MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Students would remember him as being open, fun, accessible, a friend and a father figure all rolled into one, writes Prof Chandan Chatterjee, director, Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, in this tribute

    Remembering Atul ‘Pat’ Tandan. Chandan Chatterjee pays tribute

    Atul Tandon

    Many remember Atul Tandon as the hot Lipton Tea ‘Sher dil jawanon ke liye’ model who set a million hearts aflutter. There are others who remember him for his stints at Hindustan Lever, Bajaj Electricals, Cadbury (India) and also as Managing Director of JL Morrison (India). He was Mentor Professor at the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication till recently. But he’s most remembered for his  stint as Director of MICA (eka Mudra Institute of Communciations) from 2001 to 2009. He passed away at the airport in London on Sunday, March 1, morning due to a cardiac arrest. We invited his former colleague Chandan Chatterjee to pay this tribute.

     

     

    By Chandan Chatterjee

     

    PAT is an acronym that to everyone connected with MICA translates uniquely to “the man who propelled MICA on its journey to greatness” (as stated by Prof. Rajneesh Krishna). Prof A S Kulkarni had laid out a solid academic foundation during his tenure as the previous Director (of MICA) and PAT maintained that aspect while he embarked on building Brand MICA and make it an institution with a difference.The change in focus and thrust at MICA initiated by PAT since taking over as Director in the early 2000 is still visible and the rest is history.

    PAT was solely responsible for my getting into academics as a full-time career.  I had been teaching a variety of marketing, strategy and process courses at several institutes of decent reputation on my spare time while working as a senior management professional. Having heard a lot about the marketing focus at MICA, I wrote to PAT and pat came the reply (pun intended) in less than 24 hours, requesting to meet him and his colleagues on campus at Ahmedabad for a chat.

    I got the mandate to teach Advanced Marketing Management course in July 2006. The student feedback was high (actually way higher than the average). And, then PAT got into the serious business of convincing me to shift from my IT industry job at a fraction of the salary I was getting. And, given his charisma and the vision that he had for MICA he succeeded, when I joined MICA as a Professor in November 2007.

    We worked closely on curriculum, delivery, academic systems and processes as initially I handled these responsibilities as the PGP Chairperson and later as Dean MICA. Over those three years, he supported the efforts to enhance the cafeteria-based offerings, supported the interested faculty members to get into detailing courses and areawise course approval processes, enhancement of the dissertation processes.

    In summary, working with PAT meant a whole lot of free hand and a very long rope, if any at all. PAT operated on a 50% rationality and 50% gut-feel mode on most decisions. But, he would also let anyone convinced about a better way of getting things done have a try. And, a section of faculty felt that there really was no point in trying since “we were MICA”!

    From the point of view of most who knew him, PAT oozed Charisma, charm and that unique blend of sophistication with a “Don’t give a damn attitude”. Students would remember him as being open, fun, accessible, a friend and a father figure all rolled into one. As my ex-student Archita (Trisal) posted on my FB timeline yesterday:

    It was no secret that Prof Chandan Chatterjee was a terror in our first semester at MICA. Before one such class of his, a bunch of students were found digging into their Kotlers for pre-reads. Prof Atul Tandan saw this and commented “Stop studying so hard! Go organize a festival, act in a play, go out and DO things. That’s how you’ll learn.” You don’t expect such words from the Director of a college, and that’s what made MICA a balanced, fun, open and genuinely cool place to be at. We carry that camaraderie, the spirit of working well in teams and the want to enjoy our careers from a man who ridiculously enjoyed every day of his life.

    Yet he would also talk to members of visiting delegations from foreign universities (and many visited) about the rigour and innovative pedagogy at MICA, citing the same “terrorising” act, and detail the recent enhancements in the academic systems and processes! Permitting multiple points of view to co-exist was a great trait in PAT!

    Prof Anita Basalingappa sums it up on her recent FB post as “PAT touched a chord with everyone of us irrespective of the agreements, differences and strained and comfortable relationship shared. It was hard not to get mesmerized by him.”. It’s the mix of emotions that he generated and the love and affection simultaneously, is what made PAT unique.

    I am certain that many of the ideas that we discussed across the years have been implemented and made a difference. PAT was also closely associated with the turnaround that we did at SIMC Pune, where he was our Mentor Professor. The new branding approach, the inspiration behind our new logo, and positioning all have his contribution and thought built into them. In our curriculum discussions, he would always come out with forward-looking questions that would set the thinking rolling along a new path, for some specific course. And his contacts among industry professionals were simply phenomenal. I do not recall attending a meeting with PAT where he did not dazzle! I learnt a lot from PAT between 2007-10 at MICA and then again when he was a Mentor Professor for us between 2011-13 at SIMC Pune.

    PAT will live on through Brand MICA! And also SIMC Pune and every other academic system he has worked closely with. To me PAT was and will always be a legend and it was a privilege knowing and working with him closely. It will be huge loss to me personally! RIP PAT. Our loss will be the gain up there!

     

    Chandan Chatterjee is Director SIMC Pune, and Dean Faculty of Media, Communication & Design at Symbiosis International University. He is available at Chandanc22@yahoo.co.in

  • The Advertising Standards Council of India is taking the pro-active route to ensure standards in the craft, says chairman Narendra Ambwani

    Action time at ASCI

     

    Narendra Ambwani, chairman of advertising self-regulator Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), talks to ‘dna of brands’ about the extensive campaign to connect with consumers and educate them on how to file complaints, and seek redress, against ads which make tall claims. Everyone, from local agencies and state governments to the Centre, are now happy to partner with ASCI.

     

    Although established way back in 1985, would you say that 2014 was a landmark year for the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), given all the activities that were undertaken in its capacity as a self-regulator for advertising?

    We have seen growth in leaps and bounds at ASCI every year, but 2014 was definitely a notable year for the organisation.

     

    The year started off with ASCI bagging a gold at The European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) Global Best Practice Awards for ‘significantly reducing’ average time taken to handle complaints. We were credited with reducing the lead time for processing complaints from an average of 45 days in 2011-12, to 28 days in 2012-13 and just 12 days in 2013-14. Recognising our efforts to curb misleading advertisements, ASCI was also made a key stakeholder in the Inter-Ministerial Monitoring Committee (IMMC) by the Department of Consumer Affairs. Further, during the year, ASCI’s role was strongly appreciated and acknowledged by the Medical Council of India (MCI) for taking action against misleading advertisements by doctors. We were approached by various ministries for a potential partnership to look into this issue. So all in all, last year was indeed a landmark year for ASCI.

     

    From a government that was, some years ago, questioning the role of ASCI as self-regulator, to one that is collaborating with it, ASCI has a come a long. Your comments?

    Even though ASCI was considered a self-regulating industry body, it has received considerable support from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). A notification dated August 2, 2006, issued under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, states that “no advertisement which violates the Code for Self-regulation in advertising, as adopted by the Advertising Standard Council of India, Mumbai, for public exhibition in India, from time to time, shall be carried in the cable service”. After that, ASCI received statutory recognition. The FDA authorities have also been sending us complaints against advertisements violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act. Besides this, ASCI is a key stakeholder in the Inter-Ministerial Committee of the MIB, as well as the Inter Ministerial Monitoring Committee of the Department of Consumer Affairs. Efforts at ensuring ethical advertising practices have earned ASCI its credibility, and the confidence of the government of India.

     

    While policing unethical ads is taking place through ASCI’s Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), there is still a view that by the time any penal action is taken, the damage is already done. Is this correct?

    ASCI has to provide due process for the advertiser, whose advertisement has been complained against, to respond to the allegations. Providing adequate time for the advertiser to respond, is mandated by law. However, ASCI has recently instituted three new initiatives to speed up the CCC decision process. One is to have the CCC meet four times a month instead of once, so that decision-making takes places within 12 days on an average (as opposed to a month or 45 days previously). And two, starting the Fast Track Intra-Industry complaint (FTCC) redress process, where decisions regarding complaints from one member advertiser against the advertisement of another, are taken within seven working days. Since March 15, 2013, ASCI has initiated the Suspension Pending Investigation (SPI) process. According to this, ASCI can, ex-parte, ask an advertiser to suspend an advertisement, pending final decision by the CCC if, prima facie, it is seen to cause harm or hurt to consumers and the society in general.

     

    If one feels an ad is making unrealistic claims and complains to ASCI, in how much time can one expect a response?

    In the past few years, ASCI has made significant changes in the complaints processing system. Thanks to electronic communication, weekly meetings of the Consumer Complaints Council and the Online Complaint Monitoring Services, the average lead time to take a decision on a complaint is 12 working days from the date a “complete” complaint was received. This includes full details of the print advertisement, the name and date of publication, and clippings or a copy of the print advertisement. In case of a TVC airing, we require the name of the channel, the date and time of the broadcast; a reasonable description of the clip, specific claims or visual depictions which are considered to be false, misleading or objectionable, and the reasons for the same.

     

    Would you recommend a Censor Board-like pre-release certification for ads, just as it exists for films?

    Throughout the country, there are a large number of advertisements being released every year. Under our National Advertisement Monitoring Service (NAMS) initiative, we scan at least 45,000 print ads and 1,500 TVCs every month. It is impossible to create a mechanism and run an efficient system to pre-approve every advertisement which is released in the country. No system would be able to cope with such a large number. So we as an organisation, from inception, have been promoting the concept of “self-regulation in advertising content”, and truly believe in this best practice which is being implemented all over the world.

     

    There are several advertisers who release ads directly through specific media, like mailers or SMS blasts. How do you check these, especially if the publication is not an ASCI member?

    Ever since the launch of our Online Complaint and Monitoring Service (OCMS), we have received complaints against misleading advertisements across all media. While complaints relating to mailers and SMSes comprise a small percentage, they are increasing year on year. Currently, we are monitoring print and TV advertisements via NAMS. However, we do have plans to also track digital media. The processing of complaints is uniform across advertisers, regardless of whether they are an ASCI member or not.

     

    Your Clean Ad Campaign seemed to have been quite a hit. Tell us more about it. Are you going to make it an ongoing exercise?

    We launched the ‘Swachh Ads Abhiyan’ to mark National Consumers’ Day on December 24, 2014, and made a splash about it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube). Since it resonated with the Swachh Bharat campaign, it created a great amount of media buzz. The aim of the campaign was to increase awareness about false claims [made by advertisers] and combat misleading advertisements to safeguard consumer interests.

     

    We engaged with consumers through our virtual platforms, and this drove consumer attention towards the campaign, educating them about not to be misled through advertisements, and the importance of taking action by lodging an online complaint. We believe this initiative has empowered and encouraged consumers to make the right choices, when it comes to advertisement claims.

     

    The campaign was conducted through videos that lent clarity to misleading claims and invited interaction from consumers culminating with a call for action to lodge a complaint online. This resulted in 150% more people engagement and the message reached more than 2.5 lakh consumers. It also resulted in tangible change that was sustained by the social media thrust. For instance, the number of online complaints increased by 166%.

     

    What’s next at ASCI? What are the other activities you propose to take up?

    Our priorities for the year have been chalked out as self-discipline by creators of advertising, easier access to ASCI services, collaboration with regulators and we are keen on being viewed as fair by all stakeholders. Our major focus, therefore, would be on activities enabling these goals. We are going to launch, shortly, an online training programme called the ASCI e-learning. We have plans to further increase awareness and accessibility regarding ASCI. As mentioned earlier, in terms of collaboration with the regulator, we are in talks with the Department of Consumer Affairs and the FSSAI.

     

  • Eastern has shown strong growth in geographies like Karnataka, UP, AP, Telengana & Maharashtra where last fiscal the growth exceeded 50 per cent

    FCB creates TVC for Eastern Condiments

    By A Correspondent

     

    Eastern Condiments has released a new TVC that showcases the company’s legacy and product offering across multiple countries. The company is one of India’s oldest and leading spice processing companies. It has eight factories across India and one in the Middle East, processing in excess of 40,000 tonnes of spices last fiscal, selling 12 lakh packets a day making it one of India’s largest spice enterprises.

     

    While maintaining more than 70 per cent market share in Kerala, Eastern has shown strong growth in geographies like Karnataka, UP, AP, Telengana & Maharashtra where last fiscal the growth exceeded 50 per cent.

     

    The Eastern Puliogare film is about Eastern’s flagship product for Karnataka, Eastern Puliogare Masala showing how people in Karnataka swear by its authentic taste. The film is a journey through the vastly different geographies and topographies of one of the largest states in India where people are asking a naturally welcoming question ‘Have you eaten?’ in the varied local dialects of Kannada. This journey tells us about the diversity of Karnataka and Eastern’s Puliogare Masala’s universal acceptance across the state of Karnataka.

     

    The TVC will be aired on Kannada channels comprising of GEC, Music, Movie and News channels.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Biju Job, Head Marketing said, “My brief to FCB was to ensure the campaign communicates that Eastern Masala is an integral part of the fabric of Karnataka and its people and I am happy that this campaign has accomplished that.”

     

    Firoz Meeran, Managing Director, Eastern Condiments said, “Our products are increasingly an integral part of the food habits of families across India. It fills me with joy to see Eastern Puliogare Masala’s used by so many families in Karnataka.”

     

    Robby Mathew

    Robby Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Ulka said, “The film aims to present Eastern Puliogare as the unanimous choice of people across Karnataka. Interesting use of dialects, costumes and locations helps weave the brand in the fabric of Karnataka. The TVC achieves this with simplicity and is makes for a pleasant viewing.”

     

  • A gigantic bat was created for the cricket lovers to write their wishes for their favorite teams

    DDB MudraMax-Experiential creates signature bat for LG

    By A Correspondent

     

    Being the official sponsor of the ICC World Cup 2015, LG wanted to rejig the zeal of cricket amongst the Indians before the inception of the World Cup 2015 season.

     

    Moreover, a big ticket event like ICC World Cup 2015 needed a bigger show; a larger-than-life spectacle to further raise the cricket supporters. Hence, DDB Mudra Max- Experiential came up with the idea of the ‘signature bat’ campaign.

     

    A gigantic bat was created for the cricket lovers to write their wishes for their favorite teams. Further the bat was stalled at strategic locations across Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida along with the ICC World Cup Cricket Trophy which was kept on display for the spectators.

     

    The bat amazed the audience with its sheer size and overwhelmed them with the thought of getting an opportunity to send personal good wishes and messages to their favourite team. The original World Cup trophy being on display brought back the nostalgia of winning the World Cup last time and geared up the audience to cheer India to win it back this year.

     

    The campaign was well received as more than 2, 500 audiences from across cities signed on the bats and wished their team. The zeal multiplied with the presence of famous Indian cricketer VirendraSehwag who addressed his fans at Gurgaon & Noida.

     

    Niladri Datta, Head- Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics India said: “We are extremely proud to be the official global partners of ICC for all these years and to be a part of 2015’s biggest sporting spectacle, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Indians are one of the biggest followers of Cricket across the world and it gives us immense pleasure and delight to offer our consumers and Cricket lovers an opportunity to experience the trophy in person and share their good wishes with the Indian team through the Big Bat ceremony arranged across five cities. With this activity, LG brought the game closer to the cricket fans and gave them a platform to share their wishes directly to their favorite team.”

     

    Mandeep Malhotra, President, DDB Mudra Max quoted, “Cricket still remains the one unified religion of our country. Making the signature bat for seeking well wishes for the teams across the country was a brilliant idea, requiring operational excellence. We are glad that our campaign garnered lot of awareness and buzz right before the World Cup 2015. I believe that this campaign was quite instrumental to set the momentum rolling for the cricket season.”

     

  • They are introducing for the first time Youth Labs for young delegates

    Plans unveiled for 10th edition of Goafest

    By A Correspondent

     

    L-R Dr. M.G. Parameswaran-President of AAAI, Mr. Nakul Chopra- Chairman of Goafest 2015 & Vice President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Ajay Chandwani, Managing committee member of the Advertisement

    The Organizing Committee of Goafest 2015 recently shared the roadmap for the event to be held from April 9 – 11 at The Grand Hyatt, Bambolim. The Committee also announced key initiatives and released the first list of speakers at the event.

     

    In its 10th year, efforts are being made to make the event distinctive and grand. Nakul Chopra- Chairman of Goafest 2015 & Vice President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said, “It is our endeavour to make Goafest 2015 better and superior. While the Advertising Conclave will be held on Day 1; the Knowledge Seminars will be held on Day 2 & 3. There will be a Leadership Summit on 11th April, which will bring together best minds in the field of advertising, communications, marketing industry to discuss, debate, interact, offer thoughts & experiences, share ideas and questions on our industry. These programmes are augmented with a series of presentations from leaders in their respective fields and panel debates.”

     

    Chopra further added, “We are also introducing for the first time Youth Labs for young delegates. These Youth Labs will have a separate Creative Lab and Media Lab. The aim of these Youth Labs will be to provide a platform for youngsters to interact with stalwarts in the industry and get them to sharpen and hone their skills.”

     

    The Organizing Committee also released the first list of speakers for the Knowledge Seminars: Ted Lim- Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific, Alan Moseley- President and Creative Officer, 180 Amsterdam, Neil Stewart- Head of Agency, APAC Region, Facebook, Guy Abrahams- Worldwide Strategic Marketing Officer, Zenith Optimedia and Devdutt Pattanik- Author & Mythologist.

     

    Dr. MG Parameswaran-President of AAAI said, “Goafest 2015 will have a great mix of speakers this year. Our effort is get the 2500+ participants to listen to and interact with the best, the world has to offer. As in the previous years, we will have stimulating Q&A sessions moderated by senior marketing professionals.”​

     

    For the eighth year that AAAI and The Advertising Club will come together to deliver Abbys, India’s definitive awards that celebrate creativity. Pratap Bose- President of The Advertising Club & Chairman of The Awards Governing Council (AGC), said, “The initiatives introduced last year were widely appreciated by all the stakeholders. We will continue to follow the stringent and now well accepted norms for Abbys. An exciting feature that we introduced this year is that the Campaigns that have been released till February 15, 2015, are now allowed to submit their entries at this year’s Abbys.”

     

    Continuing with the changes that were inducted in 2012 – there will be a Grand Prix for Film, Print, Radio, Outdoor, Design, Interactive Digital, Direct, Media and Integrated. This year too there will be awindow of ten days before the final judging round. During this window, shortlisted entries will be available for the entire industry to review. However, Abbys once awarded will stay awarded.

     

  • The new integrated campaign highlights a relationship of equals between mother and child

    Kellogg’s takes the ‘Khuljaye Bachpan’ route for Chocos

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kellogg’s Chocos has launched a new campaign ‘Khuljaye Bachpan’. This campaign highlights the win-win equation between mother and child, where they learn and grow together. Buddy parenting makes way for some unforgettable moments between mother and child and through ‘Khuljaye Bachpan’, kids and mothers have a symbiotic, fun relationship over Chocos which enables the child to unlock happiness in their childhood. The campaign motivates mothers to nurture intimate, fun relationships with their kids throughout their childhood.

     

    Speaking about this initiative, Harpreet Singh Tibb, Director of Marketing, Kellogg India said, “Our new campaign “Khuljaye Bachpan” is built on the insight that parent-kid relationships have now evolved into a relationship of equals. Parents learn from the kid as much as they teach them. Kellogg’s Chocos is kid loved and mom approved because of its chocolaty taste and roti-like benefits. It creates those precious moments where the mother and kid bond. These moments create a happy and memorable childhood, a childhood that is uninhibited and allows the kid to discover the joy of growing up. Chocos as a brand celebrates uninhibited childhood and over the next few months we will be creating many such platforms that allow mom and kids to bond better.”

     

    The campaign TVC features brand ambassador Juhi Chawla portraying the role of a buddy mom to her kid. She shares a friendly equation with her son who has just lost in a video game and boosts his confidence by saying that “Harna jeetna is all part of the game”. The TVC then reveals an interesting twist that he has lost the game against his mother, played by Juhi, and she has learnt all the moves from him. It reiterates that Kellogg’s Chocos creates moments of happiness, where mother and child learn fun things together.

     

    The TVC will be supported by 20 second testimonials by celebrity moms sharing their ‘Khuljaye Bachpan’ moments with their kids. Viewers will also witness celebrity moms inviting real life stories from mothers bonding with their kids. Viewers will be encouraged to share their own ‘Khuljaye Bachpan’ stories, which will then be recognized by the brand through gratifications.

     

    Commenting on the latest campaign, Nandita Chalam, Vice President & Executive Creative Director, JWT said, “Modern parenting is all about letting children have an uninhibited childhood. Our new campaign philosophy for Kellogg’s Chocos reflects this – ‘Khuljaye Bachpan.’ We brought this alive by showing a new trend in families – today, it’s not just children who learn from their parents but parents also learn a lot from their children. As part of this campaign, Juhi Chawla invites other parents to share such stories of learning from each other. Digital and activation legs of the campaign are all built around the same thought of ‘Khuljaye Bachpan’.”

     

    The campaign is an integrated promotion campaign comprising of amplification across TV, digital and on-ground to engage with mothers and children.

     

  • Although the idea of keeping surroundings clean has always been alive, there is a need to evoke the feeling of accountability within every citizen

    Grey unveils new TVC around Swachh Bharat initiative

    By A Correspondent

     

    GREY group India has rolled out a new film for the Swachh Bharat Mission. The 60 second film is launched for the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting who are leaving no stone unturned to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a litter and garbage-free India.

     

    Although the idea of keeping surroundings clean has always been alive, there is a need to evoke the feeling of accountability within every citizen to bring the thought of cleanliness into action. Hence, it is required to fight this battle for cleanliness on many fronts. While the first TV spot, also conceptualized by GREY group India, used the idea of ‘slow clapping’ to shame the offenders for not keeping their areas clean, the central idea of the latest film is to get people take ‘ownership’ of public places.

     

    There are number of places in our country named after famous people, and the film plays on this observation. Throughout the reel we have namesakes of these famous people claiming a stake on their surroundings, as they pledge to keep it clean.

     

    Malvika Mehra

    GREY group’s National Creative Director and EVP, Malvika Mehra said, “If each of us take the responsibility of keeping even just ‘our area’ or ‘apna ilaka’ clean, the dream of a Swachh Bharat can come true, sooner than we imagine. Through this film we have tried to inculcate a ‘pride of ownership’ amongst the citizens of India, so famous landmarks like ‘Chandni Chowk’ automatically become ‘Chandni KA Chowk’, ‘Azad KA Maidan’, ‘Marina KA beach’ and so on and so forth. With the message and hope that ‘if you own it, you will look after it.”

     

    The landmarks shown in the film are from the four cities in India –Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

     

  • TVC has been launched in line with Mahindra Tractors’ vision of delivering Farm Tech Prosperity

    Mahindra unveils new TVC for Arjun Novo

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES) has launched a TVC for its most technologically advanced tractor, Arjun Novo.

     

    The TVC is set against the backdrop of Mahindra Research Valley, Mahindra’s nerve centre for design and development for its automobiles and tractors. The TVC showcases true farm performance, bringing to life proven product performance using 3D animation. The product features have been explained and dramatized depicting the product’s superiority and advanced technology and highlighting its key message for customers – technology that allows you to do the impossible.

     

    Speaking on the new television commercial, Ravindra Shahane, Vice President, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “At Mahindra, we are committed to deliver Farm Tech Prosperity through technologically superior solutions. Our aim has been to drive positive change in the lives of our customers, enabling them to Rise above their current realm of possibility. Arjun Novo is a leap in technology and innovation that can perform myriad applications desired by the farmer. The new TVC has effectively captured this leap of technology that will open a world of possibilities to the modern farmer.”

     

    Robby Mathew

    Robby Mathew, National Creative Director, Interface Communications Pvt. Ltd. said “The biggest challenge was to bridge what consumers expect from Mahindra Tractors and communicate what the Arjun Novo can offer in an impactful way. It’s a futuristic approach in the farming space but at the same time will connect with the farmer at an emotional level. The Arjun Novo will raise the technology quotient in the Indian Tractor Industry.”

     

  • The objective of the campaign was to effectively reach out to the brand’s core target audience – males, 25-44 years, SEC A and B – across 100 locations pan India

    Posterscope unveils outdoor campaign for IDBI Federal

    By A Correspondent

     

    Posterscope India has conceptualised and executed a high visibility out-of-home campaign for IDBI Federal Life Insurance. The task put forth by IDBI Federal Life Insurance team was to popularise their flagship offering – ‘IDBI Federal Lifesurance Whole Life’ plan – in the market and to develop a visible and targeted campaign that would support and boost their on-ground sales.

     

    The objective of the campaign was to effectively reach out to the brand’s core target audience – males, 25-44 years, SEC A and B – across 100 locations pan India.

     

    The challenge awaiting the Posterscope team was twofold – first, the need to cover a humungous geographical spread in a short span and second, to juggle with multiple creatives in numerous languages. It was with the help of a well-crafted implementation strategy and effective co-ordination with the IDBI Federal team that Posterscope India managed to delivered a successful campaign within the stipulated timelines.

    The campaign was executed with good planning and effective consumer targeting through identification of relevant consumer touch points –media placement at key high traffic locations, arterial roads, congregation points and also near partner bank branches across all cities and appropriate media selection.

    The result culminated into a massive execution, entailing 350+media units with 200+ unique artwork adaptations, multi location printing, with all media locally evaluated and approved. All this was done across all markets in record time!

    Additionally, an intelligently-planned cinema screen advertising campaign was executed across multiplexes and single screen movie theatres in key markets across India to ensure that the brand’s message was well communicated and consumed by movie goers during the prime movie releases of the season.

    Commenting on the campaign, Aneesh Khanna, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, IDBI Federal Insurance said, “In a category, where most life insurance players have refrained from advertising whole life plans, we have taken the bold step of communicating a complex product in a simple, yet an interesting way. Posterscope helped us reach out to mass India with our product proposition in a timely and a cost- efficient manner. Their choice of locations and media touchpoints has ensured that the communication stands out in the clutter of financial services advertising.”

    Expressing the interest, Haresh Nayak, Regional Director, Posterscope Asia Pacific & Managing Director, Posterscope Group India stated that, “We are delighted with this appointment and thank the IDBI Federal management for considering us worthy for OOH and Ambient offerings. We are confident that we can add strategic value in making the IDBI Federal brand a household name across the country.”

     

  • Nakul Chopra, the agency's CEO for South Asia, has set his eyes to be in the bigger league

    Publicis eyes the Top 3

     

    Nakul Chopra, CEO of Publicis South Asia, has had a long innings at the agency. Over the past 17 years, he has led Ambience in its transition first to Ambience D’Arcy and later Publicis Ambience. Today, he leads the operations of the multiple Publicis units in India in addition to overseeing the French network’s affiliates in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In a freewheeling interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari he says that with some of the best minds in the business already on board, and with fresh talent coming in, Publicis has set a course for its reinvention. Something that he hopes will buoy it to the top soon.

     

    You’ve had a long innings as head of Publicis in India, and over the last three or four years, we’ve seen Publicis take on a renewed focus what with Bobby Pawar and Partha Sinha on board and a slew of acquisitions. Your view on how the business has been?

    I’ll respond to your question in several parts. First, I haven’t been CEO of Publicis for such a long time. Second, you’re right; in the last two to three years we’ve acquired talent, agencies and clients too. But reinventing ourselves, or bringing in fresh talent, or making acquisitions is not new. If I go back to the time prior to the 2003-2010 period, Publicis concluded four acquisitions then, including Ambience, Zen and Madhyam in Delhi.

     

    We are one of the last entrants in terms of the Top 10 networks in India, so our relative youth also reflects in our size. We had to play a lot of catch-up with the rest. There is no published data in our field. You can only assume the size of your competitor, you can’t be 100% sure. But, by our estimates in 2003, our entities were at No 15, according to size, whether it was Ambience or Zen. Bringing them together and building the organisation through Phase 1 got us firmly into the Top 10 bracket. We’ve conducted acquisitions and — according to what we’ve been able to organically build on the basis of the strength we’ve gained as an organisation — we estimate ourselves to be at No 5. We made these moves with the clear view that we need to become one of the Top 3 players in this market. Of course, there’s been a huge qualitative upgrade with people like Bobby and Partha coming back…

     

    Do you think you could’ve moved a bit faster after the two stars came in?

    When I look back, one area of dissatisfaction could be the speed of our ambition to take things, versus the speed at which we’ve actually travelled. There are two factors we need to talk about in that regard. You can take small organisations, wipe the slate clean and give them a fresh start relatively fast. Partha and Bobby came into a relatively mature organisation where the pace of change has to always be measured by the ability of the client relationships to make that change. We are now the dominant agency for a lot of big clients like L’Oreal, Nestle, Citi and Procter. But we can’t drive only our change agenda; we have to drive our clients’ too, and pace ourselves by that. If I factor that in, I have nothing to be dissatisfied about. We’ve set some internal benchmarks too; if we’d set five or six goals, we’ve probably achieved four or five of them. We’ve not quite got to the 100% mark that we wanted to, but I think that’s within a normal margin of error that you have when you set out to do these things. It’s impossible to meet your ambition on every single index. You always set your three-year plans on a given set of market assumptions. But as you go through that three-year period, not all of them occur as predicted and you have to re-prioritise things.

     

    But the expectations were huge. They were expected to produce some magic…

    I wouldn’t say they haven’t. They both joined together and some of the industry controversies that preceded them, came along as well. It was a Big Bang arrival. Given that, you might just set yourself up for disappointment because they’d have to achieve something.

     

    In terms of creative awards, the best benchmark for excellence of a creative agency are the Effies and you haven’t done well there

    Let me put it to you like this. Have we met our own expectations with regard to the Effies? We haven’t. I can’t say that, being No 5 last year and No 6 this year, though there’s a very large gap between the Top 3. I don’t think it is a fairly big step for an organisation that’s not been on the map of the Effies, ever. But this year in particular, even Partha wouldn’t mince his words to say, that we’d expected to do better. What would I have done differently over the last 12 months to achieve this result? I don’t know. I’m not dissatisfied with the effort I’ve put in. With the material we had, we’d hoped we’re going to win more. But you win some, you lose some. Our first and most important focus has been on how much difference we can make to the clients’ business.

     

    Do you think your work did improve the clients’ business?

    I’m 100% sure of that, and I have enough client testimonials to go by.

     

    What’s the most effective work you’ve done over the last year?

    I think we’ve done very effective work for JK, for some of which we’ve won an Effie. We did very effective work for Ambuja Cement. I must confess that I – along with Partha and Bobby – was a little disappointed this wasn’t recognised at the Effies. I’m not pointing fingers, just expressing disappointment. We’ve done effective work for Nestle across brands as well.

     

    How much do awards finally matter to an agency? While at one level, one is doing a fair amount of business and clients continue to stay with you, at another, you’re getting some awards but not the numbers which the Top 2 or 3 players get?

    Awards matter a lot. Maybe not as much as the clients’ sales figures, but they matter because they represent recognition by your peers, and that can be a great motivator. You make an effort and it gets recognised. That gives you courage and motivation to do more of the same. Creative awards also matter, not just the Effies. It would be naïve to think that awards are an end in themselves. Winning lots of creative awards if you’re not making a difference to the clients’ business and if you’re being unable to grow your own business, is not an end in itself. In 2009-10, Publicis ranked third two years in a row at the Goafest for Creative Awards. It was very fulfilling for us.

     

    This was when Ogilvy was participating and was No. 1?

    JWT was No 2 one year and DDB Mudra was No 2 in another year. There was some controversy about the latter. By my reckoning, after they returned the medal, they should’ve been No 2 that year. Goafest does not, in any case, give you points.

     

    What about Kyoorius?

    Kyoorius is a very new phenomenon.

     

    You mentioned you want to be among the Top 3. With Ogilvy, Lowe and JWT already in that bracket, displacing one of them is a huge ask, right?

    When we were No 12 and I said we want to be in the Top 5, it was a huge ask. But we’ve made moves in the past three or four years which have startled people. We’re now in the Top 5. It’s not going to happen by doing business as usual. At the same time, we can’t startle and surprise people every year.

     

    Is there a target year by which you want to achieve this?

    We’d given ourselves three years to get firmly in the Top 5. We’ve achieved that. The next three years is when we seek to make the next move. But that depends on us being able to do some things other than great or effective work for our clients.

     

    Such as?

    It’s about how we build up our skills and capabilities. When you compare us with Ogilvy or JWT, or Lowe or even DDB, which is at No. 4, their range of services and therefore sources of revenue at this stage, are wider than ours. So it’s about finding effective solutions on that side too. Now we’ll have to see if we’re going to get those capabilities or acquire them

     

    How have your inorganic growth efforts been, since Beehive and Market Gate and I-Strat?

    I think all three have been performing fantastically well for us.

     

    Is the integration total?

    Integration is not a 24-month process; it takes longer. Our integration expectations from the three are quite different.

     

    Are there any other specific areas or gaps you’d like to look at filling by way of acquisitions?

    I’d answer this slightly differently. The gaps we’re trying to cover are in the experiential marketing and some specialised skills in digital.

     

    So will acquiring an experiential agency happen soon?

    It’s a question you all ask at every interview and it always begs the same answer. You’ll know when you know. It’s a capability we’re seeking to build, whether we build it via an acquisition or organically or through induction of talent.

     

    How has the situation with new talent, accounts etc been, apart from the big ones in the last three years?

    We’ve not only been hiring people, I see Publicis as an organisation which is constantly in metamorphosis. For me, the difference between Ogilvy, JWT and Lowe is that they seem to be organisations who’ve reached a destination. On the other hand, we see every year as a year of reinvention. For us, we’ve had a steady change or upgradation of talent across all disciplines.

     

    Are you looking at any new direction of business and of clients? Your peers have got into political advertising.

    As a group policy, we don’t do political work. You’ll notice that no Publicis group company has been at any of last year’s hectic political campaigns. Many of us were approached, but we don’t do it.

     

    Among the various agencies you have, will any of them see a significant change over the next few months?

    I don’t foresee that, with this being a fairly intense period of reviews. We may be unhappy with ‘x’ aspect in one unit, and ‘y’ in another, and we have the managers address those. Talent acquisition is a continuous process. We’ll continue to see that happen.

     

    If you were a 20-year-old, would you have joined an agency today?

    If you’d asked me this when I was a 20-year-old, my answer might have been ‘No’. But I did end up in an agency and never left. If I were a 20-year-old today, would I join an advertising agency? The answer is probably still a yes.

     

    It’s still a big bad world. You’d have possibly made more money on the client side.

    I think I had several occasions to do that throughout my career. As somebody who’s been in this business for more than 35 years, I just had a genetic match with the profession. Is today’s 20-year-old choosing advertising over other professions? Probably not.

     

    Personally, what goals have you set for yourself? Publicis is doing well, it’s going to be on course. Is there any unchartered stuff you are looking at?

    As an individual, I have a re-purposed life. At 54, I have a two-and-a-half-year-old son. The challenges and goals I have for myself have undergone a metamorphosis in the last three years and I’m not completely sure I’m up for all challenges the situation poses. But I’m doing my best to cope.

     

    A slightly shorter version of this appeared in ‘dna of brands’ on March 9, 2015

     

  • The campaign objective was derived from the brand name itself with an intent to reach out to the mass at all possible touch points

    Reach taps into Posterscope’s expertise for outdoor initiative

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reach Mobile has joined the outdoor bandwagon with Posterscope India. The out-of-home agency from the Dentsu Aegis Network that has been handling both national and global mobile handset clients, has reaped in its expertise to provide a holistic approach where outdoor advertising is concerned.

     

    With the objective ‘Your Smartphone – Your Reach’, Posterscope interestingly identified the reach of the TG – where they move, retreat, socialise and spend most of their leisure time. The campaign objective was derived from the brand name itself with an intent to reach out to the mass at all possible touch points. The campaign was covered in markets like West Bengal, Northeastern States, Orissa and Bihar in the first phase. The next phase roll-out will target Rajasthan, MP and Chattisgarh.

     

    Kinjal Desai

    Commenting on this campaign, Kinjal Desai, Head Corp Comm and Marketing, Reach Mobiles Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Reshmi Group said; “We have been successful in reaching out to all corners of the cities in which we have rolled out our campaign; the response is quite good in terms of trade and customer calls. The agency needs to be appreciated for devising such a strategic plan with a robust coverage.”

     

     

     

     

    Haresh Nayak

    Haresh Nayak, Managing Director – Posterscope India said, “It gives us immense pleasure to be a preferred agency for venturing into Outdoors. The media strategy was aligned to ensure that the campaign matches the means of communication and the consumer ecosystem. A very scientific method was put into the media planning, considering the brand value and insight and took great care in formulating and executing a plan that would create a powerful impact across the target group.”

     

  • Whilst Tor and Suresh see India as a powerhouse for the growth of new businesses, they believe in today’s age of business, complexities and challenges can be overcome by fostering the culture of creativity

    Grey hosts Tor Myhren & Suresh Nair on their India sojourn

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tor Myhren

    GREY group India recently hosted its global leaders, Tor Myhren -Worldwide Chief Creative Officer and Suresh Nair -Global Strategic Planning Director, to India. The purpose of their visit was to drive the culture of creative business in India. The agency conducted an interactive session over breakfast for its clients and employees where Tor and Suresh shared their insights on the agency–marketer relationship and the rise of creativity in the business world. The event was well attended by leading marketers and brand owners.

     

     

    Suresh Nair

    Whilst Tor and Suresh see India as a powerhouse for the growth of new businesses, they believe in today’s age of business, complexities and challenges can be overcome by fostering the culture of creativity. In order to have a strong and successful agency-client relationships, there should be transparency and openness in communication and the presented creative work. This will benefit both the brand and the agency to be successful above the norm in the market place. They also spoke about motivating the creative culture within the walls of business, cultivating the right kind of agency culture, how to constantly evolve, keeping people engaged, and how to nurture the right talent in the industry.

     

    A lot of interesting illustrations and cases were presented from the other GREY group offices to understand how GREY group truly stands by its philosophy ‘Famously Effective’. This mantra is a deep seated part of the agency’s culture, grown organically throughout the global network of like-minded leaders.