MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Industry veterans share their experiences – the good, the bad and the interesting – of being a part of the jury at Cannes.

    Being on Cannes jury is no mean task

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Being on the jury of Cannes Lions means serious business – being shut in a room for endless hours and going through thousands of entries to make a case for the piece you like. Undeniably, despite the work involved, the experience of being a jury at Cannes is a learning experience in many ways.

     

    Ryan Menezes

    As Ryan Menezes who was invited to be on the Cyber Lions jury in 2011 puts: “I thought, cool, after winning India’s first ever gold lion in 1996, I now get to judge the most cutting edge category of all. I was looking forward to a week of sun, sand and schmoozing. Yeah, right! It was cyber boot camp from start to finish.”

     

    Giving a peek into the work, Mr Menezes explained that first there’s a preliminary voting to determine the shortlist, which takes place online. This is even before you set foot in Cannes. He added: “Once you’re there, barely recovered from the seven course welcome dinner, you plunge into this seemingly bottomless pit of entries where you see some of the world’s best work, and some of the world’s best case studies for mediocre work. You quickly learn to check out the work first and skim through the somewhat exaggerated case studies, but with around 500 entries to be judged over 6 days, you’re looking at around 9 hours a day of sitting in front of a computer, with headphones. By the end of the day, you’re too drained to do anything more than crawl back to your fantastic Hollywood themed suite at the Palais Stephanie and pass out.”

     

    But wait, there are good parts too: “You get to hobnob with some of the best minds in the world, you get a peek into what’s going to happen in the future in the digital category in India, as we are light years behind. You learn stuff that can help you win pitches when you return (I have used this to great effect in two successful pitches this year) and you learn that craft is not dead, it has been resurrected and is alive and kicking serious butt in cyberspace. You get VIP entrances to the gala functions, reserved seats at the award ceremony, invites to the hottest parties, but you’re too dead so you take off to Paris or Amsterdam or Monte Carlo for some peace and quiet. And to sum up, what made the experience really worthwhile was the flawless orchestration of everything by the organizers from start to finish. And, of course, the jury members were fair – there was no lobbying, no camps and no crab mentality. Just a desire to give great work it’s due. And that’s what makes Cannes, well, Cannes.”

     

    Amer Jaleel

    Amer Jaleel, NCD, LoweLintas who was invited to judge the Press Lions in 2011 agreed with Mr Menezes. It was his first experience of judging at any festival and after his experience he feels that coming out with great creative work is difficult but judging so many good works is even more difficult: “While people come and congratulate you on being on the jury and then take off to enjoy the French Riviera, you have to get back to some serious work looking at endless entries. However, besides seeing the best works, what I enjoyed was interacting with the mindset behind those works.”

     

    “The debating that goes behind each piece of work and when you knock your head against somebody else’s work is the enjoyable part of being on the jury. The questioning, the conviction behind the works helps in validating your beliefs, assurance and creative thinking. It also gives you a peek into human behaviour as you see few pushing for some works with vested interest,” Mr Jaleel added.

     

    Shashi Sinha

    Shashi Sinha, CEO, Lodestar UM, who judged media Lions in 2008 feels that the experience at Cannes was of superior quality: “The screening process is intense and it’s time consuming. What I remember is that one got to see an amalgamation of digital and activation at Cannes which one is now beginning to see in India. This was four years back!”

     

    Being actively involved in the organizing of advertising industry awards in India, Mr Sinha pointed that a large jury at Cannes for each category works in favour of minimizing the biases. He also points that the entire process being digitized adds to making it a tighter procedure of judging.

     

    Priti Nair

    For the experience of being on the jury, Priti Nair of Curry-Nation who had judged the print category said: “It was a fascinating experience. First and foremost you feel enormously good and they make you feel enormously important as a judge! I was judging print and there were some 7000 entries. You get to meet and interact and have lunch with people whose names you have only read and whose work you have truly admired. What strikes is the smoothness with which the whole thing moves. It is thought through to the last detail in terms of how do you divide, how you score and how you make sure it does not feel unfair. Apart from this, you actually get to see work that you would never ever see anywhere. It is work sent from all over the world.”

     

    These could be lessons that Indian awards committee could also emulate here.

     

    While everyone praises the well-oiled jury process, the chance to see works from across the world and even interact with great minds in advertising, some are also of the view that being on such a platform makes you realize the drawbacks in Indian advertising and people practicing advertising itself.

     

    KV Sridhar

    KV Sridhar aka Pops, who was on 2010 Press Lions jury, pointed that the Cannes jury is different from any other international fest as there is representation from different countries. If there are 22 jury members they will be from 22 different countries. He said:, “There would be silent Japanese who will make an apt observation and there will be vocal Indians or South American jury. However, the Indian jury becomes a lone member as representation from South Asia is not so strong. So they fail to gang up and explain the nuances of advertising coming from their part of the world as compared to those from Latin American countries who do make a case of work coming from their part of the world.”

     

    He added: “I have seen is that jury members from other countries are well versed with works not just coming from their agency but also from their country. So they really put a strong case for their works. It’s like putting their country first and then the network. One is not saying that be blindly patriotic but one must stand and fight for a good piece of work from their country and explain the various cultural nuances which will help the jury in better understanding of the work. Also, the jury should share their inputs with the industry so that for the next time one is prepared well when sending entries for festivals like Cannes. There should be a platform created to share their learnings.”

     

    Pops categorically said that one should be familiar with the works coming from their own country: “Fight for the creative you like, it doesn’t matter which country it belongs to. Double tick if you like a work, as in Cannes if you blink you will miss the entries!  Ensure that the works you like makes to the next level and that will only happen if you fight for that work and lastly be honest to yourself.”

     

    Ravi Kiran

    Ravi Kiran, who judged the media Lions in 2010, makes a valid point when he says that while Cannes is for celebrating work, there should be focus on learning too. While few make it to Cannes, there should be means to make the entries available to people who work behind these entries, but are not at Cannes. He also noted that when it came to countries, jury came with a certain mindset, like in the case of India one would always look at scale, given its vast population. So anything on a small scale in certain categories where it applies would not impress juries for Indian works: “While we have heard that how you package the work matters at Cannes, I did feel that many entries coming from our country lacked substance. Packaging is important, but you can’t bluff the jury with poor substance in the garb of good packaging. Also there were many videos that went with the entries and I particularly felt that one should ensure that these videos are not too long, as no jury has the patience when going through 70-80 entries. In fact, the videos should be similar to 30 second ads that we make.”

     

  • The International Festival of Creativity – Cannes Lions – has announced that Mobile will be added as a new awards section, launching at the 2012 Festival. Tom Eslinger, Digital Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, will preside over the Mobile Lions jury in its inaugural year.

    Cannes Lions launch Mobile category; Tom Eslinger appointed first jury chair

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Festival of Creativity – Cannes Lions – has announced that Mobile will be added as a new awards section, launching at the 2012 Festival. Tom Eslinger, Digital Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, will preside over the Mobile Lions jury in its inaugural year.

     

    Mobile Lions will reward the best work which lives on or is activated by a mobile device, app or mobile web. The judging criteria will be based on creativity and the idea, execution (usability, user experience, craft and design), relevance to the mobile platform and results (level of user engagement and any quantifiable outcomes). The categories for the new Mobile Lions will include Creative Use of Technology, Mobile Websites and Web Apps, Mobile Apps, Tablet Apps, Games, Rich Media Mobile Advertising and Integrated Campaigns led by Mobile.

     

    The jury will be made up of experts in mobile from digital agencies and applications development, and will award Lions to the best use of mobile in marketing campaigns with the winners being announced alongside the Press, Cyber and Design Awards Ceremony taking place on Wednesday 20 June in Cannes, France.

     

    Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, commented, “Mobile has been part of the Lions for some years, within other sections such as Cyber and Film, and a large number of winning campaigns in sections like Media, Design, Direct and Outdoor have made significant use of mobile technology. By carving it out of the other sections, we are simply reflecting the importance of mobile in the media mix, and we are delighted that Tom Eslinger has agreed to step up and lead as jury president. The category could not be in better hands in its launch year.”

     

    Joining Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand as a Creative Director in 1998, Mr Eslinger began creating mobile ideas launching projects for Rugby Super 12, the New Zealand All Blacks, Telecom, NZ Dairy Foods and the NZ Retirement Commission. More recently, Mr Eslinger has worked across applications, augmented reality and games for Toyota, 3M, Burton Snowboards, Coca-Cola, T-Mobile and Visa. Now based in London, he works across Saatchi & Saatchi’s worldwide digital capability and in 2002 was appointed to the Worldwide Creative Board where he leads the creative growth of Saatchi & Saatchi’s worldwide digital team, adding new teams and capabilities. He is a multiple Cannes Lion winner and has previously served on the Cyber and Titanium and Integrated juries before presiding over the Cyber Lions jury in 2007.

     

    Commenting on his appointment, Mr Eslinger said, “It’s always an honour to be asked to join a jury and awesome to be asked to be president for a new category, especially one I have a deep passion for. I’ve been creating mobile ideas for over a decade and I’m stoked that Cannes Lions has chosen this particularly exciting time to start recognizing the best ideas created for mobile devices, apps, sites and other new and wonderful permutations. I’m keen to get started!”

     

    The new look Cannes Lions 2012 website (www.canneslions.com) has been launched, with up-to-date information on the Festival and awards, interviews with key industry members, video content and much more in the lead up to the Festival.

     

     

  • Scarecrow's Manish Bhatt will be judging Cannes Lions 2012 in the Direct category.

    Manish Bhatt to be Cannes Lions judge

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2012 is in the process of finalizing its jury teams for various categories. Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow will be representing India in the Direct category.

     

    Gideon Amichay, former Chief Creative Officer and Joint Managing Partner of Shalmor Avnon Amichay / Y&R Interactive Tel Aviv, Israel from 1994-2011, will chair the Direct Lions Jury.

     

    The founder director of Scarecrow Communications Ltd, Manish Bhatt is originally a civil engineer by qualification, and started on a career as a site engineer with the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation. But he soon got bored with machines, boilers and chimneys and decided to enter the world of advertising. Having armed himself with a BFA, he joined Contract (a WPP agency) in 1995.

     

    In a career spanning 15 years, he has worked with leading agencies like Ogilvy & Mather, McCann Erickson, Ambience Publicis and handled brands including Tata Indicom, Aegon Religare, Cadbury, Asian Paints, HSBC, Hanes, Wonderbra, Vaseline, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Nestle, Eristoff (Bacardi), Barclays, Anchor Panasonic and Viacom 18.

     

    His work has been recognized by award bodies such as Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, Communication Arts and the Asia Pacific Awards, among others. The Scarecrow office doubles as an art gallery, promoting young and often offbeat talent.

     

  • There are 34,301 entries from 87 countries for Cannes Lions, of which 1,182 pieces have been entered from India, slightly more than the last year's figure of 1,177

    How India fared @ Cannes in 2009-2011

     

    From the MxM Infodesk

     

    Adlanders from India wouldn’t want to forget 2009 in a hurry. If the slowdown of 2008-09 was one reason for gloom to descend on the industry, there was good news too – in the form of Cannes Lions – the pinnacle of award shows in the creative arena. With 25 metals,India beat all odds and set an example for global creative powerhouses to sit up and take notice.

     

    While the current economic growth has witnessed a decline in recent times, the number of entries that have been sent to Cannes Lions from India is at its highest. For the record, there are 34,301 entries from 87 countries that have been submitted to the Cannes Lions, of which 1,182 pieces have been entered from India. This is slightly more than the last year’s figure of 1,177 entries.

     

    A quick recap into India’s previous performances at the festival throws up interesting facts. Like 2009, the year 2011 too ended on a good note for India as it managed to accumulate a total of 24 metals – just one short of India’s highest ever tally of 25 Lions in 2009. With 4 Golds, 7 Silvers and 13 Bronzes, it was a memorable year for most agencies as hopeful entries ended up bagging the coveted metals. This was after India ended up putting 42 shortlists under its name.

     

    Mudra Communications emerged the ace performer as it ended up with three Silver Lions, five Bronze Lions and nine shortlisted entries. They were followed by BBDO India that bagged two Silvers, one Bronze metal and seven shortlists scoring 20 points. Ogilvy & Mather India with 13 points ended up third. McCann Worldgroup came next and was followed by Lodestar UM and Taproot India tying for the fifth place.

     

    As for the entries, the one that caught maximum attention was ‘Silent National Anthem’ by Mudra that won a total of four metals – one Silver metal and three Bronze metals. Another noteworthy entry was BBDO India’s ‘W.A.L.S – Women Against Lazy Stubble’ for Gillette that bagged the inaugural Creative Effectiveness Lion. Ogilvy & Mather too won metals for their entry ‘Train’ for Indian Railways and for Mentos Sour Marbels entries – Guillotine, Snake and Gun. McCann’s work for Onida Mobile Phones also enabled them to bag a couple of awards.

     

    In contrast, 2010 was one of the tough years for Indian ad agencies as they managed only 17 metals comprising 3 Golds, 6 Silvers and 8 Bronzes. The tally picked up pace towards the latter part of the event, offering a glimmer of hope to the delegates assembled, who otherwise were faced with the scare of India losing out on its popularity to outside countries.

     

    What was disheartening was that India drew a blank in most categories including Titanium, Integrated and Film Craft but finished well in Print, Design and Outdoor. While Publicis won a Gold Lion Campaign for the work done for Publicis Communications, Ogilvy won a Bronze Lion for the work done for Department of Posts. Aman Ki Asha and TransAsia Papers were the two entries by Taproot India that scored big at the awards. Tide Dirt Magnets by Leo Burnett was another entry that received due credits at the awards show. If not the metals, the delegates were perhaps comforted by way of august speakers who turned up at the event to share their knowledge on the given subject. It also witnessed Piyush Pandey and Agnello Dias taking part in discussions on the stage – a fact that was earlier moaned by Indian adlanders quite aloud.

     

    As for 2009, it was the best so far for India as it bagged 25 metals including 4 Golds, 7 silvers and 13 Bronzes out of a possible 42 shortlists. The highlight of the year was India winning its first Film Lion Gold, which was awarded to JWT India for the work done for The Times of India Chennai launch, entry titled A Day in the Life of Chennai. The entry by Senthil Kumar was awarded Gold in the Film Craft category and the in Music category. As for the agency tally, it was Ogilvy that emerged triumphant with 27 points followed by JWT India at 26 points. Publicis and Leo Burnett came third and fourth respectively. Other notable winners were Happy Dent’s Palace, Fevicol’s Bus, Neo Sports’s Gas entry, etc.

     

    Other notable winners included MediaCom India bagging a Gold Lion and a Silver Lion for ‘To Shave or Not to Shave’ campaign done for Procter & Gamble’s Gillette, Maxus bagging two Bronze Lions – one for ’20 Million Experiences’ for Tata Sky and one for ‘Midas Touch’ for Nokia India, Lodestar Universal bagging a Bronze for Nano and Madison Media winning a Bronze for ‘Say Condom, Aloud’ for BBC World Service Trust.

     

    Metals Tally in 2011

    Gold – 3

    Silver – 10

    Bronze – 10

    Creative Effectiveness metal: – 1

    Total No. of Metals - 24

     

    Metals Tally in 2010

    Gold – 3

    Silver – 6

    Bronze – 8

    Total No. of Metals - 17

     

    Metals tally in 2009

    Gold – 4

    Silver – 7

    Bronze – 13

    Total metals – 25

     

  • There's loads to do at Cannes, if you want to look beyond the festival, writes Rahul Kishore

    By Invitation | Rahul Kishore: In Cannes you can!

     

    By Rahul Kishore

     

    Having been to Cannes twice, I can give you a fair assessment of the place as well as what to do and what you must do.

     

    First of all, the hotel. Try and book a smallish one about 200 metres max from the Palais, since all the action is there, at least in the day time. There are a host of them just behind the Croissiette and they come with nice decent rooms with attached showers and so on. The breakfast is adequate, a lot better than the hotels in Paris, and helps you stock up. One word of advice: the eggs are always cold and hardboiled and you can ask the steward to warm them up. The croissants and coffee are great!

     

    What one needs to do is to head straight for the tourist office which is beside the Palais and closes for lunch. The girls there will fill you in as to whatever there is to do in and around. Book a trip to St Tropez as the ferry does not go daily. It’s a wonderful journey with the French Alps in the background and the trip is a full day one. St Tropez is the home of the bikini, so it looks promising all the time.

     

    The town is a small one and picture postcard perfect. One can take a small trip for 6 euros to Nikki Beach, the Ibiza of this area, and be back in time to catch the ferry back. I think it costs 40 euros return.

     

    Another trip, though a short one is to the Le Marguirite island which costs 10 euros and you can have lunch on or in the sea which is cobalt blue and cold. Lovely pizzas and pasta. Food gets over by 3pm, so keep that in mind.

     

    Now onto the night scene. Old Cannes is totally romantic and one should have dinner there. It’s about a 15-minute walk from the Palais and the church at the top is worth a look. One gets an overview of the harbour with all the yachts in the marina. The food is cheap and so is the wine, cocktails too – about 5 euros each. And if you are lucky, there will be the odd musician singing and playing the accordion. Most people are well-dressed for dinner, so make sure to wear a pair of jeans at least, as that is considered well dressed in ad circles!

     

    The best place to party is the Baoli. It’s a 10-minute taxi ride and costs 10 euros to go and 30 to come back, since one comes back at 4 am. Beware of a short Frenchie with a beard and a black Ferrari with red seats. He picked me up, hit on me and nearly got hit by me. I had to feign a headache and he dropped me off midway to the hotel. I had a long walk back to the hotel and saw some 20 people skinny dipping in the sea at 4am. With freezing water, they couldn’t have gotten up to much. But the French will always try!

     

    I used to hit the sack at around 4am, and be up and running on the Marina or behind the main street at 7am. It’s cool, fresh and Europe, one can get by with three hours of sound sleep.

     

    More ideas: Make a trip to Grasse to buy perfumes. There is a factory and a museum, both of  which are worth looking at. The bus costs 1 euro and it leaves from the bus stop next to the station. Next,Monte Carlo. Went there twice. Great train ride costing 40 euros, return. Hop off at Eze and explore. Take the bus up to the fort and have lunch there. Then come back and continue on to Monte Carlo. While there: walk on the race track; have ice cream sundaes opposite the casino; and make a trip to the place. It’s worth it… and walk, walk and walk… the editor of this site died doing it, but it made him a better person!

     

    If you have the bucks, then the casino is just right…I didn’t waste any time on it. You can extend your train ride toS an Remo in Italy. Twenty minutes away, you’ll find a large market, lovely Maserati police cars and no passport required. The food is great. Have lunch and come back for that ice cream sundae in Monte Carlo. The sun sets at 9pm, so all is safe.

     

    There is some shopping in Cannes. There is a Zara, and a small market where one gets amazing gift items and clothes. All cheap. Friday is the food and antique bazaar day near Mcdonald’s which wraps up by 10am, so one should make a trip. The fruits and fish are amazing. Also check out the bakery. You will fall in love with it.

     

    All in all it’s a great place to visit, too much to do, and yes, the dull ones do manage attend a few sessions there as well. I am told, there are some pretty good and informative sessions this year. Me? Did the Zuckerberg one. Got bored to tears. But the good thing is, in Cannes, you can.

     

    PS: If you are the type who wants loads of fun and with the prospects of happy endings, mail me at rahulkis[at]gmail.com

     

    Rahul Kishore is senior vice-president, Mogae Media

     

  • Komli's CEO Prashant Mehta declined to disclose the valuation of the Mumbai-based company in a deal which takes the total private equity capital raised by it to $62 million

    Online ad platform Komli Media raises $39 million

    By Radhika P Nair

     

    Komli Media, India’s biggest online media technology platform for advertising, has raised $39 million, or Rs214 crore, in the biggest round of fundraising by an internet company in the country this year.

     

    Norwest Venture Partners led the latest round with participation from existing investors- Nexus Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson- along with one new investor, Western Technology Investment.

     

    Komli’s CEO Prashant Mehta declined to disclose the valuation of the Mumbai-based company in a deal which takes the total private equity capital raised by it to $62 million. Industry experts said that internet companies in India are typically valued at up to five times their revenue. Komli, which is targetting revenue of $100 million in 2013, can therefore be inferred to have a value of up to $500 million.

     

    “Considering that advertising spends are the first to get affected in a downturn, this investment has greater significance than just the amount invested,” said Mayank Rastogi, a partner who specialises in private equity at consultancy Ernst & Young.

     

    The month of May saw the lowest amount of private equity investment in the past year, with just $385 million in funding for 32 deals. In contrast, in May 2011, there were 44 deals, in which close to $1.3 billion was invested. Mr Mehta, whose company counts Facebook as an exclusive partner in India and expects a Nasdaq listing within 18 months, was of the opinion that even though the overall environment is gloomy, it is not so for the digital media industry.

     

    “We are at a tipping point. Komli thinks the digital medium is far more accountable and provides greater return on investment,” he said The online advertising market in India is estimated to be worth Rs1,850 crore, which is just 7 per cent of the overall advertising pie, according to an Avendus Report. However, the sector is expected to grow rapidly to Rs7,000 crore by 2015. Google and Facebook collectively account for about 29 per cent of direct advertising spends.”

     

    Founded in 2006 by Amar Goel, who is also the chairman, Komli has been aggressively buying companies overseas to speed up growth. In February, it made its sixth acquisition in two years, buying Singapore-based online advertising network Admax.

     

    Last year, Komli took over the India business of video advertising venture Jivox and in July 2011, it acquired mobile advertising and publishing network Zestadz. The Zestadz acquisition marked Komli’s entry into the fast-growing mobile advertising segment.

     

    “It is in the mobile advertising space that Komli competes directly with Google’s AdMob, which is the market leader globally and in India, and with InMobi,” said Srinivas Chari, cofounder and chief marketing officer of Xerago, a digital and interactive marketing company.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • An exclusive interview with Suresh Balakrishna, CEO of Brand Programming Network, IPG Mediabrands' all-new agency under the LMG umbrella

    Making brand the hero with BPN

     

    Just when you thought that the media agency space is getting crowded in India comes the news of another agency setting up shop in India. Brand Connections that was present in 12 countries across the globe excluding India and the United States, will now be rechristened Brand Programming Network. In effect this will be the official launch of BPN in India. And simultaneous with the rest of the world. This will make the agency the third such offering from IPG Mediabrands in India. It already has two in the form of (Lodestar) UM and (Lintas) Initiative. BPN will work under the LMG umbrella.

     

    Says Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO of Lintas Media Group in a communique, “For media agencies thus far, the starting point has always been the advertiser. Consolidation, portfolio management, aggregation etc. are all client focused and to some extent consumer data driven. BPN will focus on the brand. The time has come to turn back several chapters and make the brand the hero of all communication effort, and BPN has developed processes to do just that.”

     

    BPN will take on the service mandate of clients like Jyothy-Henkel, Bajaj Auto, Samsonite, and several other clients of LMG to start up with a billing volume of over Rs. 1000 crores, in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkatta and Cochin.

     

    In India the agency will be led by Suresh Balakrishna, who has assumed charge as CEO of the agency. While BPN will be essentially a media agency, it will play the game differently by focusing on the brand. “Everything that we are recommending is going to be from a brand strategy direction,” assures Mr Balakrishna, as he gave MxMIndia a quick peek of what to expect from the agency in India, hours before it was unveiled.

     

    In conversation with Pradyuman Maheshwari and Johnson Napier, Mr Balakrishnan delves on how BPN will be different from the others, on the increased emphasis that will be laid on social media and digital and the new initiatives to look forward to from BPN in the coming few months. Excerpts:

     

    Is Brand Programming Network old wine in a new bottle?

    No, it is not. The usual answer that comes up about a third agency is that it is created due to a conflict of clients, allowing you to take on more of the similar clients. But with BPN, it is a thought-out strategic decision. If you look at India, there is no immediate conflict business (from network agencies) that is being parked in BPN. If you look at Mediabrands, for the last 10 years it has had a network called Brand Connections in other countries. But as markets have developed, especially a market like India, we find that there are enough businesses out here to have a third agency with a different character, a different way of thinking…and of course help handle conflict in the long run. So it’s not a knee-jerk old wine in a new bottle reaction from our end.

     

    The reason we ask you this question is that you have reallocated some of your existing businesses here. Does this also mean that Initiative and BPN could be in conflict with each other?

    It could be. In our system we can compete for businesses for the same pitch and may the best team win. Therefore we have a Lodestar UM, an Initiative and a BPN; we have three networks here in India and all three can compete for a business if necessary.  We do believe there is enough business out there and why leave some money on the table…

     

    What is it about BPN that differentiates it from others?

    A few things actually. Firstly, we are turning the clock back as an agency. We are going back a little in time and therefore the name Brand Programming Network. The whole idea is to focus on the brand. Earlier, media used to be in one house there used to be much more brand focus, even the media guys owned the brand. But over a period of time, media has become more professional, accountable, larger, etc but somewhere in the process we believe that brand connect has got lost. Therefore, BPN would be an agency that would focus on the brand; everything that we are recommending is going to be from a brand strategy direction. To give an example, in the last four months we have won over four-five businesses and in almost all the business pitches the client fed back to us saying is this a creative agency presentation or a media agency presentation? So you can imagine the extent to which we are spending time to analyse the brand, looking at brand strategy, looking at TG, etc. We are focusing on that aspect of the business and of course at the end of the day media is just a delivery vehicle.

     

    In fact Mr Shashi Sinha even hinted in an interview with us that we need to return to the full-service agency model. Are you in agreement with that statement?

    Half-way house, I would say. We are calling ourselves a full-service media agency in the sense that the touchpoints today have become all-pervading. For example, the touchpoint would be you ride on content. But who creates that content? You have an instance where the customer himself creates content in digital and then you have specialists who create content. So content itself has no owners and therefore reaching out to the customer has become that much more complex and you can only do it of you have the fabric of the brand and what it wants to convey.

     

    But the same thing could even be said by the creative agency bosses like, say, R Balki of Lowe, etc who feel that creative is alright but we also need to add some media to it. They could also be thinking on those lines…

    So what if they think the same, but I think at the end of the day to deliver media, you need a certain size… in fact many media heads today are CFOs; they are not media people. They have a commercial bent of mind and manage money.

     

    So are you saying that a media agency can be a full-service agency but a creative agency cannot be a full-service agency…?

    In today’s context yes, I believe you can say that.

     

    Sorry to be asking you this for for the third time in different ways, but getting back to BPN, in a sense it will be a brand agency…

    Yes, and across the world in the 13 other countries that we are present in apart from India, we have a lot of retail businesses and that is another area of growth that BPN is seeing. That seems to be the character of the agency globally – handling a lot of retail clients on a local basis.

     

    Will you only handle products and not brands in other sectors?

     There will be no category and geographical limitation. What the agency will bring to the table is brand perspective. In many cases, we have seen that clients do not want a brand perspective from a media agency. They get enough of it from a creative agency and want only the media bit from us. So I may not be the right pick. But being part of an agency like LMG I may bring along a necessary clout; I am big enough to matter and small enough to care. But that is not going to be my reason to be.

     

    In fact for BPN, one of the things being discussed is India as the analytics hub for BPN worldwide.

     

    Is it likely to happen soon?

    Yes, it is going to happen very soon.

     

    Wouldn’t analytics have done better as a separate unit like what the other networks offer?

    Maybe if it did well it could become a separate agency but to begin with it will be a part of the service that we are offering.

     

    Somewhere in your press release you have emphasised on laying adequate stress on social media. Is BPN going to be basically a digital or social media agency?

    No. But globally, and in India, I believe that digital and social media has much more mindspace than wallet space. So it really has a long way to go. Having said that, digital is growing very rapidly globally. One of the things that you will hear from us is a tie-up of sorts with a large platform about which you will hear soon.

     

    Will social media be the mainstay for BPN…?

    Not in India but worldwide, yes.

     

    So here you will be doing the traditional stuff plus digital and social…

    Absolutely.

     

    Could you delve a bit on the team that will drive the function for you in India?

    We have Premjeet Sodhi as the COO, Patrick Gomes would be the head in Mumbai, Mahesh Motwani would be head of Kolkata, Vidya Nanda Kumar will be head of Kochi…we have identified a head for Delhi and Hyderabad that we will announce very soon. We have a staff strength of about 70 and about 40 clients till now.

     

    Going forward, will BPN and Initiative be sitting together and pitching for a business?

    All the existing businesses in Delhi, Bangalore etc will belong to Initiative while Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi etc will belong to BPN. We will be having separate offices which ever cities both of us are present.

     

    Any other plans on the anvil for BPN?

    Yes, we would be having a training and consultancy cell for media houses. The other thing will be branded content….

     

    Paid news?

    No (laughs). AFPs, in-film branding etc.

     

    You have always been a print man, do you still have a soft corner for the medium compared to television which is more popular of the two?

    Brands of course want television but I think print also works. Ours is the only country where print is still growing.

     

    But TV is growing a bit faster.

    Yes.

     

    What will the the revenue mix of BPN look like in future… if it’s 99 traditional and 1 digital?

    Going by your 99-1 yardstick, it will be 80 per cent traditional and 20 per cent from other mediums. Possibly even 75-25.

     

    If BPN has business worth Rs 1000 crore, how much will Initiative be?

    It would be the same. LMG as a group is Rs 2000 crore.  All the businesses in Delhi and Bengaluru belong to Initiative while Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi are now part of BPN.

     

    In Indian corporates, there is a tendency to guard one’s fiefdom. Did Initiative feel bad you took away some of its businesses?

    They haven’t expressed anything as yet.

     

  • GSK continue to use rational advertising route to drive sales of its brand Junior Horlicks using Zoot Review format of Buchanan Group

    Zoot review for Junior Horlicks

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The new campaign for Junior Horlicks using Zoot Review has been released inIndiain Hindi, Tamil and Bengali versions. This is the third advertising campaign in last 2 years for Junior Horlicks which uses the Zoot Review format which has a celebrity nutritionist talking about Junior Horlicks. As in the past, the media vehicle used is television.

     

    The basic idea to use Zoot for Junior Horlicks is to drive sale and focus on the relevance of Junior Horlicks as an expert in early childhood nutrition.

     

    On the campaign, Sanjeev Singhai, Business Director – Indian Sub Continent, said: “We used a credible nutritionist to educate consumers (moms) on the needs of having right nutrients for child’s growth and communicate about the two available variant: Junior Horlicks 123 and Junior Horlicks 456.”

     

    The Zoot Review ads majorly focus on educating consumers, here mothers, on the need for getting the right nutrition specific to kids for right physical and mental development of their small kids.

     

    The Usage of third party authority platform like Zoot Review and a credible nutritionist makes the campaign more acceptable by the masses.

     

    Though an all India Client feedback for current TVC is not available as campaign has just been released, since client is using the same route third time in last 2 years, it’s evident that client is able to achieve his objectives and hence is continuing with usage of Zoot Review TVC template.

     

  • It's time for the 59th Cannes Lions, the true festival of creativity. Presenting a curtain-raiser and a kickstart of MxMIndia's coverage

    Heading high towards Cannes 2012

     

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    In its 59th year, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which will take place from June 17 till 23, is considered the largest worldwide gathering of advertising professionals, designers, digital innovators and marketers.

     

    Every year in June, around 9,000 registered delegates from 90 countries visit the fest to celebrate the best of creativity in brand communication, discuss industry issues and network with one another. Thousands of ads from all over the world are showcased and judged.

     

    Inspired by the International Film Festival, staged in Cannes since the late 1940s; a group of cinema screen advertising contractors from the Screen Advertising World Association (Sawa) felt that the makers of advertising films should be recognised similarly. They established the International Advertising Film Festival, the first of which took place in Venice in September 1954, with 187 entries from 14 countries. The lion of the Piazza San Marco in Venice was the inspiration for the Lion trophy.

     

    Cannes Lions juries are drawn from experts in each field from around the world. Each jury is headed by a jury president. They judge submissions in Film, Film Craft, Media, Press, Outdoor, Cyber, Promo & Activation, Direct, Design, Radio, PR, Creative Effectiveness and Titanium and Integrated.

     

    Inspiring creativity is at the heart of Cannes Lions. The Festival is where creative professionals come to debate, learn and be inspired; where the greatest industry honours are bestowed; where those pushing creative communications forward are celebrated. Amongst the featured agencies this year are names such as BBDO India, Leo Burnett India, DDB Mudra, TBWA India, JWT India, BBH India, Taproot India, Publicis India, Contract Advertising, Grey India , Happy Creative Service and Ogilvy India.

     

    Since the past couple of years, India has been doing fairly well at Cannes due to which the expectations are increasing with each passing year. Hence MxM India tried to find out what the experts think are India’s chances in the run for metals at Cannes Lions this year.

     

    Russel Barret
    Ashish Khazaanchi
    Kartik Iyer
    KV Sridhar
    Rajiv Rao
    Senthil Kumar
    Jishnu Sen
    Josy Paul

    Russel Barret, Managing Partner, BBH India, said: “India matches up to any other country when it comes to creativity. What we lack is the space between ideas and execution. The factors that affect it are probably budget and time. I am really hopeful that we will win just like any other agency which sends their work. Though out of all the Indian work that I have seen, the Tide (print) by Leo Burnett India and OOH Iconic poster by Mudra are my favourite works.

     

    Ashish Khazaanchi, NCD, Publicis Ambience was optimistic: “Our country has had some good and some not so good years at Cannes, but there has never been an extremely dreadful year for our country. India is amongst the countries having ‘great creative talent’ and the proof is the Grand Prix in the past. Our agency has done wonderfully at Cannes, but this year our focus was mostly on agency growth. My preferred work for this year would be Fox Crime ad and Gandhi booklet by Leo Burnett.

     

    Karthik Iyer, Owner, Happy Creative Service felt awesome: “Any agency would, to get recognition from the world’s best creative leaders on a global scale. India never lacked ideas, for sure. But I think more attention can be paid to craft. That’s an area we always get beaten, either because of the lack of time, budget or both. When it comes to my favourite work, there are so many it would be unfair to point a few. But a few that come to mind – Coke Studio Entry of the music from Coke bottles DM, I absolutely love that piece, Fox Crime should pick up something, Bajaj Exhaust fans and Sour Marbels to name a few.

     

    KV Sridhar aka Pops, NCD, Leo Burnett, India maintained: “The only place where our country lacks is exploring the new medium ideas such as digital. We focus more on the conventional mediums rather than the non-conventional ones, unlike countries in Latin America. The chances of India collecting metals at Cannes Lions are more in the categories like design, photography and sound design. For me the magic creators are Killer Jeans, Tide and Bajaj. I feel this will be a good year and we might get close to 20 odd metals, but we cannot regard it as a record breaking year. I’m hoping for the best for Leo – especially for properties like Tide, Coke Studio, a couple of Radio spots and Thums Up for branded content.

     

    Rajiv Rao, NCD, Ogilvy India said: “I think Indian work is absolutely fantastic, hence it does so well in the Indian market. The scenario in our country is such that we need to do a specific kind of work to appeal to our consumers, hence we do not appeal to the global jury at times. But that is not because of the quality of our work. All we need is to bridge our work in such a way that we appeal to the local masses as well as the international juries.”

     

    Senthil Kumar, National Creative Director JWT India was of the belief that they can only do their best and hope for God and the jury to do the rest: “Sure we have the potential but until the jury agrees, we won’t be striking heavy metal there. I have always believed that Indians are the most creative people on earth. We have to be more unabashedly Indian in our ideas and even in our ‘God is in the details’ execution. If only we’d stop aping the West and strive to unleash something very Indian every time, we’d have better chance at hunting down Gold Lions. This year, our creative hopes would ride on the following ideas: The Times of India Kerala Launch, RIN Eraser, Lifestyle’s Baddie bags, Nokia Recycle Films, and some other ideas that may just surprise the audience.

     

    From a potential point of view, these ads are the ones that could hunt down a few Lions for India this year: Google Chrome Tanjore, Mumbai Mirror, The Times of India Kerala Film & IPL 5 Carnival in Film Craft, The FOX Crime Series in Digital, the Nokia Recycle Viral Films, the Coffee House print work, the 3D Audi Website…

     

    Jishnu Sen, chief operating officer, Grey India, put forth his view: “The reason that the metal tally for India isn’t as high as some Latin American country is because of the international jury. Our work is always great and creative. Grey has done some great work this year with Killer Jeans and Cupid Condom. We are hoping to pick up some metals.”

     

    Josy Paul, Chairman and NCD, BBDO India felt: “India is a late entrant at Cannes, and taking that in consideration, we are doing fairly well and growing year by year. I am expecting the Gold and Silver winners from Abbys to do well at Cannes as well. As for my agency, Cannes is like a lottery, last year we did not expect to do so well, but we did. This year too, we are hoping our Gillette campaign would do well.”

     

     

    Main image: www.CannesLions.com

     

  • Zee has awarded Leo Burnett with the creative mandates for Khana Khazana and an upcoming channel

    Zee denies awarding Khana Khazana mandate to Leo Burnett

    By Shubhangi Mehta [updated]

     

    Earlier today, we had carried a news report saying that following a multi agency pitch, Zee has selected Leo Burnett to handle the creative mandate for its food channel Khana Khazana and an upcoming channel  projectnamed Zee Q. While sources close to the development confirmed the news to MxMIndia, Zee Khana Khazana has categorically denied it saying that neither has the channel called for a pitch and nor has it awarded it to Leo Burnett

     

    Zee Television Network had launched ‘Zee Khana Khazana’, a 24×7 food channel on December 8, 2010. A property of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Khana Khazana has several syndicated shows on international cuisine along with Indian fare.

     

  • Red FM has called for a creative pitch. Industry sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxMIndia

    Red FM invites agencies to handle creative

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The radio channel 93.5 Red FM has called for a creative pitch. The pitch is at a very initial stage as of now. The agencies participating in the pitch include names like Lowe Lintas, RK Swamy BBDO, Law &Kenneth and others. Though no confirmation from Red FM could be obtained at the time of filing the report, sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxMIndia.

     

    The incumbent agency on the account is Ogilvy & Mather, who have been handling their creative mandates for the past five years. Even the marketing spends could not be ascertained at the time of filing the report.

     

    Red FM is a property of Sun TV Network, India’s largest television network which has 20 TV channels, 45 FM radio stations, two daily newspapers and four magazines in several Indian languages.

     

  • On May 1, 2012, Palasa, the creative thought shop, completed 8 years of its journey in the industry

    Palasa’s 8 years of challenging the conventional

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    What started as small agency of five creatives in 2004 at Shah and Nahar Industrial Estate is today seen as a well-established and dependable communication partner equipped with a team of 22 creatives. Indeed, Palasa is an energetic hotshop with clientele spanning across various verticals, from technology to lifestyle products.

     

    Says the agency’s founder Sandeep Bomble: “Palasa is a thrilling ride of endless possibilities. Life has been one mad ride with thrilling ideas, fervour running in the nerves of every creative. Challenging the conventional and coming up with newer ideas at every opportunity is the crux of the Palasa belief and its ultimate success story since its inception.”

     

    The diktat is clear: “It’s not what you want to say, but what they want to hear. In this consumer-driven world, it is important to communicate through various innovative mediums, discover newer prospects to reach out the hearts of millions.”

     

    The Power of an idea can be everywhere, and this is what is communicated effectively through Palasa’s work. It is this hub that has cleverly shaped and built the identity of the brands like iBall, YOU Telecom, Circle, and so on right from the scratch.

     

    Palasa has essentially focused on removing barriers between ATL and BTL. In fact it has re-defined the way BTL advertising is perceived: by executing it with a class of breakthrough ideas and not mere adaptations.

     

    Laying emphasis on BTL advertising, Palasa successfully launched its sister concern, GOD – Gang Of Designers – where cutting edge designing takes life, encompassing corporate identity, brochures, packaging, conceptualising designs to events et al. The clutter breaking communication has won Palasa laurels, both nationally and internationally.

     

    The Abby win for Umax DM, at Goafest 2011, for Circle’s Vein packaging and best art direction, for JJAAAN’s Radio spot in 2010 and a bevy of awards still under its hat, and print ads occasionally featured in ‘The Archive’, are witness to Palasa’s versatility at 360-degree marketing.

     

    Palasa successfully completed its 8 years of trials, tribulations and victories on May 1 – ‘8’ standing beautifully unique, holding within it the power of infinity, beckoning the effervescing minds at Palasa to venture and seek crevices untouched. Three, err, eight cheers to that!