MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • With an emphasis on lip-smacking food rather than on a lavish ambience, the brand is focusing on the take away and home delivery models

    Grasshoppers bags creative biz of Big Wong

    By A Correspondent

     

    Creative shop Grasshoppers has won the creative mandate for Big Wong.

     

    Big Wong is an oriental cuisine brand which is fast gaining popularity in Delhi-NCR’s culinary circles with a consistent mention in Zomato’s Collections under the ‘Pan-Asian Delicacies’ category. It currently has two outlets in Gurgaon and plans to launch around 10 more outlets in the NCR region within a year. The brand is also contemplating a pan-India expansion through a franchise model. Unlike other oriental cuisine restaurant brands, Big Wong’s concentration is not on the dine-in concept. With an emphasis on lip-smacking food rather than on a lavish ambience, the brand is focusing on the take away and home delivery models.

     

    The 360 degree advertising campaign that is being conceptualized by Grasshoppers will be promoting these services in an interesting way.

     

    Rajan Chanana, Partner, Big Wong said, “Over the next five years, we aim to make Big Wong the first choice for India’s oriental food home delivery and take away needs. We are very passionate about our brand and know that the quality of food being served at all our outlets has the potential to make Big Wong a major player in the segment within a few years. The right marketing strategy is very important for us to achieve our objective and that is why we have partnered with Grasshoppers as their approach was completely in sync with our vision.”

     

    Grasshoppers will be focusing on various media platforms, including print advertisements, radio campaign and outdoors, for reaching out to the target audience. The agency is also working on a new theme for each Big Wong outlet as the brand wants to offer a unique experience to customers at the various outlets. Moreover, Grasshoppers’ digital marketing wing, Grownups will be promoting Big Wong on various social media platforms.

     

    “For a bunch of food lovers who develop brand promotion strategies day in day out, working with an F&B brand is the best possible thing. When an emerging industry player with immense potential and mind-blowing food comes your way wanting you to be as fun and unconventional as you would like to be in your creative approach, it’s like a dream come true. My team is raring to go and some very interesting ideas are being cooked up in our studio for Big Wong,” said Arjun Banerjee, Director, Grasshoppers.

     

  • The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch that went on for around three months

    PayUMoney appoints Leo Burnett as creative agency; Mindshare to handle media duties

    By A Correspondent

     

    Online payment solutions company PayUMoney is set to launch its first multi-media advertising campaign to raise awareness about its consumer offering. This will be a nationwide campaign that will run across months and target online buyers. PayUMoney has appointed Leo Burnett to handle its creative duties. The agency will be looking at the whole creative process and will be the agency on record for the Gurgaon-based company.

     

    The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch that went on for around three months. The pitch process also included the evaluation of a few media buying agencies and Mindshare netted the media planning and buying mandate.

     

    Varun Jha, Marketing Director at PayU India said, “Leo Burnett’s thought processes on contemporizing the brand thought, creative connect, out-of-the-box thinking and passion made them an obvious choice.We are confident that the team at Leo Burnett understands the unique nature of PayUMoney’s business model and will be able to execute a communication strategy that will enable us to grow in the exciting segment of online payments. We are excited to share our passion with Leo Burnett team to take PayUMoney to the next level.”

     

    Samir Gangahar, Executive Director, Leo Burnett commented, “PayUMoney is transforming the way Indians make online payments. We are happy to associate with them at such an early stage in their journey and help them in making PayUMoney synonymous with a simple payment solution for every need.”

     

    Ravi Rao, Leader South Asia at Mindshare said “Online Payment is on the cusp of a major revolution and we are proud & excited to partner with PayuMoney, the leader in this space. We see great opportunity to engage with this evolving consumer and bring about behavioral change.”

     

    PayUMoney is accepted as a payment option on more than 62,000 websites. It offers unique prepositions like buyer protection and reward points to users who pay through PayUMoney.

     

  • Open to journalists in India for the first time to recognize their work in financial, economic and business topics; Winner to represent India in an international study seminar administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York

    Citi announces rollout of Journalistic Excellence Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Citi announced the launch of the Citi Journalistic Excellence Award (CJEA), for the first time in India. The program recognizes outstanding business reporting across the globe in the countries Citi operates in, to further support and advance quality journalism. Each country winner is provided the opportunity to attend a rigorous 8-day business and financial seminar in New York City, administered by the prestigious Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

     

    “We believe the Citi Journalistic Excellence Award will encourage young journalists and help them appreciate the finer nuances of financial and business reporting that impact our societies globally. By introducing this well-established international program to India, we remain confident that over the longer term, it will help raise the quality of coverage of global and market-specific economic issues in India,” said Citi India CEO Pramit Jhaveri.

     

    Since CJEA’s inception in 1982, more than 300 talented journalists from over 100 media outlets in close to 40 countries have enhanced their professional development through participation in the study seminar. Journalists in India may enter CJEA by submitting an article of at least 750-words, published within the 2014 calendar year. An independent judging panel, made up of academics and business leaders in the country, will draw up a shortlist of three individuals, who will then be interviewed directly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Citi India will sponsor the scholarship, which includes travel and incidental costs to attend the study course, while the study course is administered by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

     

    The winner will be announced in March and the study seminar will be held between June 1 and June 10, 2015, in New York City. Selected journalists under the CJEA program will assemble in New York for the opportunity to participate in sessions with leading Columbia University faculty members, engage in discussions with senior academicians and policy makers, and visit key financial institutions and U.S. Government departments.

     

  • For J Walter Thompson CEO Gustavo Martinez, the 2020 agenda is about growth, work, new kind of talent and a new way of working

    Why India is a key office for JWT

     

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    Gustavo Martinez, the new global CEO of J Walter Thompson (JWT), says India will have to play a big role in pushing the advertising agency’s global growth rate to 6%-7% a year from less than 4% now. Mr Martinez, who spent about a year to know the network offices and set a growth agenda for 2020 before officially taking over as global CEO on January 1, 2015, started out by announcing new management structures in two of JWT’s biggest offices – New York and India.

     

    “I spent about 11 months to define and understand the company, to create and plan and now it is time to implement,” Mr Martinez said. He said the 2020 agenda is about growth, work, new kind of talent and new way of working. “I think we need to grow at least 6-7% per year globally between organic and inorganic,” he said. “Non-organic is clearly through acquisitions in new capabilities like digital, social content agency, content agency, digital platforms …. Organic is trying to expand our portfolio of clients.

     

    And that’s why it is important for people like Colvyn Harris to join my growth global team to specially deliver the organic growth,” Mr Martinez said. He expects India to be one of the biggest growth providers for the firm, adding he will be happy if JWT grows at about 8% rate in India. “India is a continent. It’s a region in itself,” he said. While JWT is still the largest agency network in India, industry estimate reveals that the JWT India suffered severe revenue losses of about Rs 55-60 crore, in the last two years. Mr Martinez denied this. “The facts are wrong. JWT India is still one of our largest companies and one of the most profitable companies we have in the organisation,” he said.

     

    “I also don’t want to measure JWT one year or the last six months performance. I will see the whole trend of the organisation. Clearly, in order to deliver the growth, we have set very ambitious targets and India needs to push the envelope.

     

    And therefore we are… reinforcing and reenergising the organisation.” On Tuesday, the firm had announced Tarun Rai as the new CEO of JWT South Asia, replacing Colvyn Harris who has been promoted as executive director, global growth and client development.

     

    In terms of improving skillset in JWT, Mr Martinez said ‘shopper marketing’ is an avenue that needs to be built in India. “Retail is still very traditional in India. I think because of the implementation of the new laws, the regulations it will catch up with the rest of the world. Shopper marketing will definitely become one of the fastest growing disciplines within our communication portfolio,” Mr Martinez said.

     

    He said that while global investor sentiment is positive towards India, the government needs to simplify regulations and processes as they are currently “extremely complex”. “My clients are definitely willing to increase their investments in the country. There was some kind of bitterness before because India didn’t crystallise enough.

     

    I think after the formation of the new government the sentiment is up again,” he said. Mr Martinez listed lack of infrastructure and legal problems among the hurdles that stopped big investment flow into India. “That for me will be the big challenge. It exactly what happened with Mexico two or three years ago. The new president put in the right changes and the laws but the problem was implementation.

     

    In India, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will be successful only if he can implement his plan,” he said. He also said mobile phone will play a dominant role in the future. “We are already becoming a multi-screen kind of consumer. Everything is going to be mobile. Data is going to fundamental and third is creativity. How can be more creative taking advantage and leverage all the new resources and channels that we have?” Mr Martinez said.

     

    To deal with this kind of challenges, Mr Martinez is introducing a new style of management in the system that he called “channel agnostic”. “Focus on how we can deliver the new demands of the clients. More focus towards digital orientation and technology orientation. We need to have a management ready to embrace the challenges and try to even foresee those challenges and to readopt the structure in a nimble way for these changes,” Mr Martinez said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Shine.com has introduced a new friend for all seasons – a young working professional who happens to be a mouse

    DDB MudraMax-OOH unveils Mr. M for Shine.com’s latest campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    In their latest 360 degree campaign called ‘Kaam ka Dost’, Shine.com has introduced a new friend for all seasons – a young working professional who happens to be a mouse. The brand has unveiled a television, online and print campaign featuring Mr. M.

     

    The objective was to reinforce Shine.com’s positioning of being ‘Kaam ka Dost’. DDB MudraMax-Outdoor was briefed to reach out to the corporate audience and to create a recall value for the brand. The challenge was to create on ground visibility for Mr. M and engage with the target group – working professionals.

     

    The core idea was to create an impact in the corporate hubs where the target audience, working professionals, can directly interact with the brand. Thus, DDB MudraMax-Outdoor churned out an idea where the notice ability of the character and engagement would be high.

     

    Diptakirti Chaudhuri
    Mandeep Malhotra

    Diptakirti Chaudhuri, Head – Marketing, Digital Business of HT Media said, “The basic idea of creating a huge replica of our mascot Mr. M was exciting but the biggest challenge was to create something that was very close to the original TVC character. After several rounds of iterations, the agency came with a version that we were really happy with. Mr. M being a cool character, we wanted to be in a ‘cool place’ and DDB MudraMax did a great job of identifying the perfect location in Cyberhub. With a great replica and a great location, Mr. M is now the newest selfie spot in town!”

     

    Mandeep Malhotra, President, DDB MudraMax quoted, “The joy of setting new benchmarks is of matter of pride for us at MudraMax. The team was super thrilled to work on the brief with the enthusiasm encouraged by the client team at Shine.com. A larger than life piece of art like Mr. M opens a prospect of not only opportunity to See (OTS) for the brand but also generates an opportunity to be part of various social updates. Also, it generated a great ‘Opportunity to forward’.”

     

  • The Journalism Awards have been instituted to promote best practices among journalists and encourage good quality writing, fair play and high ethical standards

    RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mumbai Press Club has invited entries for the prestigious National RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism–2015. The Journalism Awards have been instituted to promote best practices among journalists and encourage good quality writing, fair play and high ethical standards.

     

    The entries must be submitted by 28th February, 2015.

     

    In the fifth year now, the RedInk Awards have been restructured and further expanded so that television journalism is now on par with the written word. A new category has been introduced to honour ‘The Journalist of the Year’.

     

    Entries in the form of articles or stories published in the print & digital medium and television stories broadcast during calendar year 2014 and impactful photograph of the year published in the print or digital medium are invited from Indian Journalists in the following categories: Business, Crime, Environment, Health and Wellness, Human Rights, Lifestyle & Entertainment, Politics, Science & Innovation, Sports, The Big Picture.

     

    Special RedInk Awards have also been instituted for the following categories:

    - ‘The Journalist of the Year’ Award will be for a body of work in calendar 2014 that contributed to creating a lasting impact. (This category is open to stories published in any journalistic medium – print, digital or TV.

     

    - ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for a senior journalist who has contributed substantially over several decades to the growth and strengthening of the profession.

     

    The selection will be made by a special jury from amongst a shortlist drawn up by the Managing Committee of the Mumbai Press Club. Responses from journalists will also be taken into consideration. The winning entry in category 11 and 12 will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 Lakh, a trophy and a citation.

     

    Click to download the entry form

     

  • Rachita will work closely with Samir Gangahar to help grow the agency's revenue

    Leo Burnett appoints Rachita Dutta as Business Head

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rachita Dutta

    Leo Burnett India has appointed Rachita Dutta as Business Head at its Delhi office. In her new role, Rachita will work closely with Samir Gangahar to help grow the agency’s revenue by focusing on organic growth and winning new businesses.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Samir Gangahar, Executive Director, Leo Burnett, said, “I am delighted to have Rachita on board. Her depth of knowledge and experience across categories and geographies would really add to the agency’s capabilities. Moreover, having had the experience of heading an agency, Rachita will add immense value to the leadership team in Delhi.”

     

    Rachita Dutta commented on her joining, “I have always admired the work produced by Leo Burnett from a standpoint of strategy and the final creative product it delivers to solve its clients’problems. With changing times, the agency is evolving as a holistic unit which is not only equipped to offer traditional communication solutions but also more contemporary services like digital,activations, etc. I look forward to work with Leo Burnett Delhi’s young and talented team to create communication that is creatively stimulating and relevant in the real world.”

     

    Rachita has joined Leo Burnett from Grey Sri Lanka where she was Country Head since 2013. During her tenure there, she played a hands-on role of consolidating existing businesses and growing the agency’s revenue through new business wins. Prior to joining Grey Sri Lanka, Rachita led Rediffusion Y&R’s LG business out of its Delhi office and also held a two year stint as the Vice President of Lowe Delhi.

     

  • Effie 2014 saw Ogilvy & Mather as 'Agency of the Year' and Hindustan Unilever as 'Client of the Year'

    Ogilvy flag flies high as India’s Most Effective

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    It was a victory that was sweeter than ever before. For, after having been beaten by Lowe Lintas last year, taking away the ‘Agency of the Year’ title at Effie 2014 was a huge morale-booster. While Ogilvy has always prided itself as one of the most creative advertising agencies in this part of the world, awards for effective advertising that are the most coveted. For, while good advertising by definition ought to be effective, creativity has traditionally been regarded as more cool.

     

     

    Creativity v/s Effectiveness… what’s more important?

     

    Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy:

    I ‘ve said this many times, we aren’t artists, we are commercial artists. We’re paid by somebody to do a certain job for them . We use creativity to make them look better. I’ve never forgotten that in my life and I never will. The day I want to mash mangoes and stick then on my wall because I love them, I will do that but I’ll do that in my house, but not on someone else’s money.

     

    My creativity is meant to make someone attain that objective that I’m being paid for. My creativity is useless if the person’s job doesn’t get done. Someone is paying and they must get the result. That’s the business I chose to be in. 

     

    Rohit Bhasin, Vice President (Skin Care) – South Asia: 

    If creativity is not effective, it ‘s not great. I have never seen a great creative which is not effective because I don’t define advertising as that. Advertising – if effective – is very creative, not the other way round.

     

    Historically , Unilever has been a company that has made iconic advertising. Whether it is the Lalitaji of Surf or Bhala Uski Sari Meri Sari Se Safed Kaise for Rin to the work we’re doing now… it has always been based on a strong human insight. What I’m trying to say is that if advertising is based on strong human insight, it would be creative and effective. 

     

    “The Effies are the gold standard in effective communication. This year’s judging was extremely stringent in accordance with the global Effie standard set by our counterparts in New York,” said Pratap Bose, President, The Advertising Club on the awards as he kicked off the event’s proceedings.

     

    “I think creativity is extremely important but the importance of ideas is paramount – and that is what Effie stands for,” said Ajay Kakar, Chairman of the Effie Committee. When asked what is it that makes both Lowe and Ogilvy participate in the Effie given that they been staying away from the Abby creative awards, Kakar, who has been heading the award for four years, said matter-of-factly: “Effectiveness has won, so therefore Effie has won.”

     

    Added a senior industryperson requesting anonymity, “The fact that there is no controversy and it sees participation from 60-plus agencies with all the big ones participating and the clients themselves in attendance at the award speaks a lot about the awards. One only hopes that the Creative Abby too sees an equally enthusiastic participation.”

     

    The Effie is not just for the agencies alone and advertisers are also awarded jointly. Said Samir Singh, Executive Director, Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Ltd: “It feels good to be the Client of the Year because this is the second time for Unilever in succession.”

     

     

    Effie 2014 has indeed been big for Ogilvy given that the parent Ogilvy & Mather India has come up tops with 173 points and younger sibling Soho Square was #5 with 34 points including the Grand Effie for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) election campaign.

     

    Last year, in Effie 2013, Lowe Lintas was ahead of Ogilvy by 35 points, and this year the difference was similar: 31 points as Lowe Lintas generated 142 points (See Table). This year, in line with international Effie standards and in discussion with all participating agencies, marks were added for Finalist and Contributing Agency The heartening news for Lowe Lintas is that it won seven of the total 11 golds awarded at the Effie.

     

     

    What next? Hindustan Unilever and Singh in particular are looking forward to a hat-trick of wins next year. Ogilvy should be hoping that the top slot will also see the global rankings go up.

     

    Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Abby Awards hosted by the Advertising Club which are part of the Goafest to be held in April this year. Will Ogilvy and Lowe participate in that? As of today, the answer is “unlikely”, but, then, you never know.

     

    Big Story main image and all photographs by Abhinav Kocharekar/Courtesy DNA

     

  • After regisning as managing partner and chief creative officer at Havas Worldwide India, Satbir will join FCB Ulka next month

    Satbir Singh to join FCB Ulka as CCO

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    Satbir Singh, managing partner and chief creative officer (CCO) at Havas Worldwide India, has submitted his resignation at the advertising and marketing agency. He will join rival agency FCB Ulka as CCO with effect from February.

     

    Confirming the development, Nagesh Alai, chairman at FCB Ulka Group, said Mr Singh will be a great addition to FCB Ulka’s leadership team. Mr Singh will replace K S Chakravarthy, popularly known as Chax, who quit FCB Ulka as national creative director last year. He will be relocating to Mumbai from Delhi for the new position. “FCB is amongst India’s largest agencies for a reason. My mandate is to persist with the good things, sharpen the others and add digital edge to our offering,” Singh said. “Clearly it’s time for smart, digitally-savvy large agencies to create work that speaks to people in their preferred medium, whether it’s a 30-inch screen or a 4-inch one,” he said.

     

    Before joining Havas in 2005, Singh worked at Ogilvy & Mather as creative director; Leo Burnett as associate creative director and Grey, where he started his advertising career about two decades ago.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Ashith Ballal and Divesh Swamikutty join in as Creative Directors and will operate from the Mumbai office

    Digital L&K Saatchi & Saatchi beefs up its creative team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Digital L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has strengthened its creative structure with the appointment of Ashith Ballal and Divyesh Swamikutty. Ashith Ballal and Divesh Swamikutty join in as Creative Directors and will operate from the Mumbai office.

     

    Ashith has previously worked at O4 digital, Channel V and Radio Mirchi along with taking up a lot of freelance assignments on brands such as Honda Mobilio, Ford, Reliance, and Volkswagen Polo.

     

    Divyesh has previously worked with Rage Communications and D’zine Garage on brands like Royal Enfield, Moods Condoms, Cavin Kare, Sterling Holidays, Colorplus, Airtel Money, Ashok Leyland, Club Mahindra, Murugappa Group, The Hindu, Sify and many more.

     

    Commenting on acquiring new talent Anil K Nair, CEO, Digital Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi said “Ashith comes from a digital and film making background and he brings with him great storytelling skillsets. Divyesh is one of the early pioneers of digital in India with lots of experience working across difficult markets and in start-up environments. They bring a fresh perspective to our creative team and will help raise the standard of creativity at Digital Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi and play an invaluable role not just for our clients but also for the agency.”

     

  • The voting for ‘Indian of the Year – Popular Choice' is open only on Facebook

    CNN-IBN announces 9th edition of Indian of the Year

    By A Correspondent

     

    The ninth edition of CNN-IBN Indian of the Year has been announced in India. Over the years, the awards platform has become one of the biggest and most credible in Indian media. The award salutes iconic Indians who have made a significant contribution to India in the present calendar year. Hindustan Times has been the Editorial partner of this initiative since its inception in 2006.

     

    The year 2014 has been a momentous year in the history of India and has given rise to a set of role models who have been true ambassadors of brand India. These luminaries who have contributed to strengthening the foundation of our society in their own way are chosen from six different categories: Politics, Sports, Entertainment, Business, Public Service and Global Indian. The winners will be felicitated at a glittering ceremony to be held at Taj Palace, New Delhi on 31 January, 2015.

     

    Instituted in 2006, ‘CNN-IBN Indian of the Year’ has been the benchmark for credibility and transparency for providing complete information about the process of nomination and selection of the final winners. The selection criteria adheres to a unique and transparent process which includes nominations from the Network18 editorial board, ratified by a Jury panel consisting of a select group of distinguished personalities.

     

    Avinash Kaul

    Avinash Kaul, CEO, IBN Network said, “We take immense pride in announcing the ninth edition of CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Awards. We have created a benchmark in lauding the most influential, deserving and dynamic Indians, over the years. The success of the award in the past has raised the bar for this initiative and we are looking forward to a great show this year again. Our exclusive integration on Facebook is an attempt to engage with the younger and technologically savvy viewers and encourage them to vote for their favourite nominee.”

     

  • Ashoo will work closely with Ashish Mishra on the agency's robust client roster

    Interbrand India appoints Ashoo Advani as Associate Director, Brand Strategy

    By A Correspondent

     

    Interbrand India has recently brought Ashoo Advani on board as Associate Director, Brand Strategy. Based out of Mumbai, Ashoo will work closely with Ashish Mishra on the agency’s robust client roster.

     

    Ashoo brings to the agency an experience of over a decade in brand communications and strategy development. His expertise pans largely around developing brand communication for new and existing brands. He has worked with leading brands, across categories ranging from automobile, retail, realty amongst others and has an experience of working on large scale brands such as Asian Paints, Royal Challenge, Director’s Special, Edelweiss Tokyo Life Insurance, CK Birla Group, Mahindra Two Wheelers, Tata Motors etc.

     

    Ashoo has joined Interbrand from Chlorophyll where he was Senior Brand Planner. Prior to Chlorophyll, Ashoo was associated with Ogilvy & Mather where he exclusively worked with Asian Paints and managed development of communication for twenty two different product brands. He has also worked with Lowe earlier in his career.

     

    An MBA from Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines; Ashoo believes in saving the world from the overuse of the word ‘brand’. For doing his share, he is associated with Xavier Institute of Communications as a guest faculty member for ‘Corporate and Product Branding’ where he interacts with students and clarifies their ideas about branding.

     

    Ashish Mishra

    Ashish Mishra, Managing Director, Interbrand India, quoted “We clearly want the select few who can do justice to our reputation; the ones who can be trusted with transformational value creation through brands and are valued for it too. For far too long the brands and branding world in India has remained reconciled to the easy and interesting second half of expression. We want people capable of pulling back the conversation into the non-existent first half of strategic definition, both respectfully and profitably and I am happy and confident with Ashoo on board with us, can help make this happen.”