MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • The changes come into effect from January 1, 2017

    JWT announces senior changes as Sanjeev Bhargava exits

    By A Correspondent

     

    J Walter Thompson India has announced senior management changes. With Sanjeev Bhargava, head of JWT leaving for a career outside advertising, the opportunities opened up.

     

    Tarun Rai

    Commenting on Bhargava, Tarun Rai, CEO, J Walter Thompson Company South Asia said; “Sanjeev has done an excellent job in growing JWT Delhi. He is a fantastic professional and has had a stellar career in advertising. He now leaves to start a new career in media and I am sure he will do a great job. I thank him for all that he has done for us and wish him the very best for the future.”

     

    Commenting on the new roles,  Rai said, “Joy, Babita and Kishore have been performing exceptionally well. They are at a stage in their careers where they have a great balance of experience and youth. I am really happy that, as an organisation, we are able to provide opportunities, at the right time, for people to grow. This is also a reflection on the bench strength of JWT. And a signal to all our employees that whenever there is any opportunity in our company we will first look at internal candidates. I am confident that the three of them will continue to perform at the highest level.”

     

    Joy Chauhan, currently head of JWT Bengaluru, will take over as the head of JWT Delhi operations. Kishore Tadepalli, who has been JWT’s head of Hindustan Unilever business, takes over from Joy as head of JWT Bengaluru.  And Babita Baruah gets independent charge of JWT’s business unit – Power of One (PO1) – that handles a large number of PepsiCo’s flagship brands.  Baruah will now report in to Rai.

     

    The changes come into effect from January 1, 2017.

     

     

  • The 'Advertising and The 5 Senses' series highlights the importance of using all our five senses in advertising

    IAA hosts Advertising & The 5 Senses

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter’s Young Turks Forum hosted Rajeev Raja, Founder & Soundsmith, BrandMusiq at the fourth session of the Advertising and The 5 Senses series, presented by MTV India.

     

    The ‘Advertising and The 5 Senses’ series highlights the importance of using all our five senses in advertising, as opposed to only visual (sight “print advertising”) or audio (sound “Radio”). The series presents sessions by industry experts with a background in each of the five senses – taste, sound, sight, smell and touch so the audience could learn about the nuances of these senses as they relate to communication and together add immense value. This initiative is led by Janak Sarda, Management Committee Member of IAA.

     

    As part of session on ‘Sound’, Raja demonstrated the power of sound in advertising. Creator of the concept of ‘Mogo’ or musical logo, Raja shared examples of how sound has the ability to evoke images, emotions and even trigger memories and therefore stressed on the need to create a sonic identity which reflects the emotion of the brand.

     

  • The annual seminar saw over 700 managers assemble under one roof to foster collaboration and partnership

    Dentsu conducts overseas training conference for employees in Dubai

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN hosted its annual One-DAN conference in Dubai last week. The annual seminar saw over 700 managers assemble under one roof to foster collaboration and partnership amongst the network’s group agencies.

     

    The annual conference was woven around the clear objective of positioning Dentsu Aegis Network as the No. 2 marketing communications group in India by the end of 2017. It was also hosted to celebrate Dentsu Aegis Network’s strengthened and expanded foothold in creative that was demonstrated at the Goafest’s 2016 edition.

     

    The three-day conference saw the exchange and cross-pollination of leading-edge ideas across the different units of Dentsu Aegis Network India including that of its latest acquisitions – Happy Creative Services and Perfect Relations Group. The platform introduced all teams of the newly acquired agencies to the one P&L model of the group and also help them imbibe the values that the network stands for. Integration and data continued to be the buzz words at the conference. DAN’s leadership status in areas like OOH, Creative, Digital and Media was also highlighted.

     

    The annual conference, correspondingly, also recognised the network’s long-serving employees and talents across different group units who have worked relentlessly all through the year to bring Dentsu Aegis Network India to the position that it holds today. Rajni Menon, President Carat, won the Chairman’s Award for 2016.

     

    Speaking about this recent conference, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia, said, “Our goal of making Dentsu Aegis Network India the #2 communications group in India by end-2017 will only be made possible when every one of our 3000 people across DAN India make it their mission to collaborate and relentlessly help their clients win in the market. That is what One-DAN is all about, and that is the DAN India ‘One Team One Dream’ emphasised.”

     

  • The entire #HealthKaNotification campaign is being handled by WATConsult

    Bajaj Allianz launches digital campaign to raise awareness about health insurance

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has launched a new digital campaign #HealthKaNotification, to create awareness about the importance of Health Insurance amongst consumers. The one-month campaign aims at educating consumers about the importance of paying attention to their health.

     

    Conceptualised and executed by WATConsult, the campaign was unveiled with a video featuring an interesting fictional conversation amongst the organs of our body on a WhatsApp group.

     

    The unique vertical video consists of quirky messages among the different organs of the body like liver, lungs, lips, eyes, brain and heart about their owner – Rahul.

     

    Rajiv Dingra

    Commenting on the campaign, Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult said, “With the trend of vertical video emerging, we decided to use it for this campaign. The format is true to the user’s experience on mobile as it fits across the screen, thus providing a seamless experience. In the next phase of the campaign, we will using a lot of features that are native to platforms like Facebook.”

     

    Speaking from Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Sourabh Chatterjee, Senior Vice President and Head of Technology, Digital Sales & Marketing said “We believe in constantly enhancing customer experience and providing value to our customers through targeted information – that is relevant and something that they can easily identify with. As a platform, Social Media has been a powerful tool for us, where we have run campaigns with social messages and ones where the content is packaged in such a way that it is easily understood by our target audience. This is our humble attempt at saying ‘we care’ and in taking our customer relationship beyond the realm of only providing insurance solutions. It truly embraces our motto, which is – ‘Relationship beyond Insurance’.”

     

  • During the survey the Majestic Research enumerators are going to interview more than 10,000 guests spread across 69 properties owned by MPTDC Ltd as per the survey mandate

    Majestic Research Services bags MP Tourism mandate to check customer satisfaction

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd has mandated the recently BSE-SME listed Majestic Research Services and Solution Ltd to conduct customer satisfaction survey at all its locations across all seasons.

     

    During the survey the Majestic Research enumerators are going to interview more than 10,000 guests spread across 69 properties owned by MPTDC Ltd as per the survey mandate.

     

    Expressing pleasure at being shortlisted and selected to undertake the survey, Raj Sharma, Chairman- MRSS said, “In the last couple of years, in conjunction with FICCI, we have launched several reports viz. UPTM 2016, GITB 2016 and MICE 2016 establishing ourselves in the ‘Tourism’ space. The MP Tourism study is a step forward in that direction and should trigger a number of similar projects in the coming few quarters.”

     

    As per the tender norms by MP Tourism, the study would evaluate the satisfaction levels of guests at the units with their demographic profile owned by it or directly under its governance within a four month time frame.

     

  • With the Fractal acquisition, DAN develops a formidable digital force amongst media services networks in India

    Yet another acquisition for Dentsu Aegis Network as it nets UI/UX shop, Fractal

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the acquisition of Fractal Ink Design Studio Pvt Ltd (“Fractal”), a leading experiential design studio which will join the network’s digital agency – Isobar, and be rebranded as “Fractal Ink Design Studio – Linked By Isobar”. The acquisition will add scale to the agency’s expertise in mobility and user experience. In addition, it will bring together a team of a thousand digital experts, one of the largest in India, including the combined Isobar team and the existing network digital brands iProspect, WATConsult and Dentsu Webchutney, notes a communiqué.

     

    Established in 2010, Fractal specialises in user experience and user interface design (UI/UX) and digital design strategy services for major clients including Aditya Birla Group, Raymond, Idea group, MetLife, Times Network and Axis Bank. It is amongst the top three largest design studios in India, boasting 65 digital experts operating from Mumbai and Bengaluru, the communiqué adds.

     

    Post this, Tanay Kumar, CEO, Co-founder and Creative Director of Fractal, will join the Dentsu Aegis leadership team in India and will report to Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia. Co-founders Geeta Suthar, Hemant Suthar and Priyanka Agrawal will also continue in their roles as part of the management team.

     

    Said Ashish Bhasin,Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia on the acquisition: “Fractal is the leading digital design studio in the country that provides not only the mobility and UI/UX designcapability, but also has an ideal combination of technology and creative services. Given the impending explosion of Internet of Things, wearables and mobile, this unique skill set will add to the group’s statusof being digitally ahead in India.

     

    Added Jean Lin, Isobar Global CEO: “To deliver immersive Brand Commerce experiences that close the gap between brand inspiration and transaction,we need passionate talent with strong in-market design capabilities. Fractal is a highly reputable digital design studio in India and having them on board further strengthens our local mobile and experience design capability. We are very excited to welcome the Fractal team on board as part of the Isobar global family.”

     

    Said Tanay Kumar, CEO, Co-founder and Creative Director of Fractal: “We have come a long way in the last six years in establishing ourselves as leaders in the digital design and strategy space. Dentsu Aegis Network is the fastest growing group in the country and has demonstrated a strong momentum not just in terms of growth, but also in their culture and values. Its strong presence around the globe as well as their shared vision towards the digital and connected world will allow us to tap into latest industry best practices and tools as well as scale our operations geographically.”

     

  • The win was announced at the CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards held on December 14

    Leo Burnett India wins ‘Storyboard Commercial of the Year’ for Bajaj V

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leo Burnett India bagged the ‘Storyboard Commercial of the Year’ award at the 17th edition of the CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards. The agency has bagged the award for the Bajaj V launch commercial.

     

    Speaking on the win, RajDeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, South Asia, who was present to collect the award on behalf of Leo Burnett said, “This is pretty much the best way to end the awards streak this year! Automotive advertising is one of the most dynamic, high-volume categories, and making it to the top spot for real work is extremely encouraging. It is great to have walked up on the CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards stage to receive this honour on behalf of my team. I hope Leo Burnett and Bajaj V’s great streak continues into 2017 as well.”

     

    The Bajaj V was launched earlier this year on January 26. Bajaj sold a record 11,000 V bikes on the first day of the V’s launch.

     

  • He will continue to helm Leo Burnett, South Asia, as Nakul Chopra & Praveen Kenneth will continue reporting to Publicis Comms Global CEO Loris Nold

    Saurabh Varma appointed as Publicis Communications’ India CEO

     

    Publicis Communications has announced the appointment of Saurabh Varma as CEO of Publicis Communications India. Varma’s appointment comes on top of his existing responsibilities as CEO of Leo Burnett’s South Asia operations, and he will be based in Mumbai.

     

    Varma, as well other country leaders Nakul Chopra and Praveen Kenneth, will continue reporting to Loris Nold, global COO of Publicis Communications, incharge of the APAC & MEA region. In the Indian subcontinent, Publicis Communications comprises Leo Burnett, Publicis India, Law & Kenneth | Saatchi & Saatchi, Orchard India, MSLGROUP, Publicis Ambience, Publicis Capital, Indigo iStrat and Publicis Beehive.

     

    “With Saurabh leading our India efforts,” said Nold, “I am very confident that we will drive significant acceleration across Publicis Communications, ultimately for the direct benefit of our clients”  Said Varma on the announcement: “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to help our creative brands fully leverage the strength of our collective expertise around digital, shopper marketing, PR and production platforms. In my mind, Publicis Communications is first and foremost about giving our clients full access to our capabilities, talent and resources across the country, as our aim is to deliver end-to-end solutions to all of our clients.”

     

    It may be recalled that Varma was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Leo Burnett India in 2013, and a year later, was elevated to a South Asia role. He has about 20 years of industry experience, seven of which were spent as Chief Strategy Officer for South Asia, in Singapore.

     

  • Hindustan Unlilever was adjudged Effie Client of the Year, while the coveted Grand Effie was won by The Leo Group India for Bajaj V

    MullenLowe Lintas Group is Agency of the Year yet again!

     

    It wasn’t the usual two-horse race at Effies 2016 night. On Friday, December 16, while Hindustan Unlilever was the clear #1 for the Effie Client of the Year title, it appeared that last year’s winner MullenLowe Lintas Group would face some tough competition for the ‘Effie India Agency of the Year’ crown.  Eventually though MullenLowe Lintas was the clear #1, 11 points ahead of arch rival Ogilvy & Mather. The coveted Grand EFFIE was won by The Leo Group India for Bajaj Motorcycles’ campaign McCann Worldgroup was #3 with 116 points, DDB Mudra #4 with 68 points and the Leo Group at #5 with 66 points.

     

    The 16th edition of the Effie Awards saw over a thousand people from across the country in attendance.

     

    Some of the key winners of the Effie awards under various categories are as follows:

     

    Speaking about the changing dynamics of campaigns and the importance of being relevant Vikram Sakhuja, 2016 Awards Chairman, Effies, said “The true mark of a successful campaign is its contribution towards achieving business objectives through impactful communication. The Effies laud and recognize campaigns that have grown brands and business”. “The response for Effies has been at an all-time-high propelled by the awards reputation of being the torchbearer of creative excellence tested through the lens of effectiveness,” he added.

     

    Elaborating on the entries, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, 2016 Awards Co-Chairman Effies said: “The Effies 2016 will once again shine the spotlight on inventive, ambitious and successful brand-building efforts that are effective and have left an indelible mark on consumer mindsets.”

     

    Speaking at the award ceremony Raj Nayak, President of The Advertising Club said “The Effies 2016 have been increasingly patronised owing to its support and recognition of campaigns that pack the combined punch of instinct with insight. I would like to congratulate the jury that has worked towards ensuring that inclusive campaigns that have resonance amongst consumers are adjudged the winners. “

     

    Click here for Effie 2016 Tally Sheet

     

  • The Digital Marketers' Awards are designed to recognise exceptional work done by the Marketing fraternity to take their brands into the digital era

    IAMAI rewards CMOs at DMA Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) celebrated the achievements of the Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) last Friday at the Digital Marketers’ Award (DMA).

     

    This year the award show had 11 categories to honour CMOs and Marketing Heads. The categories that were rewarded were Banking, Insurance, Personal Finance & Investments, Healthcare, Automobile, Real Estate, IT &ITes, Travel, Digital Businesses and Consumer Durables/FMCG. List of winners is given herewith:

     

    The winners were selected by a jury comprising of Tushar Vyas, Chief Strategy Officer, GroupM South Asia, GroupM; Atit Mehta, VP & Head of Media, Sequoia Capital; Deepali Naair, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, IIFL Wealth & Asset Management; Aditya Rath, Partner, KPMG; Manish Vij, Founder, SVG Media; Anita Nayyar, CEO India & South Asia, Havas Media and Vivek Bhargava, CEO, iprospectCommunicate2.

     

    Commenting on the significance of the DMA Awards, Kartik Jain, CMO – HFDC Bank said,”Digital Marketing Awards is a great initiative that inspires and motivates digital marketers in the industry. It is a great platform to showcase the efforts put in towards digital marketing by the industry collectively.”

     

    Speaking about the impact of digital marketing, Gunjan Soni, CMO & Head – International Brands Business, Myntra, said,“Digital marketing is a completely democratic medium and therefore it is the power of the idea that can take a brand really far. Measuring the success not just by pure reach but by the number of shares and likes that a content is getting is key to a successful campaign.”

     

    Said Mohan Menon, GM & Head Marketing – Max Healthcare: “There’s a lot happening in the digital space of the healthcare industry. Our industry is booming in terms of disruptions and innovations. Disruption and innovations using technology and digital is leading the piece not only in terms of marketing but also in service and product delivery. Even the traditional players in the segment is exploring digital in a big way to reach out to public and also delivery of service.”

     

  • Understanding the high level of cash dependency in India, the campaign is based on the theme – Chodo kal Ki Baatein

    Span Communications wins media mandate of Ministry of Finance

    By A Correspondent

     

    Span Communications has won the 360-degree media campaign for the Ministry of Finance, Government of India focusing on demonetization and making India a cashless economy.

     

    Understanding the high level of cash dependency in India, the campaign is based on the theme – Chodo kal Ki Batein, highlighting the ease of digital transactions through various platforms and moving with the times. Actor Ajay Devgan has participated in the campaign and urged the public to push digital and e-transactions to the forefront, making e-banking, e-wallets, and other transaction apps more prevalent.

     

    Said Naresh Khetrapal, CEO Span Communications: “We live in a country where cash is king. Considering the demographics of India, the campaign will help create awareness about cashless transactions among the masses and embrace the new methods of payments in the digital era. It is indeed a proud moment for Span Communications to be associated with the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in its attempt towards building a cashless economy.”

  • In the first of a series of interviews, we speak to the MullenLowe Lintas Group CEO & Ad Club captains

    Effies are genuine awards: Joseph George

     

    Joseph George, Regional President – South & Southeast Asia & Group CEO – India, MullenLowe Lintas Group:

     

    Joseph George

    Congratulations. Second consecutive year…

    Thank you so much. I would like to see it as three out of four.

     

    What do you attribute the success to?

    I think what I am most pleased about is the culture in the agency and as Group CEO what makes me the happiest is that there is a culture across functions and through the line. Right from the top to the bottom in having a point of view on what is good work and almost the entire agency believes that if it’s got to be effective, it’s got to be creative and I think this agency for the longest time have been trying to break this myth that either you do creative work or effective work because we genuinely believe if it’s not going to be creative, it’s not going to be effective

     

    What the Ad Club/Effies Captains say: 

    Raj Nayak, President, The Advertising Club

    The success recipe of Effies:

    In a city like Mumbai to get 1200 people in an evening is not an easy task and also another thing which happens with Effies is that a lot of clients also come here. I think it’s to do with two things, one-there is something for the client because the awards are for the client and the agency which is not true in Abbys and two is also the fact that it’s in Mumbai. Clients are based here so it’s easy for them to come.

     

    Thoughts on bettering it next year:

    That is a challenge we have every year. We compete with ourselves because I don’t think there is any other award in the industry which is in stature bigger than the Abbys or bigger than Effies or even bigger than Emvies and that’s a huge challenge that we have. It’s not like patting myself in the back or patting the Ad Club in the back but these are awards that have been there for fifteen-sixteen years. So, over the years, a lot of people have ben involved with it so it has grown in stature. There is a legacy behind this but the biggest challenge we have is to compete with ourselves in the sense of every year we keep saying, how do we better the benchmark and this year Vikram Sakhuja and Mitrajit Bhattacharya took ownership of this. I am just the President of the Club but they are the ones who made this year’s Effies happen.

     

    Vikram Sakhuja, Chair, Effies 2016

    Your overall views on Effies this year:

    I think it was a glorious success. I thought we got some fantastic work from a huge diaspora of agencies. We saw at least five or six pieces of work which were truly stunning and you could make out by the number of times they all came to stage. It was also great because we captured a pretty large variety of effectiveness right from great films to great use of media to amazing use of insights to maybe just understanding the strategic challenge in a proper way. It was a full package.

     

    A view on the entries:

    Last year we had about fifteen-twenty% growth. On a base of 600 we have grown another 20% to 730 entries. It’s an awards which has got credibility, it’s coveted by both Lions and agencies and its just great to know that our help built a brand and if you have the industry telling you that what better validation could it be for the industry that we are in.

     

    Effies going forward:

    Effies is not so much about bells and whistles, it’s more about the real work. So a lot depends on what the industry turns out. I think what I would be interested in doing is taking some of the learnings from Effies and we have curated a lot of learnings from some amazing 300 judges, at least 200 of whom have responded which we want to take in a road show with stuff that has worked.

     

    Mitrajit Bhattacharya, Co-Chair, Effies 2016 

    View as Co-chair:

    Actually it’s a continuous process of evolution. Effies is not about anything new. Effies is doing the same thing better because we learn every year. We have our ears and eyes open, we speak to people, we speak to the participants, we speak to the agencies, we figure out what has gone wrong, we figure out what can be improved upon and we work on them. So I would say, it’s a very feedback driven process. It’s not that we do things differently but we try to improve upon the same thing and try to make things better.

     

    Improvements for next year:

    I would like to give a few more days for all of us because it’s really cut to cut. So agencies complain they don’t have enough time, the Ad Club secretary complaint they don’t have enough time, the jury. It would be nice if we had a week more or ten days more to just plan things out better. Otherwise I think it’s a continuous improvement and it’s a process which is pretty much in place.

     

    How important is the client?

    Extremely important. The only reason why we do not enter creative awards is that I refuse to enter awards which do not into account why was a piece of work done and what did it result into and if clients partner us in (which they do) in exactly articulating what is the objective and these are the metrics that I want movement on and if that’s the case then clients play a critical role and that’s why Effies are genuine awards that award both clients and agency because without each of them you can’t be clear as to what is the objective and what are the metrics you want movement on. So they are very critical unlike in creative awards they might not be that critical.

     

    Until last year, it was a two-agency race unlike this year where we saw a host of other agencies. What does it mean for you next year?

    I don’t think we really change the way we work depending on who all were in the competition the previous year. We just put our heads down and like I said I am a low profile CEO and I think so is the agency. We just put our head down, we look at brands, we try and deliver work on it and move on and if there are other agencies who do well, in fact I remember you asking me a question saying that why is it only between Ogilvy and Lowe and thankfully that’s not the case this year. McCann has done some fantastic work, Mudra has done some fantastic work, DDB has done some fantastic work which is great for the industry because it’s a very simple reason why I think it’s great. These things add to the ability of the industry to attract talent which is such a big issue right now but when you see examples of how creativity actually makes such a difference on brands and mind movements I am hoping these are the things that actually help attracting good talent in coming to the industry.

     

    Any trend or highlight from this year that’s worth highlighting?

    One of the things that seems to be quite the flavour and I don’t think it’s just this year. We have been seeing this over the past one or two years is that work that creates and causes three things-conversation, engagement and behavioural change. If you look at all the stuff that is actually winning or recognised is this. Is it changing behaviour? Is it generating conversation? Is it causing engagement? and that seems to be the flavour. It’s not rocket science but these are the three pillars around which more and more great conversation is built around.