, Truecaller were among some of the  account moves that dominated the Indian market in 2022.

     

    The Media Agency Groups were led by GroupM with a total new business value of +$332M, followed by Publicis Media Group at +$289M new business value and dentsu International with a new business value of +$194M respectively.

     

    Zenith from the Publicis Media Group stable and Wavemaker from the GroupM umbrella led the media agencies’ ranking, interestingly the 3rd rank was tied between Initiative,  Havas Media and Spark Foundry ( Publicis Media Group) followed by Madison Media and Carat.

     

  • To expand tech-powered creator content capabilities

    WPP acquires social influencer marketing agency Obviously

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP today announced the acquisition of Obviously, a technology-led social influencer marketing agency based in New York, with operations in San Francisco and Paris.

     

    Obviously offers a full stack of end-to-end services, including marketing strategy, influencer identification, content creation, campaign management, and reporting and analysis. Its team of nearly 100 people will join VMLY&R’s network, accelerating the WPP agency’s investment in award-winning data and social media work.

     

    Mae Karwowski, CEO of Obviously, said: “Obviously’s ability to match each client’s unique needs while delivering at a global scale has made us a leader in influencer marketing. Our unique approach to creator-led marketing combined with our proprietary technology has resulted in explosive growth. This acquisition is the best of both worlds; we retain our agile and entrepreneurial culture while benefiting from VMLY&R’s depth of experience and global scale – resulting in accelerated growth for all. We couldn’t be more excited to join the WPP network.”

     

    Jon Cook, CEO of VMLY&R, added: “Bringing Obviously into our VMLY&R family is a clear win as clients demand more intelligent data and results in the influencer space. Obviously’s tech and data capabilities are highly innovative, and its ability to scale creator content quickly and efficiently, and in every language, makes it instantly prepared to be leveraged globally. I’m elated to start working with Mae, Max and the entire Obviously team. We’re excited for what’s to come and the many creative opportunities we’ll unlock together for our client partners.”

     

    Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “The creator economy has experienced huge growth in recent years, and it plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer behaviour. The Obviously team brings an exceptional range of global influencer marketing capabilities and a world-class technology platform that will further strengthen our offer to clients.”

     

  • Sanjeev Kotnala on some of the advertisements that caught his attention, in the recent past

    These are a few of my favourite creatives…

     

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaVermajee, my mentor, asked if I had seen some good work in advertising and communication recently and why they didn’t make it to my blog and article. I realised that the audience might be feeling the same way, despite my appreciating the work I liked. It was time for me to list some creative hits of recent times. No, this is not a universal sample, as many good works could have escaped my attention, but I liked and enjoyed these few. And for a change, I killed my urge to title it: Good, Bad and Ugly.

    Apart from my TV viewing, newspaper reading and regular digital interaction, my exposure to creative work is thanks to @Beastoftraal on Twitter, Gokul Krishnamurthy column ‘Work that speaks’, Economic Times updates and Campaign. If I missed some work that should have been a part of this- do let me know.

     

    Hyatt: We put the ‘you’ in your wedding.

    How one wishes that things could be so smooth in a marriage. HYATT promises (or over promises) that special smooth destination wedding because they care for the details and go out of their way to make that special day memorable for you. Hyatt puts the ‘You’ in the wedding!

    It is different that the party would be more comfortable with a large team of wedding planners at such weddings than the hotel staff. The trust factor with hotels in events is still not high, which may be the reason for the communication.

    The instances framed in the communication are relatable and interestingly done. One hopes the brand lives up to the promise because the day is special for the stakeholders, and a bad experience would kill it. The campaign did remind me of the ‘I TAKE CAHRGE’, a successful internal campaign developed by Lintas for Oberoi hotels in the early nineties.

     

    Falling in Love: Home Centre

    I was misled entirely when I watched the Home Centre ad for the first time. Then I watched it, again and again to appreciate how the whole story. How the mind was purposefully diverted, and I enjoyed the little diversions.

    I find the ad again long; however, it holds the interest, and maybe the subject demands that the story is told ever so gently. Watch it and see how it traps you. The communication may take time to be appreciated, but such work impact remains longer.

     

    Make My Trip: Hotel Refund

    I like Make My Trip’s ads more than their product and services.

    Now, that is courageous of the brand. In the last few years, one has seen so many complaints about hotel and travel bookings with MMT that one has personally shifted loyalties. Maybe the brand must have realised the issue and appreciated the traveller’s desire for this freedom resulting in this communication. Hopefully, MMT is ready with better service. The cancellation charges on hotels and airlines are really frustrating for any traveller. This is not the first time MMT is talking in this language. One remembers their  MMT pe book kiya and Zero cancellation charge communication.

    This ad series reiterates the advantage of consistently using the same brand ambassador – Alia and Ranveer. Both perform admirably in different situations and characters. And then I do love multiple creative campaigns with synergy.

     

    The Times of India: Ad Flipbook

    It is not a new idea, but it is well executed. A similar idea was executed in early 2012 by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. The format of the physical book restricted the reach.

    The Times of India digital flip book avatar demonstrates to the clients and agencies the possibilities in innovative shapes and sizes with Times of India.

    The underlying thought ‘because one size does not fit all’ is so true that brands are blind to it. However, a digital version gives a higher reach, but the real feel is missed. Hope the teams have a whole set of sample prints to share with the agencies and clients.

    To succeed, rate and offer renationalisation is needed, which the masters in space marketing- Times of India does the best.

     

    Ashok Leyland: 75 years

    “Koi Manzil Door Nahin” is the new campaign part of the 75th-year celebration of Ashok Leyland. It continues with the life impact stories- the transformation the commercial vehicle promises in the customers’ lives. It is reassuring under ‘Koi Manzil Door Nahin’, which means no dream or destination is too far. The brand promises to be with the customers in this journey. Hopefully, this ad is a minor part of a more extensive detailed programme.

     

    Tanishq: Dream

    I love it for the simplicity and the twist at the end of this UGADI new year ad. And the question that I raised at the end is very pertinent. I am also happy that Tansihq, for a change, did not find some fault and suggested changes in Hindu rituals and traditions. It is nice to see the brand and take the route of reflecting on the positives.

    Tanishq had a lovely ad on women’s day titled superwoman; it presented the other side of her being a human too. Not something new or surprising, but the presentation is quite nice. Though I still find it to be too long.

     

    Skore: Can’t miss to change the game

    The SKORE  ad I first saw with WPL telecast, is so simple and so apt with the proposition of Change the game. Just watch it. The brand Skore has been doing some good work. Interesting is also the work of Love-Depot by TTK the manufacturer and marketer of Skore Nothing.

     

    Net-net

    Some good creative work is happening in the industry, but one rarely finds something superlative or excellent. I have in past written about the campaign,  Samsonite- Tested like samsonite  and Cadbury- Kisi Aur Ki Khushi.  Another addition to list is Dhan– for nothing but sheer clear TG definition and focus.

    It is good to see a decrease in brands taking potshots at Hindu traditions and rituals. This time, one found only the Holi ad by Bharat Matrimony as offtrack and completely exceeding the brand arena. Yes, a small section of rowdies gives the festival a bad name- but then the same message could be shared in a different tonality rather than colouring the whole Hindu society and festival in it.

     

  • We wanted him to name names, which he did. And given that he is such a huge follower of the game, he also offered the requirement from a cricketer to be a big name in the endorsement circuit. Here's Dr Bhaskar Das's response to our question in the March 29 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | From among the emerging stars in Indian cricket, who would you like to see endorsing more brands?

    Bhaskar DasWe wanted him to name names, which he did. And given that he is such a huge follower of the game, he also offered the requirement from a cricketer to be a big name in the endorsement circuit. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das’s response to our question in the March 29 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. From among the emerging stars in Indian cricket, who would you like to see endorsing more brands?

     

    A. Come to think of it, I don’t see any immediate prospect beyond Shubnam Gill, Hardik Pandya (the latter has good histrionic skill also which Gill lacks to some extent at present). Consistency, in whichever area—be it in batting, bowling or strategy— no name comes up in my mind beyond MSD, Virat and Sachin Tendulkar who are very dominant faces. They have monopolised the celebrity endorsement market. Incidentally, I am not suggesting any cartel from their end. They have earned it as they have consistently shown their class. It is quite surprising that out of the three names I mentioned, two have retired some time back. Hence Gill and Hardik have to remain consistent in their batting, and wear the all-rounder tag as an aspirational skill for the youth, before becoming a rising star in the endorsement market. And I am not referring to their form (true for other players too) in IPL. I am referring to their form when they represent India in all formats of the game. The core principle of any brand endorsement (you and our readers know it well) is that the endorser must have aspirational value in achieving pinnacle of success in their field and enjoy high degree of public trust to ensure a positive rub-off on the Brand they endorse.

     

  • We'll be back on Friday, March 30 with all our scheduled updates and newsletter

    We’re closed tomorrow on Ram Navami

    By Our Staff

     

    Just how do we decide our holidays?

    Over the years, we’ve never closed on Ram Navami, so why now, one may ask. Well, it’s a pretty big holiday across the country. The stockmarkets are shut, banks are closed as well. But, more importantly, this year we find a lot of offices shut tomorrow. Hence, our readership drops considerably, and we then need to re-run some of our content, especially our columns.

    So: we’re closed tomorrow on Ram Navami. We’ll be back on Friday, March 30 with all our scheduled updates and newsletter.

    Best wishes.

     

  • Campaign conceptualised by Havas Worldwide

    Vivo launches new film for the V27 Series

    By Our Staff

     

    Vivo, smartphone, has launched a film for its latest innovation, the vivo V27 Series that captures photos with its industry-first Wedding Style Portrait Feature. Conceptualised by Havas Worldwide India, the film revolves around Karan Wahi helping his bride-to-be, Anya Singh, celebrate the wedding ceremonies.

     

    Karun Arora, Head of Marketing Communications at vivo India, said: “At vivo, consumer orientation is the centre point of all our work and we’ve always believed in offering products that add value to our consumers lives. A practice that encourages us to proactively study their needs, lifestyle and most importantly culture. Speaking of culture, Indian weddings are a great source of inspiration for us. Wedding photos capture a moment that’s gone forever, and we at vivo want to be a part of that journey that even if consumer look at a picture for a second and think of it all his life and for the same we are delighted to launch a phone that is designed specifically to bring the best out of our beloved wedding moments with India’s 1st Wedding Style Portrait Feature. Our beautiful film endorses its use to perfection giving us the confidence that our young audience will love putting their wedding moments in the spotlight with their V27 Series smartphone.”

     

    Talking about the campaign, Anupama Ramaswamy, Chief Creative Officer, Havas Worldwide India, said, “Our latest campaign for the vivo V27 Series is an ode to the big fat Indian wedding. It is a wholesome, sweet and emotional take on how all the precious moments of an Indian wedding are incomplete without your loved ones, especially a close sibling. The sleek look of the phone along with the smart wedding styles add to the charm of the film, presenting the phone as a must-have for the wedding season. As a story, we believe a lot of people will be able to connect with it instantly.”