MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • First Indian bank to roll out security features for its credit cardholders on the mobile banking app

    ICICI Bank rolls out a multimedia campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    One of the key concerns of ICICI Bank’s customers has been whether their bank and deposits are in safe hands. With a late corrective action in the form of the change of leadership, some attempts are made to mend the image, the bank has unveiled a multimedia campaign addressing some of the key concerns of customers who use credit cards. The campaign, a set of three TVCs, launches the ‘Manage Cards’ feature which has been newly introduced to the Bank’s mobile banking platform – iMobile.

     

    Speaking on the campaign, Sujit Ganguli, Senior General Manager & Head – Corporate Brand and Communications Group, ICICI Bank said: “We at ICICI Bank believe that customer convenience is at the core of our services. The results yielded by the research that we conducted gave us significant insights into the fears pertaining to cards based payments that predominantly exist in people’s mind. This campaign aims to address the barriers that keep people from proactively using cards, through a clutter-breaking messaging during the ongoing festive season. The campaign is our effort to re-assure our customers that the safety of their transactions is paramount by showcasing the key new security controls that the bank has added to its mobile banking platform – iMobile. We believe that the humorous yet gripping content will motivate our customers to adapt to the cashless way of utilising their hard-earned money without fearing about the security of their transactions.“

     

    Now if only ICICI Bank can also assure its constituents that the bank and the hard-earned savings of its depositors is in safe hands, it could do the Bank (and the sector) a world of good.

     

     

  • Dentsu Impact is going to be Mobiistar’s creative, communication strategy, advertising and branding partner

    Dentsu Impact wins creative mandate for Mobiistar in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Aniruddha Deb

    Vietnamese smartphone brand Mobiistar, which entered the Indian smartphone market in May this year, has awarded its creative duties to Dentsu Impact.

     

    Following a multi-agency pitch, Dentsu Impact has bagged the creative mandate for Mobiistar. With an aim to be one of the leading handset brands in the sub 10k segment, the company is in process of roping in over 3000 employees and bolstering its presence pan India. Additionally, the company has already partnered with 600 distributors across the country and has over 1000 service centers pan India.

     

    “While we entered the country in May, we wanted to highlight our strong commitment towards the country by establishing ourselves more deeply into its ecosystem. Hence to reach out to the discerning smartphone consumers, we have roped in Dentsu Impact as the brand’s creative partner in India. The team at Dentsu Impact will work closely with the Mobiistar team for the offline launch strategy and the communication roll-out pan India. We are excited about the possibilities and are going to be quite aggressive in this extremely busy category,” said Aniruddha Deb, Chief Marketing Officer, Mobiistar.

     

    Commenting on the win, Amit Wadhwa, President, Dentsu Impact says “We are excited to partner Mobiistar as this gives us the canvas to build this compelling brand in the Indian market. The category is extremely competitive, and it is not just about getting the right pulse of the market but also about getting the right handle on the mediums today.”

     

    Dentsu Impact is going to be Mobiistar’s creative, communication strategy, advertising and branding partner.

  • Autumn Worldwide is a leading Bengaluru-based independent social media and digital marketing agency

    Grey acquires majority stake in Autumn Worldwide

    By A Correspondent

     

    So we thought that WPP’s Grey Group is struggling to retain its place as a leading creative agency in the country. Perhaps it is. But we now have news it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Autumn Worldwide, a leading independent social media and digital marketing agency headquartered in Bengaluru.

    Autumn Worldwide was founded in 2005 by Anusha Shetty and Abhay Rajankar as a brand consulting and advertising company. Shetty soon saw the opportunity and proceeded to expand Autumn into a 360-degree social media and digital agency which provides a multitude of services, including digital and social media campaigns, influencer and blogger marketing, online reputation management, content marketing, marketing big data and insights and Command Center Management Services (CCMS).

    Said Michael Houston, Worldwide CEO of Grey Group: “We are delighted to welcome Autumn Worldwide to Grey.  This acquisition represents another step forward in building our borderless creativity and providing seamless solutions for our clients across platforms. Shetty will continue to head the Autumn operations while working closely with Nirvik Singh, Chairman & CEO for Grey Group Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, to set the overall strategic digital growth plan for the region.

    Added Singh: “Grey has a strategic plan to increase its digital footprint in the region. Having Autumn as our partner ensures we have a digital and social media agency with expertise across the digital landscape. They are a forward-thinking company who share our common vision of a world-class digital eco-system that will deliver only the very best to our clients. Combining creative, digital, data and technology will strengthen our presence not only in India, but also throughout the region.”

    Autum has over 165 employees across their offices. Its client roster includes clients such as PepsiCo (all 26 brands such as Mountain Dew, Quaker Oats and others), Reckitt Benckiser (Mortein, Durex, Dettol, Moov and more), Samsonite, PVR Cinemas, Exide Life Insurance, Tata Salt, Raymond, Luminous and Freecharge, to name just a few.

    “The convergence of consumers and mediums has already happened, and agencies need to not just reflect this thinking, but be a part of that journey. Grey’s famously effective 100-year history in creative thinking combined with Autumn’s 13-year ‘young’ fervour to constantly unlearn and learn across data, creativity, and mediums creates a potent agency of the future,” said Shetty.

    The communique received from Grey doesn’t detail out how Shetty and Autumn will work with the team at Grey Group, India, but then it’s early days still.

  • The report shares insights on the future of television and digital video

    State of Video, as per GroupM

     

    By A Correspondent

    GroupM, the media agency conglomerated that’s part of the WPP fold, has released its second annual ‘State of Video’ report offering intelligence on consumer video consumption, advertising platforms and demand. Among a series of GroupM reports on the future of advertising, the new publication is co-authored by GroupM’s Futures Director, Adam Smith, and Senior Advisor, Rob Norman.

    It provides in-depth commentary on key trends concerning advertisers: declining linear TV viewing, new addressable television capabilities, competitive digital video platforms, measurement, cord cutting and more.

    Said Norman: “The ranks of television advertisers are swelling with new entrants, mostly direct-to-consumer businesses that have exhausted all the reach and awareness ‘performance’ media afford them. It’s reminiscent of the dot-com boom for television in the late 1990s; maybe it will end better this time. One thing is for sure: linear television is still perceived to be as effective as ever, despite the absence of granular measurement.”

    State of Video Report Highlights:

    Linear TV Viewing Continues Declining:  Globally in 2018, linear TV has shown no new signs of life; ratings continue to fall, even with mainstays like the National Football League (U.S.). Despite this, linear TV has sustained advertiser demand, implying the perception that linear TV is as effective and essential as ever, but for how long and in what balance relative to alternatives?

    Measurement even more important: Measurement has always been essential to accountability, planning and optimization and in the more fragmented world, it’s even more so. Data is used in planning and buying, but is most prevalent in the former. The industry must solve for a measurement solution enabling better understanding of viewing patterns across all screens and channels. This is still a couple of years away even in the most advanced markets. BARB’s Project Dovetail in the U.K. may set the example, albeit with imperfect inclusion, and is expected to combine current TV panel and census data with data from mobile devices.

    Addressable Television: Addressable TV is on the rise but far from ubiquitous. However, 2018’s megamergers may catalyse change. Several company combinations enable vertical integration between content and distribution, creating significant scale with homes served and content viewed. Should these merged companies succeed in making their owned inventory fully addressable on their platforms, it will help realize the long-promised future where TV is a more efficient, targeted and digital-like medium.

    Digital Forces: Amazon, Facebook, Netflix and YouTube remain the top challengers to TV’s incumbent media owners. Among ad-supported players, YouTube leads with a staggering number of non-traditional premium content producers. YouTube’s scaled audiences have been embraced, to varying degrees, by major advertisers. Facebook and Amazon have become competitive acquirers of sports rights in tentative but telling steps this year. While the success of the newly launched Facebook Watch is unclear, Facebook’s future in video should not be underestimated.

    GroupM’s State of Video report can be downloaded at: https://www.groupm.com/themes/custom/groupm/images/pdficon.png

  • Bassi will be based out of the agency’s New Delhi office

    Publicis appoints Neeraj Bassi as Managing Partner & Chief Strategy Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Neeraj Bassi

    Publicis India has announced the appointment of Neeraj Bassi as Managing Partner & Chief Strategy Officer. Bassi will be based out of the agency’s New Delhi office.

     

    He joins Publicis after a brief stint as an independent consultant where he provided strategic guidance and brand solutions for multiple clients across various categories. Bassi has worked with leading market research networks such as TNS, IMRB and NFO and led the Strategic Planning function in advertising agencies including Cheil, Ogilvy, JWT, McCann in India and abroad.

     

    Saurabh Varma

    Announcing the new appointment, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications, South Asia said: “In Neeraj, we found a partner with a shared vision of driving a deeper level of integration within the Groupe by leveraging the Power of One model. Neeraj’s vast experience and media neutral planning approach will help clients in building a holistic brand experience which will aim to create one-to-one consumer engagement, at scale. I look forward to working with Neeraj and wish him the best of luck.”

     

    Srija Chatterjee

    Welcoming Bassi to the Publicis family, Srija Chatterjee, MD – Publicis Worldwide, India said: “Neeraj joins at a time when the Groupe is implementing a profound transformation which puts our clients front and centre of everything that we do. His wealth of experience of working across diverse sectors and with cross-functional teams, will help build a narrative around our clients’ business and marketing transformation that connects data, content and technology in an omni-channel world. I’m excited to welcome Neeraj to the Publicis Groupe family, and we look forward to him riding the next strategic wave at the agency.”

     

    Added Bobby Pawar, MD & CCO – Publicis Worldwide India: “I’ve always believed great work is born out of a strong partnership between strategy, creative and clients. Neeraj Bassi has a history of creating strategic platforms that killer ideas can springboard from. His cross-platform approach to planning will also be a huge asset to our march towards the future of creativity. It also helps that he is fun to be around. I can chat with him for hours; the chemistry is very important when you are going to be more or less living out of each other’s metaphorical pockets.”

     

     

  • The Country Agency of the Year Award is given to the Agency from an individual country that obtains the most points overall for entries in the Spikes Asia Awards

    TBWA is 2018 Spikes Asia India Agency of the Year

    By A Correspondent

     

    TBWA\India is 2018 Spikes Asia India Agency of the Year.

     

    The Country Agency of the Year Award is given to the Agency from an individual country that obtains the most points overall for entries in the Spikes Asia Awards. TBWA\India was awarded 2 Gold Spikes, 5 Silver Spikes and 3 Bronze Spikes at the Spikes Asia Awards 2018.

     

    India Country Agency Rankings

    Ranking Company City
    1 TBWA\INDIA Mumbai
    2 DDB MUDRA Mumbai
    3 FCBULKA Gurgaon
    4 CHEIL WORLDWIDE Gurgaon
    5 PROPAGANDA INDIA Bangalore
    6 GREY INDIA Mumbai
    =7 BBDO INDIA Mumbai
    =7 LODESTAR UM Mumbai

     

    Speaking on the victory, Parixit Bhattacharya, Managing Partner-Creative at TBWA\ India said: “To be the most awarded Indian agency at the most important creative awards of the region is a huge honour. I am incredibly proud of our rabidly driven young team to have beaten all the great Indian agencies, some of which are perhaps, among the best in Asia. I thank Spikes for making this year so special. Here’s to Disruption!”

     

    Details of all of the winners can be found on https://www2.spikes.asia/winners/2018/.

     

     

  • Nakul Chopra, elected Chairman, Goafest 2019 to lead the apex industry event

    Nakul Chopra to chair Goafest 2019, Shashi Sinha will helm Awards Governing Council

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club have started getting set for the 2019 edition of Goafest. The three-day event will be held in Goa in the summer of 2019.

     

    For starters, both organisations have announced the leaders for the coveted posts of Goafest Organising Committee and the Awards Governing Council. Nakul Chopra, Chairman Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India, and Immediate Past President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) who has been elected as the Chairman of Goafest 2019 organizing Committee. Shashi Sinha, CEO – IPG Mediabrands and Secretary, The Advertising Club has been elected Chairman of the Awards Governing Council for Abby 2019.

     

    Speaking about the 14th edition of the Goafeset, Ashish Bhasin, President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said: “Goafest has continuously been championing the category’s growth agenda. Our continued endeavour through the festival is to facilitate an enriched festival experience that is immersive, transformational and allows us to contribute to the learning enrichment of the Advertising, Media and Entertainment industry,” adding: “Nakul is an industry veteran and we are sure that his past experience with Goafest and his vision for the industry is sure to translate into an engaging and inclusive festival experience for all.”

     

    On being elected Chairman for the festival, Chopra said: “Goafest is a premiere representation of the Indian Advertising and Media industry. Year on year we have focused on increasing scale, driving inclusivity and ensuring that the festival emerges as a leading knowledge platform.  This year too our focus at Goafest will be to curate a great panel of thought leaders and provide a world view of the evolving Adverting and Media industry trends.”

     

    Speaking about the focus of the 2019 edition of Vikram Sakhuja, President, The Advertising Club said: “Goafest is an idea exchange forum that over the years has emerged into an opportunity where the entire media and advertising fraternity comes together to engage, innovate and share their best work. We are already geared up to bring another immersive edition of this landmark event, promising to up the ante even higher,” adding: “Abby has always been recognised as a gold standard in creative awards and we are sure that Shashi with his deep understanding of the industry and global view will ensure that the awards follow highest standards of due diligence and hold a place of eminence in the advertising, media and entertainment industry.”

     

    Speaking on being elected as Chairman of the AGC, Sinha said “Receiving an Abby has always been a career milestone and held a pace of pride in the life of every advertising and media professional. We will continue to ensure that Abby, that stands for creative excellence, continues to inspire game changing brand campaigns, scale in eminence and emerge as a beacon of inspiration for the new generation of marketers of and brand custodians.”

     

     

  • Hinduja h has been leading Mumbai’s –operations as the Executive Director and Branch Head

    Leo Burnett India elevates Rakesh Hinduja to COO, West

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leo Burnett has announced the promotion of Rakesh Hinduja to Chief Operating Officer, West. He will continue reporting to Dheeraj Sinha, Managing Director, India and Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia and Raj Deepak Das, Managing Director, India and Chief Creative Officer, South Asia. Hinduja has been leading Leo Burnett’s head office operations as the Executive Director and Branch Head from February 2017.

     

    Speaking about the elevation, Sinha said, “Rakesh is the perfect role model for the new-age agency we are building. His leadership on all the three parameters of People, Product and Profit has been stellar. Under his watch, we have consistently seen spectacular work that has won our brands market-share, and glory at platforms such as Cannes Lions, Spikes and Effies. He has delivered high-quality growth for the Mumbai office, leading the teams to win a new business almost every two weeks. The momentum and buzz at Leo Burnett Mumbai are palpable. Rakesh has been an amazing team player, helping push the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One agenda. Leo Burnett Mumbai’s contribution to our services such as Prodigious has helped Prodigious to become the number one ‘agency production house’ in the country within a span of two years. More than anything else, Rakesh has a never-say-die attitude and he always plays the game with a sense of camaraderie that we really value at Leo Burnett.”

     

    Commenting on the promotion, Das said: “Rakesh is always there, backing great creative work and making integrated thinking happen for our clients. He has been an essential part of the journey to get where we are today. This elevation is much-deserved and will take all of us to greater heights.”

     

    And this is what Hinduja said in a statement: “I am happy with my journey at Leo Burnett – a new-age, solution-providing ‘Wave 3’ agency. I’m proud of the brave we have work done and I am hungry for more. Hereon, there are a lot of exciting things to do and in quick time. I want to take a critical pause here to thank all our clients and the Burnetters for their belief in me.”

     

     

  • Is being on false cover a necessity for brands, asks Sanjeev Kotnala, trying to understand the logic of multiple Page 1s

    Has print conditioned readers for false covers?

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    There has to some logic behind the magic of multiple false covers in dominant newspapers across the country. Come festival time, and suddenly you have to wade through a barrage of the false front page to reach the real front page with news.

    AM I THE ONLY ONE MISSING THE LOGIC OF MULTIPLE FALSE COVER?

    There must be some science behind it. Is there a magic formula only known to smart agencies and clients who are willingly splurging on the nth front jacket /false front-page?

    I ask this with sinking confidence. It is questionable wisdom.

    My question is not a result of social media questioning the non-conventional wisdom. I have observed readers interacting with these fattened newspapers. They do notice the first and the last false cover. In between false covers are just flicked. They seem to ignore many such pages jumping to the real news. No media audience is interested in the advertisements. The reader is only interested in the content.  Am I missing something? Has the conventional wisdom changed? Are the advertisements the new content?

    The brands are using these false front=page as a reminder catalogue for the message already amplified in TV and digital media.

    I presume a lot goes into selecting the products featured in these vibrant cover catalogues. Self-evolving algorithms and many tetrabyte of AI lead big-data mining tell brands what to highlight in them. Major advertising agencies buyers are consciously punting on it. Reputed brands are approving these plans. Publications now have a new magic wand of false cover/jackets to convince otherwise rational buyers and planners. Maybe brands and agencies are trying to mirror consumer expectations.

    MULTIPLE FALSE FRONT-PAGES ARE NOT TOO OLD A PHENOMENON.

    I remember, in the late nineties, the clients hated the second front page. They would not even consider a front-page advertisement whenever there was a false cover. Something changed.

    False covers are a rich cultural tradition among brands. Clients believe in its simplicity of planning and execution. The print owners are not complaining.

    E-commerce, malls, electronics, durable, mobile and real estate dominate false covers. They have access to the best brains in the business.

    IS A SIMPLE ANSWER TO EXPLOSION OF FALSE COVERS?

    There is a simple answer. Mr Anoop Verma, my mentor voice and an avid print reader explains:

    “Kotnala, it is simple. Just like Hallmark cards created many days, we now ritualistically celebrate. Like print created Akshay Tritiya and the colour code for Navratri. Multiple false covers are just another such creation. Print has managed to condition the readers and the advertisers through the years”.

    He added: “Today, readers expect big sale ads on the front cover. They see the dominance and popularity of the newspaper in the number of false covers it manages to publish during festivals. No Brand managers want to be criticised for missing on such opportunities”.

    While I was contemplating on his line of thinking, he simplified it for my understanding. “You must give credit to the print sellers. They have managed to redefine the resistance of not featuring on the second cover to false cover at any cost. It does not matter if is the nth false cover”.

    I am not convinced. However, it makes ample sense.

    I would like to know if there is another explanation, how brands are measuring the effectiveness and how they agree to feature in the nth false cover?. My traditional media thinking is constrained by my learning’s.

    The question has bugged me for long, and I do not have a plausible answer.

     

     

  • The campaign celebrates the uniqueness and individuality of every woman through the lens of Indian festivities

    Taneira promotes new collection in new ad

    By A Correspondent

    Taneira has launched its latest campaign to drive awareness of the brand as a differentiated player and showcase the all-new saree collection. The campaign is a combination of the films and print ads and are being run on digital and cinema.

    Said Shyamala Ramanan, Business Head, Taneira: “Each  woman is unique in her own right. She makes rules for herself along the way. She holds on to some traditions, adopts some from her friends and family, creates new ones relevant to her. This campaign celebrates, her choices, her style, her individuality in bringing people together – Taneira, like no other.”

    Added Delna Sethna, Chief Creative Officer, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi: “Taneira sarees are handmade which means no two sarees will ever be exactly alike… and therefore Like No Other. No two women are alike even if they share a similar age and profession, each will have a quirk that makes her uniquely her and therefore again, Like No Other. The campaign idea flows from these simple synergies… and will ring true for the consumer as well, how could it not.”

     

     

  • Trying to estimate spends is like story of the blind men and the elephant, writes Indrani Sen

    Just how much do we spend on media for Diwali ad campaigns?

     

    By Indrani Sen

     

    Trying to estimate the traditional media expenditures during the three months, from August to October, is like the age old story of the blind men with the elephant. Each blind man made a guess based on which part of the elephant he was touching! In this case, please read it as based on the media agency or the advertisers own experience with rate negotiation for Diwali campaigns. The estimates put up by TAM India for Adex is therefore corrected accordingly.

     

    Well, TAM India estimates Adex for Print, TV and Radio which is based on monitoring of large number of media vehicles during the stipulated three months. As we all know, Adex is calculated on the basis of market rates and not on the basis of actual negotiated rates. Industry insiders are also aware of special discounts offered by media houses over and above their negotiated rates with media agencies/ advertisers for the Diwali campaigns. It is important for the leading media houses to get a fair share of the Diwali budget, the once a year bonanza for which most of them are prepared to bent backwards!

     

    The scheduling off course depends on the actual date of the Diwali festival, which falls on a date between mid-October to mid-November in the solar calendar based on the calculations given in advance about the auspicious dates in our lunar calendar published in our almanacs. So, it is debatable if we should look at the three months August to October or redefine the period as 12 weeks before the Diwali. For example, this year Diwali is on November 7, 2018 and we have been seeing lot of frenzied advertising activities in all traditional media as well as digital and social media since October 1. Obviously, if the TAM Adex reports compare August to October 2017 with August to October 2018, then a large chunk of the pre-Diwali advertising will not be reflected in the analysis.

     

    Last year TAM India published in their newsletter a comparison of pre-Diwali Adex for 2016 and 2017 https://www.tamindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/tam_newsletter_04.pdf and concluded that there was drop in print and radio expenditures in 2017 compared to 2016. Diwali festival in 2016 was on October 30, 2016 and in the next year the date fell on October 19, 2017. There is usually a huge drop in advertising traffic immediately after Diwali across all traditional media. Last year, therefore the Adex naturally dropped after October 19 while 2016 enjoyed the full thrust of Diwali advertising till October 30. Obviously the lull over the last ten days of October painted Print and Radio at a disadvantage in comparison with the same period in 2016.

     

    It is my earnest request to TAM India to change the period for comparing Diwali expenditures to 12 weeks before the festival instead of the standard three months August to December. Their calculations will still be on market rates, but at least the estimates would be comparable across the different media. We generally see a long diminishing tail of TV media after Diwali which are part of free spots or bonus spots which generally feature in the rate negotiations. Ideally speaking, the same TV spots should not be added to the overall cost of the particular advertisers’ Diwali campaign.

     

    TAM India is working on publishing a Digital Adex shortly, which will complete the process of estimating Diwali media expenditures by adding to traditional expenditures, digital and social media expenditures. There has been a trend since 2014 to link Diwali campaigns with social needs and year on year we are finding more advertisers climbing into that band wagon. Needless to mention, a considerable chunk of their Diwali advertising budget is being utilised through the new media channels.  We need to end this game played by blind men and have a robust estimates of how much we are spending on Diwali advertising on a year-on-year basis.

     

    Wishing the readers of www.mxmindia.com a Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year!

     

     

  • To appear in a promotional ad campaign with American volley ball legend David Lee

    PV Sindhu stars in inaugural brand campaign for Pro Volleyball league

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rio Olympics silver medalist and current World No 2 badminton player PV Sindhu came together with two-time Olympic medalist David Lee to shoot an ad video for the Pro Volley ball League.

    Said Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO, Pro Volleyball League: “Volleyball is a very athletic and dynamic sport. If captured aesthetically, it can be very exciting from a spectator perspective as well. With this campaign we aim to capture the essence of the sport and build awareness about our upcoming national league which will take place early 2019,” The inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball League will be broadcast on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3 India in February 2019.