MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Ram Moorthi moves on

    Tithi Ghosh named President & Head of Office-Ogilvy Bengaluru  

    By Our Staff

     

    Tithi Ghosh
    Tithi Ghosh

    Ogilvy India has announced that effective July 01, Tithi Ghosh has taken over as President & Head of Office–Ogilvy Bengaluru. Ghosh has been with Ogilvy in Bengaluru since 2004.  Meanwhile, after 25 years with Ogilvy India, Ram Moorthi has decided to move on as s Bengaluru office head.

     

    VR Rajesh
    VR Rajesh

    Said VR Rajesh, Group President, Ogilvy India: “We would like to thank Ram, for giving so much to Ogilvy India. We will miss his passion to always do something different. Not a man to sit on his laurels, we are sure an all new venture is right around the corner. We wish him all the best and lots of love,” adding: “We are also very lucky to have Tithi to take the baton from Ram. Tithi stands for everything that represents the culture of Ogilvy. The voice of guidance and wisdom is now going to be the hand that guides the next chapter of Ogilvy Bengaluru.”

     

    Piyush Pandey
    Piyush PaPiyush Pandeyndey

    Added Piyush Pandey, Chairman Global Creative & Executive Chairman India, Ogilvy: “Tithi has been my valuable partner for years.  And I am sure that in the coming years she will further strengthen our client relationships and creative excellence in our Bengaluru office.”

     

  • Design Bridge and Superunion will merge to create a single design company in January 2023

    WPP creates Design Bridge and Partners

    By Our Staff

     

    To be called Design Bridge and Partners

     

    WPP has announces the creation of a new company, Design Bridge and Partners, formed by the merger of Design Bridge and Superunion. It will launch in January 2023. John Morris, currently CEO of Design Bridge, will take on the role of CEO of the new global business, in partnership with Jim Prior, currently CEO of Superunion, as Chair.

     

    The move follows the combining/merging of other WPP agencies to create AKQA Group, BCW, EssenceMediacom, VMLY&R, Wunderman Thompson and most recently FGS Global

     

    The two agencies will continue to operate as separate entities until the end of the year and the structure and market-facing brands of the new company will be assessed in each market over the coming months based on client and local needs. The full management team and creative leadership will be announced in due course, comprising current leaders from Design Bridge and Superunion.

     

    Said John Morris, CEO of Design Bridge and Partners:  “It’s absolutely fantastic to be able to bring together two creative powerhouses in design. Marrying the ‘best of both’, Design Bridge and Partners will be truly formidable, offering greater benefit for our clients through shared expertise and, importantly, many more opportunities for our people to grow.”

     

    Added Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “Design Bridge and Partners will be a leader in design and an important part of our simpler, future-facing client offer. Formed from two successful companies in Design Bridge and Superunion, it will create new growth opportunities both for our people and our clients.”

     

  • India is seeing the highest growth in the market

    India’s ad market to grow by 15.2% in 2023: Dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecasts

    By Our Staff

     

    According to the recent Dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecasts, advertising spending would increase globally by 8.7% in 2022. Adspending in Asia Pacific is anticipated to reach US$250.0 billion, with digital accounting for much of this amount. With a growth rate of 16.0% this year and predicted increases in advertising spending of 15.2% in 2023 and 15.7% in 2024, India is seeing the highest growth in the market. Forecasted spending on advertising in China is expected to rise by 4.0% in 2023 and 5.4% the following year.

     

    The reforecast of media investment is released in the context of escalating media price inflation, geopolitical tension, upcoming key elections, and one of the most anticipated global sports events of the year, the FIFA World Cup.  Due to continued uncertainty, the current and historical comparison data has also been adjusted to remove Russian investment from the forecast, to better reflect the rest of the international ad spend trends and predictions.

     

    Said Prerna Mehrotra, CEO Media APAC, Dentsu International: “The latest Dentsu Ad Spend July 2022 points to a continued recovery despite another year of economic uncertainty, with APAC 2022 ad spend of US$250.0 billion, based on a growth forecast at 5.1%.  However, continued lockdowns in key markets, geo-political tension and ongoing supply logistics issues could add pressure on businesses with a cascading impact on marketing spends.”

     

    Looking ahead, Dentsu expects the 2023 global advertising market to increase by 5.4% to reach US$778.6 billion followed by a further 5.1% increase in 2024.

     

    Added Peter Huijboom, Global CEO, Media and Global Clients, Dentsu International: “Even with everything which has happened in recent months, not least the protracted war in Ukraine and its international repercussions, the advertising recovery remains strong on a global scale.  And, despite factors such as inflation putting pressure on household budgets, combined with 2021 being a tough comparative year, we have only marginally revised down our 2022 global growth forecast by just 0.4 percentage points.”

     

    Overall ad spend growth in Asia Pacific is boosted by key sporting events such as Indian Premier League, FIFA World Cup, Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and country elections in Australia and India. Digital continues to be the powerhouse driving APAC ad spend, as the fastest growing medium at 11.5% to reach US$151.7 billion, a 60.7% share of total ad spend. Fuelling this is the double-digit growth of Programmatic (32.3%), Paid Social (27.4%), and digital display (13.3%) in 2022. In SEA, TV spend is still significant, with the largest share (57.2%) of total SEA spend (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam), and a growth rate of 4.6%.

     

    Globally, Out-of-Home (OOH) and cinema will both see encouraging double-digit growth in 2022 (respectively 11.5% and 19.6%). Radio is also forecast to grow, much faster than initially considered with a new reforecast of 5.0% for the year, up from 2.0% in the January predictions – which is mainly due to faster return to office working. As with previous predictions, ad spend in newspapers and magazines will continue to decline.

     

    I n 2022, the Americas will be the top ad spend region at US$329.6 billion and the most dynamic with spend increasing by 13.1%. India at 16.0% growth will stay ahead of the US at 12.8% and Brazil at 9.0% as the fastest growing market.

     

    Industry wise globally, the greatest growth is forecast for the Technology sector (+11.3%), which has benefited from people’s greater reliance on digital devices. Retail is one of the key sectors of spend growth at a rate of 11.0% in 2022. The sector is driven by a number of factors including the significant growth of e-commerce, the entry of new players, and the introduction of emerging retail platforms. In Asia Pacific, technology, automotive and cosmetics and personal care are among the fastest growing sectors.

     

    This Dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecast not only looks at the data from 58 markets, but also examines some of the key factors impacting ad spend shift, such as inflation increases, sustainability regulation, acceleration of gaming as an ad medium, doubling down on addressable media and also the importance of buying attention as core metric.

     

  • A strategic tie-up between Havas and Kolkata-based QED

    With QED in tow, Havas Group India eyes East

    By Our Staff

     

    L-R Manas Lahiri, Rana Barua and Anisha Singh Motwani

    Paris-headquartered advertising conglomerate Havas Group India has announced its foray into eastern India through a strategic tie-up between Havas Worldwide India and Kolkata-based digital marketing agency Quite Easily Done (QED).

     

    The new entity, Havas QED, will partner with Havas Creative Group India, which has agencies, including Havas Worldwide India (creative), Havas CX (customer experience), Think Design (UI/UX), Conran Design Group Mumbai (design) and Shobiz (experiential). The agency will be led by Anisha Singh Motwani, Founder & CEO, QED who will report in to Manas Lahiri, Managing Director, Havas Worldwide India (Creative). This collaboration will further drive the creative and digital excellence of Havas Creative Group India.

     

    Talking about the expansion, Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, said: “Over the previous two years, we went from three to 10 companies through acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, adding agencies such as Conran Design Group, Havas CX, Think Design, and Shobiz Havas under the creative umbrella. Media saw the addition of verticals including Havas Content, Havas Sports and Entertainment, Havas Market, and a strategic alliance with Tribes. This has resulted in tremendous growth and has propelled our reputation in the industry. Eastern India, without a doubt, offers unexplored commercial potential. This strategic alliance, I believe, is the first resolute step in the market and opens the door to the possibility of our fourth Village in India, in the future.”

     

    Added Motwani: “Our collaboration with Havas Worldwide India has been moving from strength to strength.  This strategic alliance is an organic step towards further strengthening our partnership with the agency. I am confident that we will continue to deliver ground-breaking work together.”

     

  • To boost business to next level

    Shobhit Gaur returns to Madison Digital

    By Our Staff

     

    Shobhit Gaur
    Shobhit Gaur

    Madison Digital, the digital unit of Madison World, has announced the return of Shobhit Gaur as Vice President. Gaur will report to Vishal Chinchankar, CEO, Madison Digital & Madison Media Alpha.

     

    Said Chinchankar: “We’re glad to have Shobhit back on board. Having worked with various categories, he brings a wealth of experience to Madison. I am confident that we will be able to take our work to the next level with new business and continue to delight existing clients.”

     

    Added Gaur: “I am excited to be returning to Madison Digital and look forward to contributing to the organization in my new role and responsibilities. Madison Digital offers me exciting challenges and opportunities as I look forward to unlocking our clients’ growth with data, technology, and talent.”

     

  • To help expand its presence in India

    Ayesha Ghosh joins Wieden+Kennedy as MD, India

    By Our Staff

     

    Ayesha Ghosh
    Ayesha Ghosh

    Wieden+Kennedy has appointed Ayesha Ghosh as Managing Director for India. Ayesha, who will be based in Mumbai, will partner with Santosh “Paddy” Padhi. Ghosh joins the agency after six years at Taproot Dentsu, where she was CEO, based in Mumbai.

     

    Wieden+Kennedy recently began expanding its presence in India, moving into Mumbai with the hire of Padhi and now Ghosh. Previously the agency had been established in Delhi since 2007, over the years building some of India’s most exciting brands including IndiGo Airlines, Royal Enfield, and the government of India.

     

    Santosh “Paddy” Padhi
    Santosh “Paddy” Padhi

    Said Ghosh: “It’s astonishing how W+K consistently produces off-the-charts work, across the world. I hope to absorb some of that genius and with the help of a talented team in India and an ace like Paddy, create some genius of our own. With scattered attention, infinite distractions, only work that is honest and primal, will win for brands. And that’s what we mean to do.”

     

    Added Padhi (Paddy), Chief Creative Officer, Wieden + Kennedy, India: “I’m glad Ayesha is joining us to be part of this wonderful journey. She is absolutely blunt and honest when it comes to work, which is extremely important these days for our business. Clients too prefer to have conversations that cut to the chase. Ayesha and I have worked closely together for a good number of years at Taproot, we understand and complement each other. An organisation is known by the kind of people that work for it and both of us will be focusing on putting together a crazy, talented bunch of people, across departments. And we believe that magic will follow.”

     

  • He will report to Pallavi Chakravarti, Creative Head – West, DDB Mudra

    DDB Mudra appoints Manish Darji as Head of Art – West

    By Our Staff

     

    Manish Darji
    Manish Darji

    DDB Mudra Group has announced the appointment of Manish Darji as Head of Art – West. In his new role, Darji will lead the design mandate for the agency’s west office and will report to Pallavi Chakravarti, Creative Head – West, DDB Mudra.

     

    Pallavi Chakravarti

    Speaking on his appointment, Chakravarti said: “It is impossible to look at a piece Manish has worked on and not be wowed. His passion for craft and grasp of distinctive visual languages are skills sorely needed in this day and age. We’re delighted to have him on board to further the creative vision for DDB Mudra West.”

     

    Added Darji: “Bill Bernbach was the first to put Art and Copy on the same floor, back in the 60s, and that’s been the model for all agencies ever since. With it comes the opportunity to let craft shine as we pursue our promise of Unexpected Works. I am truly excited to be on this ride,” A celebrated name in the creative sphere, Darji’s work has been recognised at some of the biggest creative forums including Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, One Show, D&AD, LIA, and Kyoorius.

     

  • Billed as India's first sport, culture and entertainment agency

    It’s Cake-time for Havas India

    By Our Staff

     

    Havas Group India has announced the launch of UK-based creative agency, Cake, in the country. Cake India is billed as the country’s first creative agency specialising in sport, culture, and entertainment. It will be part of Havas Creative Group India.

     

    Cake will be seamlessly integrated with Havas Village India, and work closely with Shobiz Havas and the recently renewed Havas Sports & Entertainment vertical of Havas Media Group India. Cake will further augment the expertise brought forth by Shobiz Havas in the space of activation and deals, and partnerships by Havas Sports and Entertainment.

     

    To lead Cake in India, Havas Group India has appointed Rajika Mittra as Managing Partner. Mitra is better known for bringing in Promax and the India Radio Forum for many years.

     

    Said Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India: “Over the last few years, we have been strengthening our offerings in India through Meaningful Conversations, launching new expertise, strategic tie-ups, acquisitions, and joint ventures. As a result, in a very short span of time, we grew from 3 to 15 companies and specialist verticals, which has led to unparalleled growth for us,” adding: “As we race back to normalcy, our endeavour is to become the most future-ready network in the country, focusing on introducing first-in-India expertise, products, and innovations. Bringing Cake to India is a resolute step towards that goal. Moreover, there has been a steady increase in India’s young affluent class that wants to be part of new, innovative experiences. Cake will collaborate seamlessly with Havas Village India to drive these reimagined ideas.”

     

    Added Rosie Holden, Chief Executive Officer, Cake: “Cake’s expertise in sport & culture, our channel-agnostic creativity, and boundless passion and energy have always delivered best-in-class work for our clients. We felt that there simply wasn’t a better moment in time than now to bring Cake to India, as it is the most exciting sports & entertainment market in the world right now. And we feel privileged that our partnership with Havas Group India has enabled us to do that.”

     

    Said Rajika Mittra, Managing Partner, Cake India: “What really excited me about Cake was the novelty of the idea. Through my career, I have realised that there is an untapped land of opportunity for a structured ecosystem like Cake in the space of sport, culture, and entertainment. Cake India will help marketers connect with affluent consumers by tapping into their passion-points of sports, culture and entertainment. I’m delighted to lead the agency and confident that we will make a meaningful difference in India.”

     

  • The audience rarely consumes media for advertising. Hence, if the message can be delivered with humour, it may be better received, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Humour & Consistency in Advertising

     

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaI love brands that are consistent in their communication. And really appreciate brands using humour without missing the point and amplifying the proposition. The audience rarely consumes media for advertising. Hence, if the brand communication can deliver the message with humour, it may be better received.

     

    I remember the series of It’s Different  ad series by Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce way back in late 1980s and early 90s with Javed Jaffrey. It retained humour but did not pack the same punch when it was revived with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Javed Jaffrey or with the Imli Pichkoo ad again with Jaffrey. Additionally the older generation would remember Doobara nahi ppoochna– Chloromint or the brilliant ads of HappyDent.

     

     

    In the recent past, Policy Bazaar using the Devdoot to decide who would go to hell or heaven was well-appreciated. And then there was Shetty OLX used car series. OLX leveraged the well-known and hugely followed act of Rohit Shetty blowing cars in movies. So, OLX offering the best price for a used, be it a ‘Ghoomti Hui Car; ‘Boombastic Car’, or any other, becomes so relatable. The casting of Sharman Joshi as the insurance salesman/agent adds to the impact. The proposition remains ‘best-price’ for pre-owned cars and the ease of selling. Time the confidence of buying a pre-owned vehicle from OLX is also addressed.

     

    https://youtu.be/Q3qV-jmJykc

     

    What3word 3×3 Matrix

    What3words is a location-based technology app dividing the whole world into a matrix of 3m x 3m squares. And thus provides a more accurate address. The brand uses Vijay Raaz as the person giving directions to the delivery boy in his overused style. We know how long and convoluted Indian addresses are and how difficult it is to provide the right direction. The conversation between Vijay Raaz and the delivery boy trying to follow is relatable. The problem is solved in the end with the use of what3words.

     

     

    Swiggy Rasogula Waale Uncle

    Swiggy has used the Rasogullawaale uncle smartly across the years. And the humour of the situation is not lost on people. The faster delivery, simple single item delivery and other messages are an integral part of the story. And then, in Swiggy Instamart, the delivery speed is amplified using humour- be it a soap or watching the match in peace.

     

     

    Flipkart Superwoman

    After a long time, Flipkart seems to have got their communication act right. And they hopefully have been able to get out of the overused creative device of Kids masquerading as an adult. It was losing steam. Alia Bhatt is the Flipkart superwoman helping the citizens and talking about 1-hour delivery for white goods! Though the idea is a bit stretched, it works.

     

     

    Cadbury Fuse Bhari Khali

    However, the Khali ad of Cadbury’s fuse is humorous. And the rationale of Bhari Bhook- Bhari Hath- and bhari– loaded Cadbury fuse is a bit stretched. The humour stops working when you have to explain the whole premise of your communication.

     

     

    Cred Takes The Cake

    While discussing these, I would include the Cred TVC across the years – and here, I am not referring to motivational severe, experiential or behavioural Cred videos. The Cred ad featuring Ravi Shastri was a class act.

     

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=vLHpfulLcUE

     

    Net-Net

    A humorous approach to brand message tends to keep it more relatable, engaged and maybe better remembered. If given a choice between a logical rationale full of brand support facts and a humorous, playful story around the brand- we know what the right choice is.

     

    Not-so-humourous – The creative burnout

    Some days back, an early morning WhatsApp message pushed me to watch Kill Your Darlings. It is a documentary film about the world of modern advertising and the creative talent defining it. Presented by ‘togetherr’, produced by Drive Studios and directed by Adam Bonke and Christian Bonke. It is a journey through the eyes of a young female creative and interviews with advertising legends, creative marketers and new talent in the creative industry. The voices were clear in their point of view on where modern advertising with the existing agency-client model is in problem. Almost all talked of the pressure, business, margin and the need to work freely as a team. The resulting suffocation due to demands where they end up almost like slaves! A few still believe it is the broken agency, not the model of providing creative solutions. That the networks are under pressure and hence it may not be the most fun with clothes on- is a result of it. Think everyone in advertising – marketing should watch this video.

  • Media planners can map carbon footprint of ad campaigns from development to delivery

    GroupM introduces global framework for media decarbonisation

    By Our Staff

     

    GroupM has introduced a global framework for media decarbonisation.  The framework is a new set of measurement methodologies designed to break down the media value chain and define the necessary data inputs to measure carbon emissions across all five stages of the advertising lifecycle for all formats, channels and markets in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s standards.

     

    Said Christian Juhl, GroupM’s Global CEO: “Our clients want to prioritise media investment with publishers and platforms that are actively decarbonizing their media supply. While we applaud the many steps taken to quantify ad-based carbon emissions in recent years, having different standards across companies, platforms, and markets is delaying meaningful action. By sharing this global framework, we hope to begin aligning our industry behind a consistent set of standards that will create clear goals and incentives for rapidly decarbonizing the media supply chain.”

     

    Added Jérôme Amouyal, Media Performance Insights Director, AXA: “We have seen that our industry has an increasing number of calculators, but not an aligned reduction plan. It is important that we as a collective get behind a robust, actionable solution that accelerates decarbonization. We believe that market approaches such as GroupM’s will lead the way in educating, informing and enabling vital change in the industry. We’re looking forward to working with them to have the right framework to inform our future buying decisions.”

     

  • The jury panel was headed by Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises

    IAA Leadership Awards to be presented on July 25

    By Our Staff

     

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) will present its prestigious Leadership Awards on Monday, July 25, in Mumbai. These awards are presented to the leaders of the marketing fraternity who have excelled in their respective fields.

     

    Said Committee Chair Nandini Dias said “We are privileged to have a prestigious all-CEO jury panel headed by the indomitable Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises along with other eminent jury members – Pawan Goenka, Chairman INSPACe and Ex-MD & CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd; Hemant Malik, Divisional Chief Executive – Foods, ITC Limited; Suparna Mitra, Chief Executive Officer- Watches and Wearables Division, Titan Company Limited; Vineet Bhatnagar, Managing Director & CEO PhillipCapital India; Vivek Sunder, Chief Executive Officer, Cuemath & Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, Transsion India.

     

    Over the years, we have come to evolve a streamlined and structured process that takes into account rigorous data points to arrive at the shortlist for each predetermined category. This enables the jury to conduct exhaustive and well-founded deliberations before they arrive at the final winners.”

     

    Added IAA President Megha Tata, “the Leadership awards are known for the superlative audience they attract. Apart from the marketers, there are also special awards for categories like Business leader of the Year, IAA Creative Agency Leader of the Year, IAA Media Agency Leader of the Year, IAA Media Game Changer of the Year, IAA Media Person of the Year, IAA TV Anchor of the Year.

     

  • On The Gray Man as the official automotive brand featured in the film

    Audi teams up with Netflix

    By Our Staff

     

    Audi, the auto giant, and Netflix, the streaming giant, have collaborated on The Gray Man, an action thriller film, to spotlight four Audi vehicles.

     

    Said Henrik Wenders, Head of Brand, Audi AG: “This film has a global appeal and intrigue. He explains the true extent of Audi’s role in creating the production, which went far beyond simply providing vehicles. This cooperation made us feel action and high speed. Like the Russo brothers we at Audi are leveraging technology to create something unseen and unexperienced before. Audi worked with the directors Joe and Anthony Russo on selecting the new cars. It was fascinating to be partners on this film production and to work closely with Netflix.”

     

    Added Anthony Russo: “As storytellers, we have always been very interested in finding and exploring new technologies to find new tools to do something no one has ever done before. That’s what excites us. That kind of approach I would apply to anything particularly to the evolution that’s happening with cars right now. As much as I love the cars of the past and today, I am certainly most interested in where cars are going tomorrow. That is an exciting new frontier that’s going to bring whole new experiences for us not only as drivers or consumers but also as people who have to coexist with cars.”