MxMIndia

Category: Awards

  • … and some entertainment and cricket as well

    Knowledge sessions, masterclasses & entertainers rule Day 3 of Goafest 2024…

    Ahead of a day of knowledge seminars and masterclasses, singer Harshdeep Kaur started the proceedings. This was followed by a session titled.

     

    Indian Women Harnessing the Power Of Identity. This panel discussion saw playback singer Shilpa Rao, film-maker Alankrita Shrivastava, actor Tamannaah Bhatia, content creator and Prajakta Koli. Ambika Muttoo, Editor-In-Chief of Femina, was moderator of the session.

     

    An interesting session titled Secrets of Longevity: Adapting our lifestyles to increase our ‘Healthspan’ saw Dr Marcus RannJey – Founder and CEO, Human Edge speaking with moderator – Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Groupe, South Asia.

     

    This was followed by a keynote by titled Do More With Conversations, delivered by Gaurav Jeet Singh, Head of Agency Business, India, at Meta.

     

    The first half also saw a WARC masterclass by Sujeet Kulkarni titled The Anatomy of Effectiveness. Another masterclass titled Meta Creative Shop x WhatsApp: Getting Creative with Conversations was presented by Varun Goswami. And then there was Jo Jackson, CEO of D&AD, delivering a masterclass on Unpacking Brand Iconicity.

     

    The second half of Day 3 started with a seminar titled Customer-Centric Adaptability; Meeting Shifting Expectations; Maintaining Customer Loyalty in a Dynamic Environment, focusing on meeting shifting expectations and maintaining customer loyalty in a dynamic environment. Leading the discussion was Tarun Puri, Senior Operating Partner at Lighthouse Funds, Asha Kharga, Chief Customer & Brand Officer at Mahindra Group, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Founder & MD at Roy Kapur Films, with senior journalist Anuradha SenGupta as moderator.

     

    The next session, titled The Art of Storytelling, was conducted by journalist and radio presenter Neelesh Misra. This was followed by a session titled Adaptability And Innovation: The Cornerstones Of A Future-Ready Agency featuring Anusha Shetty, Chairperson & Group CEO of Grey Group, India; Jitendra Dabas, Chief Operating Officer & CSO, India, Head of Effectiveness, APAC, McCann WorldGroup and Babita Baruah, Chief Executive Officer of VML India. Moderating the discussion was Dheeraj Sinha, Group CEO for India and South Asia at FCB Group India.

     

    Another panel titled Evolving Market Landscape: Navigating The New Normal saw Shashank Srivastava, Member of the Executive Committee at Maruti Suzuki, and Sunil Kataria, Chief Executive Officer of Raymond Lifestyle (India & International) as speakers with journalist Anuradha SenGupta moderating the session.

     

    OOH took centrestage with a session titled Adapting to be accountable featuring Darshana Shah, Head of Marketing & Customer Experience at Aditya Birla Capital, Pawan Bansal, COO of Jagran Engage & Chairman of IOAA (Indian Outdoor Advertising Association); Noomi Mehta, Chairman of the Board at Selvel One Group; and Jahan Mehta, Chief Growth Officer at Oap Mediatech. Sam Balsara, Founder, Chairman & MD of Madison World & Madison Communications, moderated the session.

     

    The next two sessions featured cricket and cinema. The session titled Embracing Change: Lessons from The Field to Life featured Sourav Ganguly alongside journalist Boria Majumdar who was moderator. And then a session titled The Art Of Adaptability: From Real Life to Reel Life featuring actor Manoj Bajpayee alongside Prasoon Joshi, CEO and CCO of McCann World Group India who was moderator.

     

    There were many masterclasses held as well. These being:

    by Yagnesh Ravi and Srivatsan Jayasankar on GenZ Marketing 101: The Snap Camera.

    by Ranjan Mishra and Rahul Singh on Elevating Your Digital Marketing Strategy with AI

    by Jayesh Moorjani on Youtube Shorts

    and lastly by Lisa Evans and Paul Drake on Unlocking Award Winning Ideas.

  • It will be presented on October 1, 2024

    Piyush Pandey honoured with Created for Creatives LIA Legend Award

    Piyush Pandey, former Global Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy, will be accepting the Created for Creatives LIA Legend Award onsite, in Las Vegas on October 1, 2024.  Also in attendance will be the LIA Jurors, onsite Creative LIAisons attendees and speakers and global press.

    Notes a communique we have received: “The LIA Legend Award is given to a leader of the industry, past or present, who through their talent, vision and generosity has demonstrated outstanding creativity. They are those who are relentless and unwavering in their commitment to build up the industry through their indefatigable mentoring, teaching and developing of others. London International Awards (LIA), is pleased to honour Piyush Pandey with its 2024 LIA Legend Award. As the man who put Indian advertising on the world map, Piyush is the second creative giant to be bestowed this prestigious award by LIA. He was appointed the Executive Chairman of Ogilvy India in 2004. He also went onto serve as Global Chief Creative Officer for two and a half years. In January 2024, he stepped into an advisory role.”

    Pandey has been with Ogilvy since 1982 and has served as the Executive Chairman of Ogilvy India from 2004 to 2023.  On January 1, 2024, he stepped into the role of Chief Advisor Ogilvy India.  He continues to serve on the Ogilvy Worldwide Creative Council.

  • Grand Prix winners for the WARC Awards 2024

    Leo Burnett Mumbai wins two Grands Prix for Effectiveness

    The WARC Awards for Effectiveness 2024, in association with Lions, have been announced. And India leads with two Grands Prix, both awarded to Leo Burnett Mumbai. The awards honour the best marketing campaigns from across the globe that deliver strategic brilliance and effective impact to drive commercial success. Six Grands Prix have been awarded following a rigorous judging process and much deliberation by a super jury made up of all 12 regional jury chairs representing Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Latin America and North America.

    Selected from 22 regional gold-winning entries, the Grands Prix showcase the best work of how marketers are driving growth across different sectors and audiences and for local and global brands. Agenices from Australia, Brazil, Spain and Sweden each win one metal. Only our own Leo Burnett has bagged two metals.

    Said Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer, Kruger Products, Canada, and Chair of the Global Grand Prix jury: “It was my privilege to lead such a disciplined, accountable jury that held work to the highest standards. Our decisions were guided by the data and the Creative Effectiveness Ladder and we were rigorous in seeking only to recognise those campaigns that unquestionably connected their objectives to strong results and demonstrated long-lasting impact for brands and society. Anyone awarded a Grand Prix by this jury is a true Grand Prix winner, the best of the best, and I congratulate them all.”

    Added John Bizzell, Awards Lead, WARC: “The six Grand Prix winners that our super jury lasered in on from the hundreds of entries judged this year are superb additions to WARC’s library of effectiveness and really set the bar for the quality of work brands and agencies need to create to compete for these awards. I’m excited to share them with the world and see what they inspire in the future.”

    The two Grand Prix for Leo Burnett are:

    Cultural Impact Grand Prix: ‘Changing the education system to keep girls in school’ for Whisper by Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India

    Feminine hygiene brand Whisper helped girls remain in school in India with an educational lobbying campaign that broke the taboos around menstruation. Society’s silence surrounding periods had resulted in their omission from school science books. Following the campaign, the Indian government has committed to adding in the missing chapter.

    Commenting on the campaign, Kevin Mercer, Director, Brand Strategy, Expedia Group – UK, said: “This campaign demonstrated a simplicity in its strategic thinking. Rather than directly advertise feminine hygiene products, it filled a gap in education about menstruation for young women and girls that the jury found incredibly smart. There was real care and craft in how Whisper and Leo Burnett got it to market, which made it a clear Grand Prix winner. A lot of things are happening around the world, like book bans and removing access to education and knowledge, and this is the sort of campaign that sets us up for a better future.”

    Use of Data Grand Prix: ‘Democratising technology to help farmers fight climate change’ for Lay’s by Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India

    To grow preference and penetration in India, potato chip manufacturer Lay’s created a data-driven initiative to protect its supply chain by helping farmers identify and respond to weather hazards to prevent crop loss. As a result, potato yields increased by 25%, boosting farmers’ income by $55/acre; preference grew 10bps and penetration grew by 8bps.

    Said Sindhuja Rai, CEO, Wavemaker – Singapore: “The Lay’s campaign is a powerful concept – leveraging their data has driven immediate value for farmers in their supply chain, but the potential if this technology were cascaded across the globe is immense. They Defined the objectives clearly and over-delivered on almost all KPIs. That, and the greater good this could do for humanity, made this a clear Grand Prix winner.”

    The Grands Prix winners were first revealed on Thursday via The Effectiveness Show part one. The Effectiveness Show part two will include interviews and insights from the Grand Prix winners, and will be available on June 27.

  • The awards were for the Jindal Steel ’Steel of India’ ad

    W+K mulls legal action given no credit in Earlyman’s twin wins @ Cannes

    The Cannes Lions is said to be a celebration of creativity, but back home in India it led to much heartburn on Tuesday. Even after the dispute between Jindal Steel and Wieden + Kennedy was settled over the ‘Steel of India’ ad after a Delhi High Court intervention, Earlyman’s Films entry at Cannes Lions for the ‘Jindal Steel- The Steel of India’ film has led to a fresh dispute. Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi, W+K Chief Creative Officer and the prime force behind the agency, declined to comment on the issue, even as he rued the state of affairs.

    Earlyman bagged a Silver and a Bronze on Day 2 of the 2024 Cannes Lions. Which is good news. except that the credit for the idea/creator hasn’t gone to W+K. This is what Ayazppa KM, Earlyman Films co-founder has told The Economic Times: “We tried to push the boundaries of the way montage is viewed in India with experimental imagery and sound. We would like to commend Venkatesh Jindal, Kondurkar Studio and every member of the team for wholeheartedly supporting and sharing our vision.”

    It may be noted that Kyoorius Creative Awards had rejected the entry given the dispute on the credits. Said an industry senior who is familiar with the awarding process: “The entry couldn’t have gone to Cannes without the approval of Jindal Steel. Assuming that has been done, and due credit hasn’t been given to W+K, there is good reason for W+K to cry foul on this. These are the Cannes Lions after all, and the awards are meant to celebrate ideas and creativity.”

    Another industry person who is familiar with the development said that W+K must alert the Advertising Agencies Association of India and the Indian Society of Advertisers on it being the authorised apex bod of all ad agencies and advertisers respectively. “It is impossible for Cannes Lions or for that matter any awards body located elsewhere in the world to keep track of disputes on credits. It’s hence key that AAAI and ISA step in to clear the mess.”

  • HUL stars in Kantar Creative Effectiveness Awards India

    HUL stars in Kantar Creative Effectiveness Awards India

    Kantar, the leading marketing data and analytics company, unveiled the ads that were most effective and creative across India in 2023.  The company tested more than 12,000 creatives for its clients around the world in 2023. Over 11% (1,400+) of those creatives were tested in India. Today,

     

    In the awards, consumers are the jury. The India report shortlists close to 300 ads, tested across categories, markets, TG’s and media channels.

     

    The winners list has doubled from last year, with Kantar awarding 10 standout performers in the television ads category and 4 in the digital ads category.

     

    Television categories include Food & Beverage, Home Care, Personal Care, Services and Unstereotype. New categories introduced include ‘Original Creatives for South’, ‘Adaptations for South’, Most Creative & Effective TV Ad (overall) and Most Consistently Effective Advertiser. Creatives for Digital continue to grow this year as well, with Kantar awarding standout performers in 4 categories- 3 based on ‘Ad Length’ format and one for the Most Creative & Effective Digital Ad, for bringing to life the exciting storytelling possibilities in the digital world.

     

    All ads exemplify essential characteristics of being creatively engaging and landing persuasive stories that enhance brand sales, notes a communique.

     

     

    Commenting on this year’s findings, Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director & Chief Client Officer- South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar said: “Earlier this year, Kantar launched the Blueprint for Brand Growth– a breakthrough understanding of how businesses build strong & profitable brands. One of the growth accelerators for building strong brands is to pre-dispose more people. Great advertising builds pre-disposition and loads the dice in favour of the brands. Creative content can and should punch above its weight”.

     

    Added Prasanna Kumar, Head of Creative Domain & Executive Vice President- South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar: “Truly creative ads are the ones that are effective. The journey from being just creative to being effective starts by including your key stakeholders – your target consumers, into the process by pre-testing your ads. This year we have seen some original creative ideas shine through by ensuring that they have brand and consumer at their heart.”

     

    Key highlights from this year’s report: 

    1. Learnings from Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth indicate that great advertising is rocket-fuel for building predisposition: growing meaningfully different brands in a more effective and efficient way. Creative quality, second only to brand size, greatly influences campaign profitability, with double the impact that reach does on brand salience.

     

    1. Kantar research emphasizes that ads must persuade and convey messages that are novel, credible, relevant, and different to enhance short-term sales. But high-quality ads, which leave a lasting impression, generally perform well in both short-term sales and long-term brand-building (Kantar LINK database), thus reducing the need to spend money on performance marketing.

     

    1. Beyond brand recognition, generating a strong emotional response is key, because emotion helps build strong memory structures, and most advertising effects are not immediate. Emotion plays a critical role in effective creative- and not just in TV content. 

     

    Ad learnings from 2023: 

    1. Make purpose personal: 65% of Indians will buy brands that stand for something they can identify with. While purpose or value led creatives open possibilities for highly emotively engaging creatives, the effective ones execute it in a manner such that it becomes personal to the consumers.

     

    1. License to surprise: Consumers are open to original creative ideas- ones that are hyper creative or break existing category codes. The reward for the brand lies in the ability to integrate the persuasive and meaningful impressions into the creative idea. Pre-testing helps identify the possible risks of comprehension and resonance.

     

    1. Going Native: Only 28% Indians (vs Global average 75%) have watched any ‘foreign’ content. Over 25 years of Kantar Link™ ad evaluation reveal a striking truth- ad transference across Indian regions is just about a third. This challenges the assumption that a single pan-India creative approach, even with universal and validated consumer insight, will yield positive returns on objectives. Brands are now refreshingly taking on the challenge and opportunity of engaging the Southern consumers differently from Hindi-speaking markets. Investing in original creatives, by going native on multiple dimensions- insights, creative idea & treatment and execution ensures maximizing of reward for the brand.

     

    1. Go deep & wide: The most efficient route to optimize budgets for creating ads that effectively crossover the transference challenge across the many India’s, is to create regional adaptions by playing with backdrop, celebrity, casting, product window visualization, slogan etc. Go deep and wide is about taking a campaign pan India by starting with a pan India insight, creative idea & treatment but execute with some nativity elements to amplify the resonance with the regional markets. Pre-testing helps to identify whether the mix of insight, story & elements work together as intended and identify opportunities for improvement.

     

    1. Embed the Brand: The value of creativity starts with the brand. While executional elements like distinctive brand assets and consistency in advertising style are undeniable aids in ensuring that the brand takes credit for the impressions left behind by the creative, it’s potential is amplified when the brand is integral to the story.

    **In our top quartile ads compared to the bottom quartile ads, we observed more consistency (+49%), greater use of established branding devices (+14%), and the inclusion of related music (+26%).

     

    1. Weave in the product story: Executions that can creatively integrate the specific competitive reasons to consider the brand into the narrative tend to be impactful. The role of creativity is thus not just to entertain but also leave behind vivid impressions that make the brand more meaningful to the consumers.

     

    1. Specific learnings for the digital landscape: 
    1. Precision targeting is officially giving way to mass media avatar of Digital and there’s an increasing recognition of the importance of brand marketing on digital platforms. Creative Quality getting increasingly critical for ensuring ROI for digital- could unlock 35%+ incremental sales per impression.
    2. Effective content on TV does not automatically mean success in digital – Ads that perform well in TV have only a ~50% chance of performing well in digital.
    3. Emotional resonance significantly enhances digital advertising’s impact on brand building. Ads that evoke stronger emotions are 3x more likely to drive long-term brand equity and 2.75x more likely to generate impact compared to those with weaker emotional connections.

     

  • A nationwide Brand Identity Design Contest

    Ad Club Bangalore Launches ‘LogoJam’

    The Ad Club Bangalore has launched LogoJam, a logo revamp challenge event designed to crowdsource a fresh, vibrant brand identity. Designers from across India are invited to craft a new brand identity that reflects The Ad Club’s commitment to “creativity, community, and the cutting-edge future of advertising”. The contest will run from July 8 to 19, 2024 and the winner will receive a monetary reward of INR 50,000.

    “We are in the process of re-visioning the role of Advertising Club Bangalore and our aim with LogoJam is to be collaborative and inclusive in our approach to set the new identity of Ad Club Bangalore,” said Laeeq Ali, President of The Ad Club Bangalore. “The new identity should symbolize Ad Club Bangalore’s core values of innovation, collaboration, leadership, and excellence. It will capture the spirit and future-forward approach of this community-focused, non-profit organisation. From events like the Inspiration Room series to a vibrant member network, the club is committed to fostering a thriving community of advertising professionals,”

    Winners of the “LogoJam” challenge will not only receive a monetary reward of INR 50,000 but will also gain significant exposure through a publication feature in The Ad Club platforms, offering unparalleled recognition and potential future collaborations with The Ad Club and its members.

    “As Ad Club Bangalore evolves, we believe our visual identity too should evolve. I am excited to lead this initiative to find the new identity that will be a beacon of our commitment to lead the advertising industry into a new era,” added Nigel Mathew, a member of the executive committee.

  • Into a wake-up call for the entire ad industry

    W+K on Kyoorius awards initiative

     

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    This yea, Kyoorius Creative Awards has introduced a special initiative to empower younger, growing agencies. For the first time, participants whose entries don’t make it past the first round of judging have a special incentive – they will get back 50% of their entry fee, per entry. This is also the year when newer kinds of participation are being encouraged, be it for regional or pharma.

    Kyoorius’s agency, Wieden+Kennedy India, felt this was an apt opportunity to take this brief to the next level. Said Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi, CCO of Wieden + Kennedy India: “Kyoorius has grown beyond an award, it has become the industry’s voice. That’s why this year’s campaign isn’t just about the award, it’s about addressing the uncomfortable realities in advertising and igniting the change it needs.”

    Added Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder of Kyoorius: “When I heard of Paddy’s brainchild, ‘Give Back’, it struck a chord with me. I know the world of Indian advertising is going through its toughest challenges and if we all don’t take ownership of our problems, if we don’t introspect and evolve, then who will?”

    Said Yogesh Rijhwani, ECD of W+K Mumbai: “Our creative team found a way to express each hard-hitting message through some stunning typography, which has become the visual voice of the campaign. We enjoyed the love, especially for craft, in the comments sections of these posts.”