MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Criteo invests in India by opening a new office in New Delhi

    Criteo opens office in Delhi; Ajeet Kandachar is MD

    By A Correspondent

     

    Criteo, the performance marketing technology company announced the opening of a new office in New Delhi and the appointment of Ajeet Kandachar as Managing Director of India, to lead the business in one of its largest strategic growth markets globally. The company entered the India market in late 2014 and has been working with eCommerce companies such as AskmeBazaar, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, nearbuy and Urban Ladder. The new office and Kandachar’s appointment will enable Criteo to expand operations in the country and further grow its portfolio of local customers.

     

    “We are beginning to see strong growth in India and are happy to welcome Ajeet to the Criteo team. His breadth of experience across the technology industry will help us develop and execute a long-term plan for growth acceleration in India,” said Yuko Saito, Managing Director of Criteo Southeast Asia. “We’re also very excited for our new office opening in New Delhi, which further signifies our strong commitment to and investment in the country’s eCommerce potential.”

     

    Based in Criteo’s new office in New Delhi, Kandachar will be responsible for the strategic direction, operational execution and overall leadership of the India business. He will also focus on cultivating and strengthening relationships with advertisers and publishers.

     

    Kandachar joins Criteo from Vizury, an international internet marketing company, where he was responsible for growing the business throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Kandachar’s experience also includes various sales and business development positions in India.

     

    “Given the tremendous upsurge in internet and mobile penetration, I firmly believe that eCommerce in India is set for a new wave of growth. By having an office in New Delhi, we are better able to support our local customers and accelerate their business development. Criteo is clearly a global market leader and I’m excited about the value we can bring to local online retailers,” said Ajeet Kandachar, Managing Director, Criteo India.

     

    Since its initial public offering on 30 October 2013, Criteo has undergone significant global expansion. In the same year, the company launched its office in Singapore to expand its operations to Southeast Asia. Criteo now has 31 offices around the world, seven of which are in the Asia-Pacific region, including India.

     

  • Sujata has earlier worked with Omnicom, Starcom India, Vivaki Exchange, Nielsen India & Lodestar

    Carat appoints Sujata Dwibedy as EVP, Mondelez

    By A Correspondent

     

    Carat India has roped in Sujata Dwibedy as executive vice president. A media veteran with more than 17 years of experience, Sujata has extensively worked across sectors such as FMCG, telecom, airlines, finance, alcohol and beverages. Prior to this, Sujata was head – business development at Omnicom Media Group.

     

    As per her new mandate, Sujata will lead the Mondelez business at Carat in India and ensure that the best possible solutions are provided across all media platforms. Meanwhile, she will also work closely with the Carat APAC team on the business.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, Kartik said, “We are delighted to have the vast experience and capabilities that Sujata brings to the table. I am certain that she will bring to bear all of her learnings to deliver outstanding solutions for Mondelez in India.”

     

    Sujata added, “I have always aspired to work on brand Mondelez. It is a wonderful brand to work on. It is a matter of great pride for me that I will be able to leverage my planning, research, buying and strategic skills for a brand of this stature!”

     

  • Mangoblossom will handle brand identity & design

    Scarecrow Communications wins creative mandate of ALT Balaji

    By A Correspondent

     

    Scarecrow Communications has won the creative mandate of ALT Balaji. The agency was shortlisted after a multi-round pitch process, following which Scarecrow was brought on board.

     

    Speaking on the win, Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, said, “Today, the entire world is shifting to the digital platform for their entertainment. Balaji Telefilms has a rich legacy of producing the most favoured content on a large scale for multiple platforms – from Television to Films. And with ALT Balaji, they’re gearing up to entertain the digital audience as well. Scarecrow is really enthused to be part of this ambitious and exciting brand vision”.

     

    Nachiket Pantvaidya

    Nachiket Pantvaidya – ALT Balaji, CEO said, “We’re excited to work with Scarecrow Communications and look forward to doing cutting edge creative work with them that will launch and build ALT Balaji for its consumers, both in India and overseas.”

     

    ALT Balaji will create highly differentiated, original digital content for the entire connected ecosystem spanning mobiles, computers, tablets, smart TVs and game stations. Through this endeavor, Balaji Telefilms will go beyond the current themes of television entertainment to set a new bench-mark with younger, edgier and smarter contemporary content.

     

    While Scarecrow will be handling creative mandate, brand identity of Alt Balaji has been created by branding and design firm Mangoblossom and brand identity has been created by Mangoblossom Design.

     

  • The agency has roped in Anupama Ramaswamy and Akashneel Dasgupta as Executive Creative Directors

    Dentsu Creative Impact strengthens creative leadership

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Creative Impact, the creative agency from Dentsu Aegis Network has made two major senior appointments in an attempt to further strengthen its creative product. The agency has roped in Anupama Ramaswamy and Akashneel Dasgupta as Executive Creative Directors. They will report to Soumitra Karnik, National Creative Director, Dentsu India Group.

     

    Anupama Ramaswamy

    Prior to joining Dentsu Creative Impact, Anupama Ramaswamy was Executive Creative Director at Cheil, Gurgaon and was in-charge of the Samsung Mobile account. In the recent years, Anupama has worked on the launch of the Galaxy J series, Note 4, Grand 2 and the extremely-popular “Fickle is Fun” campaign for Lavie Handbags.

     

    Commenting on her new role, Anupama said, “I am very excited to join Dentsu Creative Impact. I have loved the vibe of the agency since the moment I walked in. Soumitra and Amit have been trying to get the best possible talent, and my mandate here is to have fun while building a vibrant and creative culture. This will involve less rhetoric and more hands-on hard work.”

     

    She further adds, “While it is important to win metals, it is also critical for us to glamourize our day-to-day business as well. It can never be an ‘either/or’ situation. I would really like to see the more difficult every day work, which keeps the business ticking, to become more creative. Lastly, together we shall try and build a creative culture, which for me is the 3 P’s of advertising – People with a Positive Purpose. Once these three come together, we have a winner at hand.”

     

    Some of the agencies that Anupama has worked with include JWT, Lowe, Rediffusion, Havas and FCB. She has worked across a gamut of brands such as Nokia, Airtel, Woodland, Whirlpool, LG, Maruti, Lays and Boost. In her kitty are a number of  AdFest Golds, Spikes, Effies, New York Festival and a number of Abby’s. She was part of the One Show Jury in 2012 and is a regular face on the Goafest jury panel over the last few years.

     

    Akashneel Dasgupta

    Meanwhile, Akashneel Dasgupta’s last assignment was at ADK Fortune where he was heading the creative function. Akashneel started his career in advertising with strategic planning at Mudra. After spending a good 5 years in planning, he decided to venture into copywriting within the DDB Mudra group. In 2010, he joined Lowe Lintas as a creative director and then moved to ADK Fortune as vice-president and creative head in 2013. He has worked across categories such as automobiles (both two wheelers and four wheelers), FMCG, media, online travel, fashion, real estate, food and beverages, etc. Some of the brands that he has worked on are Maruti Suzuki, Paras Pharma (Moov, Itchguard, Dermicool, Krack, Livon, etc) Rasna, Johnson and Johnson, Yamaha, Honda, Emami, Woodland, Expedia, DLF and Wills Lifestyle amongst others.

     

    Commenting on his new role, Akashneel said, “It’s an exciting time to join Dentsu Creative Impact where a young new team has taken shape and one cannot fail to notice the energy and enthusiasm. Also, it was a personal desire for some time to work with Soumitra and I am happy that an opportunity has presented itself. Hope you get to hear more from us, soon.”

     

    Soumitra Karnik

    Talking about the exciting new additions to the team, Soumitra Karnik, NCD, Dentsu Creative Impact said, “Great work happens when people commit to constantly raising the bar. We are young and tremendously hungry for qualitative growth. To satiate our appetite and to help us achieve our objective, people become easily our single most valuable asset and we cherry pick each one of them. Both Anupama and Akash are just the kind of people Dentsu Creative Impact needs to write its destiny. For me, they are our fantastic acquisitions.”

     

  • Chai Point is one of the early entrants in the organised tea chain business and targets the market of young working professionals

    Chai Point opts for Happy Creative Services

    By A Correspondent

     

    Chai Point, an omni-channel beverage brand, has handed over its creative and digital mandate to Bangalore based idea shop Happy Creative Services.

     

    Chai Point is one of the early entrants in the organised tea chain business and targets the market of young working professionals via its network of stores, dispensers on corporate premises and their delivery business. Since their start in 2010, Chai Point has achieved a scale of 90+ outlets across 7 cities, namely – Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Bangalore.

     

    The creative portfolio will cover three major verticals of Chai Point – Retail Hubs, Chai@Work and Chai-on-Call. As the brand expands its offerings, Chai Point aims to be known as the preferred breakfast and snack delivery channel.

     

    Speaking on the association with Happy, Amuleek Singh Bijral, CEO Chai Point said, “We are really excited to have Happy Creative Services as our partner; and we look forward to working with them to build our brand.”

     

    Kartik Iyer

    On the partnership, Kartik Iyer, CEO and Co-Founder of Happy Creative Services said, “Its really exciting for us to partner with Chai Point. It only goes further to prove our capability in birthing new brands and growing them into household names. That too a category like chai is as traditional and basic as it gets. To take something that simple and add consumer experience to an un-organised sector can be challenging. The energy of the founders and the passion with which they have built their business truly inspires us. We look forward to creating some fun and insightful work for the brand.”

     

  • Kyoorius Announces In-Book Winners and Blue Elephant nominees for the Kyoorius Creative Awards 2016

    Kyoorius-ity over! In-book winners and Blue Elephant nominees announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Kyoorius Creative Awards jury session ended on May 7 but the ‘curiosity’ about some of the winners was cleared on May 17. Kyoorius, in association with D&AD(Design and Art Direction) has announced the in-book winners for the Kyoorius Creative Awards 2016. Out of 1863 entries submitted, 164 entries have been announced as in-book nominations that qualify for the Baby Elephant and the Blue and Black Elephants are selected from these nominations.

     

    The winners of the Blue and Black Elephants will be announced on the awards night which will be held on June 3. This year will be the third edition of the Kyoorius Creative Awards, which recognises talents from the advertising and digital industry, and this year they have introduced the media category as well. Kyoorius rewards all great work in the Indian visual communications sphere and hence does not have Gold, Silver & Bronze tier system – every great work will win a Blue Elephant and the Black Elephant goes to that outstanding work that has made a mark among the rest. The jury can decide to award multiple Blue Elephants in any category, and none in another based if entrees are not up to the mark.

     

    The full list of Advertising Awards In Book Winners can be found at: http://awards.kyoorius.com/2016/creative/in-book-winners#advertising

     

    The complete list of Digital Awards In Book Winners can be found at: http://awards.kyoorius.com/2016/creative/in-book-winners#digital

     

    The complete list of Media Awards In Book Winners can be found at: http://awards.kyoorius.com/2016/creative/in-book-winners#media

     

    Apart from agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, DDB Mundra and others, this year has seen entries from corporates like Hindustan Uniliver, DainikBhaskar, Club FM to name a few. The Jury foremen of the three categories were: R Balki, Group Chairman, MullenLoweLintas Group (for Advertising awards), Ralph Barnett, National Creative Director, SapientNitro (for Digital awards) and Mike Florence, Head of Planning, PHD Media (for Media awards).

     

    The awards even will be held on Friday, June 3 at The Dome (SVP Stadium, NSCI).

     

     

  • PokerNation is an online Poker gaming website promoted by Fortuity Gaming

    Scarecrow wins PokerNation mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    After a multi agency pitch, Fortuity Gaming Pvt Ltd handed over the creative duties of PokerNation to Scarecrow Communications. As a part of the extensive pitch process, the agency had to cater to every aspect related to the brand, such as brand positioning, strategy and creative.

     

    PokerNation is an online Poker gaming website promoted by Fortuity Gaming. It has been created like a virtual nation on the Internet – a nation, for the players, by the players and of the players.

     

    The mandate for Scarecrow includes a complete digital campaign, blogs, digital videos, videos on how to play  Poker and TV commercials.

     

    Gautam Thawani

    Confirming the development, Gautam Thawani, Business Head, Fortuity Gaming, says, “Globally over 6.8 per cent people play Poker. That’s about 40 million people.  Of this, a large percentage is below 35 years of age. In India too, it’s quite popular in Mumbai, Delhi, Goa and Bangalore most of which is played online and in offline private Poker Rooms. For us, it was a great opportunity to tap into the gaming category.”

     

    Arunava (Joy) Sengupta, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, adds, “The online Poker space is not properly regulated. Hence, people are hesitant about playing Poker on websites whose credentials are questionable. Essel Group’s entry will go a long way in reassuring the gaming community about online Poker. For Scarecrow too, it was a unique experience to partner Essel Group in this new age category.”

     

    Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow says, “It’s rare when an agency gets a mandate to create a virtual nation for Poker lovers. The challenge is to make it exclusive, yet inclusive. Scarecrow had the opportunity of being involved in the formation of this ‘nation’ from its birth. From naming it to designing its look. From writing the blog to the online communication. From designing merchandise like Poker chips to T shirts and jackets. This is a nation where anyone can migrate to, and become its citizen. The official game is Poker. This nation has its own currency, its own national animal and even its own national anthem.”

     

  • The task for Bang in the Middle is to ensure the brand gets the traction it is seeking

    Bang in the Middle appointed creative partner for Au Bon Pain

    By A Correspondent

     

    Au Bon Pain is a bakery café chain with 24 cafes across Kolkata, Bangalore and Gurgaon. Au Bon Pain’s offerings include soups, salads, sandwiches, sweet and savory bakery, beverages, and has just introduced a host of new innovative dishes like Croi-Mosa, Conewich and Keema Kouign Amann.

     

    Au Bon pain called for a review of its communication duties as it is aggressively looking at growing in the country. Bang in the Middle was awarded the business after review that included many well established names from the Advertising Industry. The incumbent agency was L&K Satchi and Satchi.

     

    Manish Tandon, CEO, Au Bon Pain said “We are at a new and exciting phase of growth and are expanding both our offering and reach for which we needed a creative communication partner that could work closely with us to make this happen. Bang in the Middle brought in strategic clarity and backed it with truly out of the box creative execution. The task for Bang in the Middle is to ensure the brand gets the traction it is seeking.”

     

    Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle said “It is a matter of tremendous pride to win Au Bon Pain. The brand has a very interesting approach and we feel that with its time we fell in love with what Au Bon Pain has to offer.”

     

  • GroupM won the account following a competitive pitch, which included the incumbent IPG, Starcom, Havas, and Zenith

    GroupM wins media mandate of Malaysia Airlines

    By A Correspondent

     

    GroupM along with Mindshare and m/SIX, has been appointed in Malaysia as the media agency for Malaysia Airlines. Malaysia Airlines is the national flag carrier of Malaysia and a member of the oneworld airline alliance.

     

    GroupM won the account following a competitive pitch, which included the incumbent IPG, Starcom, Havas, and Zenith. The appointment is effective May 1st 2016, and covers Global Channel Planning, Media Buying and Optimization, and Search Engine Marketing and Re-marketing. The entire global digital buying will be done by the Malaysia office.

     

    The win came on the back of Mindshare and m/SIX pitching a proprietary framework “AIR” to Malaysia Airlines, that provides the client with dynamic audience segmentation and targeting capabilities.

     

    Girish Menon, CEO of GroupM Malaysia said: “Malaysia Airlines is the most prestigious global Malaysian brand. We are excited to be their business partner. This appointment is a testament of the teams’ understanding of the dynamic consumer journey, and applying the insights through effective use of real time data and technology. With our proprietary planning framework of Adaptive Marketing, the team helped in sharing breakthrough ideas to the client.”

     

    Grace Chan, Head of Group Branding and Communication, Malaysia Airlines added: “We are excited and looking forward to working with GroupM, who has clearly demonstrated adaptive strategic thinking using their proprietary framework and capabilities. We will be working with the best of the resources from the group as Team MH.”

     

     

     

  • Banner adverts still hold consumer interests; pop-ups and video adverts are more intrusive

    Most Indians find mobile advertising the most annoying, reports Nanu survey

    By A Correspondent

     

    nanu, the fastest growing mobile VoIP apps, unveiled the outcome of a targeted survey among a group of Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials from India using smartphones, with diverse work profiles. Amounting to a total sample size of 3735, 60 per cent of the respondents are annoyed with mobile advertising and marked the adverts as most annoying and obtrusive. However, banners still holds some preference for mobile users due to its unforced nature since approximately 52 per cent of respondents have rated banners as least annoying while more than 55 per cent  respondents believe pop-ups and video adverts as the most annoying form of mobile advertising.

     

    As any mode of advertising focuses on two factors – increase sales and brand building, mobile advertising in its present form fails to address either of them as indicated by the outcome of the survey. It reveals that even though 46 per cent of respondents may click intentionally on banner adverts, but 80% still avoid clicking on pop-ups and video adverts. Moreover, about 75 per cent of respondents indicate their doubts about making any purchase decision from mobile advertising.

     

    Commenting on the findings of the survey, Martin Nygate, Founder & CEO, nanu said, “The findings of the survey clearly highlights the ineffectiveness of the existing modes of advertising that brands are adopting, due to its intrusive nature. Increasingly, this invasive side of mobile advertising is adding up to its own plight by pushing mobile phone users to resort to using ad blocking software. It’s the present form of mobile advertising that eradicates all the smartness of our smartphones”

     

    “We believe that mobile advertising needs to be completely non-intrusive and infused with the right set of analytics to ensure enough value proposition for both users and brands,” added Mr. Nygate

     

    Mobile advertising is today the core of any brand’s digital marketing media strategy and marketers are aggressively looking at options to ensure the right visibility for the brand, thereby enhancing brand recall for the products and services. The outcome of the survey indicates the status quo of the mobile advertising segment, leading to annoyed and irritated consumers coming at the cost of brands’ advertising budget for mobile.

     

  • GroupM, along with Mindshare and m/SIX, has been appointed in Malaysia as the media agency for Malaysia Airlines

    GroupM wins media mandate of Malaysia Airlines

    By A Correspondent

     

    GroupM, along with Mindshare and m/SIX, has been appointed in Malaysia as the media agency for Malaysia Airlines, the country’s national carrier and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. GroupM won the account following a competitive pitch, which included incumbent IPG, Starcom, Havas, and Zenith. The appointment is effective May 1, 2016, and covers Global Channel Planning, Media Buying and Optimisation, and Search Engine Marketing and Re-marketing. The entire global digital buying will be done by the Malaysia office.

     

  • As Digital Leader, Gautam will focus on strengthening FAST (Future Adaptive Specialist Team) and will be responsible for the growth of the agency’s performance business in South East Asia.

    Mindshare appoints Maneesheel Gautam as Digital Leader of SE Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maneesheel Gautam

    Global media agency network Mindshare has appointed Maneesheel Gautam to the role of Digital Leader of South East Asia.  Gautam is currently based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

     

    A true home-grown talent of Mindshare, Gautam has over 16 years of multi-function media experience across disciplines and countries. An MBA from IMDR Pune, Gautam schooled in St Xavier’s High School, Patna.

     

    As Digital Leader of Mindshare South East Asia, Gautam will focus on strengthening FAST (Future Adaptive Specialist Team), Mindshare’s service offering aimed at building sector-specific solutions for marketers to drive marketing and media actions using real-time insights. He will also be responsible for the growth of the Agency’s performance business in South East Asia.

     

    In his new role, Gautam, will report to Himanshu Shekhar, CEO of Mindshare South East Asia, and work closely with the Mindshare Asia Pacific team.

     

    Commenting on the promotion, Shekhar said: “Maneesheel is respected by clients, teams, and media partners alike. Being named Planner of the Year by Campaign Asia Pacific, he played a key role in driving Mindshare and our clients’ digital ambition in the market. His great work not only won industry awards for the agency, but also helped grow Indonesia’s digital sector overall. I have no doubt that he will achieve even more in his new role.”