By Our Staff
20:20 MSL has announced that it will be officially taking on the brand and corporate communications duties for the Brilloca Sanitaryware. Brilloca also houses ‘Truflo by Hindware’, the plastic pipes and fittings business. The mandate includes public relations, media, influencer engagement, and more for Brilloca and its portfolio of brands across the segments.
By Our Staff
Swiggy has launched a series of TVCs and digital videos for its grocery delivery service, Instamart.
Said Ashish Lingamneni, Head of Brand at Swiggy: “Swiggy is committed to bringing convenience to consumers’ doorstep and has pioneered the quick commerce model for instant delivery of groceries and essentials for the time-pressed urban consumer. As an advertiser, we love being at the intersection of entertaining viewers while also showcasing how our services add value to their lives. Our latest Instamart ads do just that while driving home the point that, no matter what the situation, you can rely on Instamart to provide for your grocery needs, be it a packet of salt or a bar of chocolate to satiate your late-night cravings.”
Added Puneet Kapoor, Regional Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas – Bangalore: “Launching a new product in the grocery delivery space – one that is inundated by so many strong players was a real challenge. So we decided to grab eyeballs with a unique idea – by riding on the nostalgia of some beloved ads and giving it a humorous twist. The objective was to deliver Swiggy Instamart’s message in a novel format, one that would stick out as an enjoyable, entertaining piece of communication. It’s no surprise that the creative team had a riot revisiting old ads and marrying them with our offering – all as an ode to the classics.”
By Vikas Mehta
Now that the dust has settled on the Air India acquisition, let’s look at what the future holds for the airline objectively. With three brands in its wings, how can the Tata group leverage the strengths of the brands and of course it’s other partners like Singapore Airlines and Air Asia.
The airline industry is a heady mix of adventure, glamour and travel for an outsider. But its core is simple. Quick and reliable transport over longer distances. Two things are important here. Reliable and longer distance. Let’s look at these.
Longer distance is a comparative measure. Most domestic flights in India are less than two hours flying time. Many Middle East distances are slightly more than that. For paying customers two, two-and-a-half-hour flights have a simple reliability connotation. On-time performance, clean hygienic aircrafts and sufficient baggage allowance. Leg space, food, entertainment, seat recline etc do not really matter for such shorter flights. Therefore, they will not be too happy paying a premium for such amenities. Long distance flights on the other hand make such amenities a must. Customers are willing to pay more for the same. And let’s not forget Indian flyers are notoriously price sensitive.
What this means is that the domestic offering of Air India needs to be in line with that of Indigo. No frills, no freebies. A basic product. In fact the value equation should be to give less for less. Less amenities for less price. The Air Asia model.
On the other hand, the international routes, bar a few, Air India needs to have a more premium product. More comfortable seats, better recline, better leg space, more food choice, entertainment are some of the immediate things that come to mind. More amenities for more price. The Vistara model.
That is the reason why I ultimately see Air India running two brands. Air India per se which will merge with Air Asia and will run as the domestic carrier with services within 2-21/2 hour flying time including outside India. No business class, no premium economy. Just basic economy class.
On the international routes, Air India should be running as Vistara. Anyways, the reputation of Air India internationally is at a low, so to build a new premium brand will be a sensible strategy. The current version of Vistara with some slight tweaks can help the beleaguered brand which currently is operating with an incorrect offering for the domestic market, but has an opportunistic offering for an international market.
The real question for Air India to answer is about what will make it competitive. On domestic sector, I think there is enough scope for a me-too brand like Indigo. Currently there is not much serious competition to Indigo. SpiceJet struggles on parameters like on time and it’s route width. GoFirst is too small. A me-too strong competitor with competitive pricing can be a good beginning for Air India domestically. As a customer, I frankly find any low-priced airlines since the price of Indigo, Spice Jet, GoAir, Air Asia and Air India are almost at the same level. Except for some discounts offered, I suspect on a few seats, by all of them from time to time, I don’t find any high cost or low-cost carriers in India. It’s all the same cost.
What needs to be done, is also a fleet rationalisation. The single aisle narrow body aircrafts should be all transferred to the domestic Air India and Vistara should have the wide-bodied, long haul aircrafts. What will help Air India is that most of its single aisle narrow body aircrafts are Airbus and the wide-bodied long haul are Boeing. The only anomaly are the Air India Express 737 Boeings. Vistara too has mainly the Airbus single aisle narrow body aircrafts and that could be transferred to Air India and it’s wide body long haul Boeings can be retained. It would need to lease/buy new wide-bodied Boeing in the immediate future to take advantage of its international slots.
Air Asia, as a group, is in disarray and it may not be difficult for Tatas to buy out the Indian operation. The experience of the team running Air Asia India will come in handy. The big challenge for Tatas would be how to handle SIA. Vistara will be in direct competition with SIA and would SIA want to remain invested in Vistara will be the big question.
The privatisation of Air India is just a small first step in what promises to be interesting times in the Indian, nee, global aviation circles.
By Our Staff
Cadbury Bournvita has rolled out ‘Get The Message’, a digital-first campaign aimed at raising awareness around kids’ mental and emotional well-being and partner with parents in this journey. The campaign was conceptualized and brought to life in partnership with Ogilvy India and mental health organisation, The Minds Foundation.
Speaking about the campaign, Inderpreet Singh, Associate Director – Marketing (Beverages, Meals, Candies & Gums), Mondelez India, said: “The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown brought forth a new parenting challenge. The physical restrictions of social isolation, schools being shut, being constantly cooped up at home has impacted children mentally. The signs of children struggling with their mental and emotional health are often very subtle and sometimes not picked up or tend to be misread by parents. As a trusted brand that has always highlighted the need for progressive and holistic parenting, #GetTheMessage campaign is an attempt to help parents identify these signs and provide them with the right resources to ensure their children’s mental and emotional wellbeing. The idea leverages technology in a smart way to provide resources to parents and break the taboo around this topic.”
Added Dr Raghu Appasani, CEO, Minds Foundation: “Mental health is something we all have and therefore it is important to be able to understand it in oneself and in others. Through this incredible partnership with Cadbury Bournvita, we have been able to curate our years of evidence-backed mental health research and expertise into easy to understand, interactive and accessible resources for parents and make it available across the country. As you explore the chatbot and the website, you will come across educational materials on how to engage with children struggling with their mental health, have difficult conversations, equip them with tools for resilience, and develop stronger relationships. Additionally, we have been able to provide access to a toll-free 24/7 helpline for parents to reach out. This is just the beginning of our partnership with Cadbury Bournvita and we are very excited to continue our journey and mission to provide further resources.”
Said Akshay Seth, Group Creative Director & Chinmay Raut, Senior Creative Director, Ogilvy India: “The signs of mental health struggles are there for one to see as well as miss. We wanted to mirror this reality in a very organic way through the films by showing the point of view of both, the parent, and the child. For parents the sign can be easy to miss but children seek a shoulder, and we wanted the audience to be that shoulder. By getting the viewer to have a conversation with the affected kid on WhatsApp via a bot, we are breaking the wall and making the viewer understand the condition a little better. We are also empowering parents to reach out for further help via counsellors so that MannKiTayyari no longer gets overlooked.”
By Our Staff
UpGrad Jeet, a subsidiary of UpGrad and an online preparation platform for government job exams, has launched its latest campaign #JeetKeSahiMaayane that says that a government job is an opportunity for the youth of India to serve and build the nation. The film was shot by Orcomm Advertising.
Speaking more about the campaign, Ritesh Raushan, CEO, upGrad Jeet, said: “Our focus has always been at delivering quality content to our learners that in turn, helps the aspirants realize their dream of getting a Govt. job, and we realize that we are not just helping individuals but also laying the foundation for the nation as these next-gen Government employees will take the nation forward through their different roles and responsibilities. Through this campaign, we thank the numerous government employees who continue to serve the nation by putting the nation over their personal interests, and we hope to inspire the youth to look at Government Jobs as a career choice.”
Added Kavita Koserwal, CEO, Orcomm Advertising: “We understand the hunger that drives emerging towns and cities of India, having been their voice for more than a decade now. #JeetKeSahiMaayne brings out that spirit, the zeal unfazed by prejudices, barriers, or lack of facilities. Our message to these young aspirants is simple but stirring – believe in your power and purpose to achieve your dreams not only for yourself but also for our India. We are happy to partner with UpGrad Jeet to mentor and enable small-town aspirations to make a big impact.”
By Our Staff
Lowe Lintas has recently announced Vasudha Misra as its Regional Creative Officer, strengthening the creative leadership at their Delhi office. Vasudha joins Lowe Lintas from BBH India where she worked as ECD on brands such as Tinder, Vivo, FabHotels, Havells RO Water Purifiers, Havells Lights, OkCupid, Heinz India and Indonesia.
Speaking about the appointment, Prateek Bhardwaj, CCO, Lowe Lintas said: “Vasudha and Lowe Lintas were simply meant to be. Over the years, she has built a body of work that would sit perfectly in a Lowe Lintas greatest hits reel – strategically powerful, creatively brilliant. With a cool, new-age edge. Borrowing a line from one of her campaigns, I’d say this really feels like the start of something epic.”
Commenting on her new role, Misra added: “I am very excited to be a part of Lowe Lintas. Over the years, I have watched several iconic campaigns that Lowe that has done, with great admiration. And I look forward to helping Prateek take this incredible legacy forward.”
By Our Staff
Fintech startup ePayLater has assigned its creative and media duties to Madison. Madison BMB will handle the creative assignment and Madison Media Sigma will handle the entire media mandate including TV, Print, Radio, OOH, Digital and Cinema.
Said Akshat Saxena, Cofounder ePayLater: “We are happy to have Madison as a holistic agency on board as our creative and media partner. It’s an exciting phase of growth for ePayLater and with Madison as our partner, we are confident about effectively reaching out to millions of retailers in the country who stand to benefit from this solution.”
Added Vanita Keswani, CEO, Madison Media Sigma: “We are truly excited to be partnering with ePayLater, expand its reach and strengthen it as a game changer Fintech brand, in today’s fast paced digitized environment.”
Said Raj Nair, CEO & Chief Creative Officer, Madison BMB: “The fintech space in India is constantly innovating and developing and launching new products in the category. While there are many players, the leadership team at ePayLater are very upbeat about their prospects by virtue of what they bring to the table to smaller retailers and helping them spread their wings and fueling their growth story. Their partnerships with B2B majors like Metro Cash & Carry, Walmart, BigBasket and large FMCG brands help hugely towards this end. We are looking forward to help ePayLater succeed across the country.”
By Our Staff
Dentsu International has been selected as Standard Chartered’s Media Agency of Record for a further five years.
Said Emma Sheller, Global Head, Brand Strategy & Consumer, Private and Business Banking Marketing, Standard Chartered: “At Standard Chartered, we are here for good. It’s the motivation of our business, and a principle we clearly share with Dentsu in the commitments and progress they’re making to be a force for good. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions, lifting participation and improving lives, and setting a new model of globalisation based on transparency, fairness and trust. It is important for us to have a partner with shared values and ambitions who would work with us to achieve our goals. Dentsu came to the table with a deep knowledge of our business, our commitments and how we can drive growth from the media with an impressive service model and a team aligned to that value set.”
The assignment covers Standard Chartered’s global markets across media planning, strategy and buying.
Added Prerna Mehrotra, CEO, Media, Dentsu Asia Pacific & Singapore: “We are proud of the work we have delivered with Standard Chartered over the course of our four-year long relationship and are excited for the potential of our next five-year commitment. We presented Standard Chartered with a team of brilliant people, who felt passionately about delivering performance with purpose for the Standard Chartered business, which set strong foundations for us to build the next five years on. Our vision for good growth, delivered through our ‘One Dentsu’ service model across the diverse markets Standard Chartered operates in, delivered the competitive advantage for the team. We are thrilled to be continuing our partnership with them.”
By Our Staff
FoxyMoron, the creative and performance agency under the Zoo Media network, has won the full-funnel digital performance media mandate for Lido. The business will be handled by the agency’s Gurugram office.
Commenting on the win Prachi Bali, National Head Partnerships and Business Head, North, FoxyMoron (Zoo Media), said: “Our partnership with Lido cements Zoo Media’s expertise and domain knowledge in the EdTech space, given our demonstrated success in this category. With the pandemic bringing with it an unprecedented demand for EdTech, we are driven to build a long-term partnership with Lido with the singular focus of achieving their business goals”
Added Sanket Narkar, Head of Marketing, Lido: “With new initiatives like the ACE Program, which essentially guarantees measurable academic improvement, it was imperative for us to tie up with marketing partners that were capable of clearly communicating and demonstrating our commitment to transparency and accountability towards the education of our students. In FoxyMoron, we’ve found an agency that is agile, but with a deep understanding of India’s EdTech industry and India’s uniquely aspirational relationship with education. We are confident that our collaboration with FoxyMoron will be a successful one.”
By Our Staff
GroupM India has announced the appointment of Priti Murthy as President, GroupM Services India. In her new role, Murthy would also be part of the GroupM India Executive Committee. She will lead the centre of delivery excellence that comprises biddable, non-biddable, analytics and reporting. She will work closely with agencies to understand their needs, incorporating best-in-class delivery metrics with ‘improvise and improve’ as the approach to continued excellence. Murthy, who was until recently CEO of OMD India, will report to Prasanth Kumar CEO, South Asia GroupM and Jon Thurlow, COO, Asia Pacific GroupM. GroupM Services India leadership team would report to Priti.
Commenting on the new appointment, Prasanth Kumar – CEO South Asia GroupM said: “It is a homecoming for Priti and strengthening of GroupM India leadership team with yet another remarkable industry leader. Priti’s product mindset powered by a unique blend of experience in setting and executing an organization-wide vision will enrich the GroupM teams alike. As one of the most regarded women leaders in the industry, Priti also believes in GroupM’s future centric business approach and has always focused on building purpose-driven culture as a key leadership responsibility. I am confident that her people and solution focus will further strengthen the agency collaboration fuelling all GroupM agencies.”
Added Priti Murthy – President GroupM Services India: “It is one of the best eras in the media industry, revival and rejuvenation being the focus. I am delighted to join GroupM, to walk the path to the future transformation of GroupM offerings in the marketplace and magnify the operational excellence that it is known for. With GroupM’s focus on creating the best in class and house of excellence, my role will be to bring in the right mix of talent, process and tech to ensure quality assurance and continuous improvement for biddable and non-biddable media for our partners and clients. I am looking forward to working with Prasanth and the entire ExCo in driving this focus.”
By Our Staff
Havas Media Group India reports added new businesses worth INR 750+ crore.
The new business wins include some of the marquee brands, namely, Ambuja Cement, Bira91, Campus Shoes, De Beers Forevermark, Dr. Reddy’s, and Realme. One of the biggest clients of Havas Media Group India, Swiggy, has further consolidated its association with the network by giving the media mandate of Swiggy Instamart.
Said Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India: “Over the last two years, Havas Group India has displayed some phenomenal growth, in terms of new client acquisitions – some of them have been really esteemed ones. We have built our expertise through acquisitions, strengthened our teams through exceptional hiring of talent, and elevated the cultural and organizational shift. This has clearly set us apart from the competition and it’s evident in our growth story. I am glad that the vision with which we set out to achieve has culminated into an outstanding momentum for the network. I’m also extremely delighted with all my colleagues at Havas Media, Creative and all our group companies for showing such resilience and commitment during such volatile times.”