MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • It's not just big brands which have been spending money on television, small online retailers are spending humongous marketing dollars on extremely expensive TV advertising

    Return of dotcom boom, small e-com cos spend big on TV advtg

    By Shambhavi Anand

     

    The dotcom boom seems to be back, at least for television advertising. And it is not only the big and known names spending money on the most popular and preferred mass medium but also the small online retailers are spending humongous marketing dollars on extremely expensive television advertising.

     

    Fabfurnish, an online furniture retailer, which is less than two years old, is about to kickstart its first television campaign in January 2014. Backed by German e-commerce incubator-cum-investor Rocket Internet, the company has put in half a million Euros into this campaign. However, the company did not disclose the size of the fund it has raised.

     

    “Online home decor market is in a nascent stage. We need to create awareness about the category as well as build brand for ourselves,” Vaibhav Aggarwal, CEO and co-founder, Fabfurnish.com said. The campaign is planned for four weeks in January and will be supported by simultaneous digital initiative also.

     

    TV advertising forms a significant part of media mix for Lenskart.com, the online portals which sells eyewear is backed by venture capitalists. “We spend approximately Rs 10 crore annually on mass media advertising which is mainly done for brand building and gaining trust of the consumers. TV allows us to educate and create much needed awareness for the brand resulting in traffic and building trust,” Peyush Bansal, CEO and founder, Lenskart.com said.

     

    While the prospects for e-commerce companies cannot be doubted, does advertising on television lead to increased sales? Most e-commerce companies claim that the traffic of their portal increases and so does awareness and trust but most of them do not have numbers to back their claims.

     

    GreenDust, an online portal, which sells branded factory seconds products (electronics) that are repaired and refurbished that comes with a warranty spends heavily on advertising in the mass media including radio and TV.

     

    Its founder and CEO, Hitendra Chaturvedi, said, “TV advertising has helped us in reaching to mass audience and building trust for the brand. This in turn has improved the brand recall and we witnessed 100% increase in number of prospective customer’s queries in the month we released our first advertisement itself.”

     

    He added, “TV ads have helped to break the clutter and to reach across all target audience which has been achieved by targeting different channels covering all the genres and different languages.”

     

    According to estimates of Madison Media, the advertising spend of online portals have gone up in the last two years. The ad spends of online portals in the April to July quarter of 2013 was 1.2% as compared to 0.8% in the same quarter of 2011.

     

    The Indian ecommerce market is going through a huge surge of growth. According to a 2012 CRISIL report, Indian online retail industry will grow from Rs 32 billion in 2012 to Rs 100 billion in 2015, a CAGR of 45%-48%. To add to the growth prospects of the industry, infrastructure such as internet connectivity is expected to grow exponentially in the country. Apart from laptops and desktops, mobile phones and tablets are becoming major growth drivers.

     

    The I-Cube 2013 report released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International said India has 200-million internet users as of October; the number will grow 40% year on year by December. The number of internet users in India is expected to rise 18.53% in the coming months to 243 million by June 2014.

     

    In spite of the huge potential, critics seem sceptical about the effectiveness of mass media advertising for e-commerce players, especially the beginners. They say there is hardly any data to establish the link between high traffic and increased sales conversion.

     

    “There has been a spurt in traditional advertisements by e-commerce sites and this is primarily because mass media such as television tends to bring more credibility. But the question is whether TV advertising brings in the expected return on investment (RoI),” said Gaurav Gupta, senior director, Deloitte in India.

     

    He, however, says mass media advertising might be done more for brand building and spreading awareness or for establishing credibility to get private equity rather than for increasing sales.

     

    Seema Gupta, faculty – marketing, IIM Bangalore, advises small ecommerce ventures to look towards marketing activities such as activation in malls or initiatives on the digital media, which can be done over a prolonged duration and, hence, prove to be more sustainable, rather than opt for expensive mass media advertising. “Below-the-line advertising can prove to be more sustainable as they can be done for a longer duration. It will also help in reaching out to the right target audience as compared to mass media advertising, which can burn money very quickly,” Ms Gupta said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Star India's just-turned-two second GEC "takes a big leap" with the association with the 20th edition of the Screen Awards

    Life OK bags telecast and title rights for Screen awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    You’ve known it as the Star Screen Awards. More recently, it turned into Colors Screen Awards and starting 2014, Bollywood’s second-most prestigious film awards, the Screen Awards, now has a new home as a television event: Life OK.

     

    Rechristened the Life OK Screen Awards, the event will be held on January 14. Filmfare, we would say is the most sought after of the Bollywood awards with the government’s National Awards possibly as coveted but they are not just for the Hindi film industry alone. The Screen awards have been instituted by Screen, a weekly publication tracking the film business in the country. The 2014 edition will mark the completion of 20 years of celebrating excellence in films.

     

    Ajit Thakur

    Commenting on this development, Ajit Thakur, General Manager, Life OK, said: “We have turned two this month and have had a very good run in the last 12 months. It’s time for us to take the next big leap. The Screen Awards on Life OK is the first step in that direction.”

     

    George Varghese, CEO, the Indian Express Group, says, “The Screen Awards are known for their credible and unbiased approach towards celebrating excellence in Indian cinema, and are the most respected in the entertainment fraternity. For the 20th edition of the Screen Awards, we are proud to be associated with Life OK, and are committed to making it bigger and better than before.”

     

    The Life OK Screen awards will celebrate achievement and excellence in over 30 categories in Hindi and Marathi cinema.

     

  • With a roster that includes Fastrack, Axe and Red Bull, 22feet has been a target for acquisition for a while now

    22feet in talks with Omnicom Group for an acquisition deal

    By Shephali Bhatt

     

    22feet, a digital agency founded by Brijesh Jacob, Deepak Nair, Vineet Gupta and Vinod Moolacherry, is rumoured to be in talks with Omnicom Group (India) for an acquisition deal.

     

    Sources with knowledge of the discussions say TribalDDB, the digital unit of DDB Mudra Group, will be dismantled, and 22feet will become the Omnicom Group’s digital unit after the acquisition is complete. (Omnicom is the holding company that owns DDB Mudra.) Both Brijesh Jacob, founder of 22feet, and Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & MD of DDB Mudra Communications, were unavailable for a comment at the time of filing this report.

     

    With a roster that includes Fastrack, Axe and Red Bull, 22feet has been a target for acquisition for a while now. This comes close on the heels of another similar development: the imminent acquisition of the Indian operations of Saatchi & Saatchi by independent agency Law & Kenneth.

     

    The common factor among both Tribal DDB and Saatchi & Saatchi is they are established global brands that have not been able to make too much of an impact in the Indian market.

     

    In a shift in trend, instead of acquiring key talent, holding companies like Publicis (which owns Saatchi & Saatchi) and Omnicom are considering handing the operations over to homegrown set-ups that have managed to make an impact. If both these deals come through, it is most likely to give a fillip to independent agencies across categories and specialisations.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The JWT-Ford and Leo Burnett-Tata Chemicals episodes or the indecision on participating in the Creative Abby may have caused a reduction in release of 'scam ads' so far

    Fewer scam ads this year: the Ford-Tata Chem effect or agencies moving away from Abby?

    By A Correspondent

     

    We don’t know the reason for this. But from the information that we get on the street, there have been fewer scam ads released thus far. So did the JWT-Ford and Leo Burnett-Tata Chemicals episodes cause a reduction in proactive work (better known as scam ads)

     

    Expectedly, no one from the agency or the newspaper circuit went on record on the issue. But a senior official at a publication where many such ads appear said the dip is more than 80 percent this year. “December-end is a Diwali-like situation for scam ads. There are creative ads pleading for releases, and even though the ads aren’t priced very high, it’s significant revenue for publications,” said an industryperson requesting anonymity.

     

    Typically, all entries for the Creative Abby 2014 need to be released in Calendar Year 2013, hence there is a rush for releasing ads by December 31. According to an observer,  the last two days of the year may well see an increase in such releases, because many agencies haven’t yet decided on their participation at the Creative Abby at Goafest 2014. “The creatives are ready for publication, but if they don’t participate at Goafest, then the releases will happen in Jan-Feb, in time for Cannes Lions and some international fests.”

     

    However, when this reporter spoke to an agency head, the Ford and Tata Chemicals episodes has scared large agencies as well as clients. “No one wants to lose a job or a client because of a scam ad,” he said. Scam ads are typically proactive work done by agencies as part of ideas generated for their clients which are not released commercially or ads created only for awards, often for clients who do not advertise at all (like a cobbler or a provisions store). These are generally in the print/outdoor/poster/digital/radio categories where the creation costs are low.

     

    Most agency heads we have spoken with say that it’s impossible to put a check on scam ads. There could be genuine cases where advertisers may insert special ads for occasions like Diwali or their anniversary. These are generally single insert ads in the papers or on billboards… so does one rule these out?

     

    So what’s the solution? “None, except a self-regulation. Agencies must not encourage the creation of ‘scam’ work for awards… the problem is that these directives often come from the top.” For a few years, there has been a discussion on creating a category for unpublished work at the Abby, but that hasn’t happened till day.

     

    Another agency head said that if the industry is serious about putting an end to this kind of advertising, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) must issue an advisory on this and ask its members to not send any scam ads for awards.

     

    Watch this space for more.

     

  • Lowe Lintas created a 25-second re-edited version of the original 45-second spot which was aired on news channels for five days

    What an Idea, Sirji! Cellco revives 2009 ad, after AAP ‘referendum’

    By Shephali Bhatt

     

    On December 23, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decided to form a government in Delhi, with support from the Congress – after conducting an informal SMS referendum that asked the citizens of Delhi if it should take a shot at governance. Idea had used a similar theme in its 2009 television campaign, with a spot that depicted a poll via SMS on whether shopping malls should be made on agricultural fields. So it made sense to release a fresh edit of that ad.

     

    “We thought when it was happening for real, it’ll be good for the brand to remind people how Idea’s communication was ahead of its time,” says Sashi Shankar, CMO of Idea Cellular.

     

    The initial thought to do a tweaked version of their old ad came from Sanjeev Aga, a member of Idea’s board of directors.

     

    The agency, Lowe Lintas, created a 25-second re-edited version of the original 45-second spot within two days of being briefed. The ad, being a topical one, was aired only on news channels for five days.

     

    Good thinking on the feet, quick turnaround time and a good example of recycling communication to associate the brand with one of the most important political events in the history of the nation.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The mandate came in to Maxus after a multi-agency pitch

    Maxus wins Kotak Mahindra business

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading media agency Maxus has bagged the coveted mandate for the Kotak Mahindra Group in a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Speaking on the announcement, Kartik Sharma, MD, Maxus, South Asia, “We are excited about working with one of India’s most established brands, with a legacy of over 20 years.” Maxus is part of the WPP-owned GroupM media services conglomerate.

     

    The agency has been in the news for recent wins like Ruchi Soya, Tata Tea, Redbus and Musafir.com This year, it also retained the coveted L’Oreal account after an aggressive multi agency pitch.  “2013 has been a great year for Maxus and we are excited with yet another client in our roster,” added Mr Sharma.

     

     

     

  • January 1 saw Director-Finance Anurag Bansal step into the shoes of CFO Dilip Upadhyaya

    DDB Mudra Group elevates Anurag Bansal to CFO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anurag Bansal

    The DDB Mudra Group has announced Anurag Bansal as CFO of DDB Mudra Group effective January 1.

     

    In his new role, Mr Bansal will oversee the finance, legal, commercial, and IT functions across the group, in addition to heading the financial integration of the DDB Mudra Group with Omnicom Group Inc.

     

    Mr Bansal, who has been with DDB Mudra since January 2008 was until recently designated Director-Finance. He took charge from Dilip Upadhyaya who has stepped down as CFO after 26 years with the ad agency network. Mr Upadhyaya will continue with the group as a Consultant.

     

    Madhukar Kamath

    Said Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO and Managing Director, DDB Mudra Group, on the appointment: “In the short span of six years with us, Anurag has grown tremendously within the DDB Mudra Group. Apart from his professional capability and competence, I truly admire his energy, enthusiasm and leadership qualities.”

     

    Commenting on his new role, Mr Bansal said, “I am very excited to step in to the role of the Group CFO.The journey for me has just begun and I look forward tosome challenging yet exciting times ahead!”

     

     

     

  • The last date for entries for the first and only awards for creative excellence in communicating sustainability is January 31, 2014. Entry form can be downloaded from iaaindiachapter.org

    IAA calls for entries to Olive Crown Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) has issued a call for creative entries for the fourth edition of the IAA Olive Crown Awards. The Olive Crown Awards which are India’s first and only awards for creative excellence in communicating sustainability have been growing in size and stature over the years. The entry form can be downloaded from iaaindiachapter.org. The last date for entries is January 31, 2014.

     

    Last year, the awards were endorsed by the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) and went on to become the first ever pan-Asian event of its kind. AFAA will continue to endorse it this year. Said Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman, R K SWAMY BBDO and President, India Chapter and VP-Development Asia Pacific, IAA: “These awards have acquired the hue of a ‘cause’ and this is one of the reasons for their universal acceptance.” Ramesh Narayan, Founder Canco Advertising and M G Parameswaran, Executive Director and CEO Draft FCB Ulka, are Co-Chairmen of the IAA Olive Crown Awards.  Mr Parameswaran said, “We cannot put a price on our commitment to Brand Earth and that is why there is no entry fee for this one-of-a-kind award. The quality of entries was very high last year and we are expecting an even better standard this time”.

     

    The awards will be presented in Mumbai in March 2014.  For the third time in succession, leading music channel 9XM will be presenting sponsor of these awards. Hungama and the Patrika Group are the Green partners.

     

  • Ivan Arthur, former National Creative Director of Hindustan Thompson Associates (what's now called JWT), pays tribute to Sudhir Deokar, his soulmate and creative chief of HTA's hyperactive Mumbai office. Mr Deokar passed away last week.

    The 3-D Art Director. Ivan Arthur on Sudhir Deokar

    Ivan Arthur, former National Creative Director of Hindustan Thompson Associates (what’s now called JWT), pays tribute to Sudhir Deokar, his soulmate and creative chief of HTA’s hyperactive Mumbai office. Mr Deokar passed away last week.

     

    By Ivan Arthur

     

    The early 60s. I was a cub writer then, Sudhir a young tiger. Every day I watched him roar, bold and resonant on his easel. And I cowered behind my table wondering what I was doing in a place like this? Tentatively I handed him a line for an Esso advertisement, expecting a growl of disapproval. He looked at it for a moment and with the salivary articulation of well-chewed paan, he said: “Tomorrow.” The next morning I glanced at his easel and grew a hundred feet tall. There was my line on his layout, for sure, but barely recognizable even to me.  Sudhir had made it resonate beyond the thesaurus.

     

    He did this always. He took lines and gave them roundness, movement, dimension, resulting in halos for copywriters, account directors, clients and their brands. He freed the Air-India Maharaja from the croquill’s ruthless line and caressed him with that soft roundness. He poured sex appeal into Haryana Breweries’ beer barrels, played mid-wife to both DCM and Wipro Data Products and placed Hamdard on the medical pedestal it deserved. Name any Thompson brand from the early sixties to the Millenium year; Sudhir has gilded it with his brush. He retired as Creative Chief of the Mumbai office of HTA.

     

    He worked his magic with 6-B pencil, croquill, Rotring, Indian ink, water-colours and his sable hair wand; conjuring up caricatures, cartoons, stylized drawings and life-like water colours; his 20-minute layouts often used as artwork. Artwork became works of art, clients having them framed and put up in their offices. His visualisation of human situations or tabletop was photographically perfect. When the final picture was taken in the studio, you might not be able to tell the difference between the photographed picture and the 20-minute wash drawing. Mitter Bedi, Obi, Salian and so many others would marvel at the lens that was Sudhir’s eye.

     

    For close to three decades he gave my work the visual sanctification of his brush, and I feel blessed. I know that many who came before and after me will echo my feelings. He had the bigness and breadth to work with most anyone – from trainee to guru. Many of his trainees are gurus now. I look with awe today at a generation that thrives on the digital evacuation of ideas, but I still thrill to the memory of those visual insights shaped by hand and eye by artists like Sudhir. He was loved by all – from the most cussed of executives to the most difficult of clients.

     

    Besides being my creative soulmate, Sudhir became a friend of the family. His passing is a deep gash that my soul will have to bear for ever.

     

  • The greeting carries with it an offer to donate Rs 400 to a charity on behalf of the recipients who are required to indicate their choice of donation to the cause of either education or healthcare by clicking on a button.

    More than just a new year greeting. On 40th anniv, RK Swamy Hansa to donate Rs 400 to charity on every click

    By A Correspondent

     

    There are greeting cards and greeting cards and smses and smses and gifts and gifts and gifts. But, here’s a new year idea that’s different and been receiving rave reviews in the fraternity.

     

    A musical ‘happy new year’ message was sent out by RK Swamy Hansa to peers, friends and associates greeting them on the new year. But it’s the media services conglomerate’s 40th year in the business and true to the guiding principles of founder R K Swamy who was an illustrious adman and philanthropist, the greeting carries with it an offer to donate Rs 400 to a charity on behalf of the recipient. The interactive ‘card’ requested recipients to indicate their choice of donation to the cause of either education or healthcare by clicking on a button.

     

    Srinivasan Swamy

    “On our 40th anniversary, we did not want to send any commercial message about our progress or on the many specialized companies or divisions we have.  We wanted to touch the lives of those in need and help make the year a little bit better for them. The more responses we get, the more we will contribute to the charities involving education and healthcare. We’re hoping that the idea will ‘click’, and we will be seen as a caring organization. In any event we felt this would be a unique way to celebrate our Ruby Jubilee,” said Srinivasan K ‘Sundar’ Swamy, chairman, of the group.

     

  • Creativeland Asia engages with 'internet generation' for the new campaign of Canvas Blaze by MTS

    Creativeland’s new campaign of Canvas Blaze by MTS

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), which provides telecom services under the MTS brand, announced the launch of Canvas Blaze, a Dual SIM CDMA + GSM Smartphone preloaded with data and voice benefits for six months. Creativeland Asia conceptualized the communication campaign of Canvas Blaze Dual SIM for television, print and the  digital media.

     

    The campaign is targeted at young smartphone users and intenders. ‘The Internet generation’, as Creativeland has branded them in this campaign, believes that their power comes from their connections and therefore, increasingly spends more and more time online. They constantly hanker for connectivity and speed. These youngsters have a sense of entitlement that makes them not just Smart but Smartass.

     

    The film opens with a young man making a bold statement, “It’s all about me.” He goes on to talk about the various reasons he is online like networking with friends and friends-of-friends, constantly updating himself with information about people and facts and spending time searching and stumbling.  Said Sajan RaJ Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman: “The film is an eclectic character-sketch of an emerging behaviour code we call the ‘Internet Generation’. The film is a first step towards establishing MTS as the network designed for a whole generation that uses a phone as everything but a just phone.”

     

    Said Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer – MTS India, “An exciting Dual SIM, CDMA + GSM Smartphone – Canvas Blaze comes packed with data and voice benefits for six months. The launch of Canvas Blaze is supported by an integrated communication campaign including TVCs, print and social and other BTL activities.” The film is directed by Bharat Sikka.

     

  • According to the latest Internet Economy Watch, published jointly by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB, the user visit to various websites to look for mobile phones has gone up from 6.05 million in November 2012 to 13.65 million in November 2013 registering a year-on-year growth of 126%

    Online visit for looking up mobile phones registers 126% year-on-year growth: IAMAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    According to the latest Internet Economy Watch, published jointly by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB, the user visit to various websites to look for mobile phones has gone up from 6.05 million in November 2012 to 13.65 million in November 2013 registering a year-on-year growth of 126%. While branded apparels witnessed 12.45 million online user visits in November 2013 as compared to 6.42 million user visits in November 2012, the footwear segment registered 110% y-o-y growth in November 2013 when compared with user visits in November 2012. The online users visit to spa and restaurant segment decreased from 0.70 million in November 2012 to 0.58 million in November 2013.

     

    Fig: 1
    Source: IAMAI/ WAM Data November 2013

     

    The monthly tracker also found a y-o-y growth of 104% in online booking of railway tickets when compared with the numbers of corresponding month last year. Railway tickets booked online in November 2013 were 9.81 million as compared to 4.81 million in November 2012. The online bookings of air tickets witnessed a decrease from 1.47 million in November 2012 to 1.33 million in November 2013.

     

    Fig: 2
    Source: IAMAI/ WAM Data November 2013

     

    According to the data captured from major matrimonial sites in the monthly tracker, the number of profile uploads in November 2013 were 1.75 million as compared to 0.79 million in the corresponding month last year. The number of resume uploads increased to 1.42 million in November 2013 from 1.34 million in November 2012.

     

    Fig: 3
    Source: IAMAI/ WAM Data November 2013

     

    The monthly tracker further indicates 40.02 million people accessed various e-tailing sites. There were 2425.43 million page views in the category. The user reach for job and matrimonial websites is 23.00 million and 16.15 million respectively with 789.28 million and 618.87 million respective page views. Online travel segment has reach with 24.91 million reach and 1691.479 million page views.

     

    Fig: 4
    Source: IAMAI/ WAM Data November 2013

     

    Sourced from all India active internet data, the monthly internet tracker is based on WAM data captured from various relevant sites, and encapsulates online usage for E-tailing, Online Travel and Vertical Classifieds.