MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Will reach approximately 10,000 students and 800 coaches across five cities

    HP, others to parner junior NBA/WNBA school-based programme in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    The National Basketball Association (NBA), in collaboration with HP and Basketball Federation of India (BFI), announced that it will launch the 2012 Jr NBA/Jr WNBA basketball development program in India on May 26.  The program will reach out to approximately 10,000 students and 800 coaches in five cities and marks an important step in incorporating basketball into the regular sports routine of India n youth at the school level.

     

    BFI and HP will support the Jr NBA/Jr WNBA program and enhance the experience for India n youth throughout the event. Adidas is the official outfitter for the program and will provide apparel and footwear for participants and coaches.

     

    “The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program demonstrates the NBA’s commitment to growing basketball at a grassroots level and will reach more children in its second year as one of the league’s most inclusive programs in India ,” said Akash Jain, Sr. Director, Development, NBA India .

     

    The program will visit Delhi , Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Chandigarh, and will culminate with the Jr NBA/Jr WNBA Skills Challenge National Finals in Delhi on July14-15.  The NBA has now implemented sustainable grassroots programs in seven cities in India .

     

    A dedicated Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA microsite on NBA.com India  will provide all coaches and physical education instructors access to videos, photos and other materials to reinforce proper training technique. HP will provide laptops and Dream Screens to enhance the training experience.  An HP Technology Zone will be created at each City Championship and the National Finals where fans can create their own basketball player with the NBA Avatar game.

     

    “With a very strong focus on the youth of the country, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA will help create yet another platform with the NBA to reach our young and active audiences while promoting the game of basketball,” said HP India Chief Marketing Officer, PSG, Ranjivjit Singh.

     

    At the center of this program is the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge, which begins with a City Championship tournament in all five cities with approximately 2,000 participants between the ages of 10-12 in each city. The top five boys and top five girls will qualify to represent their city at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National Finals.

     

    Since 2008, the NBA has staged grassroots programs in seven cities in India including the Mahindra NBA Challenge which has become the largest, multi-city, community-based basketball league in India .  Six live NBA games air each week during the regular season on Ten Sports, Sony PIX, Sony SIX and NBA.com/India , and the NBA currently has its widest assortment of NBA merchandise available in 200 adidas stores across the country.

     

    The NBA has marketing partnerships in India with Adidas, Coca-Cola, HP, Mahindra, Nike, Reebok and Spalding.

     

  • Continuing with the series of senior-level appointments, the Dentsu India Group announced the appointment of Arijit Ray as Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Communications

    Arijit Ray joins Dentsu Communications as CEO

    Arijit Ray has joined Dentsu Communications as CEO. Mr Ray’s key priority will be to enhance and reinforce the agency’s competencies and output, including overall creative, strategy and services along with strengthening media synergies and driving growth.

     

    Mr Ray joins Team Dentsu from the DDBMudra Group where he was President – DDBMudra, West. Over his four-year tenure as Head of DDBMudra West, Arijit successfully steered the unit into the next orbit of growth, by seamlessly harnessing business growth by a combination of focused talent infusion, training and development and a noteworthy step-up in quality of work.

     

    Welcoming Mr Ray to Dentsu, Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India Group said: “I am delighted to have Arijit join the leadership team at Dentsu India . Arijit’s experience across diverse product categories and in traditional as well as new media is what will help us drive Dentsu’s ambitious plans for India . I look forward to working closely with Arijit and Taira Kimura, COO, Dentsu Communications, to create a world-class integrated communications agency in India “.

     

    Ken Terasawa, Executive Vice Chairman, Dentsu India Group said: “We are very pleased to have Arijit on board Team Dentsu. Arijit has strong expertise in driving organizational growth by leveraging the strength of teams combined with sharpening client deliveries. I look forward to Arijit leading Dentsu Communications and together with COO, Taira Kimura, creating some of the best work for our India n, Japanese and global clients.”

     

    Arijit Ray, Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Communications said: “Dentsu in India is the midst of a serious expansion agenda led by Rohit’s vision of building a top-notch integrated communication network. The Group is well into the phase of building a quality talent and client base and this will only get more impetus in the endeavour to shape enduring client relationships, conceive and execute cutting edge communication mandates that are not only award worthy but more importantly worthy of recognition in the market, in the consumers mind resulting in enhanced desirability and image/ market shares.”

     

    On joining Team Dentsu, Mr Ray added: “What is heartening in being a part of the Dentsu India team at this juncture, is the new benchmarks it is creating in the global context. Not many people are aware of Dentsu’s leadership position in a large and important market like the US and the strides it has made in the digital space. I look forward to working closely with Rohit and support him in the aggressive plans he has for Dentsu in India .”

     

    Mr Ray’s career in advertising began with New Delhi based-based Alfred Allan Advertising in the early 90s.  An honours graduate in Commerce from Delhi University, Mr Ray also completed a programme in marketing management from MICA, Ahmedabad. A highly awarded and professionally reputed business head, Mr Ray has consistently sharpened his faculties by participation in advertising and creative workshops such as the DDB Advanced Leadership Programme in Shanghai, (ALP 2010), the Advanced Seminar on Advertising Skills DY&R – (ASAS Penang, Malaysia 1996), the Lovemarks workshop (Saatchi & Saatchi) and the Bill Folley Creative workshop (Rediffusion DY&R) to name a few.

     

  • WPP media investment management arm will roll out Buddy Media's BuyBuddy social ad software to all agencies

    GroupM selects Buddy Media as preferred social ad partner globally

    By A Correspondent

     

    Buddy Media, the social enterprise software for eight of the world’s top ten global advertisers, announced that GroupM has selected the company’s BuyBuddy social ad product as its preferred social ad management partner.

     

    “We are proud that GroupM has chosen Buddy Media as its preferred social ad partner,” said Michael Lazerow, CEO and Founder, Buddy Media. “Our self-serve social ad buying technology will make it easy for any GroupM agency to effectively scale and measure social spend for their clients.”

     

    GroupM will roll out Buddy Media’s BuyBuddy to all of its agencies, including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, Mindshare, M80 and other business units. It will also begin training on how to maximize the benefits of Buddy Media’s unified social marketing software solution across paid, owned and earned media.

     

    “After extensive evaluation of the marketplace, GroupM is excited to deploy Buddy Media’s social ad software to all of our agencies,” said Rob Norman, CEO, GroupM Interaction Worldwide. “Social media success is of critical importance to our clients, and Buddy Media is the proven self-serve solution in market that has a focus on empowering agencies and being a true partner. We will continue to work with other partners but believe this consolidation will offer our clients and teams the opportunity to develop consistent high performance in a rapidly developing market.”

     

    GroupM invested $200 million in Facebook advertising in 2011. Social network ad revenues will grow to nearly $10 billion in 2013, up from to $5.54 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer.

     

  • Reliance Digital TV is the first DTH operator to offer BIG Magic to the viewers

    BIG Magic to be available on Reliance Digital TV

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIGMagic, India’s first variety entertainment channel for the core Hindi heartland from the Reliance Broadcast Network stable, will now be available to all viewers of the Reliance Digital TV platform.

     

    BIG Magic will replace Imagine TV on Reliance Digital TV channel 213, increasing its reach to an additional 4.5 mn digital homes and in effect goes national. This move allows BIG Magic immediate width in reach across the country, and marks the first step in its digital distribution plan.

     

    With the channel’s endeavour to take its unique regional content to the increasingly large base of DTH audiences in the Hindi Heartland, this alliance between BIG Magic and Reliance Digital TV, marks the beginning of a slew of digital alliances that the Channel is in the process of closing.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Anand Chakravarthy, Business Head, BIG Magic said: “The last one year has seen BIG MAGIC build a strong platform on the back of an excellent programming mix and leveraging BIG FM’s brand lineage to fortify its position as a leading player in a very short span of time. As a next step of growth, DTH was the logical move and what better than Reliance Digital TV to begin with. This will only further cement our position as a leading regional television player, serving tailored entertainment to people who belong to the heartland.”

     

    Commenting on this occasion, Mr. Ashutosh Srivastava, Business Head, Reliance Digital TV said: “It has always been our constant endeavour to provide our customers with choice of content thus, enhancing their viewing experience. By adding BIG Magic to our bouquet, we now offer the unique regional variety entertainment content like movies and daily soaps for our subscribers from the Hindi speaking states of UP, MP, Bihar and Jharkhand directly in the comfort of their homes.”

     

    The partnership with Reliance Digital TV will be promoted aggressively on BIG MAGIC as well as on 92.7 BIG FM.

     

    BIG MAGIC is currently being distributed across all cable operators across the states of UP, MP and Bihar and spread across operators like DEN, Digicable, WWIL, Hathway, Darsh and Maurya amongst others, reaching approximately 10 million households in the heartland. Add to this the reach of Reliance Digital TV and BIG MAGIC can now boast of an enhanced reach. The Channel is supported with a high decibel multi-media integration plan across 92.7 BIG FM, Outdoor, and Mall Activation, play-out seeding in malls, print and local cable.

     

  • The soundtrack becomes the first in India to premiere on the mobile platform before the album's physical music release – thus tapping into the fast expanding base of mobile music listeners

    Airtel & Hungama announce mobile music premiere of Gangs of Wasseypur

    By A Correspondent

     

    Music from Anurag Kashyap’s most-awaited movie ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ became the first soundtrack in India to premiere on the mobile platform, prior to the album’s physical music release thanks to a tie-up between Airtel  and Hungama Mobile. The music is now available exclusively for Airtel mobile customers till May 26 via Hello Tunes and Airtel Radio.

     

    Commenting on this, N Rajaram, CMO – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel said: “The music premier of ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ on the mobile platform speaks volumes of the changing consumption pattern among customers today. Be it music, movies, gaming, social networking or emailing – the discerning Indian customer is increasingly relying on the mobile phone for accessing content. As more and more customers prefer listening to music on their mobile phones, we expect to see mobile music launches as a fast emerging trend towards catering to the preferences of India’s expanding base of mobile music listeners. We are delighted to join hands with Hungama to announce this industry first and exclusive for Airtel mobile customers”.

     

    Albert Almeida, COO, Hungama Mobile, said: “The mobile ecosystem is evolving and with a staggering number of consumers wanting to consume music and movies directly on their phones, we are happy to satiate their appetite. Airtel has been at the forefront of marketing and distributing entertainment and music content via mobile devices and through this initiative together we will make a compelling offer to music lovers yet again.”

     

    What makes this tie-up special is that ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ has been selected for the prestigious “Directors’ Fortnight” at the 65th Festival De Cannes and has already garnered unprecedented buzz from international media and critics.

     

  • Fans can now listen to the live, running commentary of the last three matches including the final IPL matches on AIR

    Times Internet partners AIR for live IPL commentary

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Internet Limited (TIL) and All India Radio (AIR) have joined hands to broadcast live commentary of IPL 2012 over AIR’s national channel and the FM Gold Network.

     

    The running commentary of the final matches of IPL 2012 will be broadcast alternately in Hindi and English on National Channel and FM Gold Network.

     

    Speaking on the deal, Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet, said: “By partnering with All India Radio, IPL 2012 will be able to reach out to a much larger base of cricket fans, who are spread all over the country ,especially beyond the metros.”

     

    “AIR has had a very long innings in promoting sports including cricket in the country. We are still going strong in that direction. We are now about to carry live commentary of the last three important and crucial matches including the final match of IPL. We hope that this would provide a new experience to our listeners,” said LD Mandloi, Director General, All India Radio.

     

     

  • Consider this: If Mukeshbhai gets caught in a scandal, will Rajdeep Sardesai even think of going after the big man? You know the answer

    Anil Thakraney: Bad times looming for editors/content heads

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    What’s the best way for large advertisers to get some ‘good press’ in the media? Use PR agents? Throw lavish parties? Suck up to the editors? Naaah! All that is old fashioned stuff. Nowadays, at least in India, where the media acquisition laws are weak, the industrialists simply go ahead and buy a large stake in a media house. Thus controlling the content, whether the proprietors would like to accept that or not. Recently, Ambani picked up a substantial stake in the Network 18 group. And now the Birlas have bought into the India Today group. Am quite certain more large industrial houses are eyeing similar acquisitions in the media.

     

    This is obviously terrible news for content heads. Because their powers get badly curtailed. Of course, the worst case scenario, which means direct intervention in the content agenda, sucks big time… that’s a nightmarish situation. But even the best case scenario sounds pretty depressing. Because that would mean the media house cannot report/write a single word against the shareholding industrial group. And will often be compelled to project them (and all their partners and subsidiaries) in a favourable light. Consider this: If Mukeshbhai gets caught in a scandal, will Rajdeep Sardesai even think of going after the big man? You know the answer.

     

    I can understand why the corporate world wants to invest in the media. Because it’s a powerful weapon to have in the war chest, and industrialists can leverage business/political deals with its help. The question is: Can we not have tighter laws on media acquisition, like it happens in the western world? Surely the time has come for that.

     

    As a journalist, what worries me most is the yet another body blow to the freedom of expression. Already the industry has suffered because of paid news, sponsored news and other malpractices. Not to speak of the greater powers bestowed to the marketing department of the media company. And now this! Clearly it’s not a good time to be a journalist in this nation.

     

    As for moi, I am seriously thinking of shifting back to advertising. The advertisers are calling all the shots anyway. 🙂

     

    * * *

     

    PS: Haha. The advertising life depicted accurately and hilariously in pictures. If you belong to the ad world, you will identify with every single situation. I am sure you are living them right now!

     

    Link: http://thisadvertisinglife.tumblr.com/

     

     

    Anil Thakraney is a Mumbai-based commentator and editor. He is also Editor-at-large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own

     

     

  • The elected members are Sharif D Rangnekar, CEO & Director, Integral PR, for the post of President; Nikhil Dey, President, Public Relations, Genesis Burson Marsteller, as Vice President and Shivraj Parshad, Principal, The PRactice, as Secretary

    PRCAI elects new mancom

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI), the apex body of communications and public relations consultancies, at its Annual General Meeting, elected a new management committee and support chapter heads.

     

    The elected members are Sharif D Rangnekar, CEO & Director, Integral PR, for the post of President; Nikhil Dey, President, Public Relations, Genesis Burson Marsteller, as Vice President and Shivraj Parshad, Principal, The PRactice, as Secretary.

     

    As part of its National outreach, the regional chapter heads elected are Ajay Lamba, COO, Integral PR as Chairperson, North; Shane Jacob, The PRactice as Chairperson, South; Madhuri Sen, MD, Waggener Edstrom as Chairperson, West and Basav Bhattacharya, Strategic Consultant, Integral PR as Chairperson, East.

     

    Mr Rangnekar, the newly elected President said: “PRCAI is committed to its mission: to build and enhance benchmarks relevant to our business including the areas of Knowledge, Ethics and Expertise.” Setting the tone for the two years ahead of the new Management Committee, the President said that PRCAI intends to focus on talent at one level as well as create platforms that recognize quality of work done by the industry so as to showcase the best work done by our industry.”

     

    PRCAI has been representing the industry for over 11 years. During the many years it has organized different forums, taken up a variety of issues and engaged with multiple stakeholders for distinct purposes. In the past year, PRCAI aligned with EPACA to set norms for government engagement aimed at a higher level of transparency.

     

    Public Relations Consultants Association of India is a trade association set up in October 2001 that represents India’s public relations consultancy sector while providing a forum for Government, public bodies, industry associations, trade and others to confer with public relations consultants as a body.

     

  • Customers can now learn to speak fluent English within the comfort of their homes

    Airtel DTH launches iEnglish

    By A Correspondent

     

    Airtel Digital TV, the DTH service by Bharti Airtel announced the launch of its new interactive service, iEnglish to help customer hone their English speaking skills within the comfort of their homes.  These English language tutorials are based on an audio-visual format with animated characters and quizzes for easy comprehension.

     

    Priced at Rs30/month Airtel Digital TV subscribers can now avail the benefits of this offering by simply pressing the iTV button on their remote control.

     

    Commenting on the launch,  Shashi Arora, CEO- DTH/ Media, Bharti Airtel, said: “Interactive services on  digital TV platforms are not merely value added services but ‘infotainment plus’. Our new interactive service, iEnglish will enable customers become skilled at day-to-day spoken English by enhancing their learning through entertaining, yet educational activities.”

     

    Powered by Hungama, South Asia’s leading digital entertainment company, and Aptech, a pioneer in providing education and training, iEnglish would help consumers understand specific scenarios and commonly used English expressions for daily communication. Apart from teaching correct pronunciations of words, it would also help customers learn new words and phrases, proper grammar usage and an opportunity to gauge their competencies.

     

    Ninad Karpe, MD & CEO, Aptech Ltd said: “With India poised to emerge as one of the successful player in the field of mEducation, we are excited to launch our first mEducation offerings on Airtel Digital TV”.

     

    Neeraj Roy, MD & CEO, Hungama added: “The DTH platform is emerging as a new tool for more interactive forms of entertainment and learning. We will continue to innovate and create products with ease of access for our consumers.”

     

    Besides iEnglish, Airtel Digital TV currently offers several interactive services such as iExam, iKidsworld, iDarshan, iRadio and iFasal.

     

    Airtel digital TV – the DTH service from Bharti Airtel – has over 7.2 million customers and is one of the leading national level DTH service in the country. Airtel has also HD services to its portfolio.

     

  • Bottom-line: Wrong positioning, wrong idea, wrong situation and a very stupid pun to top it all

    Debrief: Maruti Ertiga: Not LUVing it!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Okay, I am kinda confused. What IS the Maruti Ertiga? From what I read in the initial media reports, it’s an MUV (Multi Utility Vehicle). Then someone said it’s an MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle). And even as I was still scratching my head over the difference, in comes the TV commercial which calls it an LUV – Life Utility Vehicle. What in the world is that now?

     

    So I watched the commercial as if it was a mystery movie, and guess what? I am left EVEN more confused! I was expecting to see a large, hansta khelta Hindu undivided khandaan in the ad. That’s the segment that would go in for a car like this, I assumed. Instead, what I saw was a young babe doing things I couldn’t comprehend after repeat exposures. All I recall is many boring shots of the Maruti Ertiga, the interiors and the exterior. And then it suddenly struck me: They are using LUV as a pun for LOVE! Wow!

     

    I would say the Maruti guys are fortunate to get away with such inane and puzzling advertising. And that’s because the Ertiga is actually a fabulous option for those looking for a largish family vehicle that doesn’t cost the earth. Maruti, in any case, enjoys huge loyalty in the market, therefore sales won’t be an issue at all. Even if the ad sucks, which it does in this case.

     

    Bottom-line: Wrong positioning, wrong idea, wrong situation and a very stupid pun to top it all.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Confused and silly

     

  • Launched in July 2011 at Mehboob Studio, Live from the Console provides emerging music bands an alternative platform to showcase talent and for music fans to discover new music

    Live from the Console goes national with 9XO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Live from the Console, a Day 1 (Sony Music Independent) and Oranjuice Entertainment initiative has now got a national platform on the international Music channel, 9XO.

     

    Shridhar Subramaniam, President – Sony Music EntertainmentIndia&Middle Eastexplained: “What began as a humble exercise to present new bands with an alternative platform that brings about music discovery has now gone national. We’re thrilled to partner with 9XO to promote musicians and independent music to an all new level. Going beyond Mumbai, this year Console edition will also be launched in Kolkata and a few other cities.”

     

    Launched in July 2011 at Mehboob Studio, Live from the Console provides emerging music bands an alternative platform to showcase talent and for music fans to discover new music. These emerging bands will get an opportunity to showcase their talent on a national television channel through this association with 9XO.

     

    Speaking of the association Mr. Luke Kenny, Programming Head for 9XO said: “We are delighted to be associated with Live from the Console, which highlights the independent music talent inIndia. This association with the event will bring to the fore talented artists out there playing original music and give them the national recognition that their music merits.”

     

    Mr. Owen Roncon, Managing Director – Oranjuice Entertainment said: “It’s great news for artists as they usually don’t get any national recognition, and with our association with 9XO, we are sure thousands of people will be able to appreciate indie artists and their music”

     

    Live from the Console is a collaborative effort between Day 1 – a Sony Music Independent and Oranjuice Entertainment. It aims to gives new bands and fresh music talent an alternative platform that puts music first while bringing together like-minded people.

     

  • Airtel joins ICICI in Millward Brown's BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study Brown

    ICICI Bank ahead of Pepsi, Airtel beats Siemens, Sony in Top 100 Global Brands rankings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bharti Airtel has joined an elite club of global brands by making it to this year’s BrandZTop 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list by WPP firm Millward Brown. ICICI is the only other Indian brand in this group.

     

    With an overall ranking of 63 (brand value: $ 12.7 billion) and 71 (brand value: $11.5 billion) respectively, ICICI and Airtel have been ranked ahead of top global brands such as Citi (82), Sony (86), MTN (88), China Telecom (90) and Volkswagen (96).  ICICI is in fact ahead of even Pepsi which ranks at #67.

     

    The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study is conducted annually by leading global research firm Millward Brown. It is the only brand valuation that takes into account what people think about the brands they buy along with rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles. The ranking is arrived through a continuous in-depth quantitative research on a category-by-category and a country-by-country basis. The research covers some 2 million consumers and more than 50,000 brands in over 30 countries.