Aditya Birla Money MyUniverse and moneycontrol.com have announced their strategic alliance to offer a state-of-the-art money management service to the customers of moneycontrol.com.
While Aditya Birla Money MyUniverse will get access to moneycontrol.com’s existing 1.9 million portfolio users, moneycontrol.com will get access to MyUniverse’s money management platform, giving its customers a complete and automated way of managing their finances. Through this alliance, the users of moneycontrol.com will now get a complete view of all their finances. This alliance additionally will also enable moneycontrol.com portfolio users to do their expense analysis from Aditya Birla Money MyUniverse and get portfolio advices powered by Aditya Birla Money Mart.
On the occasion, Sudhakar Ramasubramanian, CEO – Aditya Birla Money Mart & MD – Aditya Birla Money, said, “We are happy to be associated with moneycontrol.com, India’s leading financial portal. This exclusive alliance is our step forward to meet the growing need of Personal Finance Management in India. Through this opportunity we extend our services in making money management comprehensive and automated for all moneycontrol.com users.”
Lakshmi Narasimhan, CEO, Web18, said, “We have been constantly endeavouring to offer innovative and convenient services to our users. Our partnership with Aditya Birla Money MyUniverse marks the beginning of a relationship between two leading online business platforms whose focus is to make money management simpler, better organized and convenient to the users. We are sure that our existing and new users will rapidly adopt this platform.”
Marketing intelligence service Warc (www.warc.com), expects global advertising spend (based on 12 major markets) to increase by +3.0 percent at current prices in 2013 and by +5.4 percent in 2014, according to its latest International Ad Forecast.
If forecast inflation is taken into account, global adspend is expected to rise by just +0.6 percent this year and by +2.4 percent in 2014.
This follows estimated adspend growth of +3.8 percent at current prices in 2012. The predicted slowdown for 2013 is due to the absence of last year’s adspend boost from the Olympics and the US presidential election, alongside on-going concerns about the health of the global economy, particularly in relation to the eurozone debt crisis.
Forecast adspend growth in 2013, % change year-on-year Current prices
Constant 2005 prices*
Percentage point change vs November (current prices)
Sportswear brand Adidas has signed up Mahela Jayawardene, captain of the Delhi Daredevils cricket team, as brand ambassador. To kickstart this partnership, he will be part of Adidas’ latest digital and retail campaign for the IPL, ‘Lose the heat, keep the fire’, based on Adidas’ new apparel range, ClimaCool+.
Mr Jayawardene said, “I am excited and raring to step on the field in the three stripes. Adidas supports some the greatest athletes in the world today and have continued to develop revolutionary products to help cricketers like me outperform. The ClimaCool+ technology in the New Delhi Daredevils team jersey certainly brings the cool, the minute you put it on, and I am all in to face the heat this season.”
Tushar Goculdas, Brand Director, Adidas India said, “Jayawardene is one of the greatest cricketers of the current era- a natural leader, a fantastic batsman and an outstanding fielder. He has had a tremendous impact on the game, making Sri Lanka a dominant force in world cricket. We are excited to support him with our incredible sportswear innovations and believe this partnership will empower him further to deliver match-winning performances.”
Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra was acknowledged as the NDTV Business Leader of the Year at the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2012, held recently. The award was presented by Chief Guest Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.
On receiving the award Mr Mahindra said, “Running away is never a successful strategy. You cannot simply run away abroad because you have a fear of the environment here. Time and again countries like South Korea and Japan have proven that you grow strong globally when you have a strong base in India.”
> N Chandrasekaran won the Business Visionary Award
> Mallika Srinivasan was the Business Thought Leader
> Most Inspiring Business Leader went to Kumar Mangalam Birla
> Samsung received the Dynamic Innovator of the Year Award
> Corporate Social Responsibility Awards went to Jubilant & TCS
> Wipro received the Award for Inclusion & Diversty
> John Abraham was declared Creative Entrepreneur of the Year
Winner of the Transformation Leader award Chanda Kochhar said, “In front of foreign and private banks, public sector banking has picked up a lot. Transformation is not done through one big step, it requires small steps to acquire it.”
Extensive research was carried out to determine the nominees and the winners under the guidance of leading names from the industry and business world on the jury, including Shanti Ekambaram, President, Corporate & Investment Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank; T N Ninan, Editor & Publisher, Business Standard; Dorab R Sopariwala, Editorial Advisor, NDTV; Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager & Country Head, HSBC India; Kalpana Morparia, CEO, J P Morgan India; Tarun Das, Former Chief Mentor, CII; Prannoy Roy, Executive Co-Chairperson, New Delhi Television Ltd; and Aunindyo Chakravarty, Senior Managing Editor, NDTV Profit.
Supertech was the presenting sponsor. Associate Partners included Monnet, Sensodyne, Xerox and Rodeo Drive; Innovation Partner was3M; the Construction Solutions Partner was JCB; Driven by Toyota Camry; Hospitality Partner was Hyatt Regency with Knowledge Partners Deloitte, BCF and Sattva for the Awards this year.
The winners of the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2012Â were:
On occasion of Launch of Social Access (Frm L to R) Abhilash Tomy, Lynn de Souza, Meenakshi Menon, Mark Inglis, Sarah Wilson (In sitting position) with children
By Ritu Midha
The launch of an organization or initiative is usually an event one dresses up for. So it was a surprise to see Meenakshi Menon at the Radio Club yesterday afternoon, abseiling. The occasion: The launch of Social Access, and the message, “bee the change”.
Lynn de Souza
Meenakshi Menon
Social Access is an outcome of shared passion of two power media women: Lynn de Souza and Meenakshi Menon. The organization is being launched with the key objective “to use strategic communication and creative ideas” to re-orient society towards social sector by building channels among the four key players: NGOs, corporates, government bodies and society.
The Social Access logo is bulb-shaped , created with the thought that “illumination is required to dispel darkness”. The organisation, say its founders, is inspired by the bee, and it symbolizes team work, acitivity, creativity and buzz. “Bee the change” is the Social Access tagline.
States Ms Menon, “Our anthem is: Let’s do things because they must be done, and because we can do them.” It is based on a message from Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy, the first Indian to circumvent the ocean solo, nonstop.
She adds, “India has 4 percent of the world’s billionaires; however, when it comes to the giving index it stands 91st in an index of 153 nations. The total value of donations given in our country in 11-12 fiscal is Rs 5000 crore, which is a smaller amount than the brand value of a single brand, Parle G.”
‘Attitude overcomes limitations’
The launch of Social Access was different, interesting and succeeded in driving home the message it set out to send. It was initiated with a few interesting activities: abseiling (under Sarah Wilson’s guidance), sailing with the kids, and cycling.
It was not only the two stakeholders in the organisation who interacted with the audience, but also LT Cdr Abhilash Tomy (the first Indian to circumnavigate the oceans solo, nonstop and assisted), Mark Inglis (the only double amputee in the world to scale Mount Everest & a Para Olympic silver medallist in cycling), Sarah Wilson (cancer and avalanche survivor engaged in teaching young women how to overcome fears through a riveting abseiling exercise.)
Talking about his amputation and further victories in cycling and mountaineering Inglis stated, ‘To be the change one needs to remove limitations, and to overcome limitations you need to be a change maker, and that is what Social Access sets out to do.” He further stated, “Innovation, passion and commitment are equally important to achieve what you set out to achieve but the key thing is the attitude – attitude overcomes limitations.”
An audio-visual took the audience through Tomy’s sailing experience. His beautiful lines about his adventure, sum up the journey of life in a way, “Sun shone and showed the path. Winds tested us, loved us, and egged us on. Waves sometimes angry and playful, and sometimes calming. We made lots of friends in the way. Every day added a new meaning to life.” His thoughts and ideas have been an inspiration for Social Access as it took shape.
Interestingly, the entire event was put together without too much expense. Radio Mirchi was the key partner – they organised a contest on the radio for the event, helped with the venue and broadcast the event live. Other media major involved was National Geographic. Catalyst was the event partner.
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The organisation seeks to be the connect between the NGOs and organisations that can help them. Also, on the cards are communication solutions. As Ms de Souza says, “The intent is to provide the best solution – creative or otherwise, to the NGOs, depending upon their requirement.”
Social Access has tied up with iVolunteer for easy facilitation of volunteers.
The organization believes that it is about time Indians learnt to care and share more. Though impressed by the concept, one can’t help but wonder if India is ready for this kind of an initiative. States Lynn de Souza, “Of course it is ready. Many things are happening now…. Social media has stepped up awareness, charity and causes have found a voice. Corporations have realized that brand value goes up if you contribute to social causes. Society is more conscious now – and so are the government and local bodies. Media too is contributing. Another key thing is that awareness among youth is increasing, and they are coming forward.”
The use of social media for raising awareness and mobilising people is one of the key areas Social Access intends focusing on. States Ms Menon, “Social media is giving voice to the dumb. We can use the power of media to help ideas travel across cultures, consumers, corporates, government bodies and more.”
But will it really help in mobilizing people to get involved? Ms Menon and Ms de Souza believe that one cannot undermine the power of social media when it comes to mobilizing support for social causes. States Ms de Souza, “Social media will no doubt play a very important role in mobilising people. While social media per say has grown in the range of 90 percent, its usage for non-commercial purposes has increased close 190 percent.”
The plan is not to make it a close-fisted organisation with a handful of employees. Anyone passionate about social causes can be involved . States Ms Menon, “It will be an open architecture society where anyone can contribute. We are building a community and providing a platform. Anybody can become a part of it.”
Social Access has a two-pronged role – to get the corporates and other able organizations to support NGOs, and to get people to contribute in a myriad different ways. Concludes Ms de Souza, “We are focused on share of heart and mind, we are not looking at share of wallet. Our basic philosophy is that of equality. Everything must lead to an equitable society.”
As some of the best football teams in the world battle it out for the UEFA Champions League trophy, Heineken in India celebrated its association as global partner with the prestigious league. The occasion marked the announcement of the ‘Heineken Social Reporter’ who will fly to London and report on the UEFA Champions League final for the Heineken social media channels in India.
The winner, Akhil Shah from Mumbai, was selected from over 400 applicants received on the brand’s Facebook app. Applicants went through a three-stage selection process both online and offline, that assessed their football knowledge and passion, apart from other softer attributes and personality traits.
Heineken also unveiled its plans for leveraging its global sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, as it does so for the first time in India. As part of the Global Campaign titled ‘The Road to the Final’, Heineken in India is activating the campaign via digital and on-ground channels.
Samar Singh Sheikhawat
Speaking at the event, Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice-President Marketing, United Breweries Limited said, “Heineken has been associated with the UEFA Champions League for seven years now. Given the growing fan following that European football now enjoys in India, we decided to leverage our global partnership in India for the first time this year with a multi-pronged activation programme. We expect the campaign to make the brand more salient and desirable among young Indian consumers by leveraging a sport that they are increasingly relating to favourably.”
Mahindra Reva recently integrated outdoor medium with social media around the e2o launch and ‘Ask’ movement in a marketing strategy that clubbed the digital platform and out-of-home media.
A select list of questions was displayed at regular intervals at Mumbai’s Mahim causeway, which is a busy arterial road. With every question being asked, the mnemonic of a hand goes up in the air, signifying the ‘Ask’ movement. The same mnemonic was being used to represent questions on the digital platform, press, TV and outdoor media. This integration of Social and Outdoor Media exemplifies the way both these communication channels can be innovatively used for marketing.
The creative agency for this innovation is Strawberry Frog and the media agency is Percept OOH.
Devendra Shinde
Devendra Shinde, Head of Marketing & International Business, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles, stated the cause behind integrating the two mediums, “When one integrates digital media with other media, the effect gets amplified. Hence we have chosen to use more than one medium for this campaign.” Since the launch, the ‘Ask’ movement has gained momentum and Mahindra Reva has received more than 12,000 questions related to changes that people seek in their day-to-day life.
“Digital is integral to our everyday lives. It is current and absolutely relevant to everything we do. The ‘Ask’ campaign is linked to engagement and integration with the consumers. Digital is the only platform that allows for this. Therefore integrating the digital and outdoor medium, allowed us to capture consumer sentiment and display it for further participating and feedback. The cross pollination between platforms, gave the campaign twice the reach than would have been normally possible,” said Raj Kamble, MD, Strawberry Frog.
The brief to the agency was to amplify the campaign. The campaign was a ‘movement’ – created when people ask questions.
According to the brand and agency, the response to the campaign has hit several milestones on Facebook and YouTube. “There are several advantages of using this medium for the task at hand. Our TG is indeed the curious kind, we expect them to be early adopters of technology. Hence we feel that the digital space and medium are a good way to reach them. Also the engagement quotient of this medium is far higher than most regular media vehicles,” reasoned Mr Shinde.
According to Mr Kamble, the Ask campaign is linked to engagement and integration with the consumers. And integrating the digital and outdoor medium allowed them to capture consumer sentiment and display it for further participating and feedback. The cross-pollination between platforms, gave the campaign twice the reach than would have been normally possible. Since Mahindra is focussed on launching the e2o, electric car, a substantial chunk of brand investments has been done on this campaign. However, Mr Shinde did not divulge the figures.
Focusing on the challenges that this innovation posed, Mr Kamble said, “We were asking questions to India, because until you ask question you can’t bring positive change. This was the first time in India where real-time Twitter updates have been combined with the OOH format. The originality of the idea about integrating real-time data posed enormous technical and logistical difficulties. It involved coordination with the brand team, the digital team, the OOH team and the Strawberry Frog team to bring this idea to life.”
While there is a whole lot of work that has happened in the digital space for the Ask movement, Mr Shinde concluded, “You will soon see our TVC on air.” Till then, keep asking!
Nickelodeon, the children’s channel from Viacom 18, began its merchandising journey five years ago. Merchandising became a critical part for Nick India to engage and interact with its young audience. While in the recent financial year-end, merchandising only contributed to high single-digit percentage towards the revenue, Nick India managed collective net retail sales of Rs 120-130 crore (of which 8-20% go towards paying royalties), according to Sandeep Dahiya, SVP & Business Head – Consumer Products, Viacom18.
This financial year, Mr Dahiya hopes to garner revenues of Rs 250 crore through merchandising. And he is hopeful to achieve the target, given that Nick has partnered with Toy Triangle to bring an exclusive toy range of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles targeted towards young boys in India. The range will debut on May 1 at Hamleys. Post two weeks, it will be available at various big-box retailers and large format stores such as Shopper’s Stop, Hypercity and Reliance Timeout.
The launch will be supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign across the nation. Mr Dahiya reasoned, “We could not have timed the launch better. The series has registered some great ratings across US, UK, Canada and Australia, and is now set to launch in India in early May, coinciding with the launch of the toy range.” He added that beginning with toys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will soon expand into other key categories – stationery, back-to-school, publishing and apparel.
Syed Adil Qamar, Country Head, India, Toy Triangle says, “We are delighted to partner with Nickelodeon India on such a huge property, which is already creating waves internationally. We have already received an overwhelming response from retail buyers who believe that TMNT will re-invigorate the toy aisle in the action.”
Nutrela Soya Food, from the house of Ruchi Soya Industries, has announced the launch of its new marketing campaign by launching a TVC. The objective of the TVC, conceptualized by Soho Square Mumbai, is to highlight the versatility of Nutrela Soya Food. The product is being promoted through a catchy tagline which is completely in sync with the brands positioning- ‘Roz Kuch Naya, Roz kuch Soya’.
The TVC has produced by Apocalypso. The new 30-second TVC is set to go on-air during this IPL season. Madison Media is the media agency.
The story is depicted from the backdrop of a leisure trip where a couple enjoying their meal and is joined by one of their couple friends. The TVC thereby acknowledges the creativity and versatility of the home-maker, super moms, by acknowledging her as food designer. The concept of new Nutrela Soya Food TVC is giving credit and gratification for house wives. Hence, the company decided to acknowledge the creativity of the home maker by providing her a product (Nutrela Soya Food) that can be integrated well with every dish and thus enables her to try ‘Roz Kuch Naya’.
The campaign will be spread across eight weeks with the TVC breaking first during the ongoing IPL season, in order to create top of the mind recall amongst consumers and then on other channels that include Hindi GEC, Regional GEC, Lifestyle channels etc. The company has also scheduled for a product sampling across Women’s magazine along with recipe ads/booklet to explain the usefulness of soya.
Commenting on the marketing objective, Sandipan Ghosh, AVP – Marketing – Consumer Brands Division – RSIL said, “Home makers or Super Moms constantly aspire to bring in variety in food which is healthy and tasty and cuts across different consumption occasion for their kids, spouse and family in everyday life. We wanted to bring Nutrela Soya to the party as it is an extremely versatile ingredient. Thus, the effort is on increasing consumption by creating awareness on everything that can be done with soya.”
Commenting on the TVC, Anuraag Khandelwal and Satish deSa, ECD and Creative Heads, Soho Square Mumbai said, “We set out to get soya out of the blind spot, and into the limelight. To get the world to acknowledge it for what it really is – versatile and creative. We went about doing this by first acknowledging the house-bound wife for what she really is – versatile and creative. ‘Food designer’ status, we believe, is one of the acknowledgments she truly deserves.”
In order to substantiate the product features and thereby to communicate the versatility of the Nutrela Soya Food brand, company has planned for an aggressive marketing campaign.
Brand strategy and design firm DY Works has announced the appointment of Rekha Pamani-Gulati as Chief Operating Officer.
Ms Gulati began her professional career at the Golden Tulip Hotel Chain, Ghana (West Africa), and later established base in Mumbai with The Concern India Foundation and DMA Branding, where her team serviced prestigious accounts such as Unilever, Mahindra, Godrej, Dabur and Air India.
Welcoming Ms Gulati, Alpana Parida, President, DY Works said, “Rekha’s cross-cultural experience and strong understanding of both Indian and International markets will be invaluable in creating unique and meaningful brand propositions for our clients.”
On her new role at DY Works, Rekha Pamani-Gulati said, “I’m excited to take on this new challenge. In recent years the company has built an impressive client portfolio and strong team. As Chief Operating Officer, I look forward to building this further.”
Global marketers continue to have a positve outlook according to the latest data from Warc’s Global Marketing Index.
Global marketing budgets rise for the fourth consecutive month
Headline GMI performs strongly in all regions
Trading conditions in Europe more positive than Asia Pacific for the first time
The index marketing budgets recorded growth for the fourth consecutive month in April, rising to 52.9 from 52.4 in March. The Americas registered the strongest outlook for marketing budgets, at 54.8 Asia Pacific experienced thsi consecutive month of growth to stand at 53.3, while Europe recorded a second month of net growth, with the index for the region holding steady at 50.5.
The GMI provides a unique monthly indicator of the state of the global marketing industry, by tracking current conditions among marketers. A GMI reading of 50 indicates no change, and a reading of over 60 indicates rapid growth.
The global headline GMI measure – which takes into account marketers’ expectations for trading conditions and staffing levels as well as marketing budgets – registered a value of 56.5 points in April, a slight decline of 0.4 points in March.
Region by region, the headline GMI for the Americas registered 58.7 , with Asia Pacific and Europe both on 55.1.
The index for global trading conditions, the second component of headline GMI, continued to indicate significant global growth in April, on 59.1. Marketers in the Americas remain most confident (61.8), followed by Europe (58.2) and Asia Pacific (56.4). This is teh first time Europe has recorded a more positive reading than Asia Pacific on this measure.
The index of staffing levels remains positiv at 57.3 globally. Regional index values stood at 59.6 for the Americas, 56.5 for Europe and 55.5 for Asia Pacific.
Suzy Young, Data and Journals Director at Warc, said, “The GMI data for April show that business condidiotns are continuing to improve and that marketing budgets have registered an increase for the fourth consecutive month. These results are encouraging for global marketers.”
Fashion and lifestyle e-retailer fashionandyou.com has announced the appointment of Aasheesh Mediratta as its new CEO. With his immense experience and expertise, Mr Mediratta, the former Director of Sales at fashionandyou.com, is all set to steer the private online shopping club towards next leg of growth.
Mr Mediratta has extensive experience in Mid-Market to Luxury Retail and specialization in e-Commerce, Sales & Operations and Brand Management, and has earlier worked with international retailers like Marks & Spencer & Debenhams, and headed premium and luxury brands Guess Jeans, Rosenthal and Villeroy & Boch in India.
Mr Mediratta said, “I am delighted to have been entrusted with this responsibility and even more excited to make FashionAndYou scale up to greater heights. Besides boosting the core USPs of our business model amidst the immense potential that the e-commerce industry offers in India; my key priorities include to continue to make FashionAndYou a preferred destination for fashion & lifestyle categories and find better insights into consumer behavior leading to customer loyalty to our website.”
Nutrela Soya Food, from the house of Ruchi Soya Industries, has announced the launch of its new marketing campaign by launching a TVC. The objective of the TVC, conceptualized by Soho Square Mumbai, is to highlight the versatility of Nutrela Soya Food. The product is being promoted through a catchy tagline which is completely in sync with the brands positioning- ‘Roz Kuch Naya, Roz kuch Soya’.
