MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Kunj will be based out of the agency's office in Mumbai

    DDB Mudra West appoints Kunj Shah as Group Creative Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    DDB Mudra has announced the appointment of Kunj Shah as Group Creative Director, DDB Mudra West. Kunj will be based out of the agency’s office in Mumbai.

     

    A veteran of 17 years in the advertising industry, Kunj joins DDB Mudra West from Ogilvy and Mather where she was a Senior Creative Director for almost 3 years. Kunj brings in a plethora of experience from her earlier stints at McCann Erickson and Grey Advertising.

     

    Kunj has worked on numerous multinational brands in the FMCG, telecom, electronics and automobile sector. Her key client roster includes brands like, Home Centre for MENA region, Abbott Pharma, Coca Cola (Sri Lanka), British Petroleum, STAR Indian Super League, Titan Watches, Allen Solly, Reliance Telecom, TVS Scooty, Pond’s, Levi’s, ITC’s Aashirvaad Atta to name a few.

     

    Quoting on Kunj’s appointment, Rahul Mathew, Creative Head, DDB Mudra West, said, “Bernbach had said “An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it” And Kunj is the kind of talent that we believe will help us create more magic. She makes our talent roster even more formidable and enviable. And will surely help us script many more success stories in the market place and in award shows.”

     

     

  • The event saw important facts about the necessity of toilets being discussed

    Madison IES executes innovation on World Toilet Day

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison IES, the activation and experential unit of Madison OOH and Madison World recently completed another interesting event on World Toilet Day for its client ROCA Bathroom products by creating a giant WC installation in DLF Place Mall, Saket, New Delhi. The event saw important facts about the necessity of toilets being discussed and customers were motivated to be a part of this noble initiative by signing a Pledge. ROCA further pledged to create 50 toilets for every 10 pledges they received at the event.

     

    Sharing the objective behind the activation, Jyotsana Singh Kaushik, Sr. Manager PR & Digital Marketing, ROCA says, “The objective behind this event was not to just create awareness or brand presence, but to invite the public to pledge their support towards hygienic sanitation for every Indian in line with the PM’s vision. We have received an encouraging response and are in the process of allocating the toilets for under-privileged sections of society.”

     

    Speaking about the activation Saumen Roy, VP & Head, Madison IES says, “People generally hesitate to have a discussion on such a private topic as a toilet; but this activation succeeded in breaking this taboo. It inspired, motivated and educated those present to talk, discuss, inspire and sensitize others on the need to have proper sanitation for all.  Moreover we were all really delighted that we could pull off the project, from idea to execution in just 3 days time.”

     

  • Getty Images partners with Next Photographer Award for the second year running

    F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi design creative campaign for Next Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Iconic photographs & film works from Nirvana, Guinness, Honda and Spike Jonze have made it to the 2016 D&AD Next Awards campaign. These works have been creatively re-imagined by F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi into a series of graphic posters. Capturing the essence of what makes them unique using words and emotive illustrations, they are designed to inspire and excite the next generation of photographers and directors to enter their work into the awards. F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi are themselves D&AD Award winners, most recently taking home a Yellow Pencil for graphic design in the 2015 Awards.

     

    Pedro Prado, Creative Director F/Nazca Saatch & Saatchi commented: “D&AD, along with the biggest names in direction and cinematography are always a source of inspiration for us. I hope we’ve managed to create a campaign that touches the soul of future great names in the industry.”

     

    Tim Lindsay, D&AD CEO added: “One of the great things about D&AD is the chance it gives us to work directly with great agencies on our own campaigns. It’s no surprise that we’ve gone back to Brazil once again to access that brilliance. The work that F/Nazca have created gets to the heart of what the Next Awards are all about; an inspiring celebration of talent and potential.”

     

    The posters will be supported by a social campaign, animations and films, the latter of these will be released in 2016.

     

  • Sometimes, the first step is just in getting a conversation started. Just what @ActionAidIndia has done through its film, The Water Wives

    Dentsu Mama Lab partners with ActionAid for short film

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading NGO Action Aid has partnered with Dentsu Mama Lab to create awareness and start conversations around inequality, especially in the area of economic inequality.

     

    There are many social behaviors that scream out inequality but in reality have their roots in economic causes. Inequality abounds in many ways. And sometimes, the first step is just in getting a conversation started. Just what @ActionAidIndia has done through its film, The Water Wives.

     

    The Water Wives is a short film, created mainly for the digital medium that Dentsu Mama Lab has created for Action Aid India to highlight this. In less than two days, the film has already clocked over 150,000 views on YouTube and has got over 10,000 shares on ScoopWhoop, besides hundreds of shares on Facebook and Twitter. In addition, it has been covered by India Today, The Logical Indian, Sheroes, StoryPick and many others.

     

  • Veteran adperson Ramesh Narayan on the takeaways from AdAsia 2015 that was held in Taipei last week

    Ramesh Narayan: Eight takeaways from AdAsia 2015

     

    By Ramesh Narayan

     

    The forum is the message. If you go to DigiAsia, you feel that technology has overtaken human endeavours. If you go to AdAsia, the Empire strikes back. Good old-fashioned marketing is alive and well, as we found in at the meet held in Taipei recently. Here are some takeaways from the event:

     

    1. Technology is important. In fact, automation is seen as one of the key trends going forward, but it is just an enabler. Fundamentally, people have not changed; the ways to reach out to them have.

     

    2. The TedX platform was used during two sessions at AdAsia. Initially people wondered why content was being outsourced. After all, these were not the usual suspects who speak at large international fora. It was different, and it worked really well. The inputs from creative people outside the immediate pale of advertising, was refreshingly new. So you had sound technologists, dramatists and electronic music-makers telling us what clicks with the audience. And there were valuable learnings to be had.

     

    3. Programmatic is not something to be feared after all, the experts would have us believe. Apparently it should be seen as just a new way to do an old job. Yes, it does entail focus, training and big investment, but anything new would entail that. Personally, I’m still grappling with understanding what it really is. Problematic.

     

    4. Human resources are still a big problem for our industry. We are just not able to get enough of the ‘right’ people. And large networks are now throwing the recruitment net wider than usual, seeking specialist talent like PhDs in math and editors from specialist content to manage content.

     

    5. Piyush Pandey still sells, big time. Maybe he retrofits his presentation to suit the topic, but hey, when you create and present great work, who’s complaining.

     

    6. Clients would be well advised to forget the ‘creative’ briefs they provide agencies. They would be better served by defining a business problem, spelling out the commercial deliverables expected, and challenging the agency to present the solutions. These would be business deliverables, not media-specific deliverables.

     

    7. The case study is still a wonderful way to provoke a conversation among panelists. It is very real, puts the panelist on the spot, and brings out good responses that could then form the basis of meaningful debate. This AdAsia, in a particular session, had a research analyst present case studies that had worked, and then a distinguished panel dissected the cases for the benefit of the audience. It was a great way to learn.

     

    8. Finally, the AdAsia Brand in India still shines strong. With a great leader of the delegation like Raj Nayak, a 140-plus force from India kept the tricolour flying high. Encomiums to the leadership of Pradeep Guha (who completed his term as Chairman Asian Federation of Advertising Associations) did the country proud. And the incoming Vice Chairman Srinivasan Swamy, with his proven track record, should be able to push the envelope even further.

     

    This article first appeared in dna of brands dated November 30, 2015

     

  • Modifies format to keep up with the changing advertising landscape

    The Ad Club announces the Effie 2015 Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Club announced the Effie 2015 Awards Gala Ceremony, to be held on Wednesday, 27th January, 2016 at 6.30 p.m. at the Seaside Lawns, Hotel Taj Lands End, Bandra, Mumbai. Campaigns that ran in India from 1st October, 2014 to 30th September, 2015 (12 months) are eligible for entry.

     

    In tune with the changing times, The Advertising Club has drawn up a slew of changes to the Effies 2015. For the first time, entries can now be submitted online. As an acknowledgement to the increasing importance of the startup ecosystem in our country, a new category called New Product or Service – Best Campaign for a Start-up, has been introduced. The Digital Campaign category too was redefined into the Integrated Marketing Category – a tacit nod to the evolution of the digital platform as an inclusion rather than extension of an ad campaign. The growing economic influence of small town India came to the fore as the erstwhile Rural Marketing category got rechristened to Small Town and Rural Marketing Category. Though not renamed, the Healthcare Category also underwent a redefining exercise, to account for the increasing diversity of the segment. Barring the Best Ongoing Campaign, all other categories will now be eligible to compete for the Grand Effie.

     

    Raj Nayak

    Commenting on the changes, Raj Nayak, President of The Advertising Club said, “The Effies is the award that recognizes advertising effectiveness. To be able to do justice to its purpose, it is imperative that we recognize and integrate the changing landscape of advertising in India with the rules of the award. I am confident that the modifications that we’ve introduced this year will further streamline the purpose of Effies with the ground realities of advertising in India.”

     

    Ajay Kakar

    Ajay Kakar, 2015 Awards Chairman said, “The advertising industry has grown from strength to strength since its inception in India. Not only has our industry grown in volume but also in terms of geographical spread. It is in recognition of this reality that, for the first time, Effie India will be organizing the first round of judging at Bangalore besides Mumbai & Delhi.”

     

     

    Vikram Sakhuja

    Vikram Sakhuja, 2015 Awards Co-Chairman showed his excitement when he said, “What’s new in Effies is your work. Celebrate the fact that you did something creative, analytical, but always accountable. We love madness but love the method underlying even more. If you’ve done something that made you proud chances are we would love to see it. Let it rip.”

     

  • Sources at Happy also confirmed that some more notable appointments would be announced soon

    Happy strengthens its strategic planning team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Phalgun Tiruvasu

    Bangalore based Happy Creative Services has strengthened its strategic planning team by bringing on board Phalgun Tiruvasu as Head of Strategic Planning.

     

    With a career spanning over 15-years across communication, research & journalism, Phalgun’s previous stint was with Lowe Lintas & Partners, Bangalore where he led the strategic mandate on Tanishq, Britannia, Tata Tea, Arvind Brands, amongst others. Prior to Lowe, Phalgun was the lead strategist on ITC Foods & TVS Motors at McCann Bangalore. Apart from Bangalore, Phalgun has also worked at Publicis Ambience, Mumbai on Marico & Diageo and with Y&R Jakarta on Danone. Well experienced in qualitative research, Phalgun worked with Quantum on Tata Motors & Unilever and also briefly ran his own research consultancy firm. Winner of multiple Effies, Phalgun has been integral to many noteworthy campaigns, namely Tanishq “Re-marriage”,  Tata Tea “Andar Wala Snaan”, Arrow “Bold New Professional” – just to name a few.

     

    Phalgun will lead manage a hybrid team comprising of strategists from communication (offline, online), data & design to further Happy’s prowess in delivering medium-agnostic, efficacious creative solutions to brands & businesses. Phalgun will be supported by Ravi Bhat, an old Happy stalwart, who recently returned to Happy after a short stint with Lowe Lintas Bangalore. Besides Ravi Bhat, the team also stars Ashwin Dravid (ex- Maxus, Jack-n-the-Box) looking after content strategy, Hari Nair (ex- Razorfish) on leading data & Anusha Pinto on design.

     

    Praveen Das

    Kartik Iyer & Praveen Das, Co-founders of Happy are equally emphatic about the new strategic impetus. Says Kartik: “Happy has always been a strong believer in strategic planning. We have taken great care to put together a team that has a multi dimensional approach to delivering strategic solutions. Under the able leadership of Phalgun, we sincerely hope to carve sharper insights and further success to all our clients. This is another step closer to our vision of being a truly hybrid agency in the country.”

     

    Praveen Das adds: “With Phalgun at the helm of strategy and him being a national level dart player, we are sure that he will hit the bulls eye for all our clients in terms of strategy. And will inspire our creative team to come up with great output.“

     

  • Launched in November 2012, Reboot is a category leader in the IT refurbishment space

    Grasshoppers India bags Reboot’s digital mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Delhi-based communications agency Grasshoppers India has joined hands with Reboot Systems to help the brand connect with the youth as it looks at an expansion in the retail space through brick and mortar as well as online platforms.

     

    Launched in November 2012, Reboot is a category leader in the IT refurbishment space with a 300 per cent annual growth and most of its procurement and sales so far taking place in the corporate sector. The brand is now looking at increasing its retail presence by setting-up over 250 Experience Centres and Zones across the country by March 2017. Currently, there are 20 Reboot Experience Centres and Zones across 12 states. The brand offers refurbished PCs (desktops & laptops), PC peripherals and mobility devices (IPhones and IPads only), but has now launched a new category of products especially aimed at the youth which include fitness tracking bands, cameras and gaming consoles. Gradually, Reboot plans to offer all chip-based products that weigh less than 7kg in weight via refurbishing across all is channels.

     

    Reboot’s CEO & Co-Founder Rahul Chowdhury, “Refurbishment is a popular concept in the West but is yet to gain full momentum in India though the surface is getting scratched now. Through our partnership with Grasshoppers, we not only want to draw attention to our brand but also create awareness among the target audience about the need for embracing refurbished products for a host of economic and environmental benefits. It is important for people to know that refurbishment is not a synonym for second hand. Rather, a refurbished product bought from a reliable Microsoft Registered Refurbisher is as good as new. Every Indian should own a refurbished product so that they are able to own a device of their choice just like globally in developed nations where consumers own between 3 and 4 devices. Reboot will play at the heart of the ecosystem via its innovative take back policy to reduce E-Waste for the country and have a simple disposition for end consumers. With the objective of educating the masses, we will be coming up with a lot of interesting and interactive campaigns on various digital platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Google.”

     

    “We live in a tech-savvy era where a lot of us discard our e-goods within a couple of years in order to buy the latest gadget. When Reboot approached us for this campaign, we got very excited with the thought of getting associated with a cause where we will be able to instigate the affluent people of the society to help the technology deprived through a small gesture of giving away their disposable IT and technology assets for refurbishment. Our campaign will also encourage people with a good spending power to opt for refurbished products not only to save money but because it is good for the environment.” said Grasshoppers’ Director, Arjun Banerjee.

     

  • The McCann ad is the only Made-in-Asia commercial in Gunn Reports Top 20 in the 21st Century

    Saare Jahaan Mein Achcha… Happy Dent humaara!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    In these intolerant times, playing with the lyrics of an ever-so-popular nationalistic song, may be the wrong thing to do. But, heck, this is celebrating what appears to be a significant achievement for India. The McCann Erickson Mumbai creative for Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum titled “Happy Dent Palace” is in Gunn Report’s 20 Best Commercials of the 21st Century.

     

    The results were based on a public pulled on who voted on a list 30 candidates with provision made for other nominations, The Gunn Report has been able to select the Reel of The 20 Best Commercials of The 21st Century So Far (here!). The reel complements the much-viewed Gunn Report collection of The 100 Best Commercials of The 20th Century.

     

    Sharing the honour equally, the 20 ads (from 2000 to 2015) and their creators are:

     

    BGH Silent Aircon, “Dads in Briefs”, Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires

    Budweiser, “Wassup/True”, DDB, Chicago

    Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, “Gorilla”, Fallon, London

    Canal+, “Closet”, BETC Euro RSCG, Paris

    Canal+, “The Bear”, BETC Euro RSCG, Paris

    Chipotle, “Back to the Start”, Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles

    Dove Self Esteem Fund, “Evolution”, Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto

    Guinness, “noitulove”, Abbott, Mead, Vickers, BBDO, London

    Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum, “Happy Dent Palace”, McCann Erickson, Mumbai

    Honda, “Cog”, Wieden & Kennedy, London

    Honda, “Grrr”, Wieden & Kennedy, London

    John West Salmon, “Bear”, Leo Burnett, London

    Metro Trains, “Dumb Ways to Die”, McCann, Melbourne

    Nike, “Tag”, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland

    Nike, “Write The Future”, Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam

    Old Spice, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland

    Peugeot 206, “The Sculptor”, Euro RSCG MCM, Milan

    Sony Bravia LCD TV, “Balls” Fallon, London

    Volkswagen Golf DSG, “Kids On Steps”, DDB, Berlin

    Volvo Trucks, “Epic Split”, Forsman & Bodenfors, Gothenburg

     

    Needless to say, Prasoon Joshi, chairman, McCann Asia-Pacific, and CEO, McCann Worldgroup India is ecstatic. Really feels good, he said in response to a text.

     

    Commenting on the 20 Best Commercials of the 21st Century So Far, Donald Gunn, Founder of The Gunn Report says, “We’re delighted that the participation was high, the result of which is a reel selected by our industry of iconic, game-changing and much loved commercials produced during the last 15 years.”

     

    “Not only do these commercials stand the test of time, but they have also influenced changes in brand communications. As such, we hope that they will bring inspiration and learning taking our industry to new creative heights,” added Donald Gunn.

     

  • #PointKyaHai trended on Twitter on 1st spot for first few hours and garnered over 180 million impressions

    Dentsu Webchutney creates new brand thought for Payback

    By A Correspondent

     

    PAYBACK, a multi partner loyalty program which rewards points for shopping, has joined hands with Dentsu Webchutney for the online and digital marketing of their new brand thought.

     

    On the new brand thought and brand strategy, Gaurav Khurana, CMO, PAYBACK India said, “The new brand thought comes as a logical next step in PAYBACK’s brand evolution journey. It marries the core PAYBACK product proposition with the evolving customer’s need for getting more from every transaction.”

     

    Explaining the role of social media for marketing, he added, “As part of our strategy, social media has played and will continue to play a significant role for us. We received a tremendous response for our campaigns from all our customers and even non customers. With the kind of work that Dentsu Webchutney has done in the recent past, we are confident that we will be able to accomplish some great work together.”

     

    Sidharth Rao, CEO, Dentsu Webchutney said, “We are privileged to work with PAYBACK India. It enhances our credentials as the leading full service digital marketing agency in India. It is an interesting and a challenging category to work on and we are looking forward to do some great work together which will stand out on the digital stage.”

     

    In a bid to showcase their wide portfolio of partner brands and redemption options, PAYBACK came up with a new tagline which promises consumers that nothing is pointless at PAYBACK. It was led in with teaser campaign #PointKyaHai which trended on Twitter on 1st spot for first few hours and garnered over 180 million impressions.

     

    Moosa Khan, Creative Director, Denstu Webchutney said, “We had a lot of fun conceptualising and executing #PointKyaHai for PAYBACK. The campaign was one of those rare instances where the communication and the product fit together extremely well.”

     

  • Interesting findings in JWT's Innovation Group's 'Future 100: Trends and Change to Watch in 2016' report

    Consumer Trends 2016, by JWT

     

    The Innovation Group, the trends forecasting consultancy of J Walter Thompson Intelligence, today has released its Future 100: Trends and Change to Watch in 2016 report, featuring original analysis and insights on the most dynamic trends in the year ahead.

     

    In the second annual report, the 100 trends are categorised across 10 sectors, including Culture, Tech and Innovation, Brands and Marketing, and Lifestyle, exploring everything from Post-hipster Visual Irony and Sustainability Nagging to Cannabis Culture and Holographic Healthcare.

     

    “In 2015, we’ve seen that consumers are joining the dots in multiple areas of their lifestyles, taking a holistic approach to brands and consumption, and we expect this to strengthen in 2016,” says Lucie Greene, Worldwide Director of the Innovation Group. “Diet, beauty, wellbeing, mind, body, fitness: all are viewed by the consumer as one big ecosystem to maintain. Brands, once judged on their desirability and products, are now being judged on their value systems, on whether they are innovators, on whether they are promising to change the world.”

     

    As trends and innovation continue to change rapidly, The Future 100 report helps brands preview emerging trends and understand the cultural shifts that have inspired them, providing context for why these changes are happening, and analyzing what this means for brands who want to stay on the cutting edge of what engaged and informed global consumers care about.

     

    Trend highlights from each sector

     

    Travel and Hospitality

    Cuba – Cuba’s tourism market is set to take off: Travelers are rushing to see the last of the old Cuba, even as brands are competing to be the first in on the promise of Cuba.

    Brands and Marketing

    Neuromarketing – A buzzword for years now in the agency world, neuromarketing is finally moving into the realm of serious science and yielding actionable predictive insights for brands and forcing more traditional market researchers to take note.

    Food and Drink

    Inhalable Cocktails – This new exotic trend in cocktail culture is allowing drinkers to absorb alcohol via the eyes and respiratory system.

    Beauty

    Freckles – Part of fashion’s general celebration of all things redheaded, freckles are a must-have and with new products consumers add freckles where they don’t appear naturally, consumers are now celebrating individualism in all of its full-freckled glory.

    Retail

    Satellite Retail – Retailers are turning to data gathered from satellites to track traffic to stores in real time.

    Health

    Stool Banking – Consumers are now storing samples of their personal bacterial ecosystems – also known as fecal matter – for future use in new medical treatments.

    Lifestyle

    Grow-with-You Toys – New toys enabled with artificial intelligence can respond to a child’s vocabulary, interests and other traits, and evolve along with the child as they grow.

    Luxury

    Extreme Dining – The latest dining experiences to entice luxury consumers are extreme, and about accessing remote, rare and theatrical settings amid the wonders of nature.

     

    To access the full report, including all 100 trends, see the Trend Reports section of the newly relaunched JWTIntelligence.com. Find an executive summary of the report on the J. Walter Thompson Intelligence SlideShare.

     

  • The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch

    TimesOfMoney assigns digital mandate to Isobar

    By A Correspondent

     

    TimesofMoney (Remit2India and Klinnk) has appointed Isobar, the full-service digital agency from the Dentsu Aegis Network, as their digital agency. The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Achal Shah

    Sharing his thoughts on the association, Achal Shah, Senior Vice-President & Head – Marketing at TimesofMoney said, “We have been in the pure-play digital cross-border business for 15 years now. Given our objective of reaching out to global ethnic communities, digital has always been our primary medium of communication. With our services now catering to newer audiences like the Chinese, Filipinos etc in the US, UK and Australia, it was imperative for us to get the right digital media partner who had a global presence combined with the local expertise.”

     

    Shamsuddin Jasani

    Shamsuddin Jasani, Managing Director, Isobar India, “We are very happy to be associated with TimesofMoney. We are always looking at experiences across different sectors and different types of clients and this win adds a very important category of money remittance to our ever expanding repertoire.”

     

    “We recently instituted a focused business development unit to go after interesting brands. This win is just the beginning of many more to come. TimesofMoney is an interesting category and teams are excited to create innovative and creative work for them,” he added.

     

    TimesofMoney is the leading digital payments and remittances service provider catering to retail and institutional clients in India and across the globe. TimesofMoney’s bouquet of services includes retail online remittances (Remit2India & Klinnk), white-labelled remittance platforms (Payce), customized mobile wallet solutions (Movit) and online payment gateway solutions (DirecPay).