MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Benetton tried to spread an anti-hate message with its campaign showing public figures, including the Pope, locking lips. Unfortunately it backfired and drew the Vatican’s anger instead. What does the industry have to say about the fiasco?

    Benetton’s shock treatment works, say creatives

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Benetton’s Unhate campaign aimed at leaders and citizens of the world to combat the ‘culture of hatred’ with its Unhate Foundation has shocked many. One of its visuals showed Pope Benedict XVI in a lip-lock with Imam of Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo. This has caused such a furore that the ad had to be pulled off and an official statement on Benetton’s website said, “We reiterate that the meaning of this campaign is exclusively to combat the culture of hatred in all its forms. We are therefore sorry that the use of the image of the Pope and the Imam has so offended the sentiments of the faithful. In corroboration of our intentions, we have decided, with immediate effect, to withdraw this image from every publication.”

     

    Some of the other people in the lip-lock campaign are Barack Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France and King Jong II, the Supreme Leader of North Korea and Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea.

     

    The campaign is being used to launch the Unhate Foundation which champions a new culture of tolerance and combats hatred. What could be better than to show two political figures who are often at loggerheads kissing each other thus signifying the basic of love and reconciliation. Not to forget that the provocative images immediately catches the eye and even raises many eyebrows. So in that way Unhate Foundation and its advertising on its very first day of launch managed to create a stir.

     

    The campaign has been lauded by many in the fraternity. Prathap Suthan, Chief Creative Officer at iYogi, calls it brilliant.  He said, “I bet it’s taken them a million tons of conviction to come out with it. It’s not every day you get to showcase Presidents and Popes kissing each other. As a campaign, it doesn’t get much bigger, bolder or more controversial than this and yet remain hugely relevant. In the context of the world, where there’s violence, and gore, and all kinds of hate, unhate seems to be a great thought to own. Plus all the free PR this is bound to create.  This campaign has multiple layers – from colour to history to geography to homosexuality to religion to culture to love and peace. It’s a genuine Benetton campaign. And it comes at a moment when the brand is flagging. If you can get the world talking about your campaign, whether you like, love or despise the thought and the representation, the brand wins hands down. I would never have the spine, guts, and spheres to think/back this kind of a campaign. Not just me, none in India. Great campaign. Great brand. Lousy clothes, though.”

    In fact, the campaign is reported to have given a lift to Benetton’s flagging sales. But this is not a first for the brand. It has been championing social causes with its controversial ads even in the past. As Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications Ltd, remarked, “If this attempt was made by any other brand one would dub it as a move to be controversial but Benetton has historically never been timid. It has been pushing boundaries hence the current ad very much adheres to brand personality. Creativity is known not to adhere to political correctness be it in art, poetry or advertising. Benetton has been consciously doing this for years.”

    Even earlier Benetton has pushed boundaries when it took on issues of racism and homosexuality with its simple, compelling but controversial advertising. Priti Nair, Founder, Curry Nation, says that it’s Benetton and the advertising remains true to its personality. She said, “I have read that Benetton is calling it a touch of ironic and constructive provocation. Which it is!”

    KV Sridhar aka Pops, the NCD at Leo Burnett said, “The intention of Benetton advertising is good, however shocking it might be, but then its Benetton. Hugging would probably be more easily accepted imagery but then it would not have caused any shock as the kissing is doing now.”

    The campaign is supported by film, guerilla actions across the world showcasing the visuals and the digital where a Kiss Wall is created and people invited to share their pictures of their kisses and opinions besides Unhate list, a Twitter-based list of the things and people that are not hated, which is constantly updated by visitors. There will also be an Unhate Dove, an art installation made using empty bullet shells sent in by residents of war zones around the world and recycled to make a dove, the symbol of peace, which will carry with it the Foundation’s message of peace.

    The campaign in that sense is encompassing an entire ecosystem to unveil the concept of Unhate which many may argue to be grammatically incorrect. The Foundation aims to be a think tank, attracting personalities and talents from the fields of culture, economy, law and politics, and people who have gone from simple citizens to leaders of movements, distinguishing themselves through their ideas and actions against the causes and effects of hatred.

    While the campaign is controversial and getting people to talk but the truth is that it is meant to just do that. Arun Iyer, National Creative Director Lowe Lintas, said, “The campaign is designed with all intention to court controversy and it’s successfully doing that. At the concept level, Unhate is something no will have any issue with whereas at the visual level this will cause lot of talk. I think it has succeeded in doing what it is supposed to do!”

  • Mudra’s chief creative officer Bobby Pawar is rumoured to be moving to JWT

    Is Bobby Pawar quitting Mudra?

    By Amit Bapna

     

    It seems more or less certain now – the first big exodus from the Mudra group after the Omnicom-buyout may soon happen with Chief Creative Officer Bobby Pawar likely to hang in his boots and move from the agency that he joined in 2007. The industry has been buzzing with his imminent move for some days now.

     

    His next destination, according to industry sources, is JWT, one of the two big agencies of the rival group WPP in India, where he could be donning the hat of the chief creative officer. To an ET email, Colvyn Harris, CEO of JWT India, replied , “It’s still a rumour. If it were to happen, we will send you a mail.” If he does join JWT, Pawar’s most important task could be to help the agency’s Delhi office regain some of its glory, which has been perceived to be losing on people and accounts in the past few months. When contacted, Pawar refused to comment. Sources also said that Mudra is trying to retain Pawar and has made a counter offer.

     

    This would not be his first stint with Sir Martin Sorrel’s global network, but it surely is likely to surprise many industry-guys, considering his stint at Mudra has been a fairly awarded and rewarded one. At Mudra, Pawar’s mandate has been overseeing the group’s creative product across all the four agencies (Mudra India, DDB Mudra, Mudra Max and Ignite Mudra). Prior to taking over Mudra’s national creative responsibilities, Pawar has had a varied creative stint.

     

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The Ad Club Bombay gets ready for judging procedure for Effie 2011.

    All set for Effies on Dec 14

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    The Advertising Club Bombay is gearing up for the judging that is slated to take place this week for Effie 2011. The Effie awards recognize effective advertising is slated to take place on December 14, 2011 in Mumbai.

     

    Ajay Kakar, CMO – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group and Chairman Effies Committee, Ad Club Bombay said, “As a Marketer I view the Effies as the most coveted awards platform, because it recognises work that works – for the brand and the business. It is also the only award that is given to both the agency and client. With regards to the format, this year we have given greater focus and recognition to a wider number of categories. Also, as a first – we are going to have the judging take place in Bombay and Delhi.”

     

    What is different this year that the Round One of judging which has traditionally taken place only in Mumbai will also be happening in Delhi this year. The Mumbai judging will take place on November 22 and 23 whereas the Delhi round will happen on November 29. The Round Two will only take place in Mumbai.

     

    Talking about the development, Bipin Pandit of The Ad Club Bombay said, “The Advertising Club Bombay is a national entity and not just Mumbai-centric. We want the club to spread its wings and believe that it should include players from the industry across.”

     

    This year almost 275 entries are expected and if the number seems low then one must understand that each entry costs Rs 21000 hence the quality of entries is highly superior. The awards will be given in 15 categories. “This year I do expect the number of entries to exceed the record of last year and I see the entries come from a wide spectrum of agencies and brands, across categories,” added Mr Kakar.

     

    The awards are the only ones that involve client as well as the agency and are given to advertising that has worked in the marketplace. The Effie Case studies are also most sought after and will be presented as part of the event. Besides, there is an impressive line of marketers and account planners on board who will be judging the awards.

     

    Times TV Network and Marico are the Associate Sponsor for Effie 2011 whereas Brand Equity is the Category Sponsor for Bravery Awards.

  • Vijay Mallya has fallen into a self-created trap. Because the Kingfisher airline is a brand extension of the high selling and very profitable Kingfisher beer, it must carry forward the brand values of the latter.

    Debrief: A wing and a player

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Many experts (and non-experts!) have given us their views on the Kingfisher airline mess. Many reasons why the airline is in trouble have been speculated upon. And all this while the man in the hot seat, Dr Mallya, only posts pissed-off tweets. But doesn’t tell us what really is going on.

     

    Here’s my theory, and I put it out despite the fact that I know as much about the airline industry as Rakhi Sawant knows about nuclear physics. And I do so because I believe the main problem isn’t really about the business itself, it’s about branding.

     

    Yes, Mallya and gang have messed up on the running of the company. Yes, they could have handled flight scheduling better. Yes, they should have hired better talent at the top, and yes, the government’s unhelpful policies have added to their woes. But the real problem is that Dr Mallya has fallen into a self-created trap. Because the Kingfisher airline is a brand extension of the high selling and very profitable Kingfisher beer, it must carry forward the brand values of the latter. Any deviance from those would hurt the beer brand, because they share the same identity.

     

    Now, Kingfisher beer is synonymous with good life and high living. And has been so for many years. If the airline goes totally cheap and down-market, it runs contrary to the mother brand’s values. I suspect this is the battle that Dr Mallya lost, because it has conflict embedded within. With the downturn in the economy, spiraling cost of fuel, heavy taxes on airline travel and some serious competition in the sector, downgrading Kingfisher airline, cutting off all the frills, was the order of the day. What Dr Mallya did instead was to spend more on comfort, food, service and entertainment. And sent the operational costs crashing through the roof. He HAD to do this because the Kingfisher brand = Good life. He had no choice. Dr Mallya cuts the good life on the airline, it comes straight back to haunt his cash cow Kingfisher beer.

     

    Make no mistake about this: Dr Mallya is no spring chicken when it comes to dhandha, he runs a massive, very profitable liquor empire. He knows a lot about costs, revenues and bottom-lines. Where he went wrong was in the branding strategy. That trapped him big-time. He ought to have coined a new, independent brand name for the airline. A stand-alone brand that fights its own battles and is unburdened of any legacy. In which case Dr Mallya could have taken tough decisions on his airline. He could have gone really low-cost, and may well have been saved from the miseries he’s facing today.

     

    Perhaps he should have called it ‘Deepika’ airline. His equally flamboyant son would have approved! 🙂

     

    ***

     

    PS: Very happy that the media left Baybee Bachchan alone. Maybe Justice Katju has got to them. Maybe the broadcast editor’s guidelines were taken seriously. Maybe an earlier post from me opened their eyes (hee hee). Whatever. But this incident could well be a turning point for Indian journalism. Let’s hope so!

  • Plans to step up effort to promote fair advertising practises in online space

    Google’s India Head Rajan Anandan on ASCI Board

    The Advertising Standards Council of India has appointed Mr Rajan Anandan, Managing Director & India’s Country head of Google as a member of its Board of Directors. Mr Anandan’s induction immediately follows the appointment of ASCI’s new Chairman I Venkat during the last AGM.

     

    Mr Anandan’s appointment on the Board is strategic to ASCI’s plans to step up its efforts to promote fair advertising practises in the online domain.  With a large percentage of India’s population being very young, digital adoption is expected to increase going forward as more of the population comes of age and there will be a proportionate increase in online revenue spends. Thus, it becomes imperative for ASCI to ensure that advertising on the internet conforms to the current code of conduct.

     

    Commenting on Mr Rajan Anadan’s induction on ASCI’s Board, Mr I Venkat, Chairman, ASCI said: “The internet is increasingly becoming a significant touch-point for brands to connect with consumers. Thus, it becomes essential that online advertising is aligned to the primary objects of ASCI. Rajan’s appointment on ASCI’s Board will help ASCI generate the necessary consciousness towards fair advertising practises in the Online domain.”

     

    Mr Anandan said, “The Internet in India has over 100 million users is quickly becoming a scale advertising medium for companies in many industries.  Being on the Board will quintessentially help ASCI and Google to jointly create awareness about fair advertising practises across a large bandwidth of consumer touch-points on the internet.”

     

    It is estimated that the Indian online advertising revenue will touch Rs 1,500 crore by the end of 2011. With the kind of growths seen in this space, online advertising would possibly be worth around one billion dollars by the end of 2014. Thus, bringing an increasing consciousness on the way brand advertising is done in the online space is critical for ASCI.

  • Bobby Pawar quits Mudra to join JWT as chief creative officer and managing partner

    Bobby Pawar quits Mudra to join JWT as Chief Creative Officer & Managing Partner

    By A Correspondent

    It’s official. Mudra’s chief creative officer has moved. To JWT as chief creative officer and managing partner. Pawar has confirmed the development to MxMIndia.

    Pawar has been the creative force behind the agency’s several wins on the awards circuit over the last two years.

    Information on Bobby Pawar courtesy Mudra.com

    Bobby oversees the Mudra Groups creative product across all the four Agencies. Prior to taking over Mudra’s national creative responsibilities, Bobby had spent 7 years in the US market with BBDO Chicago and O&M New York.

    Bobby cut his teeth at Ogilvy and Mather India. He rose quickly from Senior Copywriter to Creative Director and worked on award winning campaigns for Tata Safari, Tata Sierra, Kelvinator, British Airways, etc.

    He is a two time copywriter of the year (Ad Club of Bombay – 1998, 2000). In 2000, he joined Ogilvy & Mather, New York as a Creative Director. There he worked on brands like Jaguar, American Express and Kodak. He helped pitch for AT&T Wireless and was asked to run the $600 million account when the agency won it.

    He re-launched AT&T Wireless with the much talked about mlife campaign. The launch spot ran on the 2002 Superbowl and ranked in the top three in the USA Today poll. Additionally, it was picked to be in the Museum of Modern Art. Moreover, one of the follow-up spots was spoofed by Jay Leno on his show.

    Bobby moved to BBDO, Chicago in 2004 as Group Creative Director. He worked with Marty Orzio, the CCO, to turn around an agency that wasn’t known for great work. He helped change the culture and the product. Now the shop is considered one of the hottest in the region.

    A stand up comedy buff, Bobby also loves photography and travelling.

  • Vodafone must realize that simple need not be boring.

    Debrief: Zzzzrfan Khan

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Vodafone has decided that people with, let’s just say ‘limited means’, but with a mobile phone in hand must do more on their phones than just talk.

     

    This makes sense. A whole lot of Indians at the bottom of the telephony pyramid use basic handsets and are averse to experimenting with features. They are happy to use it purely as a speech device. If some of them convert and do more voice-based things, it expands the market. So no issues with the strategy.

     

    In order to communicate this to the lower end of the consumer spectrum, Vodafone has gone back to the ‘aam aadmi’ actor: Irrfan Khan. A series of TV commercials have been unleashed. I watched two. In one, the actor cribs that people invite him to parties just to get an update on the latest Bollywood gossip. And he says they should use their Vodafone connection for their gossip needs. In the other one he complains that his missus cooks cauliflower all the time. When all she has to do is use Vodafone to learn new recipes.

     

    Now while I understand that the intent is to keep the communication simple given the target audience, that does not mean the ads have to be dull and witless. The problem is the scripts aren’t funny, and the continuous stand up drone of Khan can get really irritating after a point. And even if you are the sort who smiles at such stuff, you will not do so on the second exposure. Also, for some strange reason, Irrfanji mumbles his way through the ads, as if they woke him from deep slumber. I had to watch the ads many times to even comprehend what the man is saying.

    Bring the Zoozoos back, I say!

     

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Only good for putting you to sleep.   

  • While the good thing that could come out of this incident is that the media will hopefully be more careful in the future, there is no denying that the rather harsh punitive action against Times Now has alarmed all of us in the media.

    Hard Knocks: Heavy price for a goof-up

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    In a nation that boasts of hundreds of news channels (with more dying to get into the fray), speed of content is crucial. It’s a cut throat situation out there, and there is tremendous pressure in the news rooms to be first with the story. In this high tension scenario, mistakes can and do happen. And even if heads of news channels build in fool-proof checks and balances in the process, one can never totally eliminate the chance of a slip up.

     

    Because making mistakes is human, we have all been guilty of it at some point or another. That’s why the defamation suit of Rs 100 crores slapped against Times Now by an aggrieved judge is not just a bit excessive, it’s rather frightening for all of us in the media. The case pertains to the channel erroneously carrying a picture of the judge while reporting on a scam story.

     

    Now, I have no doubt at all that the judge in question has every reason to be upset. We would all be in similar circumstances, when someone wrongly tarnishes our integrity. But with due respect to the esteemed judge, if the channel has publicly apologised, that should be the end of the matter.

     

    While the good thing that could come out of this incident is that the media will hopefully be more careful in the future, there is no denying that the rather harsh punitive action against Times Now has alarmed all of us in the media. Many of us would now think a hundred times before running edgy stories, even after filtering them through a battery of lawyers. Who wants to carry the burden of such a stringent defamation action? And when, after having said sorry, the case goes on.

     

    On my own part, I have reached a state where I am seriously contemplating seeking a PR job. Forget imagining what an amount of Rs 100 crore looks like, the very mention of the figure gives me nightmares.

    Meri to phat gayee, yaar!

     

    ***

     

    PS: So, the Bigg Boss cuckoo house has a new inmate, a porn star. Makes no sense to me. The only great thing a porn star can do is to expose, that’s her ticket to fame. And when she can’t be allowed to expose on a family channel, what’s the point in spending so much money on her? They should invite me into the house, and I am available for a fraction of her fee. I shall create trouble in seconds, that’s my ticket to fame! 🙂

  • There's plenty happening at the JWT office as the agency restructures to bring in three NCDs. Also, a quick interview with Bobby Pawar [Story Updated]

    JWT restructures to bring in 3 NCDs

     

    By Tuhina Anand & Shubhangi Mehta

     

    After roping in Bobby Pawar as its Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner, JWT is now bringing in more changes in its team structure which Colvyn Harris its CEO dubs it as `transformational changes’.  It is learnt that JWT has brought in a three National Creative Director structure which includes Swati Bhattacharyya in Delhi, Tista Sen in Mumbai and Senthil Kumar down South. All three NCDs will have a team of ECDs under them and when Bobby Pawar joins which will probably be in March 2012 as the CCO , he will spearhead this structure.

    Ms Bhattacharya has been heading the GSK business at JWT while Ms Sen and Mr Kumar have been Executive Creative Directors at the agency.

    On the restructuring, Mr Harris said, “I cannot think of 3 more deserving and talented people who have imbibed the best of JWT values and who believe in the JWT Company. It has taken us some time to recognize that their current roles and responsibilities far exceed what national creative directors in other agencies are responsible for. Given the sheer scale of our operations, and our most admired line-up of India’s finest and the world’s most admired brands, it was imperative to recognize the creative leadership team with a designation based on their role.”

    “Given the exigencies of the market and the pressure which is being brought to bear on us to improve our creative work – especially from clients who are in the more competitive categories – we believe that the combined skills and talents of Swati,Tista and Senthil will be able to provide the best solutions for our clients, our brands, and our people, added Mr Harris.

    Talking to MxM India on the creative pillars that JWT is creating, Mr Harris said, “The roadmap that JWT has drawn of being a creative powerhouse and being creative led and creative driven organisation will be achieved by these changes. Bobby along with the team will help us in realizing this vision. In fact, people who are saying that the CCO position at JWT has been unstable should know that Adrian came as the Delhi office head so we didn’t really have anyone take the CCO position for long. Bobby’s position in that sense is of true CCO who will lead a team of around 300 creative people at JWT along with the newly restructured team.”

    It may be recalled that when Josy Paul had joined JWT as its NCD, Agnello Dias had also been promoted as NCD and the agency followed the dual NCD structure at the helm but no CCO. It was only later when Mr Paul quit that Mr Dias was made CCO, though he too quit soon after to start Taproot India.

    Mr Harris also said  that one should gear up to hear of some more announcements at JWT very soon. The agency has also recently roped in Max Hegerman as Senior VP and its Head to look after JWT’s Digital strategy.

    On his mandate at JWT, Mr Bobby Pawar said, “My job at JWT will be ensure we change our benchmarks and set new standards. Critical would be in setting a vision and then delivering on it. JWT will be the magnet for the best talent in the industry and offer the most creative solutions ever seen.”

     

    INTERVIEW

    Bobby Pawar, the guy who is taking over as Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner of JWT, has been responsible for turning around the agencies which he has worked for. When he was at BBDO in Chicago he weaved his magic to make one of the hottest shop in the region. In India too, with Mudra as its Chief Creative Officer he has been instrumental in the agency winning awards and accolades on many international and desi platforms. The agency has done some high decibel advertising like the ones for Volkswagen launch in India and there after its variants that had caught eyes of many. With Mr Pawar’s next destination being JWT which has  seen causalities in quick succession including Bruce Matchett, Josy Paul, Agnello Dias and Adrian Miller. Looks like JWT is gearing up for combat and shut the wagging tongues of the industry. Here’s an interview with Bobby Pawar who sportingly answered our questions though he steered away from some specifics.

     

    Q: Omnicom as a parent, so many awards in the kitty all with your leadership… why then did someone like Bobby Pawar leave?

    I guess I am addicted to challenges and the task of polishing JWT’s creative luster and raising the game there was just too seductive to pass up.

     

    Q: What is the mandate at JWT, also we have seen the creative head at JWT being an unsteady wicket in last few years, should we expect a change now?

    Colvyn didn’t asked me to partner him on the mission of maintaining status quo. I would hardly be the right guy for that. Both of us want JWT to evolve, to build on the past, but look firmly at the future. The focus will be on the work and the people who do it. And that means the entire agency. We don’t just want a highly creative creative department, but a highly creative company. Everybody has a role to play in making sure the solutions we think up, sell, and execute are as great as the brands need them to be.

     

    Q: Was the Omnicom deal anything to do with your moving out?

    If anything the Omnicom deal almost kept me back. That is a great company and I have the highest regard for John Wren, Chuck Brymer, John Zeigler et all. They made me feel very welcome, but as they say a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

     

    Q: How would you sum up your stint at Mudra?

    I loved it. See, I’m not leaving because I am unhappy. When I started nobody gave us a chance. Four long and hard years later, our creative reputation is the opposite of what it was. We did pathbreaking work for Volkswagen, Big Cinemas (Silent National Anthem), 7-Up, Union bank Of India, Emirates, Philips, Economic Times, McDowell’s No. 1, etc. We were the winningest DDB agency at Cannes this year along with DDB Paris, 3rd in the agency of the year standings at Spikes and we had the most metals Abbys. Not too shabby, right?

     

    Q: What should we expect from Bobby Pawar in his JWT avatar?

    I believe that agencies don’t just need to create, they also need to invent. Why can’t we invent a whole new medium while we thinking of a campaign that runs on it? The future will be invented by those who ask the most interesting and unexpected questions.

     

    Photograph of JWT Mumbai courtesy JWT website. Images of Messrs Harris and Pawar from the JWT and Mudra sites respectively

  • Desi online retailers like Flipkart.com, myntra.com unleash ad blitzkrieg

    Flipkart, Myntra & desi e-tailers launch ad blitzkrieg to up buyer base

    By Samidha Sharma

     

    A fledgling Indian online retail industry has unleashed big buck mass media advertising in the past six months as they seek to build businesses with a broader urban consumer base in the country. Advertising from e-tailing portals surged 228% on television, 78% in print and 797% on radio compared to the same period last year, said data from TAM Media Research.

     

    Start-up firms such as Flipkart.com, myntra.com-flush with funds from private equity investors led the way in creating brand buzz going beyond the top metros, which some skeptics argued was reminiscent of the build-up to the dotcom bubble a decade ago. The growth numbers from TAM are based on ad volumes and not absolute spends.

     

    One industry source said the Bangalore-based online retailer Flipkart has marked Rs 100 crore as its advertising budget- significant for a four-year-old firm still soaking in losses. Flipkart, which sells books and electronics online, is labelled as the poster boy of Indian e-commerce and has invested heavily in building distribution and brand visibility across 50 cities.

     

    “E-commerce is at a very nascent stage but witnessing a lot of traction with urban audiences. Mass media advertising by e-commerce players will hasten this process and make more people shop online,” said Mr Ravi Vora, VP, marketing, Flipkart.com, backed by marquee investors such as Tiger Global and Accel Partners.

     

    Travel portals like makemytrip, yatra and cleartrip entered mass media advertising sometime back but the rush of brand-building activity from the e-tailing fraternity worries critics, who caution against the hype surrounding online retailing.

     

    “It is widely known that advertising does not build a strong online business. Successful online brands like Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and eBay almost never advertised. Great online brands are built through tremendous word of mouth. If you don’t organically have it, no amount of ad spend can get it for you,” said Mr Mahesh Murthy, founder, Pinstorm, and co-founder, Seedfund.

     

    Mr Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet, which runs timesdeal.com and indiatimes.com, agreed, “The advertising push may drive initial traffic but post that the growth will depend on the word of mouth. Advertising does help in creating a differentiator but brands have to maintain their margins to run the business successfully,” he said.

     

    Flipkart and others have been able to shore up sales riding on the back of ongoing media spends. “We feel our campaign has been successful and we plan to continue with our marketing activities,” Flipkart’s Vora added. India’s consumer internet story has been one of the hottest themes for US investors, which was reflected when makemytrip listed on Nasdaq last year with $1 billion market cap.

     

    “The intersection between deepening internet penetration and rising disposable income in India is an exciting sweet spot,” said Mr Brewer S Stone, MD, Pacific Crest, a boutique investment bank involved with makemytrip’s US listing, in a recent interaction.

     

    But Murthy, an internet industry veteran, cautioned: “This happened the last time around when Rediff, Indya and HomeTrade spent loads of cash. It will happen this time around too-just let the dust settle down in a year’s time. We weren’t prepared for the last bubble.”

     

    The Indian e-commerce market is expected to cross Rs 46,000 crore in 2011 driven by the travel industry, with Indian Railways accounting for bulk of these transactions. The e-tailing industry is a distant second with 8% share, according to estimates from the Internet and Mobile Association of India.

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • KV Sridhar aka Pops on six reasons why advertising is an alluring business to be in, and youngsters should consider it as a career option

    The Anchor: Pops on why advertising is still sexy

    By KV Sridhar (Pops)

    #1 Richer life experience.

    If you are passionate about life and want to live life the fullest, this profession allows you to do that. (I am writing this sitting in a plane to Colombo for a working weekend.)

     

    #2 Get paid for doing what you like.

    If you are curious about life, mine some insights to tell some stories, you’ll get paid handsomely.

     

    #3 Want to be an expert in 100 categories?

    Advertising helps you to learn about 100 categories in 10 years, no marketing job can offer that.

     

    #4 Around the world in no time.

    South of France as a trainee boy? Sounds great? Get your jumbo passport and get on board.

     

    #5 Do nothing.

    If you are a dreamer or want to relive your memories every day? Just gaze out of your window and narrate few experiences (that’s work for you) and you’ll be the next guru.

     

    #6 Be a celebrity.

    Imagine, if marketing is the glamorous part of business than advertising is the glamorous part of marketing. Got the logic? You’ll be seen in the papers more than Ratan Tata.

     

    KV Sridhar (Pops) is the National Creative Director at Leo Burnett.

  • The whole anti-corruption crusade of Tata Tea is getting cornier by the ad. And the juxtaposition of tea-making with nation-building is completely hilarious.

    Debrief: Tata Tea: ROFL!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Remember that offensive cad in the Tata Tea ads, the one who’d smugly ask us to ‘Jaago Re’? Well, mercifully he’s been given a break in the new TVC created to celebrate 25 years of the brand. Now the message is ‘Soch Badlo’, and there’s a lady protagonist.

     

    But the anti-corruption tirade goes on. A cynical man cribs in his living room that corruption will never end in the nation, and that basically India is doomed (my thoughts exactly!). He then turns to his wife and demands a cup of tea. The missus uses the opportunity to teach him a lesson. And she delivers a long lecture about how preparing tea is like changing the state of the nation. A convoluted metaphor about boiling water being the raging nation or some such gibberish.

     

    I don’t know whether the makers of the ad intended this as a desired response, but I was left laughing out loud. Because the whole anti-corruption crusade of Tata Tea is getting cornier by the ad. And the juxtaposition of tea-making with nation-building is completely hilarious. Plus, in all this pagalpanti, the tea story gets buried somewhere.

     

    Yes, some soch needs to badlo out here. On the part of Tata Tea managers and their ad agency. They should leave the anti-corruption drive to Anna saheb. And stick to selling us chai.

     

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. The marks are only for some good laughs!  Â