MxMIndia

Category: Ad Agencies

  • Clients on board include Tata Unistore, Noon.com, Rajasthan Patrika amongst others

    DAN Consult wins multiple accounts in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    DAN Consult, the consulting arm of Dentsu Aegis Network, reports winning large growth consulting assignments with corporates like Tata Unistore (Tata Group’s ecommerce venture), UAE’s leading ecommerce platform Noon.com, leading regional newspaper group Rajasthan Patrika, Rajasthan’s luxury hotel group Suryagarh Hotels along with a few other clients who wish confidentiality.

     

    Lalit Bhagia

    Lalit Bhagia has taken over as CEO of DAN Consult. It will be the fourth entity under the DAN Performance Group, headed by Vivek Bhargava, along with the existing three companies under it – iProspect India, SVG Columbus and Merkle Sokrati. Bhagia and Bhargavewill collaborate to build and scale the DAN Consult business.

     

     

    Ashish Bhasin

    Commenting on the new division, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network – South Asia said: “The launch of DAN Consult enables our business to achieve the completion of the triumvirate of branding, media and consulting. We believe the market currently leaves scope for an offering of this nature and we are glad to introduce the consulting business under the DAN Performance Group, providing further value to our clients and working with CEOs and promoters to push the envelope through digital. Moreover, this is aligned with our One-DAN vision.”

     

    Vivek-Bhargava

    Added Vivek Bhargava, CEO, DAN Performance Group: “With 1800 digital experts and the diverse talent that the network possess, we believe we enjoy a niche to cater to the unmet demand of clients beyond what tech companies and traditional consultancies are equipped to provide. The strength, dynamism, culture, flexibility, consumer understanding and risk-taking that a network like ours possesses along with some of the best minds in the business works as a huge added advantage. With Lalit at the helm, I’m positive we will be able to deliver great value to clients through our consulting efforts.”

     

    Said Bhagia: “With DAN Consult, we aim to deliver on business objectives and not the marketing objectives. Our business model rests on this very premise and thus we work with companies based on revenue growth using digital. In the long run, we will take a cut from the results, instead of charging  fixed fees for time. This is a shift from what traditional consultants currently do and with this we hope to redefine the space. I am glad to have been chosen to create and build this business for DAN. This indeed is the next level of how agencies would evolve in the future.”

     

     

  • The campaign is digital-led, but will also make its appearance in cinema screens, print and OOH

    Eat.fit makes food consumption interesting via #EatfitEveryday campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Eat.fit, the healthy food vertical of Cure.fit, has rolled out its first ever campaign in partnership with their creative agency- Happy mcgarrybowen. The campaign is digital-led, but will also make its appearance in cinema screens, print and OOH.

     

    Spearheaded by the belief #EatfitEveryday, the campaign promises healthy and tasty home-like food that can be consumed every day without upsetting your system.

     

    Talking about their first campaign for eat.fit, Kartik Iyer, CEO and Co-founder, Happy mcgarrybowen said: “We have been part of the entire journey of creating the cure.fit brand and one of our biggest efforts has been to create a unique identity and langue for the brand and the experience. With the eat.fit campaign, we have only taken that further in the cure.fit world. The brand speak is simple, contemporary and artistic. Strategically the eat.fit offering is more than just convenient food at your door step. In today’s urban world, many people feel the need to order-out nearly every meal. The need for it is more today than ever. Hence, eat.fit every day.”

     

    Added Ankit Nagori, Co-founder, cure.fit: “Our idea was to communicate the ease with which today’s jet setting, young urban professionals can keep up with their busy schedule without compromising on healthy eating. We are pleased with the new-age look of the campaign developed by Happy mcgarrybowen.”

     

     

  • In an effort to empower underprivileged children across the country, #ToolsForSchool centred its focus on education this year as well

    Dentsu employees dedicate a day for societal change

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) held its annual volunteer initiative, One Day for Change (ODFC), for the fifth consecutive year, on May 11. Keeping in line with last year’s theme #ToolsForSchool, DAN Indadedicated this day towards building a better environment for the young and underprivileged children including those with special needs.

     

    Over 1,800 employees across offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kochi participated in this annual initiative giving over 5,000 hours of their time to local communities. Commenting on the initiative, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO- South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network said, “A significant number of children in the primary years drop out of school and the chief reasons for this are poverty and accessibility to basic equipment. Meanwhile, when it comes to children with special needs who require far more attention from their environment, often schools are unable to focus on them. This, again, leads to these kids dropping out of school.  Therefore, this year for our One Day For Change, we decided to continue our focus on education.”

     

     

  • Network makes key promotions in the face of continuous growth

    OMD India strengthens leadership team

    By A Correspondent

     

    OMD India has promoted Sulina Menon to the newly created role of Chief Client Officer, while Lalit Agrawal has been elevated to the role of Head of OMD India – West.

     

    Menon takes on her new role with immediate effect and will work closely with OMD India’s CEO, Priti Murthy, in building the OMD brand nationally.

     

    Priti Murthy

    Said Priti Murthy, CEO of OMD India, on the elevations: “I am delighted to partner with Sulina and Lalit in their new roles. As an agency that is committed to generating business results for our clients, both Sulina and Lalit embody this value proposition, having spent considerable time in the industry and at OMD. These promotions are also a testament to the talent of our teams, taking our agency from strength to strength. I look forward to working closely with them both in navigating OMD’s continued journey of growth in India.”

     

    Sulina Menon

    Speaking on her promotion, Menon commented: “I am really excited about energising our team in India to drive data-enabled, integrated solutions for our clients and look forward to seamlessly onboarding our new clients. It’s important for us to continue evolving our approach for clients and OMD is well equipped to futureproof their businesses. I am excited to be a part of the journey.”

     

     

    Lalit Agrawal

    In his new role as Head of OMD India – West, Agrawal will drive and consolidate fresh avenues for growth. Said Agrawal on his appointment: “OMD is now well underway on its new path, with a rejuvenated focus on helping clients make ‘Better Decisions, Faster’. I am thrilled to be part of this momentous occasion as we extend our footprint in West India and I look forward to working with our clients and teams to make a mark for this region.”

     

     

  • The Hemant Misra -headed agency will be handling account for all three business verticals – Mobiles, Consumer Durable and IT Peripherals

    Intex also moves from Publicis to Magic Circle

    By A Correspondent

     

    Consumer electronics company Intex Technologies has awarded its complete creative advertising mandate to the recently launched Magic Circle Communications. It may be recalled that Make MyTrip and GoIbibo had also announced their decision to switch camps recently. The account was till recently handled by Publicis, where Hemant Misra, the founder of Magic Circle, worked until recently.

     

    The agency will be handling all the three core business verticals – Mobile Handset, IT Accessories and Consumer Durable range. On n awarding the business to Magic Circle,  Keshav Bansal, Director, Intex Technologies, said: “Intex is one of the fastest growing brands in the consumer electronics space, having attained leadership position in mobiles, multimedia speakers, power banks and LED TVs apart from other products. Keeping in mind, our plans to accelerate growth and presence across media platforms through varied campaigns this year, Hemant Misra was the absolute choice as our marketing communications partner. Being an industry veteran, Hemant doesn’t need any introduction and has earned respect owing to his vast form of work and brand associations. We have worked with him earlier when he was heading Publicis India, and so he understands the ethos and essence of Brand Intex completely. We are very happy to have him with us and are sure that together we will be able take brand Intex and Magic Circle to greater heights.”

     

    Added Hemant Misra, Managing Director, Magic Circle on the win: “We feel truly blessed by the confidence and trust reposed in us by such a large client. My team has worked really hard on Intex in the past and the results have gladdened our hearts. It is a challenge working in these categories since they are so dynamic and competitive that we will continue to innovate and never pause at any format. We have always been treated as part of the team by the client and this motivates every member of my team to stretch both body and mind to do our best on the business.”

     

    Magic Circle was launched on May 1 by Misra and partnered by Natwar Singh and Dheeraj Renganath.

     

     

  • According to sources, advanced levels discussions are on for the buyback of the 40% Y&R and Dentsu stakes in the 45-year-old agency

    Is Arun Nanda buying WPP stake in Rediffusion?

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Is Diwan Arun Nanda buying WPP’s 26.7 per cent stake in Rediffusion Y&R? According to (reasonably reliable) sources, advanced levels discussions are on for the buyback of the Y&R and Dentsu stakes in Rediffusion Y&R. Together, the two global majors own 40 per cent of the 45-year-old Rediffusion Y&R. Or what’s officially called Rediffusion Dentsu Young & Rubicam Private Limited.

     

    It may be remembered that until recently it was WPP that was keen on buying out the 60% owned by Nanda and Ajit Balakrishnan. But that was the WPP run by Sir Martin Sorrell. Now Nanda is reportedly keen on buying the WPP stake. And not just that, the Dentsu stake too.

     

    Not many think it’s a wise move as this will allow Y&R to enter the country on its own and pose fresh competition in what is clearly a tough market for creative advertising agencies.

     

    While Rediffusion recently bagged the prestigious State Bank of India mandate, the creative advertising business overall has been under a cloud over the last year-and-a-half. Even some of the bigger named agencies, including those from the WPP group, have been facing a squeeze on earnings.

     

    According to our sources, post the buyback of the shares, a merger of Rediffusion, the agency, and Rediff.com, the general interest internet-based portal, is also being mulled.

     

    While our sources do not reveal the deal size, and whether it’s in line with the estimates of a Rs 100 cr valuation for the 60 per cent stake owned by Arun Nanda and Ajit Balakrishnan of a few years back, given the changed business scenario, the 40 per cent equity could well be valued at a low Rs 20 crore.

     

    Part of the current Rediffusion Y&R fold is the Made-in-1946 agency Everest Brand Solutions, Rediffusion-Wunderman, Sudler& Hennessey and the PR wing.

     

    As per the Rediffusion Y&R website, the story goes that “one evening in 1973, three leading stalwarts of advertising came together to discuss the state of creativity in advertising. They wanted to do something about the mediocrity, the contentment with the status quo, the inertia that seemed to pervade agencies and people. The three people, Diwan Arun Nanda, Ajit Balakrishnan and Mohammed Khan, came up with a gameplan – to start their own advertising agency, Rediffusion. An agency that would be passionate and bold; an agency that would take ownership of clients and their work to new heights; an agency that would create fearless, category-busting work.

     

    That was a different era. Forty-five years ago. The rules of the game have changed dramatically. The dramatis personae of the advertising business have changed. Will it be achche din yet again for the two Big As of the Media business – Arun and Ajit. Time will tell.

     

     

  • He has already worked as Chief Investment Officer of Ventureland Asia, the group’s venture capital fund

    Creativeland Asia brings on board Venkat Balasubramanian as CFO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Venkat Balasubramanian

    Creativeland Asia Group has brought on board Venkat Balasubramanian as the group’s Chief Financial Officer. Bala has also served as Chief Investment Officer of Ventureland Asia, the group’s venture capital fund.

     

    He has worked in the past with the Smithsonian Institution (US), Agenda 21 (UN), Universal Forum of Cultures (Barcelona), The Earth Centre (UK) and Wieden+Kennedy, as CFO.

     

    On Balasubramanian’s appointment, Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder & Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia Group, said, “When a prudent investment advisor and a finance expert comes on board, it is early signs of the times to come. Through last two years of his consultancy with Ventureland, I have found in Bala, a great partner who understands the ambition Creativeland has for itself. Now, as a key member of my team, I am certain his finance and legal acumen along with his keen sensitivity for the creative culture and his experience of working across various sectors across the globe will play a significant role in chartering a stronger growth trajectory for Creativeland.”

     

     

  • The case study is authored by Prof Anand Narasimhan and Transformation Project Manager Ivy Buche.

    GroupM India’s transformation journey is a case study at IMD Biz School, Switzerland

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading management institute IMD Business School, Lausanne in Switzerland has created a case study on the digital transformation journey of GroupM India..The case study is authored by Prof Anand Narasimhan and Transformation Project Manager Ivy Buche.

     

    Commenting on the case study, CVL Srinivas, Country Manager WPP India and CEO, GroupM South Asia said: “It is an honour to be recognized by the world of academia and become a part of the IMD curriculum. In late 2012, the advertising and communications industry was challenged by digital disruption. As our business underwent metamorphosis, a critical part of the journey is taking the human capital into confidence and preparing them to work in a future-ready organisation. Along with the technology aspects of transformation, at GroupM India we successfully leveraged the talent dimension in implementing digital transformation. The case study will help other companies navigate their own transformation initiatives in a dynamic market.”

     

    Added Prof Narasimhan: “I have taught the GroupM India case to different audiences. What is striking for our participants is the care and diligence that GroupM paid to the human dimension of digital transformation – the need to incorporate millennial voices and the imperative to train talented individuals to beef up their technology skills. GroupM India provides a great example for other companies to use digital disruption as an opportunity rather than a threat.”

     

     

  • Marcel to accelerate the transformation of the Publicis Group from a holding company to an 80,000-person enterprise platform, notes a communique

    Publicis Unveils Marcel

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis Groupe has unveiled Marcel – named after Publicis Groupe founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet – AI-powered innovation that, as a communique notes, will “accelerate transforming the organisation from a holding company to a platform, creating the first truly borderless, frictionless enterprise workforce, comprised of 80,000 employees worldwide, and usher in a new era of creativity and innovation.”

     

    Said Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO, Publicis Groupe, in a statement: “In June last year, Publicis Groupe announced the creation of Marcel, to connect our 80,000 employees and completely reinvent the way that we work, for ourselves and our clients. Since then, our industry has gone through unprecedented challenges, demonstrating that incremental change is not a solution. The need for reinvention is stronger than ever. At Publicis Groupe, we haven’t waited to act. We have broken the divide between data, creativity and technology. We have broken our silos through the Power of One. Today, we are breaking the barriers between talent and opportunity with Marcel. Marcel is a journey to shift Publicis Groupe from a holding company to a platform and give creative minds the freedom to progress and thrive in this ever-changing industry. Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our people. At Publicis, we will put them first in our transformation, and give them the opportunity to learn, share and create more than anywhere else. Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our clients. They will be able to leverage our incredible diversity of talent to bring to life the ideas they need to grow their business. And, of course, Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our industry. We will be a force for good, by leading the change. Tying the development of Marcel to our one-year industry event hiatus was a controversial decision, but a necessary one. It drew a line in the sand and left no doubt that we are determined to do whatever it takes to reinvent an industry that has struggled to evolve over the past 40 years. So I’m grateful to our people, our clients, and our partners at industry festivals around the world for their support and solidarity during this period, which will end in July 2018. And, last but not least, I’d like to thank everyone at Publicis Groupe who, both directly and indirectly, have contributed to the ideation and production of Marcel. Marcel is the power of all of us, working as one, and we have already begun to prove that.”

     

     

  • Mumbai-based consultancy to handle countrywide strategies across verticals for the conglomerate

    IIFL appoints Pitchfork Partners as strategic communication consultants

    By A Correspondent

     

    Financial services conglomerate IIFL Group has signed Pitchfork Partners Strategic Consulting LLP to advise it on communication initiatives for all its verticals.

     

    Said Nirmal Jain, Founder and Chairman, IIFL Group: “Pitchfork Partners shares the same beliefs and values as us and we are delighted to partner with them for our communication strategy. It’s an exciting phase – IIFL, with a track record of disruptive innovation, is well place to ride the upsurge in financial services on the back of accelerating economic growth. We see a huge opportunity for sustained manifold growth and Pitchfork has the credentials to help us in this journey.”

     

    Added Jaideep Shergill, co-founder, Pitchfork Partners: “The financial services sector in India is exciting. It is also one of Pitchfork’s strengths. IIFL has shared with us an ambitious roadmap and we are looking forward to partnering it in achieving its goals.”

     

     

  • So we can expect a smaller WPP minus traditional advertising, writes Prabhakar Mundkur on the ad czar’s new venture

    Return of The Sorrell

     

    By Prabhakar Mundkur

     If you thought that Martin Sorrell’s exit from the WPP group was the end of a great career you were wrong. Sorrell now 73, who stepped down from WPP a few months ago, is making a comeback with a new advertising (and marketing services) venture.

     

    With his experience of taking over an unknown firm called WPP which was largely a shell company 33 years ago, it was natural for him to try his hand again at a similar experiment.

     

    Sorrell now is taking charge of another shell company – Derriston Capital – which he intends to turn into an advertising venture. Confirmation of the Derriston deal was confirmed first by Sky News.  Derriston as a company has been on the New York Stock Exchange since 2016.

     

    In this first interview with Anant Rangaswami on CNBC last night at Zee Melt, Sir Martin spoke on a number of issues with his usual eloquence. For those branding experts who are wondering about the significance of S4, it stands for four generations of Sorrells in the UK. (His grandparents came to the UK from Eastern Europe in 1899.) He quoted Brian Whipple the CEO  of Accenture Interactive while speaking about how competition from consulting might affect the advertising agency business.  Quoting  an interview that Whipple gave he said: “the consulting companies don’t compete with the agencies head-on.  They go above the agencies to the CEOs and CFOs, the CMOs and the CIOs and CTOs. And they say to them you are going through significant change, they might describe it as a digital disruption. You are spending a lot of money. Let’s look at it as one and let’s see how we can improve your productivity, improve your technological response, digitise your company, transform your company and at the same time spend less money. And by the way pay us on the basis of what we save. Which is a very alluring concept”.

     

    Whipple has led Accenture Interactive’s disruption of the traditional agency landscape by creating a new service model.  Whipple is known to have said “[Holding companies] are changing, but the pace of change is woefully slow. And it’s not because of the intent. It’s because of the structure and the culture.”  One couldn’t help feeling that Sir Martin is welcoming the fact that by starting on a clean slate he might be able to do things differently with S4 than what he could do with WPP.

     

    As a new way of doing business Sorrell said in the interview that S4 would not only like to sharpen its tactical response but also develop its strategic response at the higher levels of the company.  He reiterated the need to be ready for change, whether cyclical or strategic.

     

    But what shape might Sorrells new venture take?  Given his penchant as a ‘math man’ and his various criticisms of the ‘mad man’ era of advertising he is likely to be more interested in the world of data and digital.  It is quite likely that Sorrell’s new venture might be devoid of the traditional advertising agency.  In any case revenues of all his advertising agencies put together in WPP were much smaller than the media company or the research company.  Which goes to show that he perhaps thought that advertising was really an old-world phenomenon.  Sorrell is putting in his own personal investment of £40 million into the new venture.  Institutional investors include Lombard Odier, Miton, RIT Capital Partners, Schroders and Toscafund would add a further £11 million.

     

    That of course does not mean that the new venture will be devoid of creativity in other forms.  Sorrell always believed in creativity and the power of ideas although he is often accused of marginalising creativity.  Sorrell always said that the definition of creativity needs to change because he said “we are not in the advertising business anymore”.  Sorrell in the past has also said “75 per cent of what we [WPP] do now, Don Draper and maybe even Sir John Hegarty wouldn’t recognise.”

     

    So what might we expect from Sorrell’s new venture is perhaps a smaller WPP minus traditional advertising and the traditional way of doing business by holding companies.  But like WPP it would grow through acquisition.

     

    To go back to Whipple he is known to have said that for agencies to survive they must leave the founder’s culture behind.  In the case of Sorrel it might well the opposite.  A case of the founder leaving his agency’s culture behind.

     

    Prabhakar Mundkur, better known as Prabsy, is a veteran advertising agency professional, having led agencies in India and globally. And if he’s not thinking brands and strategies, he’s into music, cycling and writing. A prolific writer, he was LinkedIn’s most influential voice in 2016. He also writes ‘Ad Buzz’, a weekly column on MxMIndia.

     

  • India entries bagged 28 awards at the International News Media Association Awards held in Washington DC on Monday

    India Shining at INMA Awards

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Indian companies bagged several accolades at the INMA Global Media Awards held on Monday in Washington DC. Of the 28winnners from India (including two Regional Award winners, Jagran Prakashan received two first place awards.

    The New York Times’ “Truth Is Hard” multi-media campaign touting the impact of its journalism amid a rising tide of fake news and misinformation won the coveted INMA Global Media Awards “Best in Show,” joining 33 companies taking home top prizes in growing brand, audience, and revenue.

    Produced by the International News Media Association, the Global Media Awards were presented before more than 400 participants attending the INMA World Congress of News Media at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C.

    During the ceremony, 40 first-place winners were unveiled across 20 categories aimed at energizing news brands, creating products, engaging audiences, developing customer insights, growing advertising revenue, and instilling innovation. Entrants were judged in two groups: global/national brands and regional/local brands. INMA has presented awards for media excellence since 1937.

    The 2018 Global Media Awards competition garnered 830 entries from 220 media companies in 39 countries. Participants included newspaper media, magazine media, digital media, television media, and radio media.

    An international panel of 50 executives from 20 countries selected 195 finalists, and from those the first place category winners were announced at the awards ceremony.

    Other than Jagran Prakashan, six companies won multiple first-place awards. Sweden’s MittMedia took home three top prizes, while six others garnered two first places: Grupo RBS from Brazil, News Corp from Australia, VG from Norway, USA Today Network and The Wall Street Journal from the United States.

    “If there were emerging themes among this year’s Global Media Awards winners, it would be about communicating the values held by news brands amid the misinformation explosion and the rise of algorithms, data, and machine learning in the everyday running of a media company,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. “This year’s competition was intensely competitive with a record number of entries that provoked debate among judges on what defines success – the precise argument happening at INMA member companies.”

     

    Regional winners announced

    Judges selected from finalists the best in six world regions. Announced in Washington were:

    :: Best in Africa: Ads24, South Africa, “Ads24 Presents Food for Thought”

    :: Best in Asia/Pacific, Regional/Local Brands: News Corp Australia, “News ADvance Program”

    :: Best in Asia/Pacific, Global/National Brands: South China Morning Post, “Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund JumpStarter”

    :: Best in Europe, Regional/Local Brands: MittMedia, Sweden, “User Activity Tracking Map”

    :: Best in Europe, Global/National Brands: Aftenposten, Norway, “Front Page Reinvented: The Algorithm That Supports Our Journalistic Mission”

    :: Best in Latin America: Grupo RBS, Brazil, “PelasRuas: Innovation, Collaboration and Solutions in the Hands of the Community”

    :: Best in North America, Regional/Local Brands: LNP Media Group, United States, “The Caucus, a Watchdog Publication”

    :: Best in North America, Global/National Brands: The New York Times, United States, “Truth Is Hard”

    :: Best in South Asia, Regional/Local Brands: Hindustan Times, India, “Hindustan Times Palate Fest”

    :: Best in South Asia Global/National Brands: Jagran Prakashan, India, “957 Pages from a Daughter’s Diary”

     

    INMA Global Media Awards results

    Note: Group 1 below represents regional/local brands, and Group 2 represents global/national brands. Honourable Mentions are listed alphabetically.

     

    CATEGORY 1: BEST BRAND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

    Group 1

    :: First Place: ABP, India, “Ananda Utsav: Brand Awareness Campaign for Largest Bengali Festive Event” 

    :: Second Place: Bay Area News Group, United States, “Start a New Ritual Read the Paper: Klay Thompson Campaign”

    :: Third Place: Newsday Media Group, United States, “Watchdog Editorial Campaign”

    :: Honourable Mention: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, United States, “Worth Knowing”

    :: Honourable Mention: Toronto Star, Canada, “Investigate. Report. Effect Change.”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: The New York Times, United States, “Truth is Hard”

    :: Second Place: The Globe and Mail, Canada, “Journalism Matters”

    :: Third Place: HelsinginSanomat, Finland, “The World is Beyond the Headlines”

    :: Honourable Mention: Fairfax Media, Australia, “The Australian Financial Review: The Daily Habit of Successful People”

    :: Honourable Mention: NZME, New Zealand, “Discover More: nzherald.co.nz Relaunch” 

     

    CATEGORY 2: BEST PUBLIC RELATIONS OR COMMUNITY SERVICE CAMPAIGN

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Grupo RBS, Brazil, “PelasRuas: Innovation, Collaboration and Solutions in the Hands of the Community”

    :: Second Place: News Corp, Australia, “Do Something! Day”

    :: Third Place: Los Angeles Times, United States, “High School Insider”

    :: Honourable Mention: Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd. (Times Group), India, “Maharashtra Times – Women’s Sanitation: An Inconvenient Truth”

    :: Honourable Mention: Republic Media – USA Today Network – Gannett, United States, “It Shouldn’t Hurt to be a Child Cause Marketing Campaign”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Agora, Poland, “Tomorrownauts”

    :: Second Place: NZME, Auckland, “Break The Silence”

    :: Third Place: Jagran Prakashan, India, “Fields on Fire”

    :: Honourable Mention: FINN.no, Norway, “Wanted: Ocean Plastic”

    :: Honourable Mention: Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, “Stomp Goody Bag Campaign”

     

    CATEGORY 3: BEST USE OF AN EVENT TO BUILD A NEWS BRAND

    Group 1

    :: First Place: The Chronicle Herald, Canada, “Now! Nova Scotia and the Now! Nova Scotia Good News Awards”

    :: Second Place: News Corp, Australia, “Herald Sun Full-On Footy Tour”

    :: Third Place: HT Media, India, “Hindustan Times Palate Fest”

    :: Honourable Mention: Ads24, South Africa, “Ads24 Presents Food for Thought”

    :: Honourable Mention: Børsen, Denmark, “Børsen Gazelle Awards”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Financial Times Live, United Kingdom, “FT Weekend Festival”

    :: Second Place: News Corp, Australia, “Jeff Horn – The Sunday Mail”

    :: Third Place: Schibsted, Norway, “Aftenposten Event A-Tech”

    :: Honourable Mention: Axel Springer Auto Verlag, Germany, “Sport BILD Award”

    :: Honourable Mention: Krone Multimedia, Austria, “Austrian Video Award”

     

    CATEGORY 4: BEST NEW PRINT PRODUCT

    Group 1

    :: First Place: LNP Media Group, United States, “The Caucus, a Watchdog Publication”

    :: Second Place: Dainik Bhaskar, India, “Maharashtra Independent Thought Booklet”

    :: Third Place: Newsday Media Group, United States, “The Newsday Vault”

    :: Honourable Mention: ABP, India, “Paper Within Paper: A First-Time-in-India Concept by ABP” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Herald Sun, Australia, “AFLW Liftout& Supplements” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: USA Today Network, United States, “USA Today Network Brand Refresh: Print”

    :: Second Place: 24sata, Croatia, “JoomBoos Magazine from Cringe to Lit”

    :: Third Place: Fairfax Media, Australia, “Fairfax Media: Executive Style Magazine”

    :: Honourable Mention: Metro, Belgium, “Metro Start: Best New Print Product” 

    :: Honourable Mention: News Corp, Australia, “News Corp Travel Tuesday Escape Everyday Series” 

     

    CATEGORY 5: BEST USE OF MOBILE

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Winnipeg Free Press, Canada, “News Break by Winnipeg Free Press”

    :: Second Place: Russmedia Digital, Austria, “VOL.at Redesign”

    :: Third Place: Galadari Printing & Publishing, United Arab Emirates, “Khaleej Times Mobile News Service”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: VG, Norway, “VG on Snapchat Discover”

    :: Second Place: The Telegraph, United Kingdom, “Telegraph Snapchat Discover”

    :: Third Place: NZME, New Zealand, “Nzherald.co.nz Redesign”

    :: Honourable Mention: Artear, Argentina, “TN TodoNoticias New Mobile Apps” 

    :: Honourable Mention: South China Morning Post, China, “HK Racing” 

     

    CATEGORY 6: BEST USE OF VIDEO

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Alabama Media Group, United States, “Reckon by AL.com’s Alabama Senate Editorial Campaign”

    :: Second Place: Newsday Media Group, United States, “Sanctuary”

    :: Third Place: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, United States, “The Making of Real Journalism”

    :: Honourable Mention: Calgary Herald, Canada, “Call of the Rail: Restoring Colonist Car 1202” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Russmedia Digital, Austria, “Made in Vorarlberg” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Aftonbladet, Sweden, “Armored Glass Girl”

    :: Second Place: The Wall Street Journal, United States, “The Face of Real News”

    :: Third Place: 24sata, Croatia, “Gone But Not Forgotten”

    :: Honourable Mention: Agora, Poland, “Make Poland Great Again: The Online Night-Show by Gazeta.pl” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Stuff, New Zealand, “The Valley” 

     

    CATEGORY 7: BEST LAUNCH OF A BRAND OR PRODUCT TO CREATE AN AUDIENCE SEGMENT

    Group 1

    :: First Place: News Corp Australia, Australia, “Local Sports Stars”

    :: Second Place: Alabama Media Group, United States, “This Is Alabama”

    :: Third Place: Amar Ujala Publications, India, “Amar Ujala’s Multi-Platform Kavya Taps Into Massive Hindi Poetry Subculture”

    :: Honourable Mention: Los Angeles Times, United States, “Dirty John Podcast”

    :: Honourable Mention: SaltWire Network, Canada, “SaltWire Network Brand Launch”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: NBC News Digital, United States, “NBC News’ ‘Stay Tuned’ On Snapchat”

    :: Second Place: Agora, Poland, “Myk! From On-Line to TV”

    :: Third Place: Omni, Sweden, “The Launch of Omni Ekonomi”

    :: Honourable Mention: 24sata, Croatia, “Miss7: This is Me #WATCHmeGO” 

    :: Honourable Mention: News Corp, Australia, “News Prestige Network Launch” 

     

    CATEGORY 8: BEST USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY TO GENERATE REVENUE AND ENGAGE

    Group 1

    :: First Place: MittMedia, Sweden, “The Homeowners Bot”

    :: Second Place: USA Today, United States, “Local Flash Briefings on Alexa in Partnership with Spoken Layer”

    :: Third Place: Russmedia Digital, Austria, “Made in Vorarlberg”

    :: Honourable Mention: Bay Area News Group, United States, “Leadhax – Online Advertising for Real Estate Agents” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, United States, “The Digital Billboard Network”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Aftenposten, Norway, “Front Page Reinvented: The Algorithm That Supports Our Journalistic Mission”

    :: Second Place: Aftonbladet, Sweden, “What’s On the Plate”

    :: Third Place: VG, Norway, “Mystery at the Oslo Plaza”

    :: Honourable Mention: Bonnier News Brand Studio, Sweden, “Löfbergs: The Next Generation Coffee Experience” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Ringier, Switzerland, “Using Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Generate Revenue and Boost Reader Engagement @ Ringier” 

     

    CATEGORY 9: BEST IDEA TO ENCOURAGE PRINT READERSHIP OR ENGAGEMENT

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Austin American-Statesman, Texas, “The Talk: An Interactive Multi-Platform Exploration of Race-Police Relations”

    :: Second Place: Calgary Herald, Canada, “Syrian Refugees: A New Home, A New Life”

    :: Third Place: The Oklahoman Media Company, United States, “The Oklahoman’s Brand Campaign”

    :: Honourable Mention: Bay Area News Group, United States, “Klay Thompson Campaign for Bay Area News” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Vijay Karnataka (Times Group), India, “Language Newspaper Taking Youngsters Message to The Prime Minister” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: USA Today Network – Gannett, United States, “I Am An American”

    :: Second Place: HelsinginSanomat, Finland, “The Art of Journalism”

    :: Third Place: Jagran Prakashan, India, “A Glass Half Full”

    :: Honourable Mention: El País, Spain, “The New Arrivals”  

    :: Honourable Mention: WeltN24, Germany, “Die Welt of December 9, 2017” 

     

    CATEGORY 10: BEST IDEA TO GROW DIGITAL READERSHIP OR ENGAGEMENT

    Group 1

    :: First Place: MittMedia, Sweden, “The Homeowners Bot”

    :: Second Place: Grupo RBS, Brazil, “GaúchaZH: A Platform for Reading, Watching and Listening”

    :: Third Place: Amar Ujala Publications, India, “Kavya (Poetry) Drives High-Value Registrations Engagement”

    :: Honourable Mention: ABP, India, “Growing the Readership of Ebela.in by Cementing Its Position As the Go-To Bengali” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Chicago Tribune, United States, “Dining Awards”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Ringier, Switzerland, “Using Advanced Artificial Intelligence to Boost Digital Reader Engagement @ Ringier”

    :: Second Place: The Economist, United Kingdom, “The World in 2018”

    :: Third Place: Aftenposten, Norway, “Front Page Reinvented: The Algorithm That Supports Our Journalistic Mission”

    :: Honourable Mention: Nation Media Group, Kenya, “Nation Messenger Bot: Nation Kiki” 

    :: Honourable Mention: VG, Norway, “VG on Snapchat Discover: Digital Engagement”

     

    CATEGORY 11: BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

    Group 1

    :: First Place: La Voz del Interior, Argentina, “Vivo in CBA”

    :: Second Place: Newsday Media Group, United States, “Newsday’s Day in the Life of Long Island”

    :: Third Place: Alabama Media Group, United States, “It’s a Southern Thing”

    :: Honourable Mention: OVB24, Germany, “Rosenheimsbeste.de: Reinventing Local Guides” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Upsala Nya Tidning, Sweden, “UNT Pendlingskollen: Building Journalistic Ecosystems Using Social Media” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: VG, Norway, “VG on Snapchat Discover”

    :: Second Place: The Financial Times, United Kingdom, “FT Instagram Stories”

    :: Third Place: Condé Nast International, United Kingdom, “Vogue International on Instagram Stories”

    :: Honourable Mention: Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd. (Times Group), India, “#NoConditionsApply:  ShindoorKhela” 

    :: Honourable Mention: NBC News Digital, United States, “NBC News’ ‘Stay Tuned’ on Snapchat”  

     

    CATEGORY 12: BEST NEW PAID CONTENT OR SUBSCRIPTION INITIATIVE

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Editora Globo, Brazil, “Data-Driven Digital Subscription Paywall Model”

    :: Second Place: Hall Media, MittMedia, Sörmlands Media, VK Media, Sweden, “SverigesLokalnyheter”

    :: Third Place: Dainik Bhaskar, India, “When a Young Newspaper Established its Position In a Cluttered and Commoditized Market With Over 15,673 Newspapers”

    :: Honourable Mention: ABP, India, “The Telegraph t3: Life Enhancement Programme”

    :: Honourable Mention: Hearst Newspapers – Times Union, United States, “Dynamic Meter and Paywall”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: The Wall Street Journal, United States, “The WSJ Dynamic Paywall”

    :: Second Place: Schibsted, Norway, “Touchpoints”

    :: Third Place: DagensNyheter, Sweden, “Using Analytics to Drive Continuous Growth in Digital Subscriptions”

    :: Honourable Mention: Dow Jones, United States, “Omni-Channel Initiative” 

    :: Honourable Mention: HelsinginSanomat, Finland, “Diamonds Are Forever: HelsinginSanomat’s Digital Strategy Renewal” 

     

    CATEGORY 13: BEST IDEA TO GROW ADVERTISING SALES OR RETAIN ADVERTISING CLIENTS

    Group 1

    :: First Place: News Corp Australia, Australia, “News ADvance Program”

    :: Second Place: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, United States, “The Digital Billboard Network”

    :: Third Place: Bonnier News, Sweden, “SmartaJobb”

    :: Honourable Mention: Ads24, South Africa, “#Ads24 Diski” 

    :: Honourable Mention: D&C Digital – USA Today Network – Gannett, United States, “Saving The Source” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Jagran Prakashan, India, “Gaming The Revenue Strategy”

    :: Second Place: Times of India, India, “Times Power of Print”

    :: Third Place: The Economist, United Kingdom, “The World in 2018”

    :: Honourable Mention: Independent Media, South Africa, “Drive360” 

    :: Honourable Mention: United Daily News, Taiwan, “Intelligence Beyond Data:  Unlock the Potential of Audience Engagements” 

     

    CATEGORY 14: BEST MARKETING SOLUTION FOR AN ADVERTISING CLIENT

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Grupo RBS, Brazil, “The Media Project for Lebes Life Store”

    :: Second Place: Midday Infomedia, India, “Brands Make Inroads to the Corporate World with Mid-Day”

    :: Third Place: Florida Today – USA Today Network – Gannett, United States, “Where Innovation Takes Flight”

    :: Honourable Mention: ABP, India, “The Sweet Story From a Sweet Land! How ABP Changed the Taste of Bengali Sweets for Mondelez India” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Ads24, South Africa, “Ads24/Phumelela Soccer 6 Multi-Platform Campaign”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: South China Morning Post, “Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund Jumpstarter 2017”

    :: Second Place: Jagran Prakashan, India, “Conversations with Customers”

    :: Third Place: The Irish Times, Ireland, “Be One: Inspire One in Association with Ulster Bank”

    :: Honourable Mention: Bonnier News Brand Studio, Sweden, “Nordea: The Smart Concept 2.0” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Folha de São Paulo, Brazil, “The Reinvention of Print: GOL Brazilian Airline and Folha de São Paulo” 

     

    CATEGORY 15: BEST EXECUTION OF PRINT ADVERTISING

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Amedia, Norway, “Leading the Fight on Grey”

    :: Second Place: Newsday Media Group, United States, “Good Samaritan Hospital HealthLink 4 Page PopUp”

    :: Third Place: Diario Panorama, Venezuela, “Venezuela Biodiversa”

    :: Honourable Mention: Gannett Imaging and Ad Design Center, United States,  “Noah’s Ark Ristorante” 

    :: Honourable Mention: News Corp, Australia, “The Book of Mormon Mega Wrap” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: NZME, New Zealand, “The Inequality Issue”

    :: Second Place: Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd. (Times Group), India, “Make India Water Positive”

    :: Third Place: Folha de São Paulo, Brazil, “The Reinvention of Print: GOL Brazilian Airline and Folha de São Paulo”

    :: Honourable Mention: Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing, India, “Santappan Advertising Campaign”

    :: Honourable Mention: News Corp, Australia, “#SamDay or How our Two Biggest Mastheads Changed Their Name for the Day” 

     

    CATEGORY 16: BEST EXECUTION OF NATIVE ADVERTISING

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Los Angeles Times, United States, “Through a Cracked Lens, Sponsored by Snowfall”

    :: Second Place: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, United States, “The Year in Real Journalism”

    :: Third Place: Amedia, Norway, “Leading the Fight on Grey”

    :: Honourable Mention: Postmedia, Canada, “Alive 375” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Republic Media – USA Today Network – Gannett, United States, “Total Wine & More Native Campaign” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: The Irish Times, Ireland, “Story of Home”

    :: Second Place: EkstraBladet, Denmark, “‘Denmark’s Best Idea’ — High Engagement and Explosive Brand Awareness”

    :: Third Place: Styria Content Creation, Austria, “Seat Ibiza”

    :: Honourable Mention: 24sata, Croatia, “The Shared Dream Became Reality” 

    :: Honourable Mention: News Corp, Australia, “Suncorp Federal Budget” 

     

    CATEGORY 17: BEST USE OF DATA ANALYTICS

    Group 1

    :: First Place: MittMedia, Sweden, “User Activity Tracking Map”

    :: Second Place: Amedia, Norway, “From Chasing Reach to a Convertible Audience: The Case for Loyal Non-Subscribers”

    :: Third Place: Fairfax Media, Australia, “InsightsPlus”

    :: Honourable Mention: Berliner Morgenpost, Germany, “The Berliner Morgenpost Interactive Reader Map: The Interdepartmental Analysis Tool for the Newsroom Sales and Marketing” 

    :: Honourable Mention: News Regional Media, Australia, “A Digital Playbook for Every Newsroom” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Dainik Bhaskar Digital, India, “Autobot: Automated Intelligent Push Notification Engine”

    :: Second Place: De Persgroep Publishing, Belgium, “Automated Retention Using Churn Modeling”

    :: Third Place: The Financial Times, United Kingdom, “Project XX”

    :: Honourable Mention: Fairfax Media, Australia, “The Australian Financial Review: Harnessing Data to Drive Revenue Growth” 

    :: Honourable Mention: Gannett, United States, “Deepening Digital Audience Engagement and Retention Through Voice of the Customer Insights”

     

    CATEGORY 18: BEST USE OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Fairfax Media, Australia, “InsightsPlus”

    :: Second Place: Dainik Bhaskar, India, “How a Young Newspaper Soared to Become Maharashtra’s Independent Newspaper”

    :: Third Place: News Corp, Australia, “App Only and App Management Research”

    :: Honourable Mention: Republic Media – USA Today Network – Gannett, United States, “Community Impact Campaign” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Dow Jones, United States, “WSJ Project Moment”

    :: Second Place: News Corp, Australia, “The Food, Mood and Media Connection”

    :: Third Place: Star Metro Media, Canada, “Rockies By Rail: Digital Content Research Campaign”

    :: Honourable Mention: Fairfax Media, Australia, “Kidtopia Festival” 

    :: Honourable Mention: De Persgroep Publishing, Belgium, “NPS: The Process, Not the KPI”

     

    CATEGORY 19: BEST NEW CORPORATE INNOVATION INITIATIVE

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, United States, “The Digital Billboard Network”

    :: Second Place: Amedia, Norway, “The Better Journalism Initiative: How Better Journalism Propelled Digital Subscription Growth”

    :: Third Place: Russmedia Digital, Austria, “VOL.at Redesign”

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Jagran Prakashan, India, “957 Pages from a Daughter’s Diary”

    :: Second Place: Fairfax Media, Australia, “Project Blue”

    :: Third Place: Schibsted, Sweden, “The Schibsted Daily: Foster Innovation Through Information”

    :: Honourable Mention: Dagbladet, Norway, “Reader Critics“ 

    :: Honourable Mention: The Financial Times, United Kingdom, “The Visual Vocabulary”

     

    CATEGORY 20: BEST NEW CONCEPT OR INNOVATION TO CREATE NEW PROFIT CENTERS

    Group 1

    :: First Place: Russmedia, Austria, “Interactive West 2018”

    :: Second Place: Grupo RBS, Brazil, “Donna Beauty Pompeia: A Place to Discover Yourself”

    :: Third Place: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, United States, “The Digital Billboard Network”

    :: Honourable Mention: Herald Sun, Australia, “Herald Sun Destination Education”

    :: Honourable Mention: OVB24, Germany, “Rosenheimsbeste.de: Reinventing Local Guides” 

    Group 2

    :: First Place: Schibsted, Norway, “Aftenposten Junior: A Brand Extension with Exceptional Profits”

    :: Second Place: Jagran Prakashan, India, “Gaming The Revenue Strategy”

    :: Third Place: The Hindu Group, India, “Step”

    :: Honourable Mention: News Corp, Australia, “International Pro Darts Showdown Series”

    :: Honourable Mention: Sanoma Media, Finland, “HS Multi-Channel Strategy in Media Sales”

    The next Global Media Awards competition deadline is Friday, January 25, 2019.