MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • Wouldn't it be better to go full-on on your Japanese lineage and expertise? As a bike purchaser, I would actually find that a lot more appealing

    Debrief: Honda: No need for desi flavour

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    On Tuesday we examined what Hero is up to. Today let’s see what’s happening with their estranged partner, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI). I suppose the key task Honda set for itself is to establish a bond with the desi youth, now that the ‘Hero’ moniker is gone. And they have rushed to macho hero Akshay Kumar for help.

     

    The idea in the TVC is that every Indian is in a great hurry to make his/her dream come true. And that the Honda bike imparts acceleration to those dreams. The voice-over is provided by macho ‘dood’ Akshay Kumar (decked up in a horrendous hood), who claims to know all about chasing dreams because he’s been there, done that. Or some such words. And the ad is peppered with Indian symbols and attitude to further embellish the local flavour.

     

    An entirely boring commercial. It features nothing that we haven’t seen before. In fact, the ad re-hashes all the usual Indian advertising cliches. Worse, Akshayji’s non-stop drone gets on the nerves, and what saves your life is the biggest tech boon known to humanity: the blessed remote control.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz6Zxh7rbH4[/youtube]

    Apart from the TVC being a complete flop show, here’s a thought for Honda: Now that you are on your own, and now that your only USP is the Jap connection (and it IS a positive connection), why do you want to desperately bring out the Indian touch? Wouldn’t it be better to go full-on on your Japanese lineage and expertise? As a bike purchaser, I would actually find that a lot more appealing.

     

    Bring out the kimono, guys. And chuck the dreadful hood.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Boring and misdirected.

     

  • The first Legoland theme park in Asia is set to officially open in Johor's Iskandar development region on September 15

    Mindshare wins pitch for Legoland Malaysia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Legoland Malaysia has appointed Mindshare following a media planning and buying pitch involving four agencies. The first Legoland theme park in Asia is set to officially open in Johor’s Iskandar development region on September 15. The park will be operated by Merlin Entertainments Group, the world’s 2nd largest visitor attraction operator.

     

    The business will be run out of Singapore, and the S$296 million theme park will feature 7 themed areas over 76 acres with more than 40 family friendly interactive rides, shows and attractions.

     

    “Mindshare won the pitch by being able to bring to the table not just a comprehensive plan, but an understanding of our brand uniqueness. In today’s landscape it’s vital for agencies to stay on top of trends that help brands be effective and cost efficient,” said Thilakavathy Munusamy, Director of Sales & Marketing, Legoland Malaysia.

     

    Mr Munusamy added: “Our selection process was grueling and Mindshare demonstrated the best ability to serve a brand like Legoland.”

     

    Renee Tan will be the regional director for the business, and she and her Singapore-based team will work with Mindshare Malaysia. “We are very excited about handling this launch and adding the brand Legoland to our portfolio,” Mr Tan said.

     

    Speaking about the appointment, Mindshare Singapore, Managing Director Leela Nair said: “We are honoured and thrilled to be working with Legoland Malaysia. They are a unique business, and Lego itself celebrates original thinking. This is the perfect partnership for us, and we look forward to delivering break-through results for Legoland.”

     

  • Being the official sponsor of the Indian team at the London Olympics, Amul stands to gain much from the biggest sporting event in the world

    Taste of India backs Hope of India

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Think of Olympics, and the one word that comes to mind is ‘glory’. With only a few weeks left for the mega event to begin, all eyes (and hearts) will be on the Indian contingent, which is the biggest by far that is being sent to the Games. While that increases India’s chances of bagging more medals, what it has also done is turn the attention of brands towards the aspirants with the obvious intention of improving awareness and possibly, even sales of products.

     

    One brand that is taking the lead in associating with the mega event is Amul. The Anand-based Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation’s (GCMMF) Amul has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for sponsorship of the Indian contingent.

     

    With this, Amul has become the official sponsor of the Indian team. For Amul, this association would work in two ways: first, allowing it to push its multiple products that have been positioned for the purpose of building stamina and strength and, second, enabling it to encourage aspirants to go out and deliver their best performance at the event.

     

    RS Sodhi

    Speaking on the association, RS Sodhi, managing director, Amul, “Amul is committed to strengthening the Olympic movement in India and encourage young generation from all corners of the country to take up sports in a big way.”

     

    With milk being Amul’s core ingredient, the brand believes that milk is nature’s original energy drink and plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes.

     

    “India is the largest producer of milk in the world and Amul is not only India’s, but Asia’s, largest milk brand. This association, and activities around it, will help in engaging the youth so that they can enjoy a healthy life,” he added.

     

    In fact, this is not the first time that the milk major has stepped up to push for the cause of promoting sports. In 2011, Amul sponsored the Nether lands cricket team in the ICC Cricket World Cup and Switzerland-headquartered Sauber F1 team at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. “We use the opportunities available on local and global scale to associate,” explained Mr Sodhi, on the brand’s recent decisions to associate itself with sporting events. “It is a good and positive association to connect with the youth.”

     

    Helping the brand in its mission is media agency Lodestar UM, which is the media agency on record for the company and has helped the brand associate with sporting events at a global level in the recent past.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qafz4YDG1A[/youtube]

    According to Lodestar UM, such associations will help the brand as India is a young nation with over 60 per cent of the population being below the age of 35 years and sports is a high interest area for them. “Amul has always been involved in raising the bar. The Olympics association has helped place Amul on the global map of international sporting events. We saw a great fit…Amul’s dairy products stand for high energy and complete nourishment and Olympics stand for values like strength, determination, vigour and winning which every person aspires to, and wishes to imbibe and practice in his daily life. We also saw this as an excellent platform for Amul Milk to assert the positioning of ‘World’s original energy drink’,” said Dhruv Jha, business head, Lodestar UM Content & Experiences.

     

    Although the brand has come up with a special campaign on the event for the medium of television, it doesn’t plan to come up with any more. “We are continuing our advertising, but no special Olympics focus has been planned during the Games,” said Mr Jha.

     

    Another motivator, that has always done its bit in raising the awareness levels of Amul with its consumers, will be at it around Olympics too. The eye-catching hoardings that figure the polka-dotted Amul Girl will continue disseminating messages as they always do.

     

    Rahul da Cunha

    According to Rahul daCunha, MD and creative head of daCunha Comminucations which created the Amul Girl, one should keep a catch-out for interesting and tongue-in-cheek hoardings during the period. “We have already started the build-up and there is a scope for many more as the Games have so many aspects and characters to it.”

     

    Mr DaCunha is proud to be associated with the brand and now its association with the world-class games. He added: “What can be more Indian than to support the Indian contingent in the Olympics. It’s a very ‘cool’ and prestigious moment for the brand. In the last year and a half, the brand has been getting allied with activities and events which will help it globally too.”

     

    And the attempt doesn’t end with Olympics. Amul plans to keep associating itself with such major events in the future too. “We will like to associate with any good event/series. Our focus is on the domestic market. But yes, Olympics will help in better brand recognition around the world,” said Mr Sodhi.

     

    Mahesh Ranka

    Mahesh Ranka, founder & CEO, Indus Sports and Sponsorship, feels that since it’s a home-grown brand, such association will help it create a buzz. “During and after the Olympics, when people will read or see about the games, hopefully, Amul as the brand will be on people’s minds. It’s a very good move by the brand and hopefully other corporates will also learn from it.”

     

    Not just the brand recognition, Amul hopes that the Indian contingent will get the country recognized in the world with a good medal tally as well. “Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate. Participation in Olympics is the aspiration of every athlete and with the kind of investments made by our country in this arena to select, nurture and train the best athletes, we are confident that Indian contingent will deliver the best ever performance in the London games and make our country proud.”

     

    So, let’s hope the players take India to new heights at the games while the brand would manage to do its bit and bask in the success as well.

     

  • Vertebrand has announced its JV partnership with Equancy, an International brand, marketing and web analytics/CRM consultancy

    Vertebrand: bringing intellect to brand building

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Vertebrand, a brand value management consultancy, has just upped the ante in the intellect and process-based approach to brand building as it announced its JV partnership with Equancy, an International brand, marketing and web analytics/CRM consultancy.

     

    Giving an understanding on how the latest development will help Vertebrand’s offering, Raghu Viswanath, Founder and Managing Director, Vertebrand, said: “From pure knowledge front, the partnership will help us, apart from CRM, Digital Marketing and Web Analytics. The online marketing being the next big wave to hit the country, the partnership will help us in looking at web in a much more powerful way to reach the customers.”

     

    He added: “The entire online marketing is a science in itself and what we see happening on this front is just tip of the iceberg. The partnership enables us to be well equipped to meet digital needs of brands and offer 360 degree digital media offering. We can learn a lot from them and also will help us with existing deals and create completely new opportunity ourselves.”

     

    They understand that online is not about banners or creating a website but is to marry a person’s online behaviour with offline and deliver solutions accordingly. This would mean analyzing data and that’s where Equancy will play a major role.

     

    The partnership would enable Vertebrand to handle marketing and branding projects for Equancy’s global clientele across India initially, extendable to Middle East and Asia Pacific over time, as Equancy’s exclusive licensee for Asian markets.

     

    Right now the JV is a strategic alliance, but in the long run it is understood that Equancy can take majority stake or completely acquire Vertebrand.

     

    Mr Viswanath is bullish on the India story and is of the opinion that despite the falling GDP, India is still better bet than many western countries. For a player looking for growth there is no option but to look at India and Asia and APAC thereafter. With this JV, Vertebrand will become partner of choice for many brands who look at partnering with Equancy this paving way for manifold growth for both the players.

     

    One has to understand that the offering of Vertebrand is unique as it’s a niche consultancy and will get further enhanced with the JV. Post the development, the agency also started hiring senior resources with global exposure to help them in further building the agency’s equity.

     

    Currently, they have offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Mr Viswanath quips: “Our role is like that of a movie director where we don’t have any portfolio of work to show to our clients as we are not an advertising agency but like the movie director we shape the brands in the right direction.”

     

    “InIndia, paying money for intellect and strategy is not a habit and we are aware of this but we have seen attitude changing as marketers become more conscious of the monies being spent on brand building. Our offering should not be confused with advertising or designing. It could be best described that we come somewhere when between an advertising agency and brand management,” he added.

     

    Vertebrand is recognized as an accredited Brand Valuation specialist. The company works in diverse range of Industries from Retail, FMCG, Pharma, Automobiles, Engineering and Technology.

     

     

  • The new, enhanced version of True Value now allows broadcasters to forecast the viewership of new launches

    Ormax Media to forecast TV viewership using True Value

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ormax Media announced the launch of the new version of its television content testing tool – True Value. Since its launch in 2009, True Value has been the television industry’s certified tool for content pre-testing. The tool has been used to test 146 programs across 19 channels.

     

    The new, enhanced version of True Value now allows broadcasters to forecast the viewership of new launches. The tool is available in three versions – for GEC fiction (Hindi & Regional), for all types of non-fiction (GECs & niche channels) and for kids channel animation content.

     

    True Value has two statistical tests built into its design – Go Or No Go (GONG) Test and Success Test. The GONG Test can be used to decide whether a program should be put on-air at all, while the Success Test can be used to predict if the program will fit the definition of ‘success’, as defined in the context of the genre and the channel.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor, CEO – Ormax Media said: “The previous version of True Value was more directional in nature, while the revamped version is more action-oriented. Its ability to forecast the steady-state viewership of a program makes it extremely useful for taking business decisions in the area of content selection. The television industry has been very supportive of the product, and the new version has been designed to meet their needs even better.”

     

  • This unique and strategic tie-up will see Sur-Kshetra being simulcast on both channels

    Indo-Pak music show to be simulcast on Colors & Sahara One

    By A Correspondent

     

    The broadcast media is going in for interesting alliances. Last year, Star and Zee tied up to forge a distribution alliance. Prior to that Viacom 18 and Sun had got together. Earlier this year, the Star Plus mega-show Satyamev Jayate tied up with Doordarshan for a simulcast. And now Sahara One’s India-Pakistan music show, Sur-Kshetra, will be aired simultaneously on younger but bigger GEC Colors.

    Colors  has announced a first-of-its-kind strategic tie-up with the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Sahara One to simulcast the relatively new singing based reality show – Sur-Kshetra.

     

    Produced by Sahara One, in association with Gajendra ‘Antakshari’ Singh’s Saaibaba Telefilms, Sur-Kshetra will be a cross-border musical battle between the Indian Team, captained by Himesh Reshammiya and the Pakistani Team, captained by Atif Aslam. Evaluating the teams and judging the musical talent will be Asha Bhosle (India), Abida Parveen (Pakistan), and Runa Laila (Bangladesh).

     

    The show will be anchored by actor Ayesha Takia and the  episodes will also have musical stalwarts  like Ghulam Ali, Hadiqa Kiani and Sajjad Ali from Pakistan, and Suresh Wadkar, Ismail Darbar, Alka Yagnik and Sapna Mukherjee from India.

     

    Speaking about the strategic tie-up, Raj Nayak, CEO – Colors, said: “Music has the unique ability to unite people and today, it has brought two channels together. Sur-Kshetra will mark Colors’ foray into the singing non-fiction content segment and we are extremely excited about this new venture. By adding the show to our bouquet of offerings, we are working towards fulfilling our commitment to cohesive viewing, while providing our audiences with unique content keeping them engaged.”

     

    Adding to this, Suresh Mishra, Asst Director, Sahara One said: “With this legendary Indo-Pak musical grandeur, viewers from both the nations and across the globe will witness a new generation of gifted singers. We are very excited about this strategic tie-up with Colors, giving Sur-Kshetra a combination of two large platforms that does justice to the stature of the show”

  • The Media RHYTHM series is a recent initiative by the company to enable participants channelize the thought processes that govern modern day practices in media selling

    Stratagem’s 1-day training for media sellers

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Stratagem Media Pvt. Ltd, led by Mr. Sundeep Nagpal, began as a media planning hub for medium-sized ad agencies in the early 90s and somewhere along the middle of the last decade, it morphed into a media services company.

     

    The ‘Media RHYTHM’ series is a recent initiative by the company to enable participants channelize the thought processes that govern modern day practices in media selling.

     

    The initiative engages experts from the industry who jointly conceive and design such programs over hours of discussion to make them as relevant as possible. RHYTHM is an acronym for Realizing Higher Yields thru’ Talent Harvesting in Media. At another level, the programme also serves to orient the thought process in a particular direction and thereby condition the mind.

     

    Mr. Nagpal believes that such open programs are useful for companies which wish to develop talent and knowledge base of select personnel in their sales departments.

     

    The forthcoming program, to be held on July 21, has been conceived as a single-day workshop titled “ReveNEW Concepts and Ideas”. The modules will focus on concepts that are integral to the media business – media evaluation & utilitarian concepts, as well as the subjective aspects that can be used effectively by sellers.

     

    Facilitators like Madan Sanglikar will administer a module on the applicability of new media for new brand and how media houses can build on it. Bharat Kapadia will stimulate participating sellers to think creatively by involving them with certain exercises.

     

    Suresh Balakrishna will engage participating sellers on how to translate the basic tenets of a brand communication into a media-led solution.

     

  • After calling for a multi agency pitch, Red FM has decided to bring Yang Saints and Warriors on board as their creative partner.

    Yang Saints and Warriors to sing creative tunes for Red FM

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Yang Saints and Warriors will be henceforth handling the creative mandates for Red FM. The win comes after a multi agency pitch that Red FM had called for a couple of months back.

     

    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 agencies participating in the pitch include names like Lowe Lintas, DDB Mudra, Scarecrow Communications, Law &Kenneth and others.

     

    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.

     

     

  • VR Padmanabhan joins RK Swamy Media Group as General Manager, South

    VR Padmanabhan joins RK Swamy Media

    By A Correspondent

     

    VR Padmanabhan joins RK Swamy Media Group as General Manager, South. Mr Padmanabhan has previously worked with MEC Chennai, Mediacom (Group M Singapore), Motivator (Malaysia) and Euro RSCG (Bangalore/Chennai). His last assignment was as an entrepreneur and consultant at Linear Communications

     

    Speaking about this development, Sandeep Sharma, President RK Swamy Media Group said: “Padmanabhan joins our senior management team and has a clear mandate to manage and grow the south market. He has quality experience in the media domain and has worked on FMCG, IT, Telecom, Retail, Auto sectors in India,South East Asia and has considerable experience in managing the south market. His astute understanding of brand needs in the context of media will help offer superior solution to our clients. He will be based out of our Chennai office.”

     

    RK Swamy Media Group comprises of four units – Media Direction, Digital Direction, Hansa Media and Hansa Outdoor. It is part of RK Swamy Hansa, a leading marketing communications and services group, serving over 150 companies in India and the US. With around 1100+ professionals, the Group offers Creative and Media services, Market Research, Direct/CRM & Advanced Analytics, Events and Activation, Healthcare Communication, PR, Social & Rural Communication and more.

     

  • It is India's first single window mobile creative agency

    Mogae launches mobile creative agency ‘Mobocracy’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mogae Media has announced the launch of Mobocracy, India’s first single window mobile creative agency. Headquartered at its Gurgaon offices, the new mobile boutique already has a team of 12 professionals across design, creative, technology and mobile integration.

     

    “The world is getting smaller. At Mobocracy we’ve invested in founding the right skills for optimizing design for the small screen and strengthening communication strategies for this next wave of advertising. We are already working with our diverse portfolio of clients to integrate smart mobile thinking into new and existing campaigns,” said Tanya Goyal, Executive Director of the Mogae Group.

     

    With massive rise in the number of mobile phone users accessing the web on their handhelds, it is very important for a brand to have mobile version and Mobocracy offers top-notch mobile web design services to help a brand reach its target audience that is scattered over many handsets & versions in a unified way.

     

    “It’s hard to believe that as recently as a decade ago; most businesses did not even have a website or, at best, maintained a meagre online presence. Today it is as much a staple of our daily lives as is the personal computer, making it vital for businesses to not only maintain a comprehensive website, but to keep updated with advances in technology that will offer customers easy access to the information they desire. Further the advent of ‘smart phones’ such as the iPhone, Android phone or Blackberry has prompted those in the business of building and hosting websites to explore new technological avenues, leading to the creation of ‘mobile web sites’,” said Tanya Goyal. “Ultimately, mobile websites are a win-win both for clients and consumers – helping to deliver a brand’s message and compelling content to current and potential customers with just a glance at their mobile phone screen.”

     

    Mogae Media, the parent entity of Mobocracy, was set up in October 2011 by veteran ad-man Sandeep Goyal, former JV partner and Chairman of Dentsu India.

     

  • DSP offers transparent automated media buying across multiple sources in real-time

    Marmalade Digital thrusts on Demand Side Platform (DSP)

    By A Correspondent

     

    Marmalade Digital is making use of several technologies plugged together in one platform called Demand Side Platform (DSP). DSP offers transparent automated media buying across multiple sources in real-time.

     

    Buyers have complete control through a web-based interface. DSP is fully transparent and neutral, not favouring any publisher, advertiser or inventory over others. This increased transparency and targeting addresses prevailing disparities in display domain.

     

    Throwing light on Marmalade DSP, Hemant Kumar, founder and chief executive officer, Marmalade Digital said: “Our goal is to be the digital partner who will provides smart media buying insights and optimization to agencies, enabling them to focus more on client strategy, brand building and less on execution of media plan.”

     

    Till date advertisers had access to only reports which tells whether campaign has performed or not. With direct control and full involvement in media buying, advertisers will know exactly what performs best for them and how the performance can be improved. The learning stays with the agency and can be re-used.

     

    “Marmalade DSP is an intelligent media buying platform that will offer value beyond impressions and clicks to its advertisers. To ensure brand safety, Marmalade DSP maintains a strict compliance with IAB standards. Advertiser can also choose type, content and category appropriate for its brand,” he added.

     

  • The Publicis Groupe’s 100 percent acquisition of BBH will not impact India operations, we are told

    It’s business as usual at BBH India

    By A Correspondent

    It is business as usual at BBH India post the agency’s acquisition by Publicis Groupe. The Publicis Groupe which previously held 49 per cent stake in BBH has upped its stake to 100 per cent. In another related development, Publicis Groupe has also acquired 100 percent stake in NEOGAMA/BBH.

     

    Partha Sinha, Managing Partner, BBH India, told MxMIndia: “Nothing changes as far as BBH India is concerned. The shareholding pattern remains the same and we continue to report to BBH global leadership based out of London.”

     

    In an official communique on the BBH site, Nigel Bogle, Founder of BBH, said: “The decision was very clear. We were looking for an opportunity that would ensure that our agency maintained a high degree of autonomy and could continue to abide by the values characterized by the black sheep. The key point for us was the preservation of our operational independence in managing the BBH brand, which has produced almost uninterrupted growth for thirty years. The new ownership not only ensures our autonomy, but brings us considerable advantages through Publicis Groupe’s resources and global infrastructure.”

     

    BBH was launched officially in India in the year 2008 with much fanfare with Priti Nair, Partha Sinha and Subhash Kamath taking the role as managing partners. However, Nair has since moved on to her own venture. Mr Sinha and Mr Kamath continue to steer the India ops.

     

    Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) is known for its creative work. Founded in 1982 by John Bartle, Nigel Bogle and John Hegarty, the agency has been steadily expanding its footprint and now has offices in London, New York, Sao Paolo, Singapore, Shanghai, Los Angeles and Mumbai.

     

    Read Advertising Age interview with Mr Nigel Bogle where he says: “Publicis Groupe can never merge us with another agency. They can’t make us take business we don’t want to. We’re not obliged to pitch for anything. They can’t move us into one of their buildings.”

     

    Link: http://adage.com/article/global-news/questions-bbh-s-nigel-bogle-publicis-deal/235781/