MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Its new wins include Margo, Henko, Godrej Security Solutions, Blue Dart among others

    Network Digital bags multiple accounts over the last quarter

    By Our Staff

     

    Network Digital, the digital arm of Network Advertising, has bagged multiple digital businesses over the last quarter. Its new wins include Margo, Henko, Godrej Security Solutions, Blue Dart, Freshwrapp, Ujala, Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham, Everlast Aluminium Roofing Sheets and Fuji Silver Tech among others.

     

    Said Manan Shah, VP, Network Digital: “We are thrilled to be the partner of digital growth for all these brands and are very excited about the new wins. We appreciate the trust bestowed upon us and we are looking forward to create some good work with our full-service digital offerings for our clients.”

     

    Added Vinod Nair, Managing Director of Network Advertising: “Digital is a core component in our integrated offering to our clients and I am delighted with these additions to our business. It also further reinforces our belief in providing truly integrated solutions to our clients.”

     

  • The industry is high performance-led. There is subjectivity, appreciation, rejection and dejection, notes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Mental Health & A&M

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaAt the end of May 2021, women’s tennis star Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open to preserve her mental health. As if taking a cue, many athletes in recent times have been vocal on the subject. Fortunately, now it is receiving the desired focus. We, at least for the celebrity and sports personalities, are now agreeing, ‘It is OK to be not OK.’ And celebrating their courage to be open about it.

     

    In the Indian context, we have read about the mental health issues of Deepika Padukone, Virat Kohli, Abhinav Bindra, Tiger Shroff, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan and many others. Many may say that it is easier for them to be open about mental health than an average person.

     

    Mental illness, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health conditions – disorders that can affect your mood, thinking and behaviour in personal and professional life. Mental illness includes depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours.

     

    Reports suggest elite athletes experience mental ill-health at a rate comparable to the general population in anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and sleep disorders. We now acknowledge these superhumans – high-performance humans are also vulnerable to mental health issues.

     

    Which makes me look inwards in the Marketing Advertising community. Just like #MeToo opened up flood gates. People shared their experiences.

     

    Are we going to see people from Marketing and advertising now coming out with their experiences and issues? Personally, I doubt.

     

    The industry has all the environment that could lead to mental health issues. It is high performance led. There is subjectivity. There is a swinging of fortunes in approval, appreciation, rejection and dejection. There are creative blocks that make people question their abilities. Then some push confidently even when they are way behind their benchmarks. Loss of business, shifting fortunes, impossibility to predict and control outcomes. The growth. The layoffs. The repeating iterations. The questions about capabilities, abilities and capacity of someone understanding the problem. Long working hours, no control on timelines and expected to be working beyond office hours add to the problem.

     

    Like me, many of you must have seen cases of people that we never rightly labelled as mental health issues. Because no one wanted to accept such a problem. Theek ho jayega. You will overcome it. Let’s drink to it. ‘Come on. Burn out. Recharge. Are some of the stock solutions offered by colleagues.

     

    I am not a doctor but, like every advertising marketing professional, an observer of life. And that makes me sure that sooner or later, we will be able to question behaviour and have a place for the proper counselling. Maybe the HR and the stakeholders in the industry could initiate a debate on it and think of possible policies to address it.

     

    Campaign did a research survey on the subject. Which told us 71% feel that their organisations haven’t taken any concrete steps towards actively reducing workplace stress. Employees claim they haven’t been receiving considerate timelines and are even unable to sign off for the day post 6 or 7 PM. Additionally, they are dealing with the pressures of coming to the office and are expected to be available over weekends.  Exchange4media did a story that told us that as an industry, we are opening up to it. Times Network-initiated #ActNow to spread awareness, normalise conversations around the issue and sensitise people to be responsive to the mental health needs of others. The business insider did a story on World Mental Health Day: How to address the challenges of overworking in an ad agency. Not enough. And we know the reality.

     

    I may have spoken about the Marketing and Advertising Industry as I am a part of it. But I will not be surprised that it is an omnipresent problem. Police, sales, Manufacturing, Bureaucracy, and students are included in the list.

     

    We need an ecosystem that does not treat it as a taboo subject. Time we are a lot more open and inclusive in our reaction and acceptance of the possibilities. Remember, It is OK, Not to be OK.

     

     

  • He will report to Sonia Khurana, COO of Digitas India

    Digitas appoints Suraj Nambiar to head West

    By Our Staff

     

    Suraj Nambiar
    Suraj Nambiar

    Digitas, the global marketing and technology services brand of the Publicis Groupe, has announced the appointment of Suraj Nambiar as Senior Vice President and West Head. He will report to Sonia Khurana, COO of Digitas India.

     

    Welcoming Nambiar to the agency, Khurana said: “We’re delighted to have Suraj join us as head of our Mumbai office. In a platform world, multiple disciplines like technology, data, creative and media come together to deliver customer experiences and solve business challenges. All our assignments now are in these areas. Suraj’s rich experience in media, digital and communications plus his entrepreneurial streak is what we need to continue to raise the bar”.

     

    On joining the agency and his role ahead, Nambiar added: “We are living in a truly connected world and I am excited to be part of Digitas given its deep expertise and focus on technology and communications in creating digital experiences. These last few days I have been working with a very talented team, across different disciplines and I am looking forward to create some amazing work together.”

     

  • Brings onboard Mittu Torka, Bonnie Michael and elevates Ankit Singh

    Leo Burnett hires senior folk for planning

    By Our Staff

     

    Mittu Torka
    Mittu Torka

    Leo Burnett India has announced a slew of new hires to strengthen its strategic planning team with two new appointments in Mumbai – Mittu Torka as Executive Vice President – Strategy and Bonnie Michael as Executive Vice President – Strategy and by elevating Ankit Singh as Executive Vice President – Strategy in Delhi.

     

     

    Dheeraj Sinha
    Dheeraj Sinha

    Speaking about the appointments Dheeraj Sinha CEO & Chief Strategy Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett said: “At Leo Burnett India strategy has always been core to building success for client’s businesses. This is also a testimony to the success of our Leo Burnett Consult offering which has already completed several projects within a year of its launch. Our new age thinking, and growth trajectory has always attracted the top talent from the industry. Mittu and Bonnie both come with valuable knowledge and experience having worked across diverse sectors and some of the best-in-class brands. Their addition to the planning team will only help us sharpen our thinking and output on our businesses.”

     

  • Will be setting up the communications planning vertical for the agency’s key businesses

    Mindshare names Vipasha Bhuptani as communications planning lead, Content+

    By Our Staff

     

    Vipasha Bhuptani
    Vipasha Bhuptani

    Mindshare India has announced the appointment of Vipasha Bhuptani as Communications Planning Lead for the Content+ team.

     

    In this role, Bhuptani will be responsible for setting up the communications planning vertical for the agency’s key businesses.

     

    Parthasarathy Mandayam
    Parthasarathy Mandayam

    Said Parthasarathy Mandayam (Maps), CEO – Mindshare South Asia: “Vipasha has a proven track record of implementing strategic communication initiatives across various brands and markets. We believe that Vipasha will play a pivotal role as we accompany our clients in revamping their content strategies.”

     

    Ajay Mehta
    Ajay Mehta

    Added Ajay Mehta, Senior VP – Mindshare Content+ & Partnerships: “Given the explosion in the content and communication landscape and with the emergence of new platforms, formats and frameworks, there is a need to address and build sharper & deeper, yet fully integrated content narrative for our set of clients. I look forward to working closely with Vipasha and I am confident that she will further strengthen our content offerings. Her expertise in strategic brand communications will further enhance our clients’ integrated content journey.”

     

  • Stars brand ambassador and investor Shraddha Kapoor

    Sideways launches TVC for MyGlamm

    By Our Staff

     

    Beauty and personal care brand MyGlamm has launched its first TVC ‘Tell MyGlamm What You Want’ created by Sideways. The campaign features newly appointed brand ambassador and investor Shraddha Kapoor.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Apratim Majumder, CMO, MyGlamm said: “I am super-excited about this campaign. This gives us an opportunity to take our platform to more people and positively impact, in a small way, their beauty journey. In a world that is getting polarised by the day, we want to tell our story of inclusiveness and hope to inspire people to tell their stories.”

     

    Added Abhijit Avasthi, Co-founder of Sideways: “MyGlamm is an amazing example of what technology and data can do for women and their beauty needs. It’s philosophy of understanding from women what they want and crafting products for them is what has made them much-loved by their users. With this film we hope to get many more people to enjoy their products and share their beauty wishlist. Sideways started partnering with MyGlamm in 2017, right from the product/packaging development stage, and hence it is extremely fulfilling to see this journey to their first TVC release.”

     

  • Features some of the ad industry’s biggest stalwarts who have worked at Rediffusion

    Rediffusion toasts ex-employees in campaign to celebrates 50 Years

    By Our Staff

     

    Surprise! Surprise! An ad released by Rediffusion last week features Mullen Lowe Lintas India’s Group CEO, Virat Tandon. In fact Tandon is the hero of the ad. Why?

     

    Because Rediffusion is starting its ‘50 Years’ celebration, 24 months in advance. And every month over the next 24 months, Rediffusion will release an ad celebrating a former employee who has gone on to achieve success and fame in advertising, and beyond. Virat Tandon, who joined Rediffusion in 1993 as an Account Executive in their Delhi office and worked on Caltex, AT&T, Sony, Shell and Atlas Cycles, has the honour of being the first to be featured in his alma mater’s celebratory campaign.

     

    Explains Diwan Arun Nanda, Chairman & Founder of Rediffusion:  “Rediffusion has a proud history not just of the clients and brands it has handled over the past 48 years, but also the talented professionals who worked at Rediffusion over the years and left their indelible stamp on the agency. This campaign celebrates our stars who spent some part of their professional innings at Rediffusion, and then moved on to attain stature and esteem in the ad industry, media, movies, academia, and more. This campaign toasts their success, and thanks them for having been part of Rediffusion’s incredible journey of nearly five decades,”

     

    The second ad in the series features Kamlesh Pandey, who has recently come back to the agency as Legend In Residence. Pandey joined Rediffusion in the mid-70s and was the most awarded Copywriter of that era – with iconic lines like “Whenever you see colour, think of us” for Jenson & Nicholson, “Hum Red & White peene walon ki baat hi kuchh aur hai” for Red & White cigarettes, “The Zing Thing” for Gold Spot that made him famous. Pandey went on to head programming at Zee and is well known as a Bollywood script writer, including penning films like Rang de Basanti.

     

    Some of the ad industry’s biggest stalwarts have worked at Rediffusion. From Harsha Bhogle who joined the agency in client servicing straight from IIM Ahmedabad, and went on to become a famous cricket commentator, to India’s current cricket team coach Ravi Shastri who headed Showdiff, Refiffusion has many famous alumni. The current President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Anupriya Acharya worked at Rediffusion over a decade ago. India’s No. 1 media man, Prashanth Kumar, the CEO of Group M started as a rookie in media at Rediffusion nearly 25 years ago. Actor Rahul Bose headed creative at Rediffusion Mumbai in the mid-90s while celebrated Creative Director Bobby Pawar too spent some of his younger days at Rediffusion’s Readymoney office writing copy. Havas’ Country Head Rana Barua and Times of India’s President Partha Sinha are both Rediffusionists.”

     

    Added Dr. Sandeep Goyal, Managing Director of Rediffusion: “So sparkling is our galaxy of superstars that choosing just 24 to feature in the campaign is going to be a tough task. I worked with Virat Tandon when I was Branch Head of Rediffusion Delhi. It is so satisfying to see Rediffusion youngsters like Virat bloom into leaders of the industry. Rediffusion has been a veritable University of Indian Advertising and we are proud to be celebrating our contribution through this communication.”

     

    The campaign has been ideated and written by Pramod Sharma, Executive Creative Director, Rediffusion Mumbai.

     

  • To showcase the Black & White Scotch Hipster

    OMG partners with Diageo India

    By Our Staff

     

    Diageo India has partnered with Omnicom Media Group’s Content Arm OMG Content to amplify Black & White Scotch Hipster.

     

    Commenting on the video content, Shailja Saraswati Varghese, Chief Content Officer, Omnicom Media Group, said: “During the times when socialising in person had taken a pause, we noticed that trends had emerged where friends began spending time virtually. It was the perfect avenue to partner with Diageo India and showcase the Black & White Hipster Scotch as a companion for the continued banter with friends over food and cocktails even on-screen.”

     

    Added Savita Pai, Chief Digital & Media Officer, Diageo India: “Today a lot of consumers are choosing to experiment and recreate their favourite Scotch cocktails at home and continue to celebrate casual catch-ups virtually. So, we thought we would highlight moments and experiences that could be enjoyed over a Black & White Hipster and shareable food as the quintessential accompaniments.”

     

  • Launches new paint, Royale Glitz

    Deepika Padukone in new TVC for Asian Paints

    By Our Staff

     

    Asian Paints has launched a new luxury paint, Royale Glitz. Conceptualised by Contract, the ad features brand ambassador, Deepika Padukone.

     

    Speaking about the new launch and the campaign, Amit Syngle, MD & CEO, Asian Paints Limited said: “Consumers today are looking for that X factor in their home interiors. Something that will create a memorable and definitive impact while enhancing the beauty and glamour quotient of your home. This is what we bring to our customers with the new Asian Paints Royale Glitz interior luxury paint and endeavoured to convey the same through our quirky and stylish TVC. We are happy to be working with Deepika once again on this TVC; the concept and treatment of which is quite different from the ones she has done previously with Asian Paints.”

     

  • Actor Ananya Panday features in TVC

    Leo Burnett creates campaign for Vega beauty products

    By Our Staff

     

    Vega, the personal and beauty care accessories brand, has launched new campaigns featuring their brand ambassador Ananya Panday.  The campaign has been conceptualised by Leo Burnett.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Eiti Singhal, Chief Marketing Officer – Vega Industries said: “Vega takes pride in being the pioneer of at-home styling products, and our consistent approach of making our consumers self-reliant demarcates us.”

    Added Rajdeepak Das, CEO & Chief Creative Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett: “Vega as a brand is redefining the at-home styling in India. Our campaign highlights the fact that Vega products are not just for everyday hair care and styling but these are products that lets everyone whether a man or a women to truly love their hair. And who better than Ananya Panday who is a style icon herself to share this message.”

     

  • The new XUV700 will be the first vehicle to wear the Twin Peaks logo

    Mahindra unveils new visual identity and logo

    By Our Staff

     

    Mahindra & Mahindra unveiled its new visual identity including a new logo that will differentiate its SUV portfolio. The new visual identity, notes a communique, is in tune with the company’s focus to be makers of sophisticated and authentic SUVs. Actor Naseeruddin Shah has lent his voice and music composers Ehsaan-Loy have rendered the music for the brand film. The brand identity was designed by the Mahindra Design Team.

     

    Speaking about it, Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sector, M&M Ltd., said: “An important facet of leading change is articulating the transformation of our brand. Our new visual identity is a manifestation of what we stand for as we build a truly differentiated and authentic SUV brand for personal exploration and adventure. This new visual identity is designed to evoke the powerful emotion of freedom.”

     

    Highlighting the roadmap for the visual identity implementation, Veejay Nakra, CEO, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd. added: “It’s not only a new logo but a representation of the rejuvenated spirit at Mahindra. What better platform than the new XUV700 to showcase it to the world. The visual overhaul of our identity will be carried in a phased manner across our SUV nameplates, and across virtual and physical touch-points where our customers interact with us.”

     

  • To lead its Delhi office

    Abhik Banerjee is COO – Madison Media Plus

    By Our Staff

     

    Abhik Banerjee
    Abhik Banerjee

    Madison Media has announced the promotion of Abhik Banerjee to Chief Operating Officer, Madison Media Plus. He will lead the agency’s Delhi office.

     

    Said Vikram Sakhuja, Partner & Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH: “Abhik, who has been acclaimed as a Client leader of the Year in our industry awards a few years ago, personifies the Madison spirit of undying client orientation, innovation, passion and executional brilliance. It is very satisfying when we can promote our internal talent to handle new challenges. I have full confidence in Abhik taking our Delhi office to new heights.”

     

    Added Banerjee: “I am excited and look forward to adding value to the organisation with my new role and additional responsibilities. I am thrilled to take on the challenges and opportunities it will bring.”