Category: ADVERTISING

  • Anuja Chauhan of ‘Yeh dil maange more’ fame back at JWT to pep up Pepsi campaigns

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    Anuja Chauhan, who built a solid reputation in advertising (‘Yeh dil maange more’) before veering off into chick lit (‘The Zoya Factor’), is returning to J Walter Thompson India as creative consultant. She will be part of the Power of One (Po1) team that the ad agency is putting together to work on the PepsiCo contract, the first time that JWT will have a group of people solely dedicated to the promotion of one brand. Chauhan is returning to advertising at the behest of PepsiCo, having worked on several campaigns for the company, including ‘Mera number kab aayega’ and ‘Nothing official about it’, apart from the one cited above.

     

    The agency set up the team about two months ago to work on the 15 PepsiCo brands that it handles. JWT has had the account for the last 25 years and it’s the agency largest.

     

    Colvyn Harris

    Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT South Asia, said the agency has similar structure in other geographies which are formed “on the specific requests of clients, and depends on their scale and ambition.”

     

    The Po1 team is headed by Babita Baruah, senior vice president and executive business director, JWT Delhi. Baruah, who recently took over the account from executive business director Saurabh Saxena, will be assisted by senior VP Mythili Chandrasekhar on the planning side. On the creative side, the account has been divided into three–cola, foods and juices–and placed under various executive creative directors.

     

    Martin Sorrell

    Commenting on this new initiative, Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Group, of which JWT is a part, said: “In creating “Power of One”, JWT has brought together skills and capabilities from across our Group, for both foods and beverages, under one single unit to provide integrated solutions to PepsiCo’s brands and businesses.” Chauhan said she was “excited to be part of the team”, which she describes as nimble and flexible.

     

    PepsiCo is upbeat about Ms Chauhan’s return. “It’s great to have Anuja make a strong comeback on the PepsiCo portfolio,” said Deepika Warrier, vice president of marketing at PepsiCo India. “She conceptualised the #BackToSchool video that we recently released digitally. It became a big hit overnight!”

     

    Santosh Desai

    Santosh Desai, managing director and CEO of Futurebrands, said: PepsiCo needs to take risks and lead the youth rather than following them. Anuja Chauhan is associated with some of greatest ads and therefore the answer is clear. The company needs to go out on a limb and create some great advertising for others to follow.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Kotak Securities unveils ‘StartNow’ campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kotak Securities has announced the launch of a new brand campaign that highlights its value proposition of providing strong research backed insights and deployment of smart technology to aid the customer. A recent study by Kotak Securities’ validates the value proposition that what a customer desires most is knowledge and across device access to markets.

     

    The campaign has been unveiled across leading business news and general news channels, in 8 languages. Further, it will also take the outdoor route and will reach out to audiences in 15 cities.

     

    The campaign is aimed at widening participation in the capital markets by encouraging people to trade confidently as the knowledge and technology they are looking for is available. The advertisement features real life situations where the protagonist is in awe with his colleagues’ability to understand and trade in markets confidently. Feeling left out and not wanting to further miss out, he starts his journey in the stock market with India’s Best Broker Kotak Securities. With the robust technology and strong knowledge being made available to him, he is not only able to feel part of the subsequent conversations,but is also able to invest confidently and come out on the top!

     

    Explaining the rationale behind the ‘StartNow’ campaign, Jaimit Doshi, Head of Marketing, Kotak Securities said, “The Stock markets always held a fascination for the lay investor. With a StartNow campaign that is integrated across media, we seek to give the impetus to the investors to trade confidently. It is incumbent on Kotak Securities to give them this reassurance.”

     

  • R K Swamy develops communication mandate for Jan Dhan Yojana

    By A Correspondent

     

    The financial inclusion program of the Government of India labelled “Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana” is being formally launched by the Prime Minister on Aug 28, 2014 in New Delhi. The launch communication mandate for this has been assigned to R K Swamy BBDO, who is charged with developing a fully integrated creative and media communication package. A Committee comprising of the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, several leading Banks and the Indian Banks Association led the agency selection process.

     

    The program encompasses all Media including TV, Radio, Newspapers, Outdoor, Internet and Social Media. The launch communication for this program commenced on Aug 23 in newspapers and on Aug 25 on the medium of television across the country. An animated television commercial shows a lot of people carrying their money into the bank and easily opening their bank accounts. In the end, the people join hands and morph into the logo.

     

    Shekar Swamy, CEO, R K SWAMY BBDO commented, “The Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana is so crucial for the welfare of millions. As an organisation, we place the top most priority to support such nation-building projects. We are privileged to be associated with it, and we are sparing no effort to ensure that the program is successful.”

     

  • Affle acquires Appstudioz; sets up global R&D centre in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Affle has announced the acquisition of Appstudioz, an India based mobile technology company. Set up in 2011, the Appstudioz platform has grown rapidly to help deliver a robust mobile application platform which is already being used by over 400 customers globally.

     

    Affle also announced the setup of a significant R&D facility in India to help strengthen its mobile app & ad technology platform. The Affle R&D centre in India is already over 200 member strong and is expected to grow significantly in months to come with new platform modules being rolled out.

     

    Anuj Khanna Sohum, Founder, CEO and Chairman, Affle said, “Over the last eight years Affle has been focused on building next generation technology platforms to cater to the mobile industry. We saw challenges and complications within the current eco-system which required advertisers to work with multiple partners for development, attribution, analytics, media procurement & monetisation. We have thus unified our platforms to create the industry first end-to-end mobile marketing platform catering to advertisers, publishers and agencies. We are very excited by this acquisition and believe that the Appstudioz technologies would significantly strengthen our propositions and its team would form the nucleus of our growing R&D facility in India.”

     

    Anuj Kumar, Co-founder & Executive Director, Affle added “Our mobile ad platforms have matured over the years and in Appstudioz we found the perfect ally to strengthen our propositions for mobile apps, and thus build much greater value for our MAAS based approach. We are very happy and excited by this acquisition as this significantly strengthens our offering and unique position across markets. Being the largest mobile (internet) first market, we see India as a perfect location for doing cutting edge R&D for our businesses and the setting up of our global R&D centre here is a solid step forward for us and for the mobile industry in India. We expect our engineering team here to grow rapidly and help deliver to our global technology leadership aspirations.”

     

    Through this acquisition, Appstudioz has now merged with Affle’s Media Lab business and has become a fully owned subsidiary of Affle Holdings Private Limited in Singapore.

     

  • L&K Saatchi & Saatchi unveils new campaign for Hero

    By A Correspondent

     

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has unveiled its latest campaign for two-wheeler brand Hero. The brief shared by the client was to build the technology credentials and establish Hero as an innovative company that is ahead of the technology curve.

     

    The agency stumbled upon the insight that it’s the people behind the technology who make the technology come alive. And for breakthrough and futuristic technology, the people need to have a passion for technology that’s beyond the ordinary.

     

    The campaign details how technology is prevalent from the smallest component like a nut to the designer who conceives futuristic bike concepts and shows how this spirit of zidd makes each of these elements significant. The TVC is a narrative about this zidd for each of these elements – the nut’s zidd to be unshakable, the engine’s zidd to amaze the world, the wheel which will shorten distances, the rider who will not be deterred with challenges, the engineer who will never give up and the designer who will design the unthinkable. Hero’s world doesn’t depend on hope, but on zidd, the obsession with technology which is making the future at Hero MotoCorp, a reality today.

     

    Sanjeev Shukla, General Manager and Head – National Marketing, Hero MotoCorp said: “This campaign is the manifestation of Zidd – a spirit deeply integral to Hero. Zidd personifies the Hero in each one of us – the relentless pursuit of excellence and tireless striving towards perfection. Zidd is not a new concept nor is it a new discovery for us; it is inherent in every Hero and perpetually keeps our wheels in motion, and ahead of time. For us, Future indeed is Now.”

     

    Rahul Nangia, Chief Creative Officer, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi commented, “The challenge was that even though this was meant to be a technology driven film, it couldn’t be cold and futurist. It had to be a Hero MotoCorp film. It had to have the Hero ethic, which is never emotionless.”

     

  • Leo Burnett appoints Hitesh Mehta as VP

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hitesh Mehta

    Leo Burnett India has announced the joining of Hitesh Mehta as Vice President. He will be based out of their head office in Mumbai. Hitesh will be leading the McDonald’s business nationally on both account management and strategy.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Leo Burnett India says, “With over a decade of integrated communications experience, Hitesh is extremely passionate about understanding human behaviour and applying those valuable insights to client work. It is this very orientation that is of great value to our strong HumanKind philosophy for our brands.”

     

    Hitesh Mehta, Vice President, Leo Burnett, Mumbai shared, “The QSR market is still quite nascent and there is immense scope for growth. It’s a very exciting time for McDonalds and I am relishing the opportunity.”

     

    Over the years, HItesh has worked in differing local, regional and global roles on some of the world’s biggest brands based out of India, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. His last assignment was with Leo Burnett in Indonesia, wherein he was a part of the agency leadership team, successfully delivering on his mandate to partner the marketing teams at Dutch Lady and McDonalds, in pursuit of achieving their growth ambitions within the Indonesian market. On the lookout for new challenges, Hitesh relocated back to India in 2013 and has been working as an independent brand consultant prior to joining Leo Burnett earlier this month.

     

  • O&M unveils campaign highlighting terror threat during festival season

    By A Correspondent

     

    Like any big festival, the terror threat lurks close and heavy during Ganesh Chaturthi. The city needs every citizen to be alert. The Mumbai Police along with Ogilvy & Mather and ICICI Bank have come together to alert citizens of the threat.

     

    A film has been launched as a result of an on-the-spot competition was launched. The film had suspicious objects that could be used for terror threats, placed cleverly in the film. The viewers had to spot these objects, count the number and sms their answer. The incentive for correct answer was a gold coin. In this era of gaming, we designed an engaging game that the entire city could play.

     

    Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai said, “We are using the medium of film to train the city to be alert during the festival. We are playing on the mindset of the people that they would readily extend their efforts to win a prize. In the end we gently nudge their conscience into doing the same for their safety.”

     

    Kainaz Karmakar, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai shared, “We needed a lot of like-minded partners to pull off something on this scale. That is where E Suresh came in and he added his enthusiasm and his full support to pull this off. ICICI Bank backed us by agreeing to provide the gold coins.”

     

    The contest is playing across the theatres of Mumbai.

     

  • PUMA gets Bolt to bolster presence in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    PUMA has announced the launch of its new brand platform, Forever Faster in India with sprinter Usain Bolt. The new brand platform signifies PUMA’s mission to become the fastest sport brand in the world.

     

    “Forever Faster is a great slogan, it describes me perfectly. I’m overwhelmed by the love shown by the people of India and I’m thrilled to be here as a PUMA Ambassador,” shared Usain Bolt.

     

    Forever Faster- the new brand positioning is about PUMA reminding people that we are and will continue to be the fastest sports brand in the world,” said Rajiv Mehta, MD, PUMA India. “We’ve always been known for our risk taking as a brand and that will remain our ethos. Forever Faster clearly represents that and allows us to make a statement as a brand. Having the fastest man in the world here in India to launch Forever Faster – Usain Bolt himself – we could not have it any better.”

     

  • Silent Killer: Undercutting Agency Fees

    By Shephali Bhatt

     

    What used to be an alarming event two decades ago, has become a routine affair in the agency business now and it’s nothing to be proud of, dear agency folk. You pitch for a client. Agree to work on a price significantly lower than the previous agency.

     

     

    Agency Rate Card

    Havas’s Satbir Singh points out how advertising’s allied industries that comprise of filmmakers, music directors and photographers have their unions and guilds that have their rules regarding pricing that no client fl outs lest he be blacklisted.

     

    So, it’s not that the client is unruly. Only the agency bodies have remained toothless all this while.

     

    What does it take for all the luminaries who keep clinking beer and rum glasses at every other industry event to come together and sort this issue once and for all? Why can’t ad agencies have a rate card for basic creative service, advanced offerings, category wise rates et al? File under: easier said than done.

     

    Contract Killer

    Of the agencies accused of undercutting, Contract tops the list. Its admittedly impressive new business track record is said to be because of its ability to go lower than the already low prevailing industry standards. Genuine complaint or a large industry wide case of sour grapes?

     

    Rana Barua, the agency’s CEO, finds the conjectures funny: “We’ve won around 19-20 businesses since I came on board. There have been hires at senior levels from reputed agencies. You can’t sustain such a model at a reduced cost. Not if you’re running a WPP agency. If only money was the deciding factor, pitches would’ve been done over phone calls. It’s the work that differentiates you from the rest.”

     

    As for the competition: they are banking on a situation where the axe falls once WPP’s global bean counters discover the agency’s margins are not up to scratch. Except by then, they fear, the low rates allegedly offered by the agency may well have become the new normal.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

    Sometimes significantly lower than what’s required to run the business well. Soon, the good talent makes tracks out of the agency. Mediocre talent is shipped in and results in average to bad work, and ultimately an unhappy client who opts for a pitch. Lather, rinse, repeat. There was a time when agencies would get a 15 per cent commission of the total marketing budget.

     

    The split between the creative and media units was the beginning of the end of that model. Clients started negotiating the agency fee. For some agencies, it’s down to an abysmal 2 per cent-3 per cent now. The Tata Docomo account was moved at almost one-third the price from FCB Ulka to Contract, says the grapevine.

     

    Another overheard titbit suggests that the Uninor telecom account went from Leo Burnett to Bates CHI & Partners at one-sixth the fee. From Rs 80 lakh to Rs 20 lakh/year, if we were to believe the ad chat mongers.

     

    It’s ironic how both media and advertising spends continue to grow year-on-year but agency fees continue to diminish. In the rush to report an account win, agencies often forget that while news in trade media is good to keep one in the industry’s memory for a brief while, it doesn’t ensure profitability – both in the short and the long run.

     

    “It’s a self-defeating exercise once you realise it’ll take forever to reach last year’s fee level,” rues Satbir Singh, managing partner and CCO of Havas Worldwide, India. Undercutting also rings a death knell for agency’s favourite culprit for everything that’s wrong. Yes, the client.

     

    Sunil Kataria, COO -sales, marketing and SAARC at Godrej Consumer Products, explains: Say you’re paying an agency a retainer of Rs 1.5 crore per annum. A good campaign that’s to run for 45 days will cost you about Rs 5 crore (because good creative costs money). If the agency goofs up, the loss to you is bigger than what you’re paying them over three years. And then shifting agencies is another critical decision for the client, he states.

     

    You never know whether the new shop will understand your brand that well or whether you’d have the time and bandwidth to take them through the brand journey again. It’s a lose-lose situation for both the client and the agency, says Ravi Deshpande, who’s recently turned an entrepreneur with Whyness Worldwide.

     

    While trying to hold his own against ridiculous price demands, he admits there were situations during his days at Contract when they had to accept businesses at not so justifiable rates. It wasn’t a ridiculously low price though, he adds. But large agencies claim they are compelled to work on incomes they’d principally be opposed to purely because there are too many small shops willing to work on those terms.

     

    Not necessarily, retorts Kurien Mathews, chairman and founder of Metal Communications (an independent agency). “The indies that undercut, never grow too big and remain staffed by the founders plus a few very junior people -and there are many of them around.”

     

    They don’t necessarily affect the business, he says, adding there are enough clients who want to pay for demonstrable creative value. Also, to the argument that network agencies have more overheads than indies, Mr Kataria asserts that the clients pay the amount required to service a brand. He pays for a team; not the entire agency.

     

    A marketer has to justify his numbers to his CEO. It’s in his nature to negotiate numbers with you, the Agency. You need to figure out a way to professionally and methodically explain how you arrive at a price point and why it makes sense for him to bet his money on it.

     

    “We give a large amount of our time for very little money. Which is why we aren’t able to invest in better people and tech,” laments Mr Deshpande. There was a time when students from IIMs wanted to join the likes of HTA (now JWT) and Lintas (now Lowe Lintas).

     

    Now, even the MICAns prefer brand management to advertising, says Sandip Tarkas, president – consumer strategy at Future Group. In a scenario where there are specialists for every service, undercutting only weakens the position of the mainline agency.

     

    You are the people who build brands. At least value yourself right, so the world can give you the respect that’s duly yours. Or failing that, enough money to keep yourself in the black.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Ogilvy announces slew of appointments in Mumbai office

    By A Correspondent

     

    Abhijit Avasthi

    Ogilvy Mumbai has announced the appointment of four creative directors into its fold. They will be based out of Mumbai and reporting to the senior creative and business heads in Ogilvy Advertising, Mumbai. 

    Abhijit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy India said, “Last few months have been fabulous for us with lots of new biz coming in. In order to bolster our creative strength we have brought in these stars. Each of them has a unique way of thinking which will enrich Ogilvy greatly.”

     

    Neville Shah

    Neville Shah has been appointed as Group Creative Director. He is a post graduate from Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication and completed Copywriting at The Creative Circus in Atlanta. His work experience spans over companies like MTV India & MTV Indies, Commonwealth Worldwide, McCann Worldgroup, Creativeland Asia, JWT, Mudra, TBWA, McCann-Erickson, Times of India Group, JAM, 107.1 FM Rainbow and The Company Theatre. Neville worked on Indian and multinational brands such as Chevrolet, Set Max, Standard Chartered Bank, Nissan, Airtel, Philips, ESPN, Star Sports, Bajaj Allianz,  Parle Agro, Dabur, ITC and several more.

     

    Syed Mohammed Talha Nazim

    Syed Mohammed Talha Nazim, has also been appointed as Senior Creative Director and has spent the first 19 years of his career (since the age of 19!) in Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore & Kuala Lumpur. Having worked in agencies such as Burnett & McCann on prestigious clients like Chevrolet, BMW, Fiat, Petronas, Coca-Cola, Nescafe, Dutch Lady, Aircel, McDonalds, to name some, he chose to return to Mumbai when Ogilvy beckoned.

     

     

    Mahesh Madhukar Parab

    Mahesh Madhukar Parab, appointed as Senior Creative Director, is a BFA graduate from Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art. Mahesh has worked with agencies such as Da’Cunha Communications, Ambience Publicis, McCann Erickson, DDB Mudra and Contract Advertising. His work experiences spans across Indian and multinational brands such as Amul, Western Union, Siemens, HUL, Marico, Reliance, Yellow Pages, Hanes, Tata Indicom, BPL Mobile, NEO, Star Plus, Edelweiss, Tata Motor International, Asian Paints, Cadbury’s, BATA, Yamaha, Dabur, Wrigley’s, UTI Bank, Kotak Bank, to name a few.

     

    Talha Bin Mohsin

    Talha Bin Mohsin the fourth Senior Creative Director newly appointed, is a post graduate in Communication after doing his Bachelors in International Business & Finance. Talha has worked with agencies such as Contract, DDB Mudra, Leo Burnett & McCann Erickson. His work experience covers brands such as Coca Cola, National Geographic Channel, Schneider Electric, Philips Lighting, HBO, McDonald’s, Dabur, Godrej, Big Bazaar, Maharashtra Tourism, Parachute, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Barclays Bank, Radio Mirchi, Mediker, Twinings, Wrigley’s (Boomer & Orbit), Yamaha, Bata, Cadbury (Choclairs, Halls), Asian Paints (Tractor, Apcolite), Tata Motors.

     

  • Lowe Lintas appointed advertising agency for Policybazaar.com

    By A Correspondent

     

    PolicyBazaar.com has announced the appointment of Lowe Lintas as its advertising agency. This development comes close on the heels of the company receiving a funding of $20 million, most of which will be deployed to step up marketing activities and ramp up technology.

     

    Speaking on the development, Naveen Kukreja, CMO, PolicyBazaar.com said, “PolicyBazaar.com has been a key force in developing online insurance along with our insurance partners. Over the last six years, we have helped > 50 Lakh users save money by comparing different policies before purchase. Online purchase and the habit of comparing different options through a neutral platform, is still in a nascent stage though.”

     

    In order to meet this objective, we are excited to partner with Lowe Lintas as our brand agency. With them on board, we are now gearing up for a new brand positioning and innovative marketing campaigns in the near future. We chose Lowe Lintas for their clear understanding of our brand, proven record for delivering some of the most successful ad campaigns and focus on delivering business results.”

     

    Naveen Gaur, President, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “PolicyBazaar.com is a young dynamic brand which has revolutionized the financial management and investments category. Its proposition of comparing financial products is truly unique. We were very excited by this proposition and that clearly showed in our presentation to them. The first set of work after our formal association with each other will be out shortly, and I am sure that this will be the first of many steps we will take together to make this brand the success it should rightfully be.”

     

    PolicyBazaar.com, which recently completed six years, has already launched strong campaigns, which urge people to compare insurance policies before making their purchase. This year, they have already kicked off a campaign in July and are looking to roll out more campaigns.The company also recently experimented by launching a radio campaign in Delhi.

     

  • IAA to host ‘The Mentorship Program’ in Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter has invited Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of JSW Foundation to launch its Mentorship program for 700 young professionals with about 35 leaders on Friday, September 19 at Bombay Stock Exchange’s International Convention Hall. The Mentorship program will be launched right after interactive session on “Engaging with the Audience – Lessons from the Entertainment Industry” between R. Balki, Chairman & CCO, Lowe Lintas + Partners and Stefan Haves, renowned Director from Hollywood from 4 pm onwards. Anish Trivedi, renowned Theatre personality and Author will moderate this session.

     

    The HBO South Asia is the Presenting Partner and Mahindra Special Services Group and NASSCOM are the knowledge partners of the IAA Young Turks Forum.

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy

    “IAA is for the first time doing a double event – an high energy interactive session followed by a mentorship programme where 20 young executives will have their questions answered on their personal career issues by one of the 35 seasoned professionals/entrepreneurs assembled at the event. The interactive session too will be a very engaging one since Balki and Stefan are well known professionals. Balki in addition to award winning advertising work has also directed two successful Bollywood films “Cheeni Kum” and “Paa”. Paa won 5 awards out of 14 nominations at the 16th Star Screen Awards. Stefan Haves on the other hand is also an acclaimed director, creator and producer of circus, theater and film whose creations have appeared across the globe,” said Srinivasan K Swamy, President IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development, Asia Pacific.

     

    Monica Tata

    “HBO has always had a strong connect with youth audiences and we are delighted to be associated with this thought exchange platform for young leaders,” said Monica Tata, Managing Director HBO South Asia, Presenting Partner of the IAA Young Turks Forum.