MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Ms Chaturvedi joins Cogito after a five-year stint with the Aditya Birla group

    Mahuya Chaturvedi joins Cogito as Managing Partner

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mahuya Chaturvedi

    Mahuya Chaturvedi has joined Draftfcb Ulka group’s brand and strategy consulting division Cogito Consulting as Managing Partner. Prior to joining Cogito she was with the Aditya Birla Group for five years handling several brand launches and brand extensions.

     

    Said M G Parameswaran, ED & CEO of Draftfcb Ulka Advertising: “Mahuya brings in some really valuable experience to our Cogito Consulting arm. She is no stranger to the Group having worked for five years at Lodestar. It is a second innings for her and I am sure, just as the first time, she will once again be a great contributor to the intellectual fire power of the agency group.”

     

    Said Ms Chaturvedi: “The impressive array of clients that Cogito has worked on, its international quality tools and its strategic contribution to some of the leading brands in the country is an opportunity that I greatly value to work with.”

     

     

  • Summary: Prior to this appointment, 'Sudi', as he is known in the industry, has been associated with firms like Hungama, BC Webwise and Isobar.

    Sudarshan Sudevan joins DraftfcbUlka Interactive as Creative Head

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sudarshan Sudevan

    DraftfcbUlka Interactive has announced the appointment of  Sudarshan Sudevan as Creative Head-Digital. Prior to this appointment he has been associated with firms like Hungama, B.C Webwise and Isobar.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Satish Ramachandran, Senio VP at DraftfcbUlka Interactive said “At DraftffcbUlka we always believe in integrated digital solutions; towards this we have been consistently investing in talent and technology to ensure we are ahead of the curve. Sudi is a perfect addition to the team with his passion and experience in the space.”

     

    Said Chax, National Creative Director,DraftfcbUlka: “Sudi is truly a product of the digital age, as passionate about technology as he is about ideas. With him at the helm of our very talented digital team, we look forward to an even tighter integration of our mainline and digital teams”

     

  • The sixth Edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards presented on Tuesday

    Josy Joseph & Ravish Kumar win Ramnath Goenka Journalists of the Year awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The sixth Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards were presented on Tuesday (July 23) in New Delhi by Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam. Celebrating excellence, courage and commitment of print and broadcast journalists, the awards acknowledged the outstanding contributions of 29 of the country’s finest journalists.S

     

    peaking on the occasion, Chief Justice P Sathasivam said “The momentum of journalism is due to two reasons – one, the award is in the name of a kingpin of journalism and two, the prominence of the awards is because of the winners.” A free and strong media is indispensable and journalism “empowers people with information and keeps the democratic process going on,” he added.

     

    As part of the centenary celebration of its founder Ramnath Goenka, the Express Group instituted the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2006. The awards stand for the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and ethics in reportage.

     

    The Journalist of the Year Award for print went to Josy Joseph of The Times of India, for his expose of the Adarsh Housing Society scam, which forced a chief minister out of office and the government to order a probe.  Ravish Kumar of NDTV India won the Journalist of the Year Award for broadcast journalism. His programmes, Ravish Ki Report and Hum Log, stood out for their sensitivity, seriousness and research.

     

    The awards were given for work done in 2010. The winners were handpicked by a 10-member jury. Comprising: N R Narayana Murthy, Executive Chairman and Founder, Infosys; Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC, N. Chandra, leading civil servant; Dr M S Swaminathan, agricultural scientist and Rajya Sabha MP; Shobhana Bhartia, Vice-Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media Limited; Bakul Dholakia, former IIM-A Director; Rama Bijapurkar, leading management consultant; Shyam Benegal, filmmaker; legal luminary Fali S Nariman and Keshub Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra.

     

    The Express Group also released ‘The Prize Stories’ on the occasion – featuring stories and reports that won the fifth Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards. The book showcases some of the best journalism on politics, environment and business, sports and films, reports from conflict zones and ‘invisible’ India; stories that helped shape public opinion.

     

    RAMNATH GOENKA EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS 2010

     

  • Mr Krishnan comes back to BBH India after a stint at BBH London. He will report to Subhash Kamath

    Arvind Krishnan to be MD, BBH India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Arvind Krishnan

    BBH India has announced a new addition to their leadership structure by bringing in Arvind Krishnan as managing director. Mr Krishnan comes back to BBH India after a stint at BBH London where he was Team Director, managing a diverse portfolio of Unilever, Diageo and other brands.

     

    Mr Krishnan will join the team of Subhash Kamath, CEO & Managing Partner, and Russell Barrett, CCO & Managing Partner, along with Sanjay Sharma, Head of Planning, Puneet Kapoor, Executive Creative Director and Rishit Mehta, Finance Director, to form the core leadership team at BBH India. He will report into Mr Kamath.

     

    Said Mr Subhash Kamath, “Russell and I are delighted that Arvind will be returning to us. He was one of our first recruits at BBH India and has been an outstanding star in the company. He brings a huge amount of drive and passion to the team here, combined with the valuable experience he’s gained during his tenure at BBH London. We have no doubt that both our people and our clients will benefit greatly from his leadership.”

     

    Said Gwyn Jones, Global CEO at the Publicis Groupe-owned BBH, “Arvind has done an excellent job for the agency and its clients in Mumbai and London. It is great for us to be able to grow management from within and also develop talent for the future by moving from office to office like this.”

     

    Said Mr Krishnan, “It’s great to be back. It’s been a fantastic experience working on global brands and helping them navigate through different markets. It has taught me the value of simplicity. Simplicity, that allows ideas to stretch and flex across geographies. The opportunity to apply this and create market-moving work at home is exciting and I’m thrilled at the prospect of working with the team in Mumbai again.”

     

  • Instead of creating new situations with the 'youth' shouldn't Bajaj Electricals have built on the memorable ad where an old man attempts to steal from the fridge in the dark of the night, writes Anil Thakraney

    Debrief: Bajaj Electricals: Elephant in the room

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Bajaj Electricals has completed 75 years of existence, and they have released a TV commercial to commemorate that. Themed ‘Shine On’, the creative strategy, at first glance, seems to be on the right track; instead of featuring the product range as the hero, they have concentrated on the application of each product and its direct interface with the consumer. Also, the treatment isn’t serious, they have tried to bring in humour, so all that’s fine.

     

    However, what caught my attention is the last shot, that of an old man attempting to steal from the fridge in the dark of the night, as he’s caught by his missus with the help of the Bajaj bulb. Yes, it’s the same classic shot from the ancient Bajaj Electricals ad, and it immediately brings back childhood memories for many of us. In other words, a fantastic property for the brand. This got me thinking: Instead of creating new situations with the ‘youth’, which is the obvious approach, shouldn’t Bajaj Electricals have built on the memorable ad?

     

    This is what I would have done: With lookalikes of the thieving uncle and his alert wife, I would have created many ads, each for a specific Bajaj product. This would have been done like a soap opera with only these two characters, as they goof off while trying to outwit one another in different situations. Over time, the couple becomes a long term property for the brand, and because they are such likeable folks, people would build a bond with them. Also, don’t miss the jingle in the old ad (I am linking that commercial too), notice how cool it was, we still recall it after all these years. And then compare it with the ‘contemporary’ nonsense they have now put out.

     

    Thing is, if you have such a strong property in your portfolio, why not go all out and milk it? Why create new stuff which is anyway ordinary and done-to-death? Sometimes the gem lies in our own backyard, but we fail to notice it. Perhaps a Bajaj bulb can help find it? 🙂

     

     

    New ad
    Old ad

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 2. Okay ad, but opportunity missed.

     

    Anil Thakraney is a senior journalist and commentator. He is also Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views of the writer are his own. He can be reached via Twitter at @anilthakraney

     

  • Awards event goes international with entries invited from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka other than India

    Ad Club Bangalore announces Big Bang 2013

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Club Bangalore has announced the 2013 edition of the Big Bang Awards. The Ad Club has drawn up grand plans for Big Bang Awards 2013, slated for September 20, 2013 at Jayamahal Palace, Bengaluru.

     

    The Big Bang Awards were constituted over 25 years ago and in keeping with global trends, the awards are going fully online this year. The Bangalore Ad Club has tied up with Global Best Awards, US to make the awards online from this year. “As many ad agencies and creative hot shops across the country have expressed interest in taking part in the Big Bang Awards, going online would help in reaching out to them more effectively,” said Malavika Harita, President of the Ad Club, Bangalore.

     

    “The Bangalore Ad Club has also decided to make Big Bang more competitive. To this end, entries have been invited from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. This is a small but significant step towards taking the awards international,” said Arvind Kumar, Executive Director, The Ad Club Bangalore.

     

    Those wishing to participate can log on to www.bigbangawards.com for details. Entries are accepted till August 12, 2013

     

  • Unilever has set up its first media lab in the country in Mumbai which will train its managers on digital media marketing and certify all digital initiatives of its Indian unit before they go public.

    Hindustan Unilever sets up lab to train managers on digital media marketing

    By Sagar Malviya & Amit Bapna

     

    Unilever has set up its first media lab in the country in Mumbai, which will train its managers on digital media marketing and certify all digital initiatives of its Indian unit before they go public.

     

    The development signals a sharp focus on digital marketing by the country’s largest advertiser, and may make other marketers too to take the digital world more seriously.

     

    The lab at Hindustan Unilever’s headquarter at Andheri is the fourth such centre globally for the world’s second-largest consumer goods firm.

     

    Atit Mehta, media services head at Hindustan Unilever, said so far the company has been focusing on doing the similar things much better than others on digital media.

     

    “Now, we will be miles ahead from everybody else,” he said. The lab will ensure that all digital media campaigns of the consumer goods giant are compatible – from a basic mobile device to smartphone to tablet.

     

    The company will also increasingly opt for digital hoardings instead of static old banners. Digital media spends in India, although still very small compared traditional media, is growing at a faster rate than television and print as a rapidly rising number of Indians access internet on phone.

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Experts say HUL’s latest initiative would make other advertisers too to focus more on digital media. “Presently digital in general is under-leveraged. HUL has definitely been ahead of the curve. It’s only a matter of time before more advertisers start making serious investments in the medium,” said CVL Srinivas, chief executive officer (South Asia) at media buying agency GroupM.

     

    Vivek Bhargava, CEO of digital agency iProspect-Communicate2, says companies have no option but to take digital seriously as more and more consumers are trying to avoid conventional advertising. He says that if companies don’t allocate serious resources on digital marketing, then it could affect their survival.

     

    Vivek Bhargava

    Globally, Unilever increased its digital ad spends by about 40% in 2012-13. While Unilever has global partnerships with Samsung, Sony’s Arcade Creative Group and EA Sports, its Indian unit isn’t far behind. In the last few months, several HUL managers have been to global headquarters of Facebook and Google among others for training and digital certification.

     

    HUL launched a India-specific initiative, BE Digital, last year to draw up a complete digital roadmap for premium brands such as Tresemme, Sunsilk, Lakme, Close-up and Surf, where the target audience online is high.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • What happened to the girls was outrageous. It not only assassinated their right to free speech, the action taken by the cops was completely unjust, writes Anil Thakraney

    Anil Thakraney: Palghar FB case: Cops need to be punished

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The Bombay HC has slammed the Maharashtra government for not punishing the cops who arrested the two young girls for their Facebook post in the aftermath of Bal Thackeray’s death. In my post at the time, I pointed out that today’s kids need political education from their parents, as the 24X7 virtually connected young urban India is often disconnected from what happens in the real world. So that the bachchas think before they post. And yet, it must be said what happened to the girls was outrageous. It not only assassinated their right to free speech, the action taken by the cops was completely unjust.

     

    And the incident had far reaching implications; it sent alarm bells ringing across the social media, there was a great deal of panic, and I believe many people are still quite wary about what they post. Of course, as I said, people need to look before they leap, but they can’t be fearful all the time, that takes away their fundamental right to expression. Which is why the erring cops ought to have been prosecuted, and not just suspended. This would have ensured policemen think many times before harassing ordinary citizens. Now that the Bombay HC has echoed the same thought, I think it’s time to start an FB campaign to make this happen. We need our virtual space to be vibrant, not spooky.

     

    Also, what I found most galling is that on the news channels (the mass media!), politicians regularly insult and defame each other and their rival parties during the heated debates. But absolutely no action gets taken against them. Why? Well, the answer is obvious. Interpretation of the law is different for the aam aadmi and for the rich and powerful. Which means one can slander anyone on TV and nothing will happen, but an innocuous post on FB can send you to jail. Wow!

     

    I am hoping that my fiery pals on social media will not let this issue die down. If we keep quiet today, they will come for us tomorrow. We have to ensure the concerned cops are made to pay for their act so that we don’t see a repeat of such unfair incidents in the future.

     

    PS: Ever wondered why we don’t get to see such tempting chalkboards outside restaurants and bars in India? Well, guess the proprietors are worried that taporis passing by will use them to play football, or that some kleptos or beggars will walk away with the ‘booty’. Anyway, here’s a listing of the most creative pub chalkboards from the UK. Good fun.

     

    Link: http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2013/05/06/50-brilliant-pub-chalkboards/

     

    Anil Thakraney is a senior journalist and commentator. He is also Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own. He can be reached via Twitter at @anilthakraney

     

  • The Creative Central is an effort directed towards creating more insightful creative work for clients

    McCann forms Creative Central with Praduymna Chauhan as ECD

    By A Correspondent

     

    McCann Worldgroup India has announced the formation of Creative Central with Praduymna Chauhan to lead it creatively. The Creative Central is an effort directed towards creating more insightful creative work for clients, a communiqué said.

     

    Prasoon Joshi

    Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of McCann Worldgroup India and South Asia welcomed Mr Chauhan as Executive Creative director, Creative Central. “With a sharp and insightful approach reinforced by a stellar body of work, Pradyumna is keen to create work that impacts popular culture. Based currently in Mumbai, he will work with our creative directors and teams across McCann India offices and functions on our key brands. In the near future we will find more people with a similar skill set and approach to strengthen McCann Creative Central,” he said.

     

    Mr Chauhan is credited with the MP Tourism Ajab Hai and Colours campaigns, Asian Paints, Star’s Satyamev Jayate, Vodafone ICICI and Birla Sun Life’s Jab Tak Balla Chalta Hai. Before joining MWG, he was Group Creative Director at Ogilvy Mumbai. He has also worked on Airtel, LG Electronics, General Motors, HPCL etc.

     

    According to Mr Joshi, the setting up of the Creative Central is an important step towards increasing the creative width of MWG India’s offerings to its clients.

     

  • The merger of holding companies Omnicom and Publicis Groupe is quite simply the biggest news in the history of the marketing communications industry. The jury is out on what this means for India, a market where WPP is a clear leader.

    Omnicom-Publicis merger likely to reshape advertising industry in India

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    The merger of holding companies Omnicom and Publicis Groupe is quite simply the biggest news in the history of the marketing communications industry. Speculation is rife that former global market leader WPP (which owns O&M, JWT and Grey among others) or the resurgent Japanese giant Dentsu will now make a tempting offer to Interpublic (the holding company for McCann Erickson, Draft FCB and Lowe). But it’s still not going to be anywhere near the scale of the world’s second- and third-largest marketing communication giants joining forces.

     

    The jury is out on what this means for India, a market where WPP is a clear leader. An agency CEO who prefers to remain anonymous says that one of the fallouts is to make Omnicom and Publicis at least as large as if not larger than Interpublic in India. While struggling overseas, Interpublic agencies like Lowe Lintas and Draftfcb+Ulka, with a portfolio of homegrown business, are among the larger agencies in the country.

     

    Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett and Publicis are solid performers, but Saatchi & Saatchi is counted a laggard. The Groupe’s key media brand Starcom MediaVest is perceived to have lost steam over the years. After almost a decade trying to crack India, Omnicom now has a strong flagship in DDB Mudra. While BBDO has done well on allied clients, it’s had limited success at picking up non-network business. While globally a creative powerhouse, TBWA is again among the smaller shops in India. Counted among the fastest growing media agencies in the country, OMD does not have the size of WPP’s Group M or even independent media outfit Madison.

     

    Praveen Kenneth, chairman, Law & Kenneth, believes getting more global media muscle is perhaps the key reason for the merger: “They are not doing this to maximise or reduce people but so that they can negotiate with media better since that’s the only way agencies can earn. While they are both doing well, they need to do this if they want to make the next five years better.”

     

    While much is being made about the potential conflict of interest, that’s not as serious an issue as it used to be. All the holding companies have case studies to prove that rival brands can be handled by different agencies owned by the same entity with no problems.

     

    Rohit Ohri

    Where industry insiders anticipate friction is in the structure of the group. Says Rohit Ohri, executive chairman of the Dentsu group, “Both these companies don’t have scale in India. This will give them scale but it will be interesting to see how they are structured since they are completely different. In a network that has competing agencies, what is the synergy and value you get will be the big question.”

     

     

     

    Manish Bhatt

    The culture problems run deep since Omnicom is an all American holding company while Publicis wears its French connections on its sleeve. On a more workaday basis, reporting structures are expected to be a stumbling block. As Manish Bhatt, founder of independent agency Scarecrow points out, “This is not an industry where people retire and so issues like which creative reports to which suit can create complexity.”

     

     

    Sajan Raj Kurup

    The merger is not yet cause for fear mongering among the independent agencies – at least not just yet. Says Sajan Raj Kurup, founder and creative chairman, Creativeland Asia, “The strength of independents will grow post this deal. When two giants collide, you always have little fragments emitted out. Some big guys will pack up and start on their own. The only repercussion of this consolidation deal would be more fragmentation.”

     

    For the foreseeable future though, Publicis Omnicom Group is the advertising industry’s proverbial unassailable 1,000 pound gorilla, a position that WPP held till just last Saturday.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The Omnicom and Publicis Groupe merger is the mother of all 'marriages' one has witnessed so far as advertising and media groups go

    Pubicis Omnicom Group: New Titan on the Block

    By Ritu Midha

     

    Not many months back, Dentsu’s acquisition of Aegis was being touted as a coup. As is known, Aegis was bought over by Dentsu for 3.16 billion pounds.  The objective was of course to compete with global behemoths like WPP Group. It has reportedly taken Dentsu’s footprint to 110 countries, with an employee size of over 30,000.

     

    In India, It is business as usual though for Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum and Aztec under Aegis umbrella with no structural changes.

     

    Dentsu India has, since, extended its creative horizon as well by taking over Taproot, one of the best creative boutiques in the country.

     

    IPG Mediabrands, meanwhile, entered India formally in the March of this year. The objective was to create a single structure a la Group M – with both the media groups Lintas and Lodestar reporting into a single chairman – Shashi Sinha.

     

    The group has three media agencies – Lodestar UM, Initiative and the all-new BPN, Reprise, a jv with Interactive Avenues, Magna Intelligence and the outdoor business. The objective, among other things is also to increase its prowess and compete with the bigger giants.

     

    However, the Omnicom Group and Publicis Groupe merger is mother of all ‘marriages’ one has witnessed so far as advertising and media groups go. Come 2014, Publicis Omnicom Group would, if there is no regulatory tangle, be the industry leader with capitalised billings of $ 35 billion and an approximate employee size of 130,000. The group projected efficiencies of close to $500 million as an outcome of the new arrangement. The total integration and development period for the new entity is 30 months. A transition team for the smooth merger is being created.

     

    Both the industry giants would be near-equal partners in the new venture. Talking at a conference in Paris, Maurice Levy, CEO, PublicisGroupe and John Wren, CEO, Omnicom Group, reportedly stated that their ambition was to create a new standoff for the industry to create value. The media watchers, however, are of the view that clients would benefit the most by the increased clout the group would have in buying media.

     

    The holding company of the new entity would be based in the Netherlands, while the operating offices would continue to exist where they currently are.

     

    As per Advertising Age figures, the two groups put together spent $ 3.34 billion in media placements globally, while the same number for WPP was $2.6 billion: A ratio of 41% to 32% of the global spending by the Top 10 media companies.

     

    Interestingly, if the merger had happened a decade back, the key concern would have been the clash of client interest. However, now it is a given that agencies in a group work on competing accounts.

     

    Publicis Omnicom Group agencies would include BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, Leo Burnett, TBWA, Razorfish, DigitasLBi, Ketchum, StarcomMediaVest, Interbrand, RAPP, Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, Rosetta, ZenithOptimedia and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, among others.

     

    The two entities have a few shared clients namely McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal, AT&T and MARS. They have a few arch rivals too -Pepsi and Coca-Cola; AT&T and Verizon; Microsoft and Google to name the behemoths.

     

    A few links at the bottom would help you check more details on the global front.

    Moving to India media-ground, here are a few interesting guesstimates and queries.

     

    01. If one looks at Recma ratings for the year 2011 – though Omnicom Publicis media agencies were among the fastest growing in India – Zenith Media, the highest among them comes at number eight – with $ 295 million – MEC has higher billings than it at $ 300 million. Mindshare at top with a billing of $ 1050 million almost equals the billings of all the media agencies in the new entity. Hence, though the new entity would jump to number two with an ease (after Group M – though with a wide margin), reaching the top might prove to be a mission not-so-easily-possible.

     

    Looking at 2011 RECMA numbers, and looking at the  groups and not independent agencies in a group, Top 5 table would have Group M at the top, followed by Omnicom Publicis, IPG, Madison Media, the combination of Dentsu& Aegis.

     

    02. One needs to see whether the new entity will have an India head just as Ranjan Kapur is country manager of WPP. The creative agencies work as independent businesses under him, while the media businesses have another layer in between Group M. A not-so-similar model is now followed by IPG too. If that happens in this case too – who would head the group here – and a bigger concern perhaps who would head the umbrella media group? The Publicis side of the business has been strengthening its leadership team – among the recent top level movements have been AmbikaSrivastava, ParthaSinha, Bobby Pawar and more recently Anupriya Acharyawho was heading the HUL business till recently at MindShare Fulcrum.

     

    03. At the moment there is no Pepsi and Coke angle here, as the Pepsi account is largely handled by WPP in India, and some part of its creative is handled by Dentsu Taproot.

    04. Would the agencies with a Delhi HQ, have to move their base to Mumbai – in a Group M kind of structure? Anupriya Acharaya, the new Group CEO of Zenith Optimedia is already set to operate out of Mumbai.

    05. What happens to advertising revenues of TV channels? What with FCT shrinking to 12 minutes an hour, and the media agencies consolidating to get big bang for the buck.

    06. Perhaps it is time to rejoice for the standalone agencies – as for in the battle of Davids – they might be bought over at a fancier price – as they would tilt the scales.

     

    Needless to say, we see interesting times ahead. It will be good to see how WPP and Sir Martin Sorrell react to this development.

     

    Links:

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2013/07/28/publicis-and-omnicom-merge-creating-worlds-biggest-advertising-company/

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/business/media/advertising-giants-announce-35-1-billion-merger.html?hp&_r=0

    http://adage.com/article/news/publicis-omnicom-group-facts/243346/

    http://stuartsmithsblog.com/2013/07/27/publicis-groupe-and-omnicom-in-35bn-merger/

    http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-28/publicis-to-merge-with-omnicom-to-form-biggest-advertising-firm.html

     

     

  • Clearly the Omnicom and Publicis merger marks the beginning of the new realignments in the world of advertising and providers of marketing services.

    1 Minute View: Merge. Survive. Thrive

    Just when we were getting set for what was supposed to be relaxed weekend, came this news of the closure of the Indian editions of People, Marie Claire and Geo run by the Outlook group. That was enough to get us on the phones from Friday afternoon. Our feelings are for all the staff who would be impacted by the business decision. Sad.

     

    And then on Saturday came this news that Publicis and Omnicom were joining hands. It was to be a merger of equals, making the combined entity the world’s largest advertising and marketing services entity.

     

    Sir Martin Sorrell’s response to the announcement is what one would expect of the WPP CEO.

     

    Clearly, this is just the beginning of the new realignments in the world of advertising and providers of marketing services. In fact combining forces and increasing efficiencies is the way to survive and thrive.

     

    One expects many, many more in the near future.

     

    Will this mean independents being gobbled up by the big networks?

     

    The true independently-minded may not want to, but don’t be surprised if they do align themselves with the big ‘uns.

     

    All of this would mean exciting times for the ad and marketing world.

     

    But, can we ever have a chilled out weekend, puhleez? Can some of these momentous happenings happen in the first part of the week?