MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • MEC gets Sidhraj Shah to head Brand Activation unit

    MEC gets Sidhraj Shah to head Brand Activation unit

    By A Correspondent

     

    MEC has announced the appointment of Sidhraj Shah as Head of Brand Activation. His mandate will be to deliver innovative consumer experiences and to expand MEC’s brand engagement and implementation services.

    Mr Shah’s last assignment was at Wizcraft as Deputy General Manager. An MBA from Bombay University, Mr Shah will report to T Gangadhar, MD, MEC and to Dalveer Singh, Head Experiential Marketing, APAC, GroupM’s experiential marketing unit.

     

    With prior stints at O&M, SSC&B Lintas and Bates 141, Mr Shah has conceived and executed ground-breaking campaigns for clients such as McDonald’s, Standard Chartered, Virgin Mobile, Siemens, MTV and MiD-Day.

     

  • RECMA 2013 Compitches has graded Havas at No 1 in YTD new business achievements in both the 2013 preliminary reports, notes a communique

    Havas Media Group India reports spectacular performance in 2013

    By A Correspondent

     

    Havas Media Group claims it is right at the top of the performance charts of media agencies. In the midst of a slow-subdued industry and economy where GDP hit a decade low of 4.5%, Havas Media Group India on the other hand has had an exceptional year in 2013, notes a communiqué, adding: “Besides retaining existing clients, Havas Media Group has had strong new business success.”

     

    RECMA 2013 Compitches has graded Havas at No.1 in YTD new business achievements in both the 2013 preliminary reports. The company stood at No. 2 Media Agency position in the recently declared Agency Report Card 2013 by Campaign India – garnering 8 out of 10 points. It was also shortlisted for the Agency of the Year 2013 Awards.

     

    Anita Nayyar

    “2013 proved to be a good year where our state of the art product, our dedication and hard work paid. We thank all our clients for trusting us with their businesses in an otherwise tough year and our media partners for their unflinching support at all times,” said Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group India & South Asia.

     

    “Given our ‘meaningful brands’ research and other ‘thought leadership’ tools, we are confident that we will replicate the success of the past years. Our ‘Digital at the Core’ avatar is in sync with the current market realities and is finding a lot of interest and traction among the clients. At Havas Village, we are consolidating creative and media through our unique Meaningful Connection Planning offering,” she added.

     

    Mohit Joshi

    “Taking from our ‘meaningful brands’ framework we impart holistic solutions to brand marketing which has been the value differentiator. We believe in client delight and will continue to deliver in 2014,” said Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media India.

     

    Among the news busineses, Havas Media added include Emirates, Voltas, Amway, Aspiring Minds, Shaadi.com, Wonder Cement, Neo Milk Products, Halonix, Simmtronics, Mobis and Bloomberg TV India amongst others along with a roster of clients including Hyundai Motor India, Parle Products Ltd., MTS India, Quikr.com, Taj Hotels, Capgemini India, etc.

     

    Arena India was also launched under Havas Media Group to take on the responsibilities of the global LG Electronics win.The specialist brands Mobext India for mobile solutions and Ecselis for performance marketing are a part of Havas Media Group India.

     

  • In its latest campaign , the brand seeks to add a zing factor to snacking by showing a group of youngsters enjoying a snack together with a bottle of Fanta

    Snack time is play time, says Fanta

    By A Correspondent

     

    Having splashed their bubbly characters across television screens all of last year, beverage drink Fanta is back with a renewed proposition this time too.

    In its latest communication campaign — Snack-time Fanta-time, the brand seeks to add a zing factor to snack time by showing a group of youngsters enjoying a snack together with a bottle of Fanta. What would be new this time around would be the introduction of a new character – the mom – who would be essaying a central role in the campaign.

     

    Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Debabrata Mukherjee, VP – Marketing & Commercial at Coca-Cola India & SWA, said, “Snack times are moments full of play and fun energy that represent brand Fanta. Our global body of work on Fanta ‘Play’ has been appreciated world over and this year, we have taken the core proposition further by building in local consumer insights set in the Indian context.”

     

    The new campaign has been conceptualized by Ogilvy & Mather led by Ajay Gahlot, Executive Creative Director; Shailendar Mahajan, Senior Creative Director and Riazat Khan, Creative Director and produced by Nomad Films. The lyrics have been written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and music composed by Vijay Antony. With its upbeat and playful tempo, the jingle has been rendered into seven languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Punjabi, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Ajay Gahlaut – Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather said, “Fanta is a brand that offers a lot of creative fulfillment. This time around, we got an opportunity to produce a TV commercial with the famous Fanta characters to suit Indian sensibilities.”

     

    The new campaign will reach out to the consumers through an array of touch points including television ads, outdoor, radio, activation and social media.

     

  • The 5-yr-old digital media firm will merge with Tribal and its core team will manage the joint entity + comments from an M&A consultant & Prasanth Mohanachandran

    Flying high! 22feet sells out to DDB Mudra [updated today]

    L-R 22feet co-founders Deepak Nair, Vineet Gupta, Brijesh Jacob and Vinod Moolacherry

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    One more Indian digital major gets gobbled up. Bangalore-headquartered 22feet has been acquired by media and marketing services conglomerate Omnicom Group.

     

    On Monday, Omnicom’s DDB Group announced the acquisition of 22feet. The five-year-old digital marketing firms in India will merge with nine-year-old Tribal Worldwide India creating a new entity known as 22feet Tribal Worldwide which will be a part of the DDB Mudra Group.  22feet has in its roster brands such as Café Coffee Day, Fastrack, Lenovo, Heineken, Kingfisher, Red Bull and Axe.

     

    Madhukar Kamath

    The new entity – 22feet Tribal Worldwide – will be spearheaded by the core team of 22feet and not that of Tribal. Vineet Gupta will be Managing Director, Brijesh Jacob is Joint Managing Director and Deepak Nair will be Chief Operating Officer. The three will report directly to Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO and Managing Director, DDB Mudra Group. They will also work closely with Tribal Worldwide network in APAC and across 42 countries.

     

    The fourth 22feet co-founder Vinod Moolacherry will take charge of White Canvas, the Bengaluru-based full-service agency set up by the foursome. White Canvas has not been acquired by Omnicom as part of the deal on 22feet. Meanwhile, Venkat Mallik, president of Tribal India and RAPP, the marketing and CRM agency, will now move to look after RAPP, with what a spokesperson told us is an expanded and new global vision for that business.

     

    Said Mr Kamath on the acquisition: “With digital at the heart of DDB Mudra Group’s agenda, we are extremely happy about joining forces with 22feet. In just five years, 22feet has grown leaps and bounds. With this energy and Tribal Worldwide’s global reputation and reach, I’m excited to see what this magic of mergers can create.”

     

    John Zeigler

    Added John Zeigler, Chairman and CEO, DDB Group Asia Pacific, India and Japan: “We see this as a strategic move to continue evolving our capabilities in the fast-moving Indian market. DDB Group has accelerated its capabilities to offer clients the best-in-class local digital expertise at 22feet, coupled with best-in-class global knowledge of the Tribal Worldwide network. I believe this is a game-changing event for the DDB Mudra Group in India.”

     

    According to a financial advisor to many media M&A deals who requested anonymity, the acquisition is a win-win for DDB and 22feet. For digital media entrepreneurs who have sold out to advertising majors, the scale of a large network and international clients is a huge pull. And for ad firms, who have not been very strong on digital, acquiring smaller firms and thereby talent, legacy and clients is a sureshot way of getting digital prowess that clients seek. The added advantage, said the M&A specialist, is that networks could also look at converting a part of these digital shops to delivery hubs for offices elsewhere in the world.

     

    According to Prasanth Mohanachandran, CEO of AgencyDigi, who sold his agency eDeltaC Communications to Ogilvy in 2001, the 22feet buy will do a world of good for Tribal in India. “It’s an excellent agency worldwide, and the acquisition will help leapfrog the operations here,” Mohanachandran said

     

    Meanwhile, there is excitement amongst the 22feet co-founders who will now steer 22feet Tribal. Said Vineet Gupta on the announcement: “We are extremely excited to be a part of the DDB Group family. At 22feet, we share DDB’s passion for innovation and technology and look forward to delivering best in class digital solutions to our clients across markets as 22feet Tribal Worldwide.”

     

    Brijesh Jacob and Deepak Nair echo similar sentiments. “We are extremely happy with this opportunity to operate on a global canvas,” said Nair.

     

  • The Broadcast Audience Research Council moves a step further on the new measurement regime with the appointment of Civolution to work in sync with tech vendor Mediemetrie

    BARC appoints Dutch firm Civolution for watermarking tech

    By A Correspondent

     

    Amidst issuing requests for proposals and advanced-level testing, the joint industry body of broadcast stakeholders BARC (short for Broadcast Audience Research Council) has contracted Dutch tech firm Civolution to provide the watermarking technology for its proposed measurement platform. The decision comes weeks after the announcement of Médiamétrie as its key technology vendor.

     

    Partho Dasgupta

    “India has one of the largest TV audiences in the world so it was critical for us to create an audience measurement system that is gold standard,” said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC. “By leveraging Civolution and Médiamétrie’s expertise in audience tracking, technology and analytics we can now study viewers’ TV habits in precise detail, enabling broadcasters and advertisers to implement efficient strategies to reach their target audience.”

     

    According to a communiqué, the audience measurement system – which has already successfully been deployed by Médiamétrie in a few TV markets – relies on Civolution’s audio watermarking coding technology for automated content identification and integrates seamlessly into Médiamétrie’s TV meter system for panellists’ equipment and data processing.  It provides broadcasters with a detailed analysis of their exposure to the public, whether by the number of households tuning in to the programme or the amount of time spent watching each piece of content.

     

    Gwilherm Nicolas, Head of International Business Development at Médiamétrie added: ”We are very enthusiastic to embark on this project with Civolution and its watermarking technology, which is definitely the most powerful and error-free content detection technique available for TV audience measurement.  This means we are future-proofed in the fast-changing world of TV.  Médiamétrie has relied on Civolution’s technology for many years”.

     

    ”With so many new ways of watching TV content in this multi-screen universe, precise audience measurement has become increasingly complex. Audience measurement services must now report more accurately and reliably, from a larger number of channels, delivered through a fast-changing and diverse mix of broadcast platforms, and consumed either in real time or time-shifted” said Alex Terpstra, CEO, Civolution.

     

    Civolution’s audio watermark is embedded in the TV’s sound track prior to broadcast. Upon airing, the content is then identified by Médiamétrie’s TV meter, in real-time. In addition to granular measurement of the content being watched, the solution features support for catch-up TV. The technology provides cross-platform audience measurement and will enable mobile device measurement, triggering the creation of new services  and the reduction of operating costs. In parallel, the same watermark infrastructure deployed by Indian broadcasters could be used to synchronize with great accuracy their own interactive second screen applications.

     

    ”Through our close collaboration with Médiamétrie, we have devised a powerful solution that provides accurate and reliable audience data that will allow BARC to help broadcasters plan, entertain and monetize their TV audiences,” added Jean Michel Masson, SVP Watermarking Solutions, Civolution.

     

  • Internet users in India could increase by 24 per cent if local language content is provided on the internet, says IAMAI

    Local language content could push internet users drastically, says IAMAI

    By a correspondent

     

    ‘Local Language Study 2013’ published jointly by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International has predicted that the internet users in India could increase by 24 per cent if local language content is provided on the internet.

     

    According to the study, in the rural areas 43 per cent of the non-users of internet said they would adopt the medium if the content was provided in a local language while in the urban areas, 13.5 per cent of the non-users mentioned that they would use internet if content is provided in local languages. The report prima facie identifies local language as the single largest driver of internet growth in rural areas. The findings were based on a survey of 35 cities across seven states.

     

    Among the current users of Internet, the report found the current local language usage penetration among the active internet users is around 42 per cent.

     

     

    While the local language content users in urban India are not much different from English language content users with e-mail, News and Search being the main activities, in rural India, however, entertainment, social networking and email remains the primary purpose of using online local language content.

     

     

    In rural India, 27 per cent of the users use Hindi to access online content followed by Marathi and Tamil. In urban India too, 60 per cent of the users access online content in Hindi followed by Tamil and Marathi.

     

  • MTS builds on the data speed factor with 3G PLUS and gets a baby to render the message

    MTS: Making 3G access a child’s play

    By a correspondent

     

    Internet and broadband solutions company MTS has launched a quirky campaign that delves on the benefits of its latest offering – MTS 3GPLUSâ„¢ Network.

     

    Conceptualised by Creativeland Asia, the campaign features a new born baby who is familiar with technology and is seen exploiting the internet straight from birth. The TVC opens in a labour room, where a woman is being coaxed by the doctor to ‘push’, as the father and the nurses watch anxiously. Suddenly, the baby’s hand pops out from under the cover and gestures everybody to stop.

     

    The baby crawls from under the sheet and sits on the mother’s chest. From here on the baby does a series of activities that leaves people in the room shocked. He searches for ‘how to cut the umbilical cord’ and then cuts it, takes a selfie with the nurse on a mobile phone and posts it to Instagram, creates accounts on multiple social networking sites and broadcasts himself, makes a video and even uses the GPS system to navigate out of the hospital.

     

    Amitesh Rao, Director – Brand & Media, MTS India, said, “We needed a campaign to reinforce our strongest differentiator – the fact that we have designed and optimized the MTS 3GPlus network specifically for data. At the same time we needed to be true to the MTS brand that talks to today’s 24×7, always-on, data hungry consumer for whom the internet is the biggest opportunity platform there is. The challenge of course was to do all of this in an engaging and entertaining manner, which is what the story of a new-born baby going online to announce himself to the world does perfectly.”

     

    Sajan Raj Kurup

    Speaking about the TVC, Sajan RaJ Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia, said, “The script for the film began with the simple insight that today’s kids seem so comfortable with technology, devices and the internet even as babies. When I see them (including my own daughter) handle tablets, mobiles and laptops, I have always joked that they look like they were born with it. We just pushed that thought a little further. It took six months of painful labor. And the baby is finally out there. ”

     

    The TVC has been produced by Smuggler films and directed by Guy Shelmerdine.

     

  • The 2014 DISS edition saw India emerge as the second biggest contributor of entries behind Russia that led the way with the highest number

    DISS 2014 showcases motivational entries from India

    By a correspondent

     

    The 2014 edition of the ‘Done in 60 Seconds’ competition saw a host of participants from across India sending in their entries to the coveted event.

     

    In November 2013, Jameson and Empire Magazine opened the ‘Done in 60 Seconds 2014’ competition with Talenthouse India to challenge budding filmmakers to recreate classic Hollywood films in less than 60 seconds. Celebrating the golden era of Hollywood, 130 shorts films were crowdsourced on Talenthouse’s platform. Globally, in 2014, India emerged as the second biggest contributor out of 16 countries with Russia having the highest number of entries. This prestigious ranking was achieved by a massive number of entries from Mumbai (50 participants) followed by Delhi and Kolkata with 13 and 12 entries respectively. Bangalore, offered 11 short movies for this competition.

     

    The Indian leg of the globally renowned competition saw acclaimed filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane and film critic Anupama Chopra select India’s entry for the Jameson Empire Awards 2014 from twelve outstanding short-films at the National Grand Finale that was held on 21st February 2014. The winning entry was a one minute short film by Ritesh Varma who recreated the Charlie Chaplin classic, Modern Times in sixty seconds. His film will go on to be featured at the star-studded Jameson Empire Awards 2014 in Britain next month.

     

    Commenting on the event, Arun Mehra, CEO, Talenthouse said, “Talenthouse India today is a promising platform for young filmmakers to showcase their talent. In the past year alone, we have showcased over 1000 short films from over 200 amateur filmmakers. The Jameson Empire Done in 60 Seconds competition is a testament of our mission to provide life-changing career opportunities to artists.”

     

  • The International Advertising Association India Chapter announced nominations for the first 12 categories of the second edition of the IAA Leadership Awards

    Nominees announced for IAA Leadership Awards

    The International Advertising Association India Chapter has revealed nominations for the first 12 categories of the second edition of the IAA Leadership Awards. The nominees have been shortlisted from the fields of Marketing of various products and services categories.

     

    The IAA Leadership Awards will see a recognition of 21 individuals in as many categories who will be handpicked through a two-stage selection process.

     

    And the nominees are:

     

    Srinivasan Swamy

    Speaking on the nominees, Srinivasan Swamy, President IAA India and VP-Development, IAA Asia Pacific, and Chairman, R K Swamy BBDO said, “The nominees are the chosen few from the field of marketing, shortlisted via a scientific thought process and detailed research. By celebrating their achievements, we hope to motivate them to raise the bar year-on-year.”

     

    The awards will be presented on March 1 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Mumbai, with I&B Minsiter Manish Tewari as the Chief Guest.

  • Goral Ajmera will be part of the Grand Jury judging that will take place in two stages during March and April

    Grey’s Goral Ajmera to judge at NY Festivals 2014

    By a correspondent

     

    Goral Ajmera, Senior Executive Creative Director, Grey has been invited to be on the Grand Jury of the New York Festivals 2014.

     

    The Grand Jury judging will take place in two stages during March and April. In the first stage, Ajmera will join a 10-person panel to judge a portion of the entries. During the second stage, the entire panel will review all the entries that made the cut and advanced from the first round, and will determine which entries advance to the Shortlist.

     

    On being invited to the Grand Jury, Goral said “NYF is clearly an award show that has evolved with the changing times. New categories, new judging process and now, newly designed trophies created by Sagmeister & Walsh. I am truly excited and honoured to be a part of an eclectic jury from across 70 countries.”

     

    Ajmera has been in the advertising industry for 14 years. After successful stints with Enterprise Nexus, Leo Burnett, Ogilvy and JWT, she is now leading the team in Mumbai as Senior Executive Creative Director, along with her partner Vishnu Srivatsav. Over the years, she has created forward-looking campaigns on a wide portfolio of brands like Reliance, Killer, Lux, Sunsilk, Dove, Ponds, Timespro, Ferrero, Bajaj Allianz, Femina, Vimal, Set Max and Parle.

     

  • The TVCs are an extension of the company's brand campaign 'Aapke Sachche Advisors', which aims to highlight Max Life's commitment to superior post sales service

    Max Life extends brand promise of ‘Aapke Sachche Advisor’ further

    By a correspondent

     

    Max Life Insurance has announced the launch of a string of three new TVC’s with the tagline “Policy dene ke baad humara rishta khatam nahi, shuru hota hai“. The TVCs are an extension of the company’s brand campaign ‘Aapke Sachche Advisors’, which aims to highlight Max Life’s commitment to superior post sales service. The TVCs re-emphasize Max Life Insurance’s brand promise on quality of advice, honesty and transparency in services, which is reflected through the practices followed by the company’s agent advisors.

     

    Anisha Motwani

    Commenting on the launch, Anisha Motwani, Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance said, “Amongst all the financial instruments, life insurance has the longest relationship term with a customer. In fact, the real relationship with the customer only start taking shape after the policy is bought, and does not end with a transaction being completed. At Max Life we are guided by the principles of Service Excellence towards our customers, hence, providing them with prompt, reliable, and quality services is our top most priority.”

     

    She further added, “Our new TVC’s are thus aimed at establishing a deeper bond with the life insurance industry audience at large. Through these ads we also seek to reinforce the idea of importance of identifying a reliable company, evaluating the correct selling behaviour and service orientation of agent advisors when seeking to buy life insurance products”.

     

    Abhijit Avasthi

    Abhijit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Oglivy and Mather said, “Through this campaign Max Life Insurance has taken the brand philosophy of “Sachchi Advice” to the next level by highlighting on their commitment towards the customers. The Agent-Devil format worked wonders for the brand in last campaign and we are sure that this time again, with the freshness brought in by lady devil & agent and new situations, it will bring that smile back on our audience’s faces and an even deeper trust on the brand”.

     

  • Bambi will head the business development efforts of Draftfcb+Ulka and work closely with the business heads of the various divisions

    Bambi Diventry appointed Head–New Business Initiatives at Draft

    By a correspondent

     

    Bambi Diventry has been appointed as the Head of New Business Initiatives at Draftfcb+Ulka Group. Prior to this she was Client Servicing Director at Interface Communications, the DFCBU Group agency.

     

    Bambi is a management graduate from Chetana Institute of Management with around 15 years’ experience in the industry. She started her career as a management trainee in advertising working on brands such as Siemens Home Appliances, ITC Foods and Tips & Toes. Later moved on to become a part of the teams that handled Orange and Castrol, Dell computers and Friesland Food, thereby gaining experience across various sectors.

     

    In her current position, Bambi will head the business development efforts of Draftfcb+Ulka and work closely with the business heads of the various divisions, many of whom she knows and has previously worked with during her Interface stint. With Bambi board, Draftfcb+Ulka Group gets her enriched and diverse experience across a spectrum of clients.