MxMIndia

Category: Awards

  • An eclectic mix of international speakers, top-notch professionals, academics & students did the audience proud, writes Jaisurya Das

    Jaisurya Das: Kappa, Meen Curry & the IAA Summit

    A glimpse from the streetfood festival hosted by Mathrubhumi group on Day 2 of the Summit

     

    By Jaisurya Das

     

    Shah Rukh Khan, Mammooty, Sachin Tendulkar, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev and earthy crooner  Papon topped with pyrotechnics and Kappa – Meen Curry and you have glitz, glamour and intrigue like never before.

     

    Kerala – God’s Own Country – played host last week to over 700 Delegates from all over the country at the Silver Jubilee Summit of the International Advertising Association India Chapter. An eclectic mix of international speakers, top-notch professionals, academicians and students did the audience proud at every session.

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy, IAA India President, welcomed delegates while Faris Abouhamad, Global President and IAA chairman and Pradeep Guha, Summit Chairman & Area Director IAA Asia Pacific, gave their short and crisp Introductions to the Silver Jubilee Summit.

     

    Amitabh Kant; Secretary, Industrial Policy & Promotion , Government of India delivered a keynote address with almost a rehearsed élan. Kerala and tourism have always been synergistic, yet the transition from being known only for Kovalam (The ‘Done to Death’ beach near Thiruvanthapuram ) to a destination that has immense diversity, was a carefully planned strategy. “Brands are made by people,” said Kant.

     

    Now , we have to agree with that don’t we ?

     

    The sheer diverse plethora of eminent speakers (that includes the glam world) who spoke at the Summit rendered it Unique . Srinivasan Swamy and Pradeep Guha gushed about the immense response they got.

     

    While Cindy Gallop (Founder & Former Chair of BBH, USA and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn ) explained the need of a new world order, Paul McCarthy, author of Online Gravity, outlined how gravity giants attracted huge investments . Undoubtedly a reality that was seconded by Abhay Pandey, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital. Simon Kemp, Regional MD, ‘We Are Social’, Singapore, was emphatic about how social will disrupt all the fundamentals of the marketing mix. We would imagine it already has, Simon. We are still trying to find the method in the madness called social!

     

    That’s probably why Sanjiv Puri, President – FMCG, ITC Ltd, felt that building globally acceptable brands wasn’t easy. Understanding the equity of tradition is the essence, remarked Puri.
    A meaty day met its match when the Mathrubhumi group took over the evening and ferried the entire lot of delegates to the boat jetty at Marine Drive. Half-hour later, the boats approached what seemed like an enchanted island. It was Bolgatty, resplendent with exquisite lights and the resonance of the unmistakeable ‘Chhenda , the Traditional Drum.

     

    The overcast skies came alive with the startling pyrotechnics, much like the famed ‘ Trichur Pooram ‘ where neighbouring temples symbolically compete with each other using fireworks. This festival incidentally attracts visitors from across the globe.  More often than once it is the fireworks and the majestic elephants that has the audience spellbound, year after year.

     

    Malayalam film icon Mammooty stole everyone’s heart with his inimitable baritone intonation and sheer presence. Street food in Kerala has its own charm, and the Bolgatty Island came alive with food stalls , picklesellers and the like. All that was served was homecooked or made right there , making it even more authentic and rich in flavour and tradition. Shreyams Kumar of Mathrubhumi played a perfect host and ensured every one was taken care of well.

     

    The third and final day of the Summit was a mixed bag of glamour, intrigue and emotion what with Sachin Tendulkar, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev, Arnab Goswami etc sharing their experiences and views on ‘What’s Coming Next’.

     

    Tendulkar was his calm, composed self, in conversation with Prasoon Joshi. He talked about how a good advertisement could help him in addition to the brand and how he respected his father’s wishes and refused all tobacco and liquor ads. “Let the country talk about the past innings, you think about the next,” he said. ” Take that extra step, don’t give up” was his positive advise to all. The master blaster and Prasoon Joshi handed over the stage to the ever-charismatic spiritual leader Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev.

     

    His deep voice and incisive views enthralled the audience. “Why create the ghost, fight with it most of your life, and then win over it,” remarked Vasudev.  “Success is Joy. ” he said while advising the audience to be positive in life.

     

    Rahul Welde, Vice President-Media , Unilever Asia, Africa, Middle East, Turkey and Russia, was lucid in his talk focussed on the power of custom content. “Don’t be in the advertising business. Be in the content business,” he said with passion. Custom content is the future where speed is the new currency.

     

    One also saw the likes of 21-year-old Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, OYO Rooms, in conversation with Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison. Sameer Nair, the man who brought Koun Banega Crorepati and Amitabh Bachhan to the small screen, and currently Group CEO, Balaji Telefilms, talked about how word of mouth is now word of social!

     

    The Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy was all praise for the IAA for having brought the Summit to Kerala. This, Chandy said, was the largest advertising conference to be held in the State.

     

    The Summit ended with Arnab Goswami talking about how his breed of journalism is disruptive. “You have to be like a pin prick for the society to change.” remarked the Newshour man.

     

    Kerala will indeed a special place in many hearts, be it the Kappa and Meen Curry or the diverse energy that came together for this Summit.

     

  • McCann, BBDO India, DDB Mudra and Miami Ad School Mumbai have made it to the finalists' shortlist at the Clio Awards 2015

    ‘Watch for Nepal’ shortlisted at Clio Awards 2015

    By A Correspondent

     

    McCann, BBDO India, DDB Mudra and Miami Ad School Mumbai with a total of 10 shortlists in their respective categories have put India on the Clio Awards 2015 map.

     

    Along with the Indian advertising giants, a group of three students – Himanish Ashar, Rushad Patel and Sonica Baptist from Miami Ad School Mumbai have been shortlisted in the Student Innovative category with ‘Watch for Nepal’. Watch for Nepal is an action on YouTube. The idea is that when the button “Skip Ad” appears, also appears a button “Watch to donate”, which enables a user to contribute $0.01 to help Nepal every time an ad is watched.

     

    “It is an incredible achievement for Miami Ad School Mumbai and we are extremely proud of our students for raising the bar and setting standard for innovation and creativity. The nomination is a source of great pride and shows our commitment to creating the best possible intersection of education and real world experience for students. I wish them all the best,” said Sunitha Suresh, Dean, Miami Ad School Mumbai.

     

    Winners of the Clio Awards will be announced in the week of September 14th

     

  • Achieves Limca Book of Records for first crowd sourced National Anthem for the Indian Armed forces

    Tata Salt ‘Desh Ka Salaam, Sarhad Ke Naam’ campaign bags multiple accolades

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Salt, a pioneer in the Indian branded salt market, rang in the 69th Independence Day of the country by paying a heartfelt tribute to the Indian Army through a record-breaking campaign called ‘Desh Ka Salaam, Sarhad Ke Naam’.  Dedicated to the jawans at Siachen who unfalteringly perform their duties under harsh conditions, the campaign carries forth the brand’s philosophy and celebrates the Real Heroes who selflessly serve the Nation and its people.

     

    Tata Salt’s ‘Desh ka Salaam, Sarhad ke Naam’ initiative was a 360 degree integrated campaign which invited nationwide participation through radio, social media and out of home activities. The campaign paved a two-way communication highway by successfully using social media to capture the gratitude of the civilians for the jawans, as well as the emotions of the jawans at the border. The campaign created two Guinness World Records for the loudest crowd-sourced ‘Jai Hind’ at 122.2 decibel level, under the category ‘Loudest Indoor Shout’ as well as the ‘Longest line of postcards’ with a chain of 6400 hand written messages and postcards from the nation to the Indian Armed Forces. Further, the crowd sourced National Anthem sung by over 76310 people for the soldiers was also conferred by the Limca Book of Records for being the first such initiative of its kind.

     

    The campaign used social media to encourage consumers to post Salute Selfies, and engage with consumers on the selfless service of our jawans. Tata Salt partnered with 92.7 Big FM to collect messages from listeners through a week long radio campaign called the Big Paigaam which panned across 40 cities. The first ever live radio station was set up at Siachen border to enable live feeds of the Independence Day celebrations to be sent across to the nation. This also enabled the soldiers’ families to send their well wishes to the sons of the nation who, otherwise survive in an area with zero connectivity to the world.

     

    With over 5.3 lakh consumer participation through social media alone, the campaign received an incredible response with an outpour of messages for the soldiers. The ‘Desh ka Salaam Selfie’ contest received 825 selfie posts on Facebook, along with posts from celebrities like Sanjeev Kapoor. The campaign’s Facebook fan base grew to 11,290 in just 9 days of its commencement, garnering a total of 234,714 interactions through likes, comments and shares. The campaign gained 3,224,607 impressions on Facebook alone, and 326,000 impressions on Twitter. Through outdoor activities across high footfall areas, the campaign reached out to 76,310 people through cinema halls, and 1500 students through schools and colleges. A special AV created on the campaign went viral over social media, gaining 158,300 views within two days over Facebook and YouTube.

     

    To convey the nation’s heartfelt gratitude to the jawans, Tata Salt created a montage of all the messages received through selfies, handwritten messages, videos and social media posts, and played it for the soldiers at the Siachen border. Again, facilitating two-way communication, Tata Salt captured the soldiers’ ecstatic reactions and appreciation on seeing the video and posted it on the Facebook page, thus making it a remarkable celebration not only for the soldiers but also the consumers.

     

    Talking about the success of the campaign, Richa Arora, COO – Consumer Product Business, Tata Chemicals, said, “Tata Salt has evolved from being a packet of salt to being known as ‘Desh Ka Namak’. The ‘Desh Ka Salaam’ Independence Day campaign is dedicated to the soldiers who selflessly safeguard the nation. Through this campaign what we simply did was connect millions of people to the soldiers located at the highest peak – Siachen. The response was over whelming not just for us but also for the Real Heroes.”

     

    For over a decade now, Tata Salt has lived up to the image of being the ‘Desh ka Namak’ and has unflinching faith in the people of India who manifest the values of honesty, integrity and loyalty to the nation in their everyday behavior. Staying true to the values of the brand, it was yet another successful initiative for ‘Desh ka Namak’.

     

     

     

  • The OSM awards, in partnership with Creatigies Communciations, will be formally launched in New Delhi

    Outlook announces launch of Social Media Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    To mark the 20th anniversary celebrations, Outlook magazine has announced the launch of India’s first social media awards. Outlook Social Media Awards or OSM Awards is the first initiative by a mainstream media organization to honour the stars and superstars of the social media world, and will be an annual event.

     

    Aimed at recognizing and rewarding the Outspoken, the Outstanding, and the Outliers of the social media universe, OSM awards will acknowledge stellar work by individuals, brands and corporations across categories.

     

    The OSM awards, in partnership with Creatigies Communciations, will be launched in New Delhi. The launch event will see the nominees and the jury being announced.

     

    “With OSM awards, we hope to bring the same level of integrity and credibility that ‘Outlook’ as a national media vehicle has built up and enjoyed over its first 20 years,” said Krishna Prasad, Editor-in-Chief, Outlook.

     

    “Creatigies has always prided itself on creating out-of-the box opportunities for brands and OSM awards is an exciting journey we are delighted to embark on with Outlook,” said Navroze D. Dhondy, Founder & Managing Director, Creatigies. “We are confident that OSM will become the definitive and most ‘awesome’ awards in the social media space.”

     

  • On Emvies Day, a look at how the case study presentations are essential for young & aspiring professionals

    How Emvies Case Studies Rule for Young Pros

     

    By Shephali Bhatt

     

    The Ad Club is celebrating ’15 Glorious Years of Emvies’ this year. Emvies doesn’t just award excellence in media planning, it celebrates the business of communication. It sees expats tweaking flight schedules to make sure they’re present to cheer their network. The energy, in all these years, has been infectious to say the least. But do the case study presentations, get the same love? Let’s find out: Just a day before the presentations, we saw this tweet on our timeline: https://twitter.com/S_kotnala/status/637942894318485504

     

    We agree time is a luxury not many media professionals have but INTRADIA consulting’s Kotnala, an ex-media man himself, makes a valid point. The case study presentations were spread over five days this year with at least 30 cases presented everyday. That’s great wealth of information for agencies (and their competition.) Or as Punitha Arumugam, agency director of media business at Google India and chief organiser of Emvies puts it, “Attending Emvies case study presentation is like going to a classroom.” Now, the choice between sitting in a classroom and attending a party is easy. But making a difficult choice might ensure a better reason to party next year, no?

     

    The participation has only improved over the years, says Arumugam, adding that most attendants are perhaps busy rehearsing for their presentations which is why you see lesser people in the room sometimes. But that’s a sign of how seriously they take their job at the dais. “We have to devise ways to get all of them back in the room though,” she admits.

     

    Come One, Come All

    Shekhar Banerjee, SVP and head – media at Madison Media Infinity and Pinnacle, observed a poor turnout on Day 1 but attributed it to inertia. “You always have a full house for prestige categories like Strategy and Integrated,” he points out. Perhaps the categories can be better arranged, he suggests, so that not all important ones fall on the same day. He also suggests that 24 Frames Digital – the live webcasting platform for the event – should employ two cameras instead of one, so the viewer sitting in his office can get a better sense of what’s happening. But as long as you can, try and attend the presentation event. More than anything, it allows for interactions with jury members and a sense of what’s being appreciated in real time.

     

    The Jury Has Spoken
    The teams’ presentation skills have been the jury’s pet peeve. It’s not so much about accent and intonation as it is about content and confidence. Says Aditya Save, CMO of Shaadi.com and one of the jurors, “The teams indulge in a kind of jingoism that doesn’t help. They should remember who they’re finally presenting to – the judges.”

     

    (We) Can Do Better
    Nikhil Mayne, senior director of branded content at GroupM was one of the presenters this time. He admitted a lot of presentations could be guilty of taking a page out of a dated soap opera script. And then there were those loaded with numbers corroborating the belief: If you can’t convince them, confuse them. “I think we tend to get lost in parameters like ‘reach’ and other numbers when mediums like digital go way beyond that. They are about being able to talk to the right user without causing spillage,” he admits.

     

    Even the analytics data category was marred by similar issues which led to it having a slightly soporific effect on some audience members. “For a data-driven industry, it’s ironic how poor our understanding of using data is,” he adds. Mayne points to an IBM case study they were hoping would win in the data category which fetched a shortlist in ‘social media’ instead. In the next four years, he hopes data will become the most sought after category.
    For all that, the Emvie presentations are unique: perhaps the only opportunity for young media folk to hone skills that will certainly be useful during pitches or even workaday presentations. They may create a next generation of media folk who are a lot more confident and articulate than their creative peers – considering the Effies have scrapped live presentations after trying them out for a year.

     

    Between the occasionally lame gags, jokes and inter-agency sniping, there’s often an undeniable youthful exuberance. The best presentations – which may or may not coincide with the most compelling cases – allow young media folk to actually practice one of the most abused words in the business – storytelling.

     

    Pick from the shorlisted case studies

    Colgate Palmolive: ‘Sugar Receipt’

    Agency: MEC

    Category: Best Media Innovation – Events/Experiential Marketing and Best Media Innovation – Direct Marketing

    To catch the attention of customers who actually bother to check their bill, Colgate seeded sugar receipts along with grocery bills at select malls. This was to highlight the danger of cavity owing to the extra sugar in their grocery items. Based on the sugar content, consumers were given adequate discounts on Colgate maximum cavity protection toothpaste. The presentation showed a Bengali couple fighting over extra sugar in their bill which was thoroughly entertaining. On day two, the couple was accompanied by a rat on stage but that didn’t deter their enthralling performance. As they say, the show must go on!

     

    Lenskart: Eye for an Eye

    Agency: DDB Mudra Group
    Category: Best Media Innovation – Events/Experiential

    Lenskart organised an eye donation camp specifically inviting transgenders, right after the Supreme Court awarded them equal status as the male and female community. The presentation centered around the thought – ‘Those who can’t see being helped by those who can’t be seen.’

     

    Ariel: Share the load

    Agency: Mediacom
    Category: Best Integrated Campaign – Consumer Products and Best Media Innovation – Branded Content

    Ariel’s claim to have removed the stain of inequality in one wash with ‘Share the load’ was well received by the audience. Bonus points for not dishing out the same presentation on different days given it was nominated in multiple categories. And it’s not just the presentation that shone through, the product sales went up by 60 per cent, they claim.

     

    Lenovo: By Gamers for Gamers

    Agency: Mindshare
    Category: Best Media Innovation – Digital – Video

    Lenovo got top gamers to influence the gaming ecosystem about Lenovo products that have a good processor, illuminated keyboard, high-res display, better sound – all necessary armoury for a dedicated gamer. Where most entries in the digital category spoke about reach, this one made a strong case of using the medium to talk to the right set of people to avoid spillage. The result? Lenovo experienced an 80 per cent increase in traffic on its online store.

     

    Zee News: The Misunderstood Scoreboard

    Agency: DDB Mudra Group
    Category: Best Media Innovation – Out of Home

    15th Feb: India against Pakistan, ICC World Cup. Zee News installed four billboards, one each in J&K, New Delhi, Lahore and Karachi. They looked like manual scoreboards. Only instead of showing the runs each team made, they ended up clocking the total number of lives lost in all the India-Pak battles since 1947. The message: When lives are lost, no one wins. The activity garnered half a million views.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The third edition of the special focus on digital brought together leading influentials to showcase the future of digital and explore this year’s theme, 'What pumps your heart'

    Digital is focus on Day 1 of Kyoorius fest

    By A Correspondent

     

    The three-day Kyoorius Designyatra started in Goa with the first day dedicated to digital with the IAA Kyoorius Digiyatra.

     

    The third edition of the special focus on digital brought together leading influentials to showcase the future of digital and explore this year’s theme, ‘What pumps your heart’.

     

    Moderated by Laura Jordan Bambach (of the agency Mr President) and Kevin Finn (from TheSumOf), the day of talks explored the immense and untapped possibilities in the digital space, and many of the speakers touched on ways in which it can touch people’s lives and make them a little easier. Nick Law, Global Chief Creative Officer, R/GA, started the day, explaining R/GA’s model of combining narratives with systematic thinking, or data and story to create impactful campaigns. Daan Lucas and Mike Pelletier (both of Random Studio) caught the audience’s attention with beautiful imagery and installations created for brands that combine art, technology and design. Bambach followed with her philosophy on how to keep work interesting rather than following the norms. She touched on Mr President’s take on social media through the Bacardi campaign.

     

    Satya Raghavan (Head of Content Operations, YouTube India) had the delegates entertained post-lunch with his insights into what people are really watching online. Next up, in a special session titled “What can digital do?”, MukeshJha and Janardan Prasad, co-founders of Autowale, had the spotlight on an app that can provide a sustainable income to rickshaw drivers. Nishant Patni, founder of CultureAlley talked about his app, Hello English, which is teaching millions of Indians how to speak English by localising the experience for different languages and contexts. Lydia Winters from Mojang, makers of the incredibly successful game, Minecraft, talked about how the game is building communities online and effecting change in real life, through their collaboration with UN Habitat, Block by Block.

     

    The last speaker of the day, John McHale, who heads the Experience Design Practive at digital media major SapientNitro, took the audience through his journey from college football to band member to designer and the four pillars that keep him inspired.

     

    Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder CEO of Kyoorius,said that some 1650 delegates were in attendance on the three days of the event with 31 speakers. What gives Kejriwal satisfaction is the presence of over 400 delegates from amongst corporate and advertisers. “Delegates will hopefully leave today with many ideas and insights on how to make the most of digital, and one of the themes today was the need to humanise it and bring it into the physical world. I’m looking forward to the next two days ahead,” he said.

     

    The three-day Kyoorius Designyatra ends on Saturday, September 12, with the British art and advertising body D&AD-backed awards for design.

     

  • We saw a rare public display of emotions from GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas in the Mindshare victory celebrations on Emvies 2015 night

    We are all winners: CVL Srinivas

    Your position would be like that of Serena and Venus Williams’ father – to have one daughter win and the other lose, isn’t it?

    For me, I think, we are all winners. All [the agencies have] done extremely well and at the end of the day, one agency has to come out as a winner, and it happened to be Mindshare. Maxus, I thought, put up a tough fight and ended up in the Top Three. What’s heartening to know is that we did well across agencies and across clients. Overall, it’s been a fabulous night and we’re going to party hard.

     

    What do you think led to Mindshare gaining the No 1 spot?

    Mindshare had a fabulous body of work, not just across clients, but also across all the different categories. They’ve really managed to institutionalise excellence across the entire agency. Mindshare is India’s No 1 standalone agency. But when you become No 1 and keep winning, it’s also challenging to keep the team motivated and continue to do well, year after year. That’s something that’s there in the DNA of Mindshare. They have a new leader in Prashant Kumar who took over the reins at Mindshare a few months ago, and I think that has brought in a lot more energy and passion. They’re growing from strength to strength.

     

    Madison gave a pretty good fight at the end?

    The Emvies night is really the big night for all of us in the media industry and it’s the most looked-forward-to event in the year for all the boys and girls who toil very hard in the office every day. There’s been a lot of build up and anticipation in the last few weeks. Of course, Mindshare had a lot of shortlists, so they were expecting to do well. But as we’ve seen in the past, it’s not necessary that the agency with a lot of shortlists will win the Agency of the Year title. But I think they managed to pull through in the end by quite a healthy margin. Madison also did pretty well. In fact, there was great work, not just from Madison, but some of the other agencies as well. So we need to ensure that we don’t get complacent. We have to come back next year and try to do even better.

     

    What were the trends that you could see from the results of this year?

    Winning an award has become important not just for agencies, but also clients. Today, we find a lot of our clients telling us to work hard and to actually get them fame as well. All the hype that goes into awards in our industry, is actually helping the fraternity raise the bar in terms of quality of work. And today, we’re getting a lot more support from our clients and partners. A good thing that was done this year was that there was a recognition for media partners too at the Emvies. So it’s good if all stakeholders are celebrated equally because all of us come together to create great work.

     

    What would be your message to the team at Maxus?

    Maxus has won many titles in the past and continues to do well in many other awards. I’m sure they’ll be a tad disappointed for having come close and still not winning the Agency of the Year title. But knowing Maxus, I’m sure they’re going to go back and put shoulder to the wheel and try and come out Number One next year.

     

  • A quick chat with Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Mindshare South Asia after Mindshare won the Agency of the Year title at Emvies 2015

    This is something which belongs to us: Prasanth Kumar on Emvies win

    After last year’s loss to Maxus, this must be a huge win, right?

    Last year was just an aberration. It was one of those years when probably a ‘no ball’ situation happened. This is something which belongs to us.

     

    What does an Emvie mean to successful media agency like Mindshare?

    It means a lot to us. Wherever we’ve demonstrated our work, it’s been acknowledged by most of our clients. As you’ve seen, we’ve won awards across different categories and clients. That shows that a lot of team effort goes into every single brand. We’re quite happy with our performance and we’re going to celebrate hard.

     

    And how do you think clients view wins?

    I’m sure clients appreciate great work on their brand, and the fact that we can provide solutions. Clients do get attracted to the best of talent, the best of the tools and the best of products and processes. And this is one display of how great things happen and it’s a no-brainer: Clients see lot more meaning in working with teams like this.

     

    Maxus won last year but couldn’t beat you this year. Madison almost got there. The competition out there is quite stiff. So what’s your mantra going to be for Emvies 2016?

    For us, it’s simple: Every work needs to be the best work. And for us, it’s not the competition. We need to be shaping the market. We are the leader by a large margin and it’s because of a lot more talent focusing on lot more great work. That shows in every single research that we’re doing. We want to ensure that every single brand that we work on, gets more success. For us, that is the bigger [aspect of] pride. And this is just encouraging us to do that.

     

    For you personally, it’s a big night, right?

    This team in Mindshare is one of the best in whatever it does. I feel lucky to have been able to facilitate this entire thing. I’m looking to do this magic more and more, and even better it. It’s just proving to me that I’ve been able to facilitate this, and it’s just the beginning.

     

  • Madison may have been runner-up at the Emvies 2015, but Chairman Sam Balsara was visibly content with his agency network's performance

    We’ve finally understood the awards code: Sam Balsara

    So near, but yet so far?

    On the contrary, it’s more like going from nowhere to somewhere. I’m personally delighted that we made it to the runners-up Emvie of The Year because the way it started, it was a little scary for us. It’s been a fantastic season for us on the whole. I think Madison has finally understood the awards code. We always knew we were very good at our work, but somewhere in our awards entries, something was lacking.

     

    You think sending entries from various Madison arms as one unit may have helped?

    In a way you could say that. We persuaded a lot of our people to give up on their tags. But I think our performance tonight has been better than it has ever been in the past. We’ve always been in the Top Three. But this time in the Emvies, we were at Number Two for the first time.

     

    What does an award like this mean for an agency which is well-known for its work?

    It doesn’t mean too much but also means a lot because it energises us and gladdens our heart to see that we’re being recognised. Unlike some other agencies, Madison won these awards for a large number of clients. What delights me is that we’re producing outstanding work, not for one or two clients, but we won today for Mondelez, Asian Paints, Marico and Godrej. For Cadbury, we had eight in the shortlist, and converted all eight. For Marico, we had 11 in the shortlist and converted eight. So our track record tonight has been rather good.

     

    Now the challenge is to maintain this pace…

    Yes, that indeed is a challenge but I think we’re up to it. We’re doing lots of things at Madison. In fact, as we speak, we’ve launched a massive programme called Madison Next. We flagged off one of the first big initiatives of Madison Next, which is a four-day programme on digital. There are about 75 people going through a four-day programme on adopting digital as a way of life.

     

  • And this is how the various Agencies and Clients stacked up in the Emvies 2015 results

    EMVIES 2015: Points tally for Agencies & Clients

     

  • Clearly, someone from Ad Club ought to have been more responsible, and swung into action. And not just because there were journalists involved, but it could have been anyone

    Journo assaulted outside Emvies venue, Ad Club biggies accused of casual response

    By A Correspondent

     

    On Friday night, soon after the last of the Emvies 2015 awards was presented and dinner was served, three journalists left the venue and move to the cab stand, with one of them – Shibani Gharat of CNBC – being assaulted by a person who was at the venue and who hit one the journalist saying she had slapped him at the Emvies venue.

     

    The matter has been widely posted, commented on and reported at least in one newspaper – Mumbai Mirror. Ad Club President Pratap Bose has been quoted in the report.

     

    Deplorable. Sad. Scary.

     

    One of the journalists who accompanied the journalist – Pritha Mitra Dasgupta – assaulted has now spewed on Bose.

     

    We think things are going out of hand now, and it requires intervention of a senior industryperson. Former Ad Club president Shashi Sinha, who is out of the country, has promised action on his Facebook posts. Perhaps Dentsu Aegis chief Ashish Bhasin, who is among the agency biggies, who has expressed his support for the journalists, should step in.

     

    Clearly, someone from Ad Club ought to have been more responsible, and swung into action. And not just because there were journalists involved, but it could have been anyone. I am told that one of the top officebearers was attending to four women who had passed out.  What about the others?

     

    Fountainhead, the agency, which gave out the pass to the assailant, deserves a sack for this. Just a reprimand or the sacking of the employee who gave out the pass won’t do. Yes, Brian Tellis is a permanent fixture at all Ad Club awards and is good at his job, but they can keep him for the emceeing. His company needs to go.

     

    Meanwhile, media entities sending out journalists for late-night assignments need to be alert on the safety of their employees. What’s happened to the threesome on Friday evening could happen to anyone.

     

    For, as Prasad Sangameshwaran, the other journalist who was with Shibani and Pritha, commented to a post, “The most shocking part of this entire incident is the attitude of senior ad men and a large media agency, that was chasing us for good media coverage just a couple of hours before the incident. We always suspected that they are fair weather friends. Last night confirmed our suspicion. They chickened out and how!” Fair weather indeed. Am sure some of them will rush to Pritha Mitra Dasgupta for that exclusive in ET soon!

     

    Read:

    Shibani Gharat’s post on Facebook:

    I was walking out of Ad Club’s Emvies event with two fellow journalists Pritha Mitra Dasgupta and Prasad Sangameshwaran when at the exit gate of Phoenix Mills a random guy came from behind and started stabbing and hitting me on my left shoulder with his arm. He claimed that I slapped him-which is untrue as I spent my entire evening with Prasad and Pritha at the event and hadn’t seen this person ever in my life. We called the Phoenix security officials to first take charge of the guy-who showed no sign of being sorry. Then we informed the police and the police arrived. The most shocking part about this whole incident was that the guy was present at the event. He had an official event pass. He is a peon at some garment company in bandra. What business does he have attending an ad industry event. So, when the police probed it was found out that the guy had been given a pass by a member of the event management company Fountainhead as the culprit insisted that he wanted to visit such an event. ‘MAJOR SECURITY LAPSE’. Why can’t the organisers have every member scanned who enters the event, just like any other event.

     

    Now, if this is not enough when this incident happened two people present with me Pritha and Prasad tried reaching out to a few senior ad club committee members neither of them came forward to even come and see what has happened. No one accompanied us to the police station to lodge an FIR. They sent a few students who stay around lower parel to the police station. I am amazed by this gesture.

     

    Now, I have finally filed an FIR against the person whom I absolutely don’t know from anywhere who just randomly came a hit me. Hope to get justice.

     

    Pritha Mitra Dasgupta’s post on Brand Equity website: http://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/media/shock-and-horror-at-the-emvies-journalist-assaulted-by-drunken-goon-after-security-lapse/48934863

     

    Part of Pritha Mitra Dasgupta’s post on Facebook:

    @pratapbose: I did not call you to provide medical aid for Shibani. I called you because we were alone and helpless and didnt know what to do. I trusted you more and therefore I called you before calling the cops. I think 11.30 pm to 3 am was a really long time to turn around your car and come and stand by us. I want to know what would you have done if your daughter were in a similar situation? In the last couple of months me and Economic Times provided you relentless support to fight your cause. The least you could have done is show up. I am shocked and hurt beyond repair. This enquiry has actually opened a can of worms which we publish soon.

     

    Prasad Sangameshwaran’s Facebook comment:

    The most shocking part of this entire incident is the attitude of senior ad men and a large media agency, that was chasing us for good media coverage just a couple of hours before the incident. We always suspected that they are fair weather friends. Last night confirmed our suspicion. They chickened out and how!

     

    Mumbai Mirror report:

    http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/Man-arrested-for-attacking-woman-scribe-at-ad-event/articleshow/48951630.cms

     

    Kalyan Kar comment on the incident on BestMediaInfo:

    http://www.bestmediainfo.com/2015/09/commentary-ad-clubs-emvies-night-of-shame-as-shibani-gharat-is-assaulted/

     

  • McCann, DDB Mudra and Miami Ad School Mumbai bagged a total of seven metals at Clio Awards 2015

    Miami Ad School Mumbai bags Clio Silver

    By A Correspondent

     

    A group of three students from Miami Ad School Mumbai developed a campaign “Watch for Nepal” aimed at getting donations for victims of the Nepal earthquake through YouTube channel in a most innovative way. The idea is that when the button “Skip Ad” appears, along with it appears a button “Watch to donate”, which enables a user to contribute $0.01 to help Nepal every time an ad is watched.  Sonica Baptist, Rushad Patel and Himanish Ashar, three young advertising minds from Miami Ad School, Mumbai have put India on the winning list by competing with entries from around the world to win Silver under the Student Innovative category for product/service at Clio Awards, touted as one of the highest honors in the field of advertising. They are the only students from Mumbai to be competing with cities like Oslo, Miami and Seoul to name a few.

     

    Sunitha Suresh, Dean, Miami Ad School Mumbai while applauding her students said “It is a matter of great pleasure for Miami Ad School Mumbai and we are extremely proud of our students. I am sure this will inspire many others in the field of advertising. We at Miami Ad School always strive to guide, support and encourage our students so that they are well prepared to scale the heights of the advertising world.”

     

    About the campaign idea, Himanish says “After Nepal was hit with a massive earthquake, we noticed something really interesting – big brands were bringing the world together. Think of the world’s most visited websites today, Facebook and Google and they were the first ones coming to the rescue of Nepal and other areas affected by calamities using the safety check notification and person finder. Then it struck us that the world’s second largest video search engine, YouTube, could easily make a strong impact with just one simple change in human behavior.”

     

    On winning, Sonica says, “Awards are a great motivation and they help showcase your work to an international audience. At this point we are looking for this idea to live beyond award recognition. We are trying hard to get it executed. This can actually make a huge difference and it would be interesting to see brands and people come together to help solve world problems.”

     

    Rushad joins the advertising world from an entirely different career. He says “Coming from a different background did scare me at the start. But Miami Ad school is the perfect place or should I say perfect playground that helps you develop your game. The greatest assets of Miami Ad School are its teachers. The sheer encouragement and guidance given by them pushes our ideas to a level where even the world may take notice. We acknowledge the efforts of our mentors, Raj Deepak Das and Manasvi Abrol who have guided us in the right direction and this would have not been possible without their support.”