MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • With nearly 10 years of experience, Kavita would be leading client relationships across Motivator Mumbai’s key businesses

    Motivator hires Kavita Acharekar from Nielsen

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kavita Acharekar from Nielsen has joined Motivator, in its Mumbai Office, as Client Leader (Business Engagement Team). Motivator is a media agency of GroupM.

     

    With nearly 10 years of experience, Kavita would be leading client relationships across Motivator Mumbai’s key businesses.

     

    Trishul Bhumkar, General Manager, Motivator, shared, “As a part of getting talent and skills ‘outside in’ we are happy to have Kavita join the team. With a good decade of research experience, Kavita will being a new dimension to the way we view consumers. With these diverse skills amongst our team members, we are better equipped to look at same problems in newer ways for our clients”.

     

  • IPG declared Network of the Year; HUL is Advertiser of the Year

    Lowe Lintas + Partners dominates at APAC Tambuli Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The 9th edition of Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards, hosted in Manila (The Philippines) was dominated by Lowe Lintas + Partners, India that won ‘Agency of the Year’ for the second year running. The agency picked up a haul of 21 awards including the special Carmencita Esteban Platinum Award, 2 Grand Prix, 14 Golds, 3 Silvers, and 1 Bronze.

     

    With this feat, Lowe Lintas + Partners put up an unprecedented performance for any agency at the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards, and tripled their own tally vs. last year.

     

    Driven by the agency’s performance, Lowe Lintas + Partners’ holding company, IPG was named Network of the Year while Hindustan Unilever Ltd. was declared the Advertiser of the Year. In all, Mullen Lowe Group bagged a rich haul of 33 metals in the final tally.

     

    The only regional award of its kind, the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards honors brands that deliver business results while promoting a positive societal value— brands from around Asia that celebrate human truths, inspire purpose, and effect real change.

     

    Vikas Mehta

    Commenting on the achievement, Vikas Mehta, CMO, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “Given our focus on effectiveness and brand building philosophy of doing-well-by-doing-good, Tambuli remains a special award for us. Agency of the Year, two years in a row is humbling. We have our clients and the Tambuli jury to thank. I’d like to congratulate the University of Asia & Pacific for another successful edition of the Tambuli Awards.”

     

    Lowe Lintas + Partners picked up these awards for their work across a large spectrum of brands including Havells, Tata Tea, Kissan, Lifebuoy, Clinic Plus and Kan Khajura Tesan.

     

    S Subramanyeswar

    Sharing his excitement on the rich haul, S Subramanyeswar, National Planning Director, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “What we have achieved this year is truly special, and we have the jury to thank for acknowledging our work. We have been perfecting our performance across effectiveness awards consistently and our achievement at Tambuli is testimony of the unmatched competence that we had been dreaming of for some time.”

     

  • Hindustan Unilever has instructed television channels and other media houses to stop advertisements of the brand from next week

    HUL takes Knorr instant noodle TVCs off the air

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    The entire noodle category advertising in India stares at a complete blackout. Following Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) decision to stop the production and sale of Knorr Chinese instant noodles, the company has now instructed television channels and other media houses to stop advertisements of the brand from next week.

     

    On Wednesday, HUL said it would withdraw the product, which it introduced in February. “On June 11, the company informed its media agency and media partners to withdraw the Knorr Chinese instant noodle commercial from Sunday,” a senior executive at a broadcast company said on the condition of anonymity.

     

    Knorr is currently running two noodle television commercials — Chinese noodles and Soupy noodles — featuring master chef Pankaj Bhadouria. “But it is only the Chinese noodle commercial that will go off air and will be replaced by other HUL brand commercials,” the executive added.

     

    While Lowe Lintas is the creative agency, GroupM is the media agency of Knorr noodles. HUL’s spokesperson, however, said it has taken the ads off air with effect Thursday. This is because it has decided to stop production and sale of the Knorr Chinese range of instant noodles till its product approval application is cleared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the spokesperson said. Last week, Nestle directed broadcasters and other media companies to stop its Maggi brand’s advertising from June 7, after it decided to pull the product from the market following findings by authorities that some packets contained excess lead.

     

    Media planners said with HUL deciding to withdraw the Knorr commercial, the number of noodle advertising will reduce by half. The other two prominent brands in this category are ITC’s Yippee noodle and Capital Food’s Chings. According to media planners, the instant noodles category spends about Rs 200-220 crore on advertising and most companies spend 10-12% of their total sales on advertising.

     

    “Maggi alone spends nearlyRs 150 crore and Knorr will be another Rs 15-20 crore. So, with these two brands ads disappearing, the noodle sector ads will go down significantly,” said a senior media planner.

     

    Instant noodle brand ads are mostly skewed towards television advertising and use general entertainment channels, kids channels and music channels. “The other brands like Yippee and Chings will cut down on the advertising and lie low for a while. They definitely don’t want to grab the attention for the wrong reasons,” said another media planner.

     

    However, an ITC spokesperson said the company will continue with the current marketing plans around Yippee. “There are no adverse reports on ITC’s Yippee noodles from any state and therefore marketing plans for this category remain unchanged,” said the spokesperson.

     

    While Ogilvy & Mather is Yipee’s creative agency, Madison World is its media agency. Another aggressive advertiser in this category is Chings, which is endorsed by actor Ranveer Singh. On May 27, the brand launched an ad film featuring the actor to fight hunger among school children in India, with the ‘India Ke Hunger Ki Bajao’ campaign.

     

    The campaign, conceptualised by Yash Raj Films (YRF), is a global fundraising drive initiated by Ching’s Secret (and YRF) with not-for-profit organisation Akshaya Patra.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

  • Whatever I do will be mobile first, and then we will go backwards. So it will be mobile, digital and then other media," says Goyal

    Sandeep Goyal to launch mobile-first ad agency Tango Media

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    Sandeep Goyal, founder and former chairman of Dentsu India and current owner-promoter of the Mogae Group, is ready to launch Tango Media – a technology-driven company that aims to marry television commercials and content with mobile phones.

     

    With his five-year non-compete clause coming to an end, Goyal said Tango Media is the first step towards his return to advertising which was first reported on April 28. While Goyal had declined to comment on the development then, he admitted as much now. “Tango Media is the first step towards that. But whatever I do will be mobile first, and then we will go backwards. So it will be mobile, digital and then other media,” said Goyal.

     

    He admitted that traditional advertising business is both low on margins and satisfaction, but said that he “will work towards building a new-age agency”. He said that Tango Media will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mogae Media and the company has spent the past three years building the platform. While Tango Media has already been incorporated, the platform will go live from August 15.

     

    “Ninety per cent of all advertising is intended to elicit consumer response, mostly an action that pushes brand sales. But call-to-action (CTA) on TV tends to get lost as an end-frame super (mostly dwarfed by the brand logo), either asking the customer to send an SMS, or message a short-code, or call a particular number. Consumers rarely remember the number.

     

    Hence, the brand never really gets the necessary bang for its buck,” said Goyal. “We have invested the last three years in figuring out, researching, developing and perfecting a solution that makes it easy for consumers to remember and recall both the brand and its call number. And the solution works without needing to download an app or use the internet,” he said.

     

    Tango Media has roped in Sandeep Bajpai, who had previously worked with Tata DoCo-Mo and Spice as the marketing head. Yogesh Sachdeva, who formerly worked with Airtel and Aircel, has been appointed the chief technology officer. Tango Media is still scouting for a CEO. “In the next one year, we plan to spend upwards of Rs 100 crore on Tango Media of which we will spend Rs 40-50 crore in advertising. We plan to call for a multi-agency creative and media pitch soon,” said Goyal.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The teaser was launched across a range of television channels wherein it carried snippets from the final TVC

    Vizeum executes Hindware’s new TVC launch

    By A Correspondent

     

    Vizeum has conceptulized and executed the new TVC for Hindware.

     

    Quite like a movie-promo-plan, Vizeum helped Hindware launch a teaser campaign two days prior to the final TVC roll-out. The teaser was launched across a range of television channels wherein it carried snippets from the final TVC.

     

    The final campaign featuring Shahrukh Khan was launched on the channel’s dance reality show ‘NachBalliye’ with the teaser embedded into the show-content. Before taking the commercial break, the host thoroughly discussed SRK’s new obsession and asked the viewers to stay-on to find out the whole story.Then the full TVC which was 75 seconds long was played out. Once the break retunred to the show, the host continued discussing with the judges about bathroom inspirations and in conclusion he said said, “Not only SRK, but the whole country could keep admiring bathrooms so stylish.”

     

    Speaking about the innovation, said V Krishnamurthy, VP, Marketing, HSIL Ltd, “This was our first campaign after signing on SRK and we wanted to ensure the launch of the TVC is conceptualized differently.  Working closely with our media agency, Vizeum, we managed to pull off something very different.  Congratulations to both the Hindware and Vizeum teams for making this happen.”

     

    Commenting on the execution, S Yesudas, Managing Director – Indian Subcontinent, Vizeum said, “It took a lot of coordination and efforts to pull this through.  Without an ever supportive client this would not have been possible.  I’m also thankful to the Star TV management for making this happen.  Congratulations to the entire Vizeum Team, led by Harsha Joshi for making this project a reality.”

     

     

  • The agency also helps clients with research-on-mobile, quality-checks via mobile and consumer groups based on targeted profiles

    Leena Sharma to lead Mobocracy

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mogae Media has announced that Leena Sharma would lead Mobocracy as its Chief Operating Officer.

     

    Mobocracy is India’s first full-service mobile advertising agency that helps clients with mobile strategy, mobile-solutions, enriched targeting and programmatic advertising. The agency also helps clients with research-on-mobile, quality-checks via mobile and consumer groups based on targeted profiles.

     

    “Being pioneers and fore-runners in mobile advertising in India since 2011, and because of our keen understanding of mobile apertures and applications, we felt more and more clients need help with managing mobile communications. We launched Mobocracy at full throttle in March this year,” says Tanya Goyal, Executive Director, Mogae. “And Leena Sharma was the natural choice to lead this new agency, Mobocracy, as she has shaped and delivered over 200 campaigns for the best of brands over the last two years at Mogae. She understands advertising, and understands the mobile medium.”

     

    An MBA with nearly 25 years in the business, Leena started her advertising career at Ulka in the early 90s. She has worked at Parle, American Express and Mastercard over the years. Leena joined Mogae Media two years ago.

     

    40 new recruits from IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, BITS Pilani, Delhi School of Economics, IIM Shillong, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, IIM Rohtak, XLRI and other leading B-schools joined Mogae earlier this month, and will be based at its Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore offices. Many of them have been assigned to Mobocracy.

     

  • The TVCs have been created by Ogilvy & Mather and is on air across channels

    Need solutions for your home? ‘Ask Greenply!’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Greenply Industries Limited (GIL) has kicked off its Ask Greenply campaign with the launch of three new TVCs titled ‘Nayi Maa’, ‘Dhongi Baba’ and ‘The Couple’. In a clear shift from the oft-repeated 20-year ‘durability’ and ‘strength’ proposition in plywood category communication, the TVC nudges the viewer in entertaining ways to ask questions on plywood so that they might take informed buying decisions. The TVCs have been created by Ogilvy & Mather and is on air across channels.

     

    As evidenced by web searches, people are particularly concerned today about weight loss, better shape, life guidance, and companionship. They are always seeking more information and solutions to these pressing questions. Similarly, as living standards in India improve, home owners are increasingly seeking a bigger, better and more glamorous home. The impact of this change can be felt across several categories such as paints, home appliances and especially interior décor. A silent but dramatic movement has recently been seen in the world of plywood and its associated by-products which are now playing a far larger ‘lifestyle’ role in homes. There are myriad plywood options tailor-made to suit specific purposes. However, potential home owners are oblivious to the variety of plywood and its usage. The campaign is directed to enthuse this growing volume of customers who prefer being ‘enlightened’ in all sorts of way before making a purchase.

     

    The campaign is designed to reinforce the thought leadership position of Greenply in the plywood category since the engendering of interest in the customers’ psyche will positively impact the sector in general. At the same time, while there is more technology and feature-richness in Greenply products, there is a need for customers to discover more about these aspects to buy the right products with correct technical consideration.

     

    Viewers generally like a humour angle in a message so that there is a viewing reward at the same time as a product message gets delivered. The humour in this case is tongue-in-cheek in nature, while the product benefits appear at the end in a subtle way. A series of entertaining TVCs brings alive this concept through awkwardly humorous situations where an uncomfortable question has no correct answer.

     

    Kamal K Mishra, Associate VP & Head Marketing at Greenply Industries ltd. said “We believe that Greenply must act, feel & behave like a category leader. As leaders, we must guide the customer such that he makes better brand & product related decisions.  ‘Ask Greenply’ will give birth to a new breed of demanding & educated customers which will positively impact the overall category.”

     

    Mudassar Hossain, Vice President, Ogilvy & Mather, Kolkata says “Research shows that consumers purchasing plywood are disinterested & clueless about what they buy. At best, they ask the same boring set of questions such as ‘Will it last long?’, ‘Is it borer termite proof?’ & at their worst, they blindly follow suggestions of their carpenter or interior decorator.”

     

    Sumanto Chattopadhyay

    Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, South Asia said, “Most campaigns try to get consumers’ attention by telling them something about the product. What’s unique about this campaign is that it doesn’t tell you anything about the product. Instead it provokes you to ask questions. It’s a great strategy in a category where brands struggle to rise above commoditisation. What makes it all the more effective is that the brand is fully geared up to answer those questions. Ultimately, knowledge is strength. It’s the basis of a durable relationship between the brand and its consumers.”

     

  • Company to utilise innovative branding mediums to attract the Emerging Indians

    Videocon Telecom to invest 120 cr on Brand & Communication

    By A Correspondent

     

    Videocon Telecom, the telecom arm of the Indian conglomerate Videocon Group, is all set to connect with forward-looking, modern youth segment and extend its presence in the market. With Emerging Indians as its newly defined target audience the company has aggressive marketing and branding plans to capture the market. This fiscal year, Videocon Telecom will invest Rs 120 crore on Brand & Communication to connect with the fast emerging young mobile phone subscribers from Tier II and smaller towns.

     

    The company has roped in Gauahar Khan as its brand ambassador. With the new brand face that reflects the aspirations of the young India, the telco intends to reach out to its consumer with vibrant and energetic approach.

     

    In a short span of two years, the brand has emerged as one of the most preferred and fastest growing telecom players attaining the trust of over 10 Million consumers. The telco has attained leading position in its four operating circles with clear incremental customer market share leadership in Punjab and Haryana Telecom circles. Gauahar Khan’s popularity and immense youth appeal shall complement young and vibrant brand like Videocon Telecom, which engages the mass consumers via its innovative and excellent telecom services.

     

    Arvind Bali, Director & CEO, Videocon Telecom said, “Change is always good and refreshing and brings in vibrancy in the environment. We are pleased to add the noted celebrity, Gauahar Khan into our Videocon Family. Gauahar signifies a positive vibrancy, bold attitude, sense of dedication and reflects our brand spirit- young, vibrant, and cool. She represents the youth of today who are independent, expressive, confident, and carefree and brand conscious. Going apt with the same, this association has been established to connect with the youth consumers at ground level.”

     

  • …with comments from Sanjay Tripathy, Uma Talreja, GK Suresh, Anuradha Narasimhan and Chinmay Bajpai

    The Changing Role of the CMO in the Digital Era…

    L to R : Sanjay Tripathy, Uma Talreja, GK Suresh, Anuradha Narasimhan and Chinmay Bajpai

     

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    At the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)’s marketing conclave last week, industry stalwarts delve into the topic of ‘Untangling Marketing Convolutions’. In this digital era, the role of the chief marketing officer (CMO) has expanded at a fast pace and it now requires him or her to act as the Digital Media Officer, Customer Experience Officer and Chief Content Officer all rolled into one. The CMO’s role is no longer about just creative skills, but about being able to crunch data and interpret and analyse the behavioural patterns and buying habits of consumers. Dinesh Mishra, Partner – Advisory Services and Customer Practice Leader (India), Ernst & Young, who moderated the discussion said: “The speed at which the CMO needs to react is increasing gradually. The CMO is enjoying his/her role in an organisation, as compared with other C-Suite roles. About 44 per cent of senior leadership says the CMO cannot strive without big data. By 2020, the CMO will spend more than the CIO on IT.”

    Now, let’s hear it from the CMOs.

     

    Chinmay Bajpai, Head – Enterprise Sales and Alliances, Thoughtbuzz

    It is important to understand that a marketer is more connected to the consumer. Hence, he or shee needs to be more connected to the CIO to get consumer details from IT systems. The customer experience design has always been important. Before, the customer never had a voice after he purchased the product. That has changed with the digital era. We cannot rely on just customer service teams any more. Today analytics have to move beyond the product to the consumer. That’s where the skillsets of technology partners have to be imbibed by CMOs.

     

    Anuradha Narasimhan, EVP – Sales and Marketing, Global Consumer Products

    I don’t believe the CEO is the stakeholder for the CMO. The CMO-CIO relationship is the youngest in an organisation. The partnership with the CTO is yet another new one. The consumer is no longer a passive participant in the process. The customer experience design is not a new thing for the CMO role, it has always existed. The customer experience has always been the focus. The CMO needs to be like the conductor of an orchestra, someone who leads it. Then, it won’t matter who plays in the orchestra as long as s/he is a specialist.

     

    GK Suresh, Head of Marketing – Foods Division, ITC Limited

    I don’t believe that the CMO will spend more than the CIO. As a marketer I have to know my consumer, even if that means spending the entire day with the consumer at his/her house. I would say invest in the consumer rather than on technology. A lot of communication going into the digital space is unsupervised. I don’t know if youngsters should be handling digital. It’s as good as saying that a housewife watching TV seven hours a day should make TV ads. The fundamentals of brand building don’t change. At the end of the day, engagement has to result in business. The rules of the game have changed. Just like in hockey, we’ve moved from grass to Astroturf. So now the way you play changes and the way you score a goal also changes.

     

    Uma Talreja, CMO, Burger King India

    We all have a vision for the consumer. But contact with the CIO is necessary to deliver that vision. You need to change the environment for your consumer. Public opinion on your brand is out there. Your consumer is reaching out to other consumers. If you don’t reach out in time, then you have no control of the situation. Today, data is moving faster than you; public opinion is moving faster than you.

     

    Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive VP – Marketing, Product, Digital and E-Commerce, HDFC Life

    We are seeing spends in the digital space increasing in our industry. But the question to ask is, is the CMO capable enough to deploy the money? Who is taking the lead in understanding what is needed for the company? People are changing today; the ways of interaction and engagement have changed. CMOs are now ahead of others in the C-Suite in terms of understanding what is happening in the market. Marketing understands the consumer, but cannot enable the systems and processes. We at HDFC Life have created a team to digitise the company. It has become an organisation within an organisation. Ours is an intangible product that lots of people buy. What customers talk about is very important. With digital, marketing has moved from one channel to multiple channels. Now marketing gets information from various channels and needs to pass it on to multiple channels as well.

     

  • Shaleen would be reporting to Sameer Mehta, Head- Business & Operations, TracyLocke

    Shaleen Sharma appointed Vice President – Strategic Planning & Analytics for TracyLocke India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shaleen Sharma, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Wire frame with an experience of 16 years, working across places like Boston Consulting Group, Mindshare, JWT etc. has joined TracyLocke as Vice President – Strategic Planning & Analytics. Shaleen would be reporting to Sameer Mehta, Head- Business & Operations, TracyLocke and would be the lead strategist across the agency’s clientele and service offerings that include shopper marketing, trade marketing and retail solutions.

     

    Having worked across various categories, he brings on board a significant understanding of consumer engagement, brand management & building strategic marketing platforms that combine digital, media & entertainment domains.

     

    Shaleen is currently working on the development of a qualitative tool that reveals human needs and motivations and places them in a contextual and cultural framework. The primary application of this tool is about driving a deeper connect between brands and their consumers. He has also developed a real time web analytics tool that is capable of integrating all the brand variables, like sales, click through rates, foot falls etc.

     

    Quoting on Shaleen’s appointment, Sameer Mehta, Head- Business & Operations, TracyLocke said, “At TracyLocke, we believe in Bottom – Up Grass roots approach to enable our clients with a business solution, which is powered by the Shopper insights. Shaleen brings in relevant experience in Shopper engagement strategies aligning it with brand Management & building strategic marketing. His understanding and expertise on Digital will only add to our vision of providing Technology lead Shopper insights and shopper experiences encompassing Path-to-purchase across the Retailers and e-tailers.”

     

  • As the Senior Executive Creative Director Spearheading Creative Leadership of its Mumbai Office

    Louella Rebello joins GREY group India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Louella Rebello

    GREY group India has appointed Louella Rebello as their new Senior Executive Creative Director, Mumbai. She will be responsible for the Creative Services out of its Mumbai Office and be an integral part of GREY group’s creative leadership team.

     

    Louella is a highly energetic creative with many awards under her aegis including Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, London International Awards, The Yahoo Big Idea Chair and Adfest.

     

    In her previous position, she headed the Mumbai office at TBWA India and served on renowned accounts including Nissan, Datsun, Kuoni Travel, Standard Chartered, Cigna TTK Health Insurance and Singapore Airlines.

     

    Prior to TBWA India, Rebello was with DDB Mudra Group. She successfully launched the ‘Cross Polo’ campaign for Volkswagen India which was lauded by the brand as an example of creativity and effectiveness. Under her leadership, ‘The Hinglish Project’ won a highly-coveted Cannes Gold in 2012. She and her teams also won two Cannes bronze, a silver and bronze at Spikes Asia, an Adfest Bronze and a London International Finalist in 2012/13.

     

    “Louella is a 15 year veteran. Her wealth of knowledge, experience and strong leadership skills will be invaluable to us as we look to consistently create ‘Famous & Effective’ campaigns for our clients. I am confident her appointment will accelerate our goal in elevating GREY group’s creative services and standards to even greater heights,” said Sunil Lulla, Chairman & Managing Director, GREY group India.

     

    Louella has served earlier at Ogilvy from 2003 to 2011, leaving as Senior Creative Director. At Ogilvy, she worked on brands such as Vodafone, Tata Safari, Tata Sumo, Unilever Foods, Amaron India, Star TV and Bank of India, amongst others

     

  • To recognize & honour under 30 professionals in Marketing, Advertising & Media

    IAA Future Leaders Awards announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) has announced its new Future Leaders initiative – The IAA Future Leaders Awards.

     

    Three future leaders below the age of 30 will be identified and honoured. They will represent the finest talent in advertising, marketing and media, the three broad areas that the IAA is focused on.

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy

    Srinivasan K Swamy President IAA and Chairman R K SWAMY BBDO said “this is a young industry and we owe it to ourselves to recognize our future leaders, nurture them, encourage them and celebrate them. I am particularly glad we are launching this meaningful initiative in our Silver Jubilee year. It reinforces our commitment to all that is good in this industry”.

     

    Carefully designed nomination forms will be going out shortly to key stakeholders in the marketing and communication space. Nominations would be short-listed and placed before an eminent jury of acknowledged leaders in their own field. The winners would be honoured before an elite audience at the prestigious IAA Silver Jubilee Summit which will be held at Kochi on the 4th and 5th September 2015.

     

    Monica Tata

    Monica Tata, Chairperson of the Future leaders Committee adds “apart from the obvious prestige of being recognized and honoured before such a distinguished audience, the three winners would be sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to the AdAsia 2015 being held in Taipei this November. This would be a great learning experience for these young leaders”.