MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • The campaign was aimed at creating awareness on the menace of female foeticide by educating the masses

    Dainik Bhaskar’s Save the Girl Child campaign in Punjab,Chandigarhand Haryana

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dainik Bhaskar, as part of its social responsibility, conducted a month-long educative drive against female foeticide and abandonment of girl child at birth. The ‘Beti Bachao Muhim’ (Save the Girl Child) initiative is concentrated in the state ofPunjaband Haryana, where this practice has lead to a serious gender imbalance.

     

    The campaign was aimed at creating enhanced awareness on this social menace of female foeticide by educating the masses through a series of editorial articles and public rallies and to create the much needed social impact through participative ground movement.

     

    The campaign saw relentless editorial coverage for 23 days. Additional local level focus group discussions among eminent personalities of the region were conducted and shared with the readers. Other than the local social and political influencers, 23 Bollywood celebrities like Vidya Balan, Bipasha Basu, Shilpa Shetty, Kiran Kher, Preity Zinta, Juhi Chawla, Divya Dutta, Shabana Azmi, Lara Dutta and Aishwarya Rai shared their point of view on the initiative.

     

    A series of interactive activities were conducted to further enhance awareness across 40 centres inPunjaband Haryana. Among the activities conducted, a signature campaign on March 20 saw 4 lakh people signing an oath against this social menace. On March 22, a candle light vigil was organized across 40 centres inChandigarh,Punjaband Haryana.

     

    The culmination of the campaign saw a ‘Beti Bachao’ March on March 23 with collective participation of more than 3 lakh people.

     

    Dainik Bhaskar will keep working on its agenda of socio-economic changes, catalyzing the mass psyche on social and economic issues. Speaking on the ‘Beti Bachao Muhim’ Ashu Phakey, COO, Dainik Bhaskar said: “Declining sex ratio is a serious problem in the state ofPunjaband Haryana. As an enabler of socio-economic change, Dainik Bhaskar has a responsibility to create awareness against this social menace and making more people aware of this social evil. This endeavour from Bhaskar is small step to uproot this social evil from society. We will continue our work against this social menace”

     

    Kamlesh Singh, State Editor, and the force behind the critical editorial environment for the initiative said: “Punjaband Haryana are industrious and prosperous states but always figure at the bottom in case of gender ratio. Female foeticide is rampant and known but the two states have not woken up to the harsh reality of a crisis. We were overwhelmed by the response and to quote a reader from Ambala who sent a message the following day, it was organized in “an unprecedented manner. The scale of coverage and number of people involved is unbelievably large.” That quite sums it up”.

     

    Dainik Bhaskar is the leading newspaper in Chattisgarh with editions fromRaipur, Bilaspur, Jagdalpur and Bhilai. The Dainik Bhaskar Group has a strong presence in newspapers, radio, event marketing, printing, short code, Digital, services andMobileapplication. Its flagship Hindi daily newspapers are Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Divya Marathi and DNA. It covers 13 States with 64 editions reaching across 19 million readers every day.

     

    Additionally, it publishes 3 other newspaper – Business Bhaskar, DB Gold, DB Star. In magazine sphere it publishes Aha! Zindagi, Bal Bhaskar for young readers and Lakshay.

     

  • Nets the entire creative communication mandate, acquires the business in a multi-agency pitch

    Cheil Worldwide South West Asia bags Net4

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cheil Worldwide South West Asia has been awarded the complete creative mandate for Net4 India Ltd, India’s leading data centre, cloud hosting and network services provider, in a multi-agency, creative and digital communication pitch that encompassed strategy; creative and execution plan presentations.

     

    Confirming the news, Alok Agrawal, COO Cheil Worldwide SWAsia, said: “The win is yet another testimony to Cheil’s integrated expertise. We provided a 360-degree solution to the client’s brief. The challenge is to enhance awareness for Net4 and make it a top-of-mind choice in its fields of business. More than just advertising the brand requires active engagement with the consumers to get into their consideration set. At Cheil, we always lay emphasis on ideas that energise people into action. Net4 is one of the earliest Internet companies in India with a solid heritage and proven business models. Our solution focused on building a stronger brand franchise across all segments of a fully integrated communication plan to drive business to Net4.”

     

    Speaking on the appointment of Cheil WW SW Asia as Net4’s creative communication partner, Jasjit Singh Sawhney, Chairman & MD, Net4 said: “Net 4 is a leader in most of its areas of operations, especially Web Services to SMEs. It is the only fully integrated Internet Company providing solutions to businesses of all sizes, across a wide spectrum of technology services. We feel the market for our services is currently highly underpenetrated and is poised for explosive growth. To capitalize on this opportunity, we are embarking on an aggressive marketing plan and floated a brief to identify the right partner to build our brand and image. Cheil’s understanding, clear strategy and impactful creative for Net4 clearly demonstrated superior thinking. We are looking forward to our partnership with Cheil for driving business on the back of a solid brand” Cheil has already begun work with Net4 on its various projects.

     

    CheilIndia has been on an aggressive growth plan over the last two years, almost doubling its size in its employee strength and billings. Significant expansion and growth has been seen particularly in BTL and Digital areas, making Cheil one of the largest fully integrated single agencies inIndia. Cheil set up the agency office inIndia in 2003 with just 12 team members and today has over 85 talented and passionate team members with a never-say-die attitude. Cheil is a truly integrated agency executing some of the largest cross-functional integrated campaigns, providing 360°implementation across all facets of marketing services. Cheil Worldwide Inc isKorea’s largest and one of the world’s leading advertising groups.

     

    Net4 is India’s leading Data Centre, Cloud Hosting and Network Services Provider. It is a NSE & BSE listed business enterprise with consolidated revenues to the tune of R 304 Crores (2010-11). Net4 focuses on providing services to businesses (small, medium and large) and its offerings include Data Centre & Cloud Solutions, Web & Application Services and Network & Systems Headquartered in Noida, Net4 has a PAN India presence with offices in 11 major business cities & an ever-growing clientele which includes 850 Corporate Data Center Customers, 800 Internet Bandwidth customers, 2800 Business VoIP customers, 88,000 hosted websites, 1.2 million business e-mail accounts & over 350,000 registered domain names. Net4 is amongst the largest provider of hosted email, web hosting and domain name registration (www.net4.in) in the Asia-Pacific region.

     

  • Variety entertainment channel BIG Magic is now the most watched TV channel with 1.14 cr of cumulative audiences (4-week average) in the Hindi heartland, thus fortifying its position as the No 1 channel in the region.

    BIG Magic is No 1 in Hindi heartland

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIG Magic, India’s first variety entertainment channel for the core Hindi heartland from the Reliance Broadcast Network stable, featuring locally relevant entertainment around Humor, Movies, Reality, Talent Hunts and Action Sports, is now the most watched TV channel with 1.14 cr of cumulative audiences (4-week average) in the Hindi heartland, thus fortifying its position as the No 1 channel in the region.

     

    The latest TAM results Week 12’12 demonstrates a tremendous increase in reach.  A statement from the channel said this quick growth can be attributed to its locally produced shows BIG Bal Kalakar, Hasya Panchayat and newly launched shows Hum Hai Bajrangi and Police Files. The channel continues to stay ahead of established channels like Mahuaa, Dabaang, Sahara Samay, ETV UP, ETV Bihar, ETV MP etc.

     

    BIG Magic’s locally relevant devotional children singing talent hunt show, BIG Bal Kalakar built around the thought of Sangeet Mein Sanskaar, has demonstrated phenomenal growth with 45 lakh viewers, striking a chord with audiences. Hasya Panchayat introduced in February, and woven around a range of enjoyable poems on modern-day issues such as inflation, corruption and unemployment has also been received excellently by audiences, registering 45.3L audiences in the same period. Besides, newly launched shows Hum Hai Bajrangi, a perfect blend of mythology and comedy, and Police Files based on real crime shows from the region, have picked up well with 22 lakh audiences in just two weeks.

     

    BIG Magic is being distributed across all cable operators across the states of UP, MP and Bihar.

     

  • Also Atul Ahluwalia, president, CVWS was named PR Professional of the Year (Agency)

    Corporate Voice|Weber Shandwick wins highest number of accolades at e4m PR awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick (CVWS), India’s most awarded PR consultancy, took home more awards than any other consultancy or corporation at the exchange4media group’s Indian PR and Corporate Communications Awards again this year.

     

    The awards, organised by exchange4media, are the most extensive awards to recognise the contribution and success of the PR industry inIndia. CVWS shared recognition with clients for the following campaigns:

     

    • Hero MotoCorp Launch – Hum Main Hai Hero, Best Use of Public Relations by Private Sector Entity (Agency)
    • Gillette ShaveIndiaMovement, Best Continuous PR Campaign
    • Honda Brio Launch ‘Made forIndia,’ Best Use of Media/Marketing/Consumer Data for PR Planning/Strategy

     

    Additionally, Atul Ahluwalia, president, CVWS was named PR Professional of the Year (Agency). Tim Sutton, chairman, Weber Shandwick, Asia Pacific, delivered the keynote address to a large audience representing leading corporates and public relations consultancies in India.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Shiv Reddy, CEO, CVWS, said: “Another year of recognition and accolades from our peers and clients in the industry leaves us proud, humbled and determined to innovate and succeed. We are grateful to the jury, our clients and the CVWS team.”

     

    Atul Ahluwalia, president, CVWS, added: “For seven consecutive years now, CVWS has established itself as the most awarded consultancy of the country. This continued success is wholly attributed to our ability to consistently re-invent and innovate as well as to the long-standing relationships with our clients.”

     

    Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick (CVWS) is a  joint venture company owned by Weber Shandwick, a unit of The Interpublic Group of Companies, headquartered in New York, USA, and MAA Group Holdings headquartered in Bangalore, India. Incepted in 1992, the firm has grown to become one of the largest and the most awarded consultancies in the country. CVWS is a founder member of the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI).

     

  • Also sees record advertising revenue with mainstream advertisers

    Zee Cine Awards beats all other Bollywood award shows in the US

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee TV, the number 1 South Asian entertainment network, announced recently that the 2012 Zee Cine Awards (ZCA) achieved record-breaking ratings this year. According to Rentrak TV Essentials, Zee Cine Awards delivered the highest rating for any South Asian program in over a year’s time (since Feb 11). ZCA received a viewership share of almost 75 per cent during its broadcast.

     

    On the monetizing front, the network saw a 40 per cent increase in revenues from last year’s awards show as announced by Zee TV America’s Business Head, Sameer Targe. He said: “Despite cut-throat competition we always find ways to reinvent, than to discount. As a market leader we have no one to follow, hence the challenge is to always focus on expanding the pie. This year we were able to bring well known mainstream brands like Omega, Verizon and MetLife as sponsors of the show. The idea was to sell the inventory at a premium value, keep the breaks short which eventually resulted in highest viewership.”

     

    Zee TV – the name that has become synonymous with unparalleled quality in entertainment – has been a dominant player in broadcasting content for more than 17 years in the national and international space.  As an Indian channel, Zee TV is committed to supporting the values and traditions that appeal to South Asians across the globe.
    In July 1998, Zee TV expanded its presence in the international space by establishing itself as a mainstay in American households, reaching more than 2 million viewers.  Zee reaches over 600 million viewers in about 168 countries.

  • DNA T20 has always positioned itself as a non-professional cricket carnival that brings with it a month-long dose of entertainment

    High five in DNA T20 season V @ New Delhi

    By A Correspondent

     

    With four successful seasons in the past, DNA gears up for its fifth season of what is popularly known as ‘DNA T20’ amongst top media agencies, at the Jamia Hamdard
    University grounds, New Delhi from March 31.

     

    DNA T20 has always positioned itself as a non-professional cricket carnival that brings with it a month-long dose of entertainment for the participating teams as well as their families, who come to cheer them up.

     

    The tournament offers to be a platform for DNA’s business associates, to know each other better beyond the boundaries of their offices, indulge in friendly banters over food and beverages, share spaces in pictures together and display their passion for the game on-field. It is that time of the year when ‘celebrating together’ is top priority on everyone’s mind and not trade, which is generally a routine throughout the year.

     

    With 12 participating teams facing against each other at an entirely different echelon, one need not be as talented as Tendulkar or as dedicated as Dravid. The DNA T20 raises the spirit of Cricket.

     

    Furthermore, lofty passions and the excitement of experiencing something ‘live and unrehearsed’ during the T20 matches spices up the game to a whole new level.

     

    Supported by Citibank and Frito Lays, with Carlsberg as the beverage partner, Crystal Mirage as the trophy partner, DNA T20 – Season V promises to be one fascinating event.

     

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, MxMIndia will bring you the brief, the strat, and whatever else went into creating an outstanding ad. AdStrat is compiled by Shubhangi Mehta.

    Ad Strat: The friendship pug

    Rajiv Rao, NCD, Ogilvy &Mather

     

    1. Name of the Campaign: Vodafone Network

     

    2. The Brief: In the initial phase of market development Vodafone had communicated ‘Where ever you go, our network follows’ using the Pug. The campaign made our brand synonymous to an omnipresent network and gave it the stature of a constant companion.

     

    As the market evolved, in the next phase, we needed to build a strong consumer perception on not only the network presence, but also of Vodafone’s network quality.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNU1yCpIGGU[/youtube]

    3. Researchinsights:  Research helped us identify that the key parameters in the perception of a good quality network are – connectivity, voice clarity and call continuity( no call drops).

     

    4. The thought process behind the creative: The network qualifiers being slightly technical in nature, we needed a story to bring them to life. The stories we chose used metaphors of friendship in all 3 ads. Each TVC showed our Pug, who signifies our network, being the enabler in forming and growing this friendship.

     

    5. Media vehicles chosen: TV, Outdoor, Print, Radio, Digital

     

    6. Does the treatment do justice to the brief? Yes, we made sweet stories, the Vodafone way, to tell a very tangible network promise. Our metaphors were simple to understand, distinct and left an impact yet emotional to touch hearts.

     

    7. What is the differentiating factor about the ad? In a market where the network promise has mostly been a show what you mean exercise, we have taken the lesser travelled emotional route to communicate the same promise. We have precious moments of interactions between 2 friends coming closer with our Pug (network) as the enabler.

     

    8. Market and client feedback:

    200,000 plus views on YouTube in 1 month

    Early indicators, from a business perspective, look positive. Results are still expected.

     

  • A whole lot of huge names from all walks of life… industrialists, politicians, movie stars, sports stars, etc, were in dutiful attendance. I wonder if the allure had to do with the blaster or that the invite went from Mukeshbhai. I suspect it was the latter… no one in his/her right mind would wish to offend India's richest man.

    Anil Thakraney: The Big Sachin Bash

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I caught glimpses (on NDTV) of that mega party Mukeshbhai and Neetaben threw for Shri Tendulkar. And no, that it was held at that deeply repugnant structure called Antilla didn’t prompt me into hitting my remote control as deftly as Sachin would, in his hey days, heave Shoaib Akhtar over fine leg. It was the master being felicitated after all, so one was expected to pay attention.

     

    Here are some random observations: A whole lot of huge names from all walks of life… industrialists, politicians, movie stars, sports stars, etc, were in dutiful attendance. I wonder if the allure had to do with the blaster or that the invite went from Mukeshbhai. I suspect it was the latter… no one in his/her right mind would wish to offend India’s richest man.

     

    Mr & Mrs Ambani are enormously poor public speakers. They may know how to turn stone into gold, but the duo lacks the ability to keep you from yawning miserably. Two options: They can get other speakers to do the honours. Or, they can enroll for a public speaking course. Don’t think it costs much.

     

    Abhishek Bachchan, on the other hand, is a far better public speaker than he is an actor. Small B needs to attend acting classes, but that’s another story. Priyanka Chopra as the anchor was perfect. Though, quite disappointingly, she turned up over-dressed. Aamir Khan was at his professional best. Guess he rehearsed his speech for the 100th 100 time before driving out for Antilla. Salman Khan mumbled a lot. No one understood what he said, but people laughed all the same. Given the macho star’s fiery temper, that’s always a good idea. But his little dig at SRK was delightful. By the way, wonder why Shah Rukh failed to turn up. Had he arrived, he ought to have been seated next to Sallu bhai. TRPs would have gone through the Antilla roof.

     

    Sachin tried his best to sound cool and humorous. Didn’t really work. Partly because of his recent angry, arrogant outburst at a press con, where he was (quite rightly) questioned on his retirement plans.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGU45aNm-C4[/youtube]

    Lastly, the high point of the show was Lata tai singing “Tu jahaan jahaan chalega, mera saaya saath saath hoga.” Total paisa vasool. Mukeshbhai should now felicitate her just for that.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Nissan India has produced a five minute ‘movie’ starring Ranbir Kapoor. And it’s been created in full filmi shtyle, with all the romance, passion, colour and noise our flicks pack in. This blockbuster will officially be released this month. You saw it here first!

     

  • Because the promise isn't really earth shattering, the execution has to play a very important role. And must say the ads are done nicely.

    Debrief: eBay: Simplicity works

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    You want to patao that supermodel? You want to be a beauty queen? No worries. You can do it all via eBay.

     

    The promise in eBay’s new TV campaign seems to be simple enough. I watched two commercials. In one, Ms Jabalpur desires to become Ms India. And she easily gets what it takes on eBay. In another ad one rather seedha saadha banda is able to win over a hot babe by buying her scintillating goodies on eBay. Simple enough and very massy concepts. And it works. Only because the communication is single minded.

     

    eBay only tells you that if you desire it, it’s here. And there’s no clutter of additional promises forced into the advertising. Also because the promise isn’t really earth shattering, the execution has to play a very important role. And must say the ads are done nicely. Although the humour isn’t really strong, they do leave you with a smile. So that’s fine.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTKyVR3RfAI[/youtube]

    All said, it’s done well. And they can produce many ads with this theme. Just one suggestion: What will make the communication work even better is if people are shown to desire bizarre stuff. AND they get them too. Just to give you an extreme example: A man wants to kill himself, but doesn’t know how to go about it. Till eBay comes to his, er, rescue. Of course, it’s macabre. But you get the idea!

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Focused and effective.

  • Dutta will report to Alok Agrawal, Cheil Worldwide SW Asia.

    Cheil appoints Vivek Dutta as VP-Planning

    By A Correspondent

     

    Vivek Dutta joins Cheil as the Vice President-Planning after spending almost five years at Hakuhodo Percept where he was VP and National Planning Head. He has also worked for JWT in the past and in brand and marketing functions at Dainik Bhaskar, LNJ Bhilwara Group (Mayur Suitings) and Mahindra & Mahindra.

     

    Commenting on the development, Alok Agrawal, COO, Cheil Worldwide SW Asia, said: “Vivek has the right credentials to provide the required momentum in the planning function. His experience across diverse categories from automotive to consumer electronics; to health, lifestyle and sports; to social development, makes for the perfect choice of a seasoned partner for the Cheil India team.”

     

    Dutta has been in the industry for over a decade and a half and has had extended brand experience in the automotive sector having worked on the Maruti Suzuki range. He has also worked with Daikin, Carrier, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Sony and the like in both the HVAC and consumer electronics categories. Other career brands include Yakult, Hindware, Sukam Power Solutions, Unicharm, Citizen Watches, Top Ramen noodles, UNICEF, ILO, GAIL, Apollo Tyres, ESPN Star Sports among others.

     

    Confirming his appointment, Vivek Dutta said: “It’s a great time to be a part of Cheil. Contrary to popular belief Cheil is not just a Samsung agency. The intention here is to exponentially grow to be one of the top agencies in India. The fact that in the past few months Cheil has acquired a slew of varied business is a testimony for this. My intention is to be a part of this movement and provide momentum for growth.”

     

    Cheil India has been on an aggressive growth plan over the last 2 years, almost doubling its size its employee strength and billings. Significant expansion and growth has been seen particularly in BTL and Digital areas, making Cheil one of the largest fully integrated single agencies in India. Cheil set up the agency office in India in 2003 with just 12 team members and today has over 85 talented and passionate team members.

     

    Cheil Worldwide Inc is Korea’s largest and one of the world’s leading advertising groups. Established in 1973 with headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Cheil operates 49 offices in 27 countries with about 3,000 employees. Cheil offers a full portfolio of marketing communications services including advertising, PR, sports marketing, exhibition and display production, and production of large-scale performance events.

     

  • Starting early evening before the show was supposed to premier on Colors prime time, a video was seeded through Twitter medium. The campaign took the help of celebrities to seed in the video as a teaser.

    Twitter goes ‘laplap” for Center Fruit

    By A Correspondent

     

    The last evening of the financial year saw the start of something unique in the media space: celebrities using Twitter to seed in a viral video of a TV show which was scheduled later the same evening. The unique thing about it was that it was not only to promote the show tune-in, but to actually create awareness of a branded content segment by Center Fruit in the Mirchi Music Awards.

     

    Perfetti Van Melle India is credited with introducing some catch phrases through their advertising which have gone on to become common lingo amongst the Indian youth. After Center Fresh’s Zubaan Pe Lagaam and Mentos’ Dimaag ki Batti Jala De, this time Indian audiences were witness to something unique for Center Fruit on Mirchi Music Awards which was aired on Colors on Sat-Sun.

     

    Starting early evening before the show was supposed to premier on Colors prime time, a video was seeded through Twitter medium. It was not just a plain seeding. The campaign took the help of celebrities to seed in the video as a teaser. The video had the host of the award show Shaan being interviewed just before he was about to take the stage. In the middle of the interview, the journalist holds up the jar of Center Fruit, and off goes Shaan with his tongue-wagging act. This was similar to what happens in the brand commercial where a singer competing with a tabla player wins the battle when Center Fruit makes the singer go non-stop laplap with his jeebh (tongue).

     

    This was probably the first time a FMCG brand used the Celebrity tweet route to create a teaser online for amplifying a TV show scheduled later in the day. Commenting on the initiative, Sudarshan Saha, Client Leader, Maxus says that the idea came to his team when they saw top trending topics in the evenings in India recently tended to pick up what was being shown on Television. The agency team decided to turn the tables around, and used Twitter to seed in a tease before the show went on air, in this case. Sample this: Sophie Choudhrytweets – Does Darrling Luscious Lopez make your #Jeebhlaplap? or Poonam Pandey tweets -Shaan’s exclusive #jeebhlaplap backstage footage from MMA. Eesha Koppikar tweets -Enjoyed Shaan’s laplap secret. Watch Colors to see what makes Usha Uthup’s #jeebhlaplap.

     

    Perfetti Marketing Director Nikhil Sharma feels that the quality of innovation executed for Center Fruit pushes the benchmark further on how to use multiple mediums, especially Digital along with TV for FMCG brands. He leads marketing mandate for an array of impulse purchase brands in Perfetti, and treats Maxus as a long term partner to drive the growth agenda for his brands.

     

  • It's literally 'aisa mauka aur kahaan milega' as stakeholders go all out to promote IPL 5 starting next week

    Five days to return of IPL mega-carnival

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    The annual IPL event is no less than a carnival or a circus and the TVC featuring the two kids with the Eena Meena Deeka song playing in the background aptly sums it. As the countdown begins for the circus to visit our cities or beam in to our TV sets, we take a look at the various marketing activities planned around the IPL.

     

    Once touted as the biggest property for marketers, the game lost some sheen because of the negative coverage it got in its last avatar. Fully aware of the situation, those involved with the IPL have now gone all out to woo audience and it’s no surprise that lately, especially in the last two weeks, one has seen and heard a lot about IPL on various medium.

     

    Eena Meena Deeka- Carnival- Ye IPL Hai Boss
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2lDDabuGLs[/youtube]

    Rohit Gupta, President, Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster of DLF IPL, talking about the inventory sold on MAX said: “We are in the process of closing deals and it’s been a regular sellout process. The start was a bit slow, but once our marketing campaign kicked off we have managed to rope in most of the key brands. In fact, we have not dropped our rate which is Rs5.5 lakh for a 10-second spot.”

     

    Mr Gupta, in fact, is confident that the rates will go up once the game begins and more audience comes in to watch the matches.

     

    Talking about the campaign, Gaurav Seth, Senior VP, Marketing and Communications, MAX, said: “We have reached the end phase of a very long campaign that was kickstarted on February 23 with Aisa Mauka Aur Kaha Milega and April 4 will see the culmination of all the activities we had undertaken as the IPL begins. As for sustenance, we will take a call on the basis of the viewership and address the issue accordingly.”

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXQsIgN_530[/youtube]

    Some of the activities that MAX has undertaken include a partnership with Radio Mirchi for 40 stations across India which will include radio spots, RJ mentions, and IPL contests. For OOH, they have taken over 700 units across 70 towns including billboards, bus shelters and various other innovative OOH panels. The print engagement includes both English and vernacular newspapers. They are also engaging the audience through mobile and FB along with BTL activation. It is learnt that the budget earmarked for IPL 5 is almost Rs30 crore.

     

    Mr Seth said: “We are reaching out to our audience with one million printed schedules which will be distributed through multiple outlets. We have planned flash mobs across 10 IPL towns. The mobs will give info on IPL by disruption and the sequences will be uploaded on YouTube which we hope will go the viral route.”

     

    “This is the 5th year of IPL so people know what it is. The challenge is to create something that is innovative and appeals to the consumers. Aisa Mauka is perfect as it talks about IPL being an opportunity to bond with family and friends. It invites people to enjoy the IPL experience,” he added, on marketing IPL which has definitely been a mega exercise.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkBVlfisg88[/youtube]

    Extraaa Innings T20 2012 on MAX has also come out with a special video featuring its presenters on the theme of Aisa Mauka Aur Kaha Milega.

     

    Here’s a look at some of the marketing initiatives taken by various IPL teams:

     

    Mumbai Indians

    Mumbai Indians has taken the digital route to connect with its close to 2.5 million fans. The unique marketing campaign by O&M is being digitally driven on Facebook’s MI fan page ‘MIPaltan’. The campaign ‘Players become Friends’ is aimed at increasing the interactivity quotient between the players and the fans in the digital space. The fans can get to be friends with Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel and other team players and know about their real lives, practice sessions and much more.

    https://www.facebook.com/mumbaiindians?sk=app_358303457535779

     

    MI has also unveiled its new website www.mumbaiindians.com, which offers a fresh view for the fans to know more about the team. The new website presents dynamic online tools, easy navigation and is rich in its contents. The fresh look and feel of the website, designed in keeping with international standards, echoes the value which best epitomizes the team – ‘Play Like One’.

     

    Mumbai Indians has recently signed a brand alliance with Walt Disney India, which marks the first time Mickey Mouse will be associated with cricket. The Mumbai Indians Disney merchandise is available for sale in India.

     

    Delhi Daredevils

    Delhi Daredevils, in its bid to engage its fans, signed four remarkable flagbearers of daredevilry as Delhi Daredevils Superfans. These include India’s only IronMan athlete, Anuradha Vaidyanathan; the youngest Indian climber to summit three peaks beyond 8000m, including Mount Everest, Arjun Vajpai; India’s only ultramarathon runner Arun Bhardwaj and the only Indian woman to ski her way to South Pole, Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu.

     

    It also launched the team’s Hindi website, making it the first IPL franchise to create an online destination for cricket fans who would like to follow the game in the language. The English website too had been redesigned. Also on anvil is the launch of mobile version of the website. Smartphone users can download a mobile App to get scores and updates. DD also launched its new official song titled ‘Munday Dilli Ke’ to herald the coming season of DLF Indian Premier League.

     

    Chennai Super Kings

    CSK took its ‘Whistle podu’ further by launching a brand new participative cheer video. Titled ‘Chennai Super Kings ku Raise Your Hands’ this video too is a tribute to the unwavering fan support that the team enjoys. The one-minute video captures a fan formation that gathers momentum, with supporters joining in to form a Mexican wave cheering their favourite team. The video was uploaded on YouTube late evening on March 25, and in less than 12 hours it had already generated over 10,000 views.

     

    In another unique initiative, Washington Apple have partnered with CSK as ‘Official Fruit’ for the upcoming IPL season. South India is India’s largest market for Washington Apples and Chennai, in particular, is the key port of entry and distribution hub and also a key market for the company, hence the association.

     

    Kolkata Knight Riders

    Venky Mysore, MD & CEO of KKR on the marketing initiatives said: “KKR recently unveiled its new marketing campaign, ‘New Dawn, New Knights’. The campaign is about the new team that we have formed and its new attitude and intensity. It signifies the new winning spirit that has been brought in by our new players and the new coach. All of these go a long way in ensuring a new beginning.”

     

    He also said that their digital community exceeds 700,000 and before the start of the latest season of IPL, they are confident of reaching a million. The marketing would be mostly done through merchandising on the digital platform as well as through ticketing. “Contrary to public perception, we don’t go out and buy media, because we don’t need to. We have a brand that we constantly work on. Part of how we do that is to ensure the team is doing well, and we also try to be a part of mutually beneficial associations that can be leveraged. Hence, we develop marketing programmes that allow brands associated with us to activate themselves. For instance, we created a lot of content with our sponsors on digital and electronic media last year which they utilized advantageously,” Mr Mysore said.

     

    KKR is working to create new revenue streams like merchandising and licensing. Since various third party reports indicate that KKR is the most valuable brand franchise, they are looking at ways to strike licensing agreements to monetize on the same. As a result of multiple merchandising deals, they have made available a number of branded KKR merchandise like T-shirts, hats, head bands, fridge magnets, pens, ties and so on.

     

    “The market segment that IPL attracts is very different from that of a Test and One Day format of the game. I think it depends on the product. If you look at toothpaste today, you have hundreds of brands, but it all depends on how you package it and how you market it. So the challenge for us is to keep working on the product, its packaging and delivery, and if we do a good job, then we would be successful as a franchise,” he added.

     

    Rajasthan Royals

    Rajasthan Royals has again tied up with Sanskar School for their annual inter-school Kanni Thahryamal Tournament to develop, nurture and motivate young talent at the grassroots level. Various Rajasthan Royals players, including Rahul Dravid, scouted for talent at the tournament and. RR also supported the Ambuja Jaipur Marathon 2012 as Official Fitness Partner.

     

    They recently unveiled the pink-coloured training jersey dedicated to the city of Jaipur, the team’s home. On the digital front, the focus is on interactivity and their fan zone on the website encourages fans to express themselves through content, videos, images, forums or polls. Points are awarded based on interactivity on the website which can be redeemed for exclusive memorabilia and merchandise.

     

    UltraTech Cement Limited is the team’s Principal Sponsor for IPL 5. The cement brand has been associated with the squad since 2008.

     

    Kings XI Punjab

    This IPL team hosts the Kings XI Punjab Cup, a tournament organized to provide a platform for young guns to showcase their talent. Through this annual tournament, KXIP aims to nurture talent at the grass root level by giving them an opportunity to display their talent.

     

    Kings XI Punjab has initiated an activity with Institute of Fashion technology at Punjab University. As a part of the initiative, the aspirants were given an opportunity to design their favourite local team’s merchandise. The chosen designs have been used in the merchandising of Kings XI Punjab.

     

    The team associated with Indraprastha All India Sports Foundation to launch the one-of-a-kind reality show ‘Cricket Champs’. This reality show is being powered by Kings XI Punjab and a number of players from the franchisee are also part of the proceedings. This pan-India initiative is featuring on UTV.

     

    Deccan Chargers

    Emirates International has come on board as the Team Sponsor for Deccan Chargers. DC also kick-started its Blue Campaign in Hyderabad with ‘its gotta be blue’ line celebrating food, music and cricket. Some Tollywood films have also associated with Deccan Chargers for promotional campaigns. DC is also taking the digital route to connect and interact with its fans in a better way.

     

    Royal Challengers Bangalore

    RCB launched its new website earlier this month, which is aimed at making navigation easier for its fans. The site has new collection of photos, videos and other downloads for its followers. Most of the initiatives are on the RCB site.

     

    Pune Warriors

    This IPL team has been focusing on interacting with its fans with its website. In keeping with the name, the site has sections like ‘Our Warriors’ which give information about the players, War news and Warrior Club Updates. The Bhartiya Nrityanganas or the cheer queens with the Indian flavour will be encouraging the team on field. The team has also associated with Bookmyshow for buying tickets for the games.