MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Smith will continue to be based in London and will report into Nick Vale

    Maxus appoints global creative director

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maxus Global has announced the appointment of Jen Smith, currently head of strategy and planning for Maxus UK, as its first ever global Creative Director. Smith will be responsible for overseeing all of Maxus Global’s creative output.

     

    Smith joined Maxus UK in 2013 as head of planning, before expanding her role to include strategy where she restructured the team to enable Maxus UK to better provide insight-led, ideas-focussed and technology-rich solutions across the agency. Smith was also instrumental in creating Change Planning, Maxus’ bespoke planning process.

     

    In 2016, Smith developed a bespoke creativity training scheme, taking ten percent of the agency on a journey of facilitation techniques and creative problem solving. Each of these creative champions are driving learnings out across the entire agency.

     

    In her new role, Smith will focus on the delivery of outstanding creative work for clients both on a UK and global level, and she will also expand the UK creativity leadership programme for all Maxus employees worldwide.

     

    Announcing the promotion, Lindsay Pattison, Maxus worldwide CEO, said: “Jen has been an absolutely integral part of Maxus UK; she’s a brilliant communicator and left field thinker, and has consistently come up with ideas that move the needle for our clients and make us a more efficient, creative business.

     

    Added Smith: “Maxus is a super fast and agile global agency and there’s a fantastic opportunity to drive creativity across our network. Clients are calling out for work that is brave, problem-solving and with one foot firmly planted in the future. I’m looking forward to taking the initiatives that have delivered in the UK out across the world, creating creativity leadership programmes, along with developing stronger and senior creative opportunities for key clients across the globe.”

     

    Smith will continue to be based in London and will report into Nick Vale Worldwide Head of Planning and Nick Baughan, CEO Maxus UK. She will split her time 50/50 between Maxus UK and Maxus Global.

     

  • 1600+ delegates attend the two-day India Affiliate Summit

    IAMAI hosts ‘India Affiliate Summit’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Underlying the importance of affiliates in the digital marketing age, Ravi Bansal, Head Traffic and Content, LeEco, said, “Affiliates have the potential to be as big as AdWords or FB, but the only thing stopping is the visibility to the advertisers. The way we have AdExchange, we could have an Affiliate Exchange.” He was participating in a panel discussion on ‘Anatomy of Perfect Affiliate Marketing’ at the India Affiliate Summit, organised by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in association with VCommision.

     

    The speakers at the two-day event were unanimous in their views that Affiliate Marketing is a key enabler today. In her address, Parul Bhargava, Co-founder & CEO, vCommission Media, mentioned that the affiliate network has been growing steadily in India despite the fact that it is still at a nascent stage. She underlined the importance of a strategic partnership amongst the various channels such as advertisers, brands, publishers, which could be a win-win for all the stakeholders.

     

    Anurag Gupta

    In his address, Anurag Gupta, Founder & MD, DGM India, said that the advertisers would need to recalibrate their affiliate strategy to derive best mileage out of the Affiliate Channel. This will continue to be one of the most cost effective channels of customer acquisition.”

     

    A whitepaper titled, ‘Affiliate Marketing – What is the big deal’, jointly prepared by IAMAI and Tata Strategic Management Group was also released on Day 1 of the event. Releasing the paper, Sourabh Gupta, Engagement Manager – Technology & Digital, Tata Strategic Management Group, said “Industry often takes a myopic view on affiliate marketing by limiting it to sales. We, at TSMG believe that technology evolution would not only drive but also re-shape affiliate marketing in India. Companies across industries should re-align their conservative outlook towards affiliate marketing thus driving disproportionate results.”

     

    Speaking at the summit, Milind Pathak, Chief Operating Officer, Madhouse India, emphasised that in today’s connected world the modern marketer has to think beyond the obvious. He said: “Affiliate Marketing is not only about getting the downloads; with technology moving towards programmatic, data intelligence and attribution, marketers today can identify the time when a consumer will convert and that to in real time.” Marketers today can take all these innovations, combine them together and create a cracking campaign with effective strategy that will surge brand impact and customer engagement, at the same time driving a defined  outcome, he opined.

     

  • Mindshare bagged the coveted Media Agency of the Year title at the Emvies 2016 with Hindustan Unilever being the Media Client of the Year

    Mindshare & HUL bag top Emvies honours

     

    While the city was getting set for the dhol tasha brigade for Ganesh Chaturthi, at Lower Parel’s St Regis Hotel, there was another kind of drumbeating and hooting. It was the evening of Emvies 2016, the biggest and most coveted awards for media agencies in India.

     

    Ad Club President Raj Nayak initiated the event (emceed yet again by Brian Tellis) by stating that the 16th edition of Emvies is special not only because it is his first time as the President but this time all records have been broken with close to 1000 entries coming in. He set the tone of the evening by finishing his speech with the chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya!’

     

    Mindshare maintained the top spot in the 2016 Emvies, with eight Gold, 18 Silvers and 15 Bronze metals. The agency has always had anexciting run at the Emvies, winning the media agency of the year award for six straight years till 2013. In Emvies 2014, Maxus broke Mindshare’s winning streak and won the top agency title. “One is you are habituated to doing something different. You get habituated to doing something that is working for your brands. There is a sense of responsibility that comes from leadership and being a leader in the market. Our job is to challenge the status quo and get the work done for the brands. The end result is that we are winning awards,” said Prasanth Kumar, Mindshare, CEO South Asia, about the reason behind their success.

     

    The agency’s golden run included Best Media Strategy–Consumer Products- for Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL) ‘6 Pack Band’ for Brooke Bond Red Label. In the Best Media Innovation –Branded Content, Mindshare swept up two silvers. The first came for the award winning Brooke Bond Red Label campaign, while the second was for PepsiCo India’s ‘Pepsi- When consumers became co-marketers’. They also won gold for HUL’s ‘Before Iftar time, its Lifebuoy time’ for Lifebuoy in the Best Media Innovation: Digital-Mobile. The Grand Emvie was bagged by Mindshare and Pepsi for  ‘Pepsi- When consumers became co-marketers’.

     

    Lodestar UM and Maxus were tied at the second place in the media agency tally with 135 points. The former won six gold, three silver and three bronze metals while the later won four gold, five silver and five bronze metals. Lodestar UM gave a tough fight to both Maxus and Madison Media. Half-way through the results there was tug of war going between these three for the second, third and fourth position. But at the end, Madison Media had to settle for the fourth position with 75 points. Speaking about their win, Dhruv Jha, GM, IPG Media Brands said, “We always love winning and we always have been winners. IPG Media and Lodestar UM plus Initiative Media, we have done really well today. We had a shortlist of about 14 and we have converted 12 of them. I was confident we are going to win but winning so big was a little surprise, but when we came close we knew we were there.”

     

    The other big award of the evening, Best Media Client of the Year went to HUL. “The biggest award that we get is the kind of love consumers have for our brands and that is what we work for. But it is always nice to have peer appreciation for the work that we do and it is inspiring and pushes us to do more. You get appreciation for something consumers responded to positively and loved it. That is the reason why we feel awards are important,” said Gaurav Jeet Singh, Head, Media Services, HUL, after the win.

     

    Another highlight of this year’s Emvies was the entry of the newbies like The Social Street and ibs in the Top 15 of the point’s tally, with The Social Street finishing seventh with 35 points.

     

     

     

  • A quick chat with Mindshare South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar minutes after his agency bagged the 'Agency of the Year' title

    Our job is to challenge the status quo: Prasanth Kumar (+Video)

    It was a big haul for Mindshare at the Emvies 2016. MxMIndia caught up with Prasanth Kumar, Mindshare, CEO South Asia for a quick chat right after the event.

     

    395 points, Dho dala! Quite a clean sweep!

    Maine team ko 300 hi bola (I had told the team about 300). My team is wonderful. The success of Mindshare is only because of the army of talent on which it is built on. I am so happy and delighted that the dream of the ability to get fantastic outcomes. It is a fantastic moment for me and the company as well as the brands we worked for.

     

    What is the secret behind winning year after year?

    One is you are habituated to doing something different… you get habituated to doing something that is working for your brands. There is a sense of responsibility that comes from leadership and being a leader in the market. Our job is to challenge the status quo and get the work done for the brands. The end result is that we are winning awards.

     

    The body of work that you have done and won awards for can put a creative agency to shame

    The statement is wrong and it does not put any shame on any creative agency. Ideas, we believe, can come from anywhere. We are so lucky that we have talent who are able to bring in more and better results. We are not competing with any ecosystem; we are competing with the results we produce, we want success of all the brands we work for. If you have all the brands that you work for succeed, that is the ultimate success.

     

  • Expands pan-India team to more than 250 people and moves to a larger office in Delhi

    WATConsult expands Delhi ops; reports new wins

    By A Correspondent

     

    WATConsult, a part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, has expanded its Delhi operations and has added five new accounts to its portfolio along with strengthening its team and moving to a larger office.

     

    The wins include the digital and social media mandate of IICE Vodka, Lybrate, Centre for Digital Financial Inclusion (CDFI), Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals and Boston Scientific Corporation of India (BSCI). All these accounts will be handled by the Delhi office which has moved to new 100+-seater office in Saket.

     

    Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals and CDFI were both multi-agency pitches and WATConsult won the digital and social media mandate for each of them.

     

    IICE Vodka, which is part of Jagatjit Industries Limited, has launched two new flavours. WATConsult will be managing the social and digital mandate of these brands, including their online community Pouritout.com.

     

    Commenting on the wins Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult said, “After expanding our Mumbai office, we are now focussing on expanding and building our Delhi operations. Our new office is setup to accommodate a team of 100+ people. We are glad these brands believed in us and our work and gave us an opportunity to work with them. We look forward to serve them diligently and whole-heartedly.”

     

  • A quick chat with GauravJeet Singh, Head, Media Service at Hindustan Unilever

    Always nice to have peer appreciation: GauravJeet Singh, HUL (+Video)

    The Best Media Client of the Year crown went yet again to Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) at Emvies 2016. Minutes after accepting the honour, MxMIndia spoke with  GauravJeet Singh, Head, Media Services, HUL about the secret behind HUL’s success and much more.

     

    Yet another Emvies Best Media Client title. What is the secret of your success over successive years?

    I think there are two-three reasons. Great work comes from great partnerships. I think the kind of media partnerships we have with our agencies Mindshare, PHD- the rapport has been extraordinary and they have done some extraordinary work over the years. The way they work so closely with the brand teams to bring alive what the brand stands for, I think that just opens up the doors for great appreciation. That is a big reason why we manage to do so well in awards every time.

     

    With so many clients and so much of advertising activity, how is it that HUL wins the award every time?

    I think it is right that it is consistency that is very critical in any work that you do and a big part of that consistency comes from the fact that we are so sharply in the brand. We keep telling our brand story year after year and bring it alive in various ways. We do it at scale, making sure that we get to the right consumers with the right message and because we do it so consistently, it essentially works to a great extent to the advantage of the brands. I think that is the reason why they do get appreciated. For us, the bigger appreciation is the consumer’s love for our brands and that keeps us encouraging to do more and more around that space.

     

     

    The focus is more on media innovation. Is that right?

    Innovation for innovation sake is of very less use, it is the sharpness of bringing alive what you want to do on the brand. That itself is one of the roots of innovation. It could be bringing branded content. But I think we do not prescribe what the root should be, what we do prescribe is the end and the end is that we should be able to tell great brand stories, take up brand stories to consumers in a fashion that is appreciated and loved by consumers.

     

    How much do awards matter to you?

    The biggest award that we get is the kind of love consumers have for our brands and that is what we work for. But it is always nice to have peer appreciation for the work that we do and it is inspiring and pushes us to do more. You get appreciation for something consumers responded to positively and loved it. That is the reason why we feel awards are important.

     

  • Kedar joined Castrol India in September 2011 as General Manager for the Motorcycle engine oils category

    Kedar Apte takes charge as VP – Marketing at Castrol India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kedar Apte

    Castrol India Limited has announced the appointment of Kedar Apte as its new Vice President Marketing, effective September 1, 2016.

     

    Apte  joined Castrol India in September 2011 as General Manager for the Motorcycle engine oils category. During the last five years, he has managed multiple product categories and his last position prior to his new role, was as Head – Brand and Communications.

     

    According to Shyam Balasubramanian, Regional Marketing Director, Asia and Pacific Region, “Kedar has been responsible for successfully leading the launches of several pioneering brands like Castrol Vecton, Castrol CRB Mini-Truck and Castrol GTX Eco. His other significant contribution includes building a strong presence for the brand in the digital space through innovative on line campaigns.”

     

    In his new role, Apte will lead the marketing function which includes brand communication and content, sponsorships, digital marketing and consumer and customer engagement programmes. He will spearhead the on-going marketing strategy and continue to strengthen the Castrol brand through distinctive and exciting brand campaigns.

     

    Said Apte: “Castrol has been an integral part of the evolution of the lubricant industry in India and I am delighted to be part of the journey going forward.  Castrol is acknowledged for its innovative marketing approach and I am eagerly looking forward to contributing towards the organization as it moves towards an exciting future.”

     

    Prior to joining Castrol, Apte spent around a decade with Hindustan Unilever in sales and marketing roles.

     

  • Prior to this Gautam Mehra was Vice President – Social Media at iProspect, a Dentsu Aegis Network company

    Dentsu appoints Gautam Mehra as Chief Data Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Gautam Mehra

    Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the launch of Data Sciences in India In an attempt to help clients and marketers understand and predict the influences of human behaviour on media and advertising. Data Sciences has been designed to effectively catalyse the decryption and interpretation of the overwhelming amount of data that agencies within the Dentsu Aegis Network explore and exploit every single day to drive efficiencies for its clients. Meanwhile, the team will also face clients directly and come up with customized solutions for them.

     

    Led by Gautam Mehra, Chief Data Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network India along with Vivek Bhargava, CEO, iProspect India, the division houses a capable team of economists, statisticians and computer scientists. Apart from driving efficiencies within the network, the team will come up with data driven solutions to solve complex problem of clients, help effective data management within the group and that of the client and will work with all the network companies to bring Data, Analytics and Technology together to provide business intelligence at the click of a button. Prior to this, Mehra was Vice President – Social Media at iProspect, a Dentsu Aegis Network company.

     

    Ashish Bhasin

    Commenting on the launch, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network, Chairman Posterscope& MKTG Asia Pacific said, “In order to take a leadership position in managing the ever-growing Data requirements for our clients, we have invested in a team of experts, led by Gautam, who will use technology to bring Data and Analytics together. We want to invest ahead of the curve as leaders in the Digital Marketing services to ensure that Dentsu Aegis Network clients in India get the best-in-class Data Management solutions, of a world standard. Vivek Bhargava will be the executive sponsor for the team and this will help us further strengthen our position in Digital Marketing services.”

     

    He added, “With Gautam and the team, we are welcoming the avenues of smarter marketing by not just providing our clients with data, but also giving them tools  that can help them make better business decisions.”

     

    Vivek-Bhargava

    Expressing his view on the new initiative, Vivek Bhargava, CEO, iProspect India said, “Data rests at the centre of all brand marketing in modern times. The new-age marketer keenly studies customer action and envisions disruptive products and campaign communication in accordance. It was a no-brainer therefore that as a network that leads in digital capabilities, we had to own a data division that adds immense value to our client campaigns across categories, in-turn boosting business achievements. This is definitely a sign of exciting times ahead.”

     

    Said Mehra, “Digital plays a critical role in the evolution of marketing. Data is being generated everywhere, that too volumes and volumes of it. The first challenge was to measure and collect it. The second obstacle to store data, which resulted in concepts like the cloud. And the third hurdle was to analyse and fructify it. And that’s where the need for a data team came into place. At Dentsu Aegis Network, we believe that data is a multiplier, not just a layer and needs to be analysed in milliseconds. Our Data labs consist of contemporary propriety tools that will positively provide effective and practical solutions to clients. I’m thrilled to be given this unique opportunity and certain that the data division will see great success.”

     

  • It represents vibrant energy, which has always been an integral part of itsidentity, Wizcraft is all set to leap into the promising future

    Blue is the new red for Wizcraft

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading media and entertainment company Wizcraft has welcomed a new phase in its illustrious journey by embracing the color blue. It symbolises wisdom and positivity, in its brand identity. Launching the new logo, which has the colour blue all over, Wizcraft hopes to leap into the promising future.

     

    Speaking on this new change, the Founder Directors of Wizcraft – Andre Timmins, Sabbas Joseph and Viraf Sarkari commented, “We are at the threshold of the future and the time has come to take the first step towards embracing the limitless possibilities that lie before us. We are very happy to announce the launch of the new logo that proves that ‘Blue Is The New Red’. Blue is known as the most universal color denoting natural elements of earth, from the lightness of the skies to the deep blue sea, and inspires wisdom to add strength and bring unity.”

  • This year, over 1200 delegates are expected to be present over the three days

    Kyoorius Designyatra 2016 moves to Jaipur

    By A Correspondent

     

    The eleventh edition of premier design conference Kyoorius Designyatra moves to Jaipur this year, with the theme: “Why am I here?” The event will be held at the Pink City’s Fairmont Hotel and spread over a period of three days – September 29 to October 1. The theme will explore facets of creativity – whether we are chasing our passions or just doing mundane work; be it in designing, writing, shooting or exploring multiple avenues for creativity.

     

    This year, over 1200 delegates are expected to be present over the three days participating in various workshops, discussion sessions and portfolio reviews  The event will culminate with the presentation of the D&AD-backed Kyoorius Design Awards.

     

    Rajesh Kejriwal

    Said Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder CEO of Kyoorius: “The team and all its supporting partners have worked hard to ensure that Designyatra is different but grander than ever and we look forward to seeing everyone from students, young professionals and seniors, come together at this annual celebration of creativity at Jaipur.”

     

    Kay Khoo, Co-founder & Creative Director at Kyoorius explains, “With the latest edition of Designyatra, as much as we want this to continue to be the coolest design conference in the world, we also want to reflect on why we are here. We want every participant to ponder and be pushed to do more relevant and meaningful things for India, and be inspired. To celebrate design as a whole.”

     

     

  • Shuchi Thakur and Molona Wati Longchar beef up the creative leadership and Sidharth Loyal will Managing Director

    Wieden+Kennedy gets a new top deck in Delhi

    By A Correspondent

     

    (L-R) Sidharth Loyal (MD), Molona Wati Longchar (ECD), Shuchi Thakur (ECD)

    Wieden+Kennedy Delhi has announced an all-new leadership team. Long-time W+K Delhi creative Shuchi Thakur has been appointed Executive Creative Director for the agency. Partnering Thakur as ECD will be Molona Wati Longchar. Longchar is welcomed back into the W+K family after her latest role as a consultant with visual communications firm Design Stash. In addition, she helped set up Nebuzz.com – an online content portal celebrating the culture and creativity of the north-eastern states of India.

     

    Commenting on her new role, Molona says, “It’s a great feeling to be coming back to W+K Delhi, and being a part of the vibrant and unique culture here. Shuchi and I have had a great working partnership in the past, and I could not be more thrilled about teaming up with her once again and leading the creative mandate together.”

     

    Joining Thakur and Longchar to complete the Delhi leadership team is Sidharth Loyal, who has been appointed as the Managing Director. Loyal is also returning to W+K Delhi after having worked in agencies across the Asia Pacific region including DDB and Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

    “The communications business is going through a massive shift and what better place than Wieden+Kennedy to help drive and lead this change. I’m really looking forward to partnering with my team and clients to further reinforce the agency’s commitment to growth, by continuing to build a stellar creative product,” said Loyal of his appointment. He will be taking the reins from current Managing Director Patrick Cahill. Patrick’s role has been to begin a new chapter for the Delhi office, and part of that will be a smooth transition to the new leadership team before returning to the United States with W+K.

     

    Added Karrelle Dixon, who oversees the whole W+K Asian operations as Director of Emerging Markets: “Building on the great momentum that Patrick and the entire office have created in the last year, it is hugely exciting to bring this team together. The chance to find a leadership team that understood the W+K culture and has the vision to further affect the creative landscape in India was an opportunity not to be missed, especially as we approach our 10 year anniversary in the country.”

     

  • The Dentsu Aegis Network agency maintains the same prediction as made in April: 12% growth for 2016 and 13.9% for 2017

    Indian ad market to maintain 12% growth: Carat

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading media agency network and the Dentsu Aegis Network’s Carat has released its updated Global Ad Spend Report for the year 2016-17.  In Asia Pacific, the buoyant Indian advertising market continues to lead growth prospects of +12.0% in 2016 and +13.9% in 2017. It may be remembered that according to its findings published in April 2016 (see story here: http://www.mxmindia.com/2016/04/12-adspends-growth-in-2016-carat/), Carat had predicted the same numbers: 12% in 2016 and 13.9 in 2017.

     

    Ashish Bhasin

    Says Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO South Asia at Dentsu Aegis Network, Chairman Posterscope and MKTG Asia Pacific: “Carat had anticipated that the advertising spends in India will grow by 12% in 2016 and in our latest forecast, we continue to maintain that. This makes India one of the fastest growing markets in APAC and the world. We also anticipate that given the tailwinds through the macro economic factors, GST and other reforms, 2017 will have an even better growth of 13.9%. Digital will continue to be the fastest growing medium, accelerating both its growth rate and its relative market share, in 2017. We expect the digital growth to be about 31.5% in 2016 and to accelerate to nearly 40% in 2017. Mobile will drive the digital growth immensely and India will transform from a “Mobile First” to a “Mobile Only” market very rapidly, aided by better broadband penetration and drop in data rates. What is also unique about India is that all types of media, including print, still continue to grow, albeit at different rates. This is the first time an in-depth, realistic analysis of this magnitude has been done for our market and I am sure, in consonance with its leadership position, Carat will continue to provide the industry with accurate and realistic market information. This not only helps our clients get a good preview to the forthcoming year but also helps us devise our business strategy by continuing to be at the cutting edge of changes and not only predicting tomorrow but in many ways influencing it for our business and our clients.”

     

    Meanwhile, based on data received from 59 markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, Carat’s latest global forecasts show that advertising spend will reach US$548.2 billion in 2016, accounting for a +4.4% year-on-year growth. The healthy outlook is fuelled by a buoyant 2016, marked by high-interest media events including the UEFA EURO championship, the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, as well as the upcoming US presidential elections.