MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • M&C Saatchi acquires a minority stake in February, the Delhi-based independent founded by Gopal Krishnan & Nirmal Pulickal in 2012. The new agency will be led by the February bosses

    M&C Saatchi acquires a minority stake in February

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    M&C Saatchi acquires a minority stake in February, the independent agency founded by Gopal Krishnan and Nirmal Pulickal in 2012.  The operations of the current M&C Saatchi agency in Delhi will be merged with the local operations of February to create M&C Saatchi February, with immediate effect.

     

    The new agency will be led by the February management team of Gopal Krishnan and Nirmal Pulickal, who will be supported by the current CEO of M&C Saatchi in Delhi – Anjali Nayar – who will take the role of President in the new company.

     

    Offering advertising, design, digital, social, mobile, events and activation, M&C Saatchi February’s founding portfolio of blue-chip clients will include Nando’s, Typhoo, Avis, Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic, DLF retail, Ananda in the Himalayas, SBI Cards and Panasonic Mobility.

     

    Said M&C Saatchi’s Worldwide CEO, Moray MacLennan, while announcing the partnership: “India is a fundamental part of our global strategy, and we’re delighted to join forces with a brilliant team to help us create a global hub in this critical market.”

     

    The deal follows a strategic review of the agency’s Indian operations and will see M&C Saatchi’s new Indian agency – M&C Saatchi February – headquartered in February’s offices in Delhi. February’s founders Gopal Krishnan and Nirmal Pulickal will be taking over leadership of the combined operation. They will be supported by Anjali Nayar, the current CEO of M&C Saatchi Delhi, who is appointed President of the new venture.

     

    Added Mr Mac Lennan: “In Gopal, Nirmal and the team at February, we have found our perfect partners. They’ve built an agency producing world-class work for both local and international clients. They share our obsession with ‘Brutal Simplicity of Thought’, and our laser-like focus on building business results for our clients.”

     

    The partners of February will initially have a majority stake in the venture, with M&C Saatchi Worldwide becoming the majority shareholder over an agreed timescale. Said Gopal Krishnan, co-founder of February: “We’re delighted to be joining forces with M&C Saatchi as we embark on the next phase of February’s exciting journey. We’ve been doing some great work for some wonderful clients over the last couple of years, and this new partnership will help us play on an even bigger stage going forward.”

     

    Nirmal Pulickal, co-founder of February, added: “When we launched February two years ago we had a simple goal – to create great work that works for our clients’ business. It’s great to find a partner in M&C Saatchi who shares our vision entirely. We’re very excited about the future of M&C Saatchi February.”

    The launch of M&C Saatchi February follows the creation of M&C Saatchi aeiou in China last year, and the launch of the new M&C Saatchi Singapore in 2012.

     

  • Funding to fuel growth of current portfolios and expansion to health and fitness

    AntFarm raises Series-A funding

    By A Correspondent

     

    Digital innovation company AntFarm has raised Series-A funding from Bay Capital and Hausela Capital Partners. The funds that have been raised will be channelled to reinforce the current portfolio, grow upcoming businesses in the travel space and to build new early stage ventures in the fitness, hyper-local and mobile categories.

     

    AntFarm has a track-record of building profitable business units in a year’s time with Stylista.com, a collaborative fashion label, and Fork Media, a native advertising platform.

     

    Stylista has grown significantly since its launch, carving a niche in the e-commerce domain. Stylista recently collaborated with fashion e-tailer Myntra.com along with Flipkart.com to facilitate better access to affordable designer wear for new-age shoppers.

     

    Fork media has become one of the largest native advertising platforms in India. With its recent acquisition of ClickZoot, a performance ad network, Fork Media has emerged as a one-stop destination for advertisers with a reach of over 80 million users.

     

    AntFarm’s most recent venture, Arrive.com, is a travel discovery platform that is close to rolling out a mobile app for the East Asian market.

     

    “With more and more start-ups in India entering the billion-dollar club, AntFarm is poised to explore business opportunities in the dotcom and mobile space in high impact markets and create products which are disruptive. Over the last year, we have already made successful forays in the fashion, advertising and travel industry verticals. We are now gearing up to disrupt the multi-billion dollar health/fitness space,” said Rishi Khiani, Managing Director and CEO, AntFarm.

     

    AntFarm follows a unique approach in jumpstarting successful businesses by putting together unique cross-functional teams led by industry veterans and entrepreneurs that work on business opportunities identified internally at AntFarm.

     

    Piush Kumar, managing director of Hausela Capital Partners, said, “The digital landscape in India is on an exponential growth trajectory. This dynamic landscape has thrown open exciting opportunities to create new products and innovative business models. AntFarm has demonstrated its mettle with successful ventures in the digital space. They bring a unique mix of industry experience, technology expertise and entrepreneurial spirit. And, we are confident that they will be able to build successful digital business models.”

     

    Antfarm has previously raised an angel round from Ravi Dhariwal, Chief Executive Officer of Bennett Coleman & Co. Limited, and leading entrepreneur, Sanjay Kalra, who previously served as the CEO of Tech Mahindra Ltd.

     

     

  • As part of his new role, Sai will oversee and take care of the Chennai market as well as key national clients

    Sainath Saraban elevated to NCD at Leo Burnett

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer (CCO), Leo Burnett Group India announced the elevation of Sainath Saraban as the National Creative Director (NCD), Leo Burnett India. As part of his new role, Sai (as he is fondly known), will oversee and take care of the Chennai market as well as key national clients. He will continue to be based in Delhi as he assumes this new responsibility.

     

    Saurabh Varma, CEO, Leo Burnett Group shared, “Sai is one of the best creative talent in The Leo Group today. His thorough and in-depth understanding of the target audience coupled with popular culture, comes through clearly in the great work that he creates for our clients. I look forward to seeing him make magic in the Chennai market and on our key national clients.”

     

    Rajdeepak Das, CCO, Leo Burnett added, “Sai is definitely one of the most promising talents of Leo Burnett India and undoubtedly one of the good human beings I have come across . We want the greatness to spread to one more office. Cheers to Sai.”

     

    Samir Gangahar, Executive Director, Leo Burnett Delhi says, “I have seen Sai evolve from a rookie writer to being one of the most prolific creative talents we have in the business today.  His creative leadership and ability to address brand issues with effective and popular work has been instrumental in the growth of Leo Burnett in the past few years. It is a privilege to have him work as my partner and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more magic from him in the future.”

     

    Sai joined Leo Burnett in 2005 and within just 14 months he was promoted to Executive Creative Director. He began his career with JWT Delhi, where he worked for 5 years on brands like Boost, Pizza Hut, Hero Cycles and CNBC. This was followed by a brief stint at McCann Erickson after which he joined JWT Bangalore where he worked on Kingfisher, Red Label Tea, McDowell’s and was a part of the team that won Levi’s and Nike.

     

  • The TVC gives an insight into the lives of Indian women and highlights how after the age of 30, women can start losing calcium from their bones

    GSK unveils TVC for new brand Ostocalcium

    By A Correspondent

     

    Having made its entry into the vitamin and mineral supplement category with Ostocalcium, Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Healthcare has launched a new TVC themed – “Aadatein badal rahi hain…” The TVC gives an insight into the lives of Indian women and highlights how after the age of 30, women can start losing calcium from their bones.

     

    The TVC begins with a woman standing at the airport queue waiting for her boarding pass, and sits on her own suitcase. The next frame shows another lady taking the elevator instead of the stairs to go to the first floor. The next scene goes to show a young mother shopping in the mall while her husband is carrying the child.

     

    The TVC highlights women beyond the age of 30 years may start losing calcium from their bones, which goes unnoticed a there are no signs and symptoms of calcium loss from bones. In the long term, loss of calcium may affect the strength of your bones. Ostocalcium tablets contains calcium & Vitamin D3 that helps keep your bones strong.

     

    Talking about the new campaign, Rajeev Sharma, National Planning Director, Leo Burnett said, “Women are the backbone of our families, it is surprising that they don’t feel the need to start taking action on weak bones till its too late. Ostocalcium helps replenish calcium and helps make bones healthier so that women can continue working with a smile. The campaign is aimed at being a wake up call to women on the issue’.

     

  • Ogilvy Mumbai got sisters to promise the same instead – an initiative supported by The Indian Head Injury Foundation

    Ogilvy gives new meaning to brother-sister bond

    By A Correspondent

     

    In keeping with the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, where brothers promise to protect their sisters, Ogilvy Mumbai got sisters to promise the same instead – an initiative supported by The Indian Head Injury Foundation (IHIF). Sisters came out in support of this cause of protecting their brothers, and their promises are taking centre stage on the web.

     

    The brief received by The Indian Head Injury Foundation was simple: Raise awareness about head injuries. The immediate and urgent task was to first encourage ‘prevention’ – wearing helmets on two-wheelers was the first step to saving lives of motorists on two wheelers.

     

    Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy South Asia said: “A sister buckling up a helmet on her brother’s head is a wonderful way to reinterpret the tradition of tying the rakhi. The raksha bandhan of the helmet buckle is doubly significant because it not only symbolizes the brother’s protection of the sister but it means that, in real terms, the sister too protects the brother.”

     

  • 800+ audience witnessed senior film-makers Mahesh Bhatt and Stuart Sender participate in a discussion

    IAA Young Turks forum discusses ‘How Cinema influences Culture and Marketing’

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Convention Hall at the iconic Bombay Stock Exchange towers played host to the second edition of the IAA Young Turks Forum on Tuesday, August 6. Well-known film-makers Mahesh Bhatt and Stuart Sender participated in a discussion that was moderated by Hungama Digital Media MD and CEO Neeraj Roy. The topic of the discussion was ‘How Cinema influences Culture and Marketing’.

     

    “The question is how we can put some star power and thinking in terms of how we market media, culture and ideas – to work for some other issues and causes that will make people think and make an impact in meaningful ways,” said Stuart Sender.

     

    Mahesh Bhatt

    Director and Producer Mahesh Bhatt said, “Having believed that movies do not influence human nature and bring any change, I discovered that some movies that came from my heart did have a significant impact on the lives of people; therefore, it had an impact on culture.”

     

    The evening ended with well-known singer and musician Joi Barua regaling the audience with his foot-tapping songs.

     

    Srinivasan Swamy

    Welcoming the gathering and speakers, Srinivasan K. Swamy, President, IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development, Asia/Pacific region of IAA, said, “Young Turks Forum initiative attempts to bring global captains face-to-face with the youth so that they can get first-hand knowledge on issues that concern us all.”

     

    “Given our strong connect with the youth, HBO is delighted to be associated with the Young Turks Forum, an excellent thought exchange platform for future leaders,” said Monica Tata, Managing Director HBO South Asia, Presenting Partner of the IAA Young Turks Forum.

     

    “The response to this edition of the IAA Young Turks Forum was phenomenal with an audience of over 800 people. We promise to come back with an equally enriching Young Turks Forum event in two months,” added Manish Advani, Head, Marketing and Public Relations, Mahindra Special Services Group, and Chair of the IAA Young Turks Forum series.

     

  • Katrina first came on board as the face for the brand Silk in 2012, when the first advertisement of Berger Silk was launched

    Berger Paints takes Berger Silk proposition further with new TVC

    By A Correspondent

     

    Berger Paints unveiled its new campaign for luxury interior brand Berger Silk with the tagline “Duniya Dekhegi Jab Silk Se Saje Zindagi”. Leading Bollywood actor, Katrina Kaif, continues to be the brand ambassador for Silk. Katrina first came on board as the face for the brand Silk in 2012, when the first advertisement of Berger Silk was launched.

     

    Silk has always been positioned on the platform of luxury, aspiration & exclusivity. The new campaign will build on the existing communication platform of “Experience Silk on all your walls” and take it a notch higher to the level of “Experience the richness of Silk.”

     

    Commenting on the concept, Abhijit Roy, Managing Director, Berger Paints India Ltd says “This is the second leg of our association with Miss Katrina Kaif for our brand Berger Silk. Over time, there has been a lot of positive and synergistic imagery rub-off between Katrina and the brand Silk. To build on this association, we hope to reach out to the more discerning consumers through this new television advertisement.”

     

    The ad opens to a can bursting to a splash of Silk. A drop is seen entering the world of Silk which in moments gets metamorphosed into a gorgeous lady (Katrina) who then immerses herself in the richness of Silk and explores the breathtaking walls of a luxurious villa with stunning colors (Silk Emulsion), textures (Silk Illusions) & stencils (Silk Designzz). The ad ends with the campaign tagline “Duniya Dekhegi Jab Silk Se Saje Zindagi” thereby emphasizing the brand promise- Silk makes your walls look so rich, smooth & luxurious that they become masterpieces for the world at large to see and admire.

     

    Berger Paints will be initiating a 360 degree marketing campaign to establish the new ad. The advertisement will be aired across leading channels in various categories of news, movies, sports, GEC and regional.

     

  • Actor Salman Khan appointed brand ambassador

    Lowe Lintas unveils campaign for Astral Pipes

    Lowe Lintas has unveiled a new campaign for Astral Pipes, the sanitary product offering from the house of Astral Poly Technik Ltd. The campaign features actor Salman Khan, who has been appointed the brand ambassador for Astral Pipes.

     

    This is the first time that Astral has roped in a high profile brand ambassador. Sharing his thoughts on Salman Khan being chosen as the brand ambassador, Sandeep Engineer, MD- Astral Poly Technik said, “Our association with Salman Khan is in sync with our brand communication that highlights the strength of our products. We are confident that our association with Salman Khan as the brand ambassador will further strengthen our brand image and take it to the next level.”

     

    Explaining the campaign’s concept, Sagar Kapoor, ECD-Lowe Lintas said, “Being a low involvement category, the homemaker does not take keen interest in deciding on the quality and make of pipes for their homes. With leakage being the most common problem, it is the plumber who decides on what to purchase without even consulting with the homemaker. Through this TVC, we wanted to convey that if you wish to resolve the issue, then it is essential that you tend to the root problem – bad pipes.”

     

    With a number of players operating in the marketplace, the challenge was to make the communication sound different yet appealing. While leakage is a common problem facing many households, not many players came forward with the promise of offering foolproof solutions to tackle the problem – something that Astral Pipes conveys with conviction in the commercial.

     

    On casting Salman as a Plumber, Kapoor said, “Astral wanted to become the first choice of the homemaker and offer adequate leakage-proof solutions. We realized that our biggest influencer was the plumber and therefore to celebrate him we used Salman’s character as a plumber who’s also the face of the brand.”

     

    Astral Poly Technik plans to put out more executions of the concept in various on and offline touch-points including television, social media, outdoor and activation to reach out to the masses in the coming months.

     

  • Campaign to create awareness about the new and unique combination of features available in HDC Life's term plan Click 2 Protect Plus

    HDFC Life unveils a new ad campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    HDFC Life has launched a new advertising campaign to raise awareness about its newplan Click2protect Plus, an extension of its flagship term plan Click2Protect. Click2Protect Plus, a traditional, non-participating pure term insurance plan comes with multiple additional benefits and options to choose from.

     

    Commenting on the new campaign, Sanjay Tripathy, Senior EVP – Marketing, Product, Digital & Ecommerce, HDFC Life said, “Following the launch of HDFC Life Click2Protect Plus, our new term insurance plan, we have embarked on this new ad campaign to spread awareness about the importance of having a term plan that is flexible enough to help the buyer customize it as per his needs. For example, we understood that as life’s responsibilities grow, there is a need to increase life cover too. Most term plans don’t allow this, while with Click 2 Protect Plus, the customer has the option to increase life cover at key milestones such as Marriage or the birth of a child. We also realized that more often than not, when people receive a large sum of money at once, they don’t know what to do with it. This money often gets frittered away and then there is a shortfall again. With this plan, the beneficiary has the flexibility to receive the claim amount in Lumpsum and Monthly payouts thereby ensuring that they will always be provided for. Both our ads illustrate the feature benefits using simple real life analogies and reinforce our brand promise of ‘Sar Utha Ke Jiyo.”

     

    On the campaign, Vikram Pandey, Creative Director, Leo Burnett, said, “The Life Insurance category is a complicated one, where people often tune out when technical features of policies are explained. The HDFC Life Click to Protect Plus campaign was an effort to explain the policy features simply, yet emotionally.”

     

    HDFC Life plans to take its new campaign to the customer through different platforms and intensify the brand experience. Apart from television, this film will be supported by other media such as print, OOH, DTH, cinema with significant focus on the digital and social media.

     

  • TVC and marketing campaign featuring the leading Bollywood actress to follow soon

    Madhuri Dixit appointed Brand Ambassador for Mahakosh Edible Oils

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ruchi Soya Industries Limited has signed popular actress Madhuri Dixit as the brand ambassador for its brand ‘Mahakosh’. Ruchi Soya also announced that it would shortly be unveiling a mass media campaign featuring Madhuri, for Mahakosh refined Soyabean oil.

     

    Dinesh Shahra – Founder & MD, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, said, “Brand Mahakosh stands for natural goodness and health. Madhuri Dixit’s persona is a perfect fit for Mahakosh. We are happy to have her as the brand ambassador for Mahakosh range of edible oils.”

     

    Satendra Aggarwal, COO, Ruchi Soya said, “Madhuri seamlessly fits into our new brand positioning for Mahakosh edible oil. She epitomizes the modern cosmopolitan woman who effortlessly over delivers on her many roles – she is a celebrity role model who is a working woman, a caring wife, a loving mother and trendsetter with an incredible blend of style and substance, as well as tradition and modernity. She is also extremely health conscious both for herself and her family.”

     

  • Soho Square currently works on two of Bisleri's brands namely Bisleri and Vedica

    Soho Square bags creative biz for Bisleri’s new product

     

     

    Soho Square has bagged the advertising business for the upcoming launch of a new beverage by Bisleri. The said beverage is slated to hit the market later this year. Soho Square currently works on two of Bisleri’s brands namely Bisleri and Vedica.

     

    Samrat Bedi, Head of Office, Soho Square said, “Mr Ramesh Chauhan has pushed us to our limits on this one. Soho teams have input on numerous tasting sessions, packaging, positioning, pricing and even distribution to help give birth to the brand. Communication is just the icing on the cake.”

     

    Mohit Ahuja, Senior Vice President, Soho Square shared, “Since this marks the return of Bisleri into beverages beyond water and soda, the need to really stand out cannot be emphasized enough. We are planning a complete 360 campaign with a stature befitting a new drink coming from the house of Bisleri. We intend to create a splash in the market on a scale seldom seen.

     

  • DigiAsia is centered around the theme 'digi beyond imagination'

    AFAA announces launch of DigiAsia

     

     

    The Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) announced the launch of their new property – DigiAsia. A bi-annual event, DigiAsia is centered around the theme ‘digi beyond imagination’ and will be held in Taipei between 11th and 14th November 2014.

     

    Pradeep Guha

    Pradeep Guha, Chairman AFAA said, “After the AdAsia which has become a respected and looked-forward-to event on the roster of all senior communications professionals, DigiAsia is a new property AFAA has curated. It caters to a growing need amongst creative, management, design and technical professionals to have a truly global digital congress. As we all know, Taiwan has been at the forefront in this space, and therefore we felt it was the ideal place to organize this event.”

     

    DigiAsia will provide delegates an opportunity to learn from experts, share with peers and be inspired by cutting-edge innovation. With several interesting formats, there will be a Digi Forum with 20 experts in the field. There will also be a unique Digi Matching session between entrepreneurs and business leaders.