MxMIndia

Category: PRODUCTS

  • Bhumi Pednekar signs on to drive awareness on #KeepGirlsInSchool

    Whisper launches new campaign to #KeepGirlsInSchool

    By A Correspondent

     

    Procter & Gamble brand Whisper has released its latest campaign to #KeepGirlsInSchool and prevent them from dropping out when they get their periods. As part of this campaign, Whisper launched its new film that aims to create awareness on how even today, girls across India drop out of school on hitting puberty. The film brings to light the startling fact that 1 in 5 girls are dropping out of school each year and we don’t even notice. To bridge this gap, Whisper reinforces its pledge to double the impact of their existing menstrual hygiene education program by reaching five crore girls by 2022.

     

    The film, conceptualised by Leo Burnett, sheds light on how girls go missing from school during periods and nobody notices. Said Chetna Soni, Category Leader – Feminine Care, P&G Indian sub-continent: “Whisper has become synonymous with challenging societal barriers to menstrual hygiene in the country through its path-breaking campaigns and #KeepGirlsInSchool is the latest edition in the brand’s illustrious history. We pioneered breaking period taboos by using our voice in advertising and media through trail-blazing award-winning campaign #TouchThePickle and following it up with revolutionary campaigns like #SitImproper and #WhispersBreakSilence.”

     

    Added Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director – India & Chief Creative Officer Leo Burnett South Asia “It is shocking to know that even today in India, 1 in 5 girls drop out of school because of period hygiene. We have been partnering with Whisper to not only tell this moving story, but with the #KeepGirlsinSchool initiative we want to jolt people with the reality of these numbers and encourage everyone to join us in our movement to towards achieving 100% menstrual hygiene in the country.”

     

     

  • The scope entails building the brand's strategy and managing its creative duties

    Lowe Lintas to manage Sugar Free creative

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sugar Free, a brand owned by Zydus Wellness, has appointed Lowe Lintas as its creative agency. The appointment was an outcome of a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Anaheeta Goenka

    Said Anaheeta Goenka, President, Lowe Lintas: “Sugar Free is a great brand and we are really excited with the mandate. We look forward to this strategic & creative partnership to bring growth to the sugar-substitute category. Here’s to sweet beginnings!”

     

    The Mumbai office of Lowe Lintas will handle the account.

     

     

  • The campaign will run with the hashtag #Youareyou

    Opancho launches digital campaign to celebrate individuality of women

    By A Correspondent

     

    On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Opancho, a for-women-only, contemporary footwear brand, launched a social and digital media campaign titled #Youareyou that highlights and celebrates the uniqueness of every woman individual. The internet campaign showcases powerful stories of some of India’s successful women personalities who have broken the glass ceilings to achieve something meaningful and big in their careers.

     

    Explaining the thought behind the newly rolled out campaign, Dipika Agarwal, Founder-Director, Opancho said: “Being a woman in India is not easy. One of the major reasons that deter women to be the best version of themselves is the questioning and constant criticisms of the people around them. Also, the hardwired conditioning of the patriarchal society many a times makes women believe that their own judgments are flawed, and they need to change their personality attributes to fit in to the society. At Opancho, we have always believed that women are incredibly powerful and capable of breaking all such myths and social stereotypes. So, through our company’s latest digital campaign, we are taking a step ahead to remind every woman to not let go her distinctive personality in trying to satisfy anything or anyone; just be confident and proud of yourself, because even if you seem to be different, ‘You are you’.”

     

     

  • We felt if we could create some such moments in the film that would resonate with the public, says the company COO

    MP Birla Cement unveils Holi-centric ad campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    MP Birla Cement has launched its latest ad campaign on the occasion of Holi.

     

    Said Sandip Ranjan Ghose, Chief Operating Officer at Birla Corporation: “A beautiful poem, a well written book or a nicely made film are ways in which we can relish and cherish what festivals like Holi mean in our lives. We felt if we could create some such moments in the film that would resonate with the public and stay with them as fond memories, we would have done well. We are fortunate the beautiful poem and the loving picturisation have helped create a beautiful album of relatable moments.”

     

     

  • Underlines the contribution of Women on International Women’s Day 2020

    TVS Eurogrip celebrates the new age woman “#TheRealSpecialist”

    By A Correspondent

     

    TVS Srichakra rolled out a social media campaign “#TheRealSpecialist” to commemorate International Women’s Day 2020. The social media campaign aimed to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of each woman and the roles they play in our everyday lives.

     

    Commenting on the campaign P. Madhavan, EVP – Sales & Marketing, TVS Srichakra Limited, said: “TVS Eurogrip takes this opportunity to celebrate today’s women who embrace diverse roles and emerge specialists in whatever they endeavour to do. It is only befitting we call them The Real Specialists. Through this Women’s Day campaign we celebrate their success.”

     

     

  • The campaign was released at India Design ID 2020

    Post Office Studios partners with Asian Paints to launch a film series

    By A Correspondent

     

    Post Office Studios, a new media technology company based in Mumbai, has partnered with Asian Paints to conceptualise and produce five animated films for their campaign ‘Colour Next 2020’, which were released at India Design ID 2020.

     

    Said Aditya Tawde, Chief Creative Officer, Post Office Studios: “Our goal with these films was to do justice to Asian Paints’ year-long research and resulting trends, while lending each of them a distinct visual look and feel unique to the trend in question. It’s always exciting to brainstorm on the visual depiction for the Colour Next series, since the output is an interesting blend of the existing research undertaken by the brand, the diversity of each trend, and design and animation treatments that are currently trending within the industry. As with our other projects, our creative process involved putting together a huge stylescape of references resembling each trend, which we used as a base to identify the ones most appropriate. For this year’s series, we also made the decision of not having voice overs for our films, allowing the visuals to be the highlight, complemented by meticulously designed music and sound design that matches the mood of each animation.”

     

     

  • The series will feature a wide range of specially compiled library of TV shows, web series and movies

    Tata Sky explores new genre with ‘Tata Sky Adbhut Kahaniyan’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Sky has launched its new offering– Tata Sky Adbhut Kahaniyan. It has partnered with Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., to curate content for this offering. The series will feature a wide range of TV shows, web series and movies. Additionally, the service will also showcase first-ever-adapted stories from the popular Hindi magazine, ‘Manohar Kahaniyan’.

     

    Sharing her thoughts on the launch of the service, Pallavi Puri, Chief Commercial and Content Officer, Tata Sky said: “Genres like crime, thriller and horror has witnessed great traction over the past few years. While there are multiple options for these genres available on linear television and OTT platforms, currently there isn’t a single destination catering to all the three content genres. Realising this need-gap we decided to bring to our subscribers – Tata Sky Adbhut Kahaniyan – a curation of the best Hindi content library of TV shows, web series and movies in crime, thriller and horror genre. With this launch, we shall continue to focus on catering to the diverse entertainment needs of our subscribers.”

     

    Added Hiren Gada, CEO – Shemaroo Entertainment: “I am excited to announce another unique partnership with Tata Sky, where we are introducing an interesting service called Tata Sky Adhbhut Kahaniyan, that will showcase stories of crime, thriller and horror genres. Shemaroo constantly aims at getting the best content for its audiences and strives to deliver on the promise of great entertainment, and through this association, we again aim to achieve the same.”

     

     

  • The campaign aims to address negative perceptions around general insurance by educating citizens about benefits that can be derived from it

    General Insurance Council launches ‘Faayde Ki Baat’ ad campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    India’s statutory body for General Insurance, the General Insurance Council (GI Council), has unveiled ‘Faayde Ki Baat’, a campaign aimed at educating and spreading awareness about non-life insurance. Together with GI Council’s 25 General Insurance, 11 Reinsurance, two Specialised Insurance  and six SAHI (Standalone Health Insurance) companies in India, the campaign aims to address negative perceptions around general insurance by educating citizens about benefits that can be derived from it.

     

    The campaign idea has been created and conceptualised by Leo Burnett. Digital agency Digitas would be executing and managing the website, social media, content marketing, influencer engagement and innovative platforms in various languages. MSL India has been roped in to build rich content for the campaign including the media outreach and strategy in multiple cities while Mindshare would assist with media buying for the campaign.

     

    Sharing his views on the campaign, MN Sarma, Secretary General, General Insurance Council said: “Consumers in India are either under insured or uninsured. The overall penetration of general insurance is extremely low. With Faayde Ki Baat, we are hoping to connect with the audience and promote General Insurance as a personal risk management tool.”

     

    Added Rajdeepak Das, MD, India & CCO, Leo Burnett South Asia: “Indian consumers often disregard the very many benefits of General Insurance. We were persistent on making this relatable to our audience, while simultaneously educating consumers about some unknown facts with regard to General Insurance, eradicating old beliefs of the hassle and stress that comes with General Insurance. Through various platforms, we wanted to accentuate things like ‘General Insurance kisi din nahi har roz kaam ayega’ assuring consumers that General Insurance is not as complicated as people think it is”

     

     

  • While the Coronavirus scare may have stopped onground celebrations, there was no stopping digital/video messages and forwards, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    No major impact on Brand Holi…

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    This March 10 could possibly be recorded as the driest Holi in the recorded history.

    What governments, NGOs and schools could not do, Coronavirus did easily.

    It once again proved that the human subconscious mind works on the first directive of survival. The moment it became apparent that the enemy is unknown and contagious; it can attack from anyone; fear took over.

    HOLI THAT WAS NOT TO BE.

    The collective celebrations in societies like Holi Milan, rain dances and organised Holi parties were the first victims. The cheap pichkari and colours coming from China were missing from the market. Even if the colours and pichkari of Indian makes were available, the buyers were limited.

    People started questioning the need for family friends gathering or visiting friends and relatives for Holi celebrations. Most decided to remain confined to their private spaces for god reasons.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that he will not be participating in any Holi celebrations. The health minister appealed for not using Chinese products. Significant events were cancelled. Talk of postponing events like IPL and Olympics was all over the media. All this further accentuated the Corona Virus fear.

    The masks and sanitisers disappeared from the market. Whatever was left was killed by the reports of rising cases in media did the rest.

     

    SOMETHINGS DID NOT CHANGE.

    The digital messages and playing fastest finger first in forwarding the forward continued. I loved the message boards by Indian Express. One could have used these Indian Express branded messages as Holi wishes. It is different that none of them landed on my timeline- but the idea was excellent.

    THE BRANDS CONTINUED WITH THEIR FILMI HOLI

    The brands and influencers rightly did not see the reason to curtail their activities to connect with audiences. Anyway, Holi dampeners started too late, and by that the time the brands were most probably ready with their intervention and did not have many options.

     

    THE 2020 HOLI ADS

    The Facebook film is an emotional pot pourri. But, the brand uses and possibilities are well-demonstrated in the film. It is an engaging story. Well done.

    Livpure leveraged the still relevant water-saving message. Here, the children talk about water-saving by not using water-balloons. The production qualities are questionable. However, the message is right on the dot.

    FBB, on the other hand, tried tackling the expected but unacceptable part of Holi celebrations; zor zabardasti in Holi.

    MP CEMENT went overboard in trying to establish durability with colours and Holi. The long film has good lyrics, but the message and brand integration is forced.

    MAX went too functional layering it with ‘Holi Hai rango waali’. Well, it does nothing. A waste of time and energies. Even Fanta with its absurd reasons to avoid Holi was a letdown.

    AUDIENCE INTERPRETATION CAN NOT BE CONTROLLED

    The video entertainers on various digital platforms continued with their Holi messages. In a few of them, there was an attempt to add the un-necessarily communal religious angle.

    Social media debate on what was right and what was layered continued. One realised that what the audience sees or interprets could be very different from the brand or communicators intent. What one controls is just the message and the media.

    It’s about this video pic.twitter.com/wqGQiX12Q2

    — Kurshi (@Kurshi) March 10, 2020

    People have seen this communication as stereotypic communities, their reactions and expectations! Hindi and Muslim polarisation. Maybe the intent was right, but the resultant forced interpretation by many is colouring it differently.

    BEST HOLI ADS

    In my last blog, I commented on the SURF advertisement as an example of reiterating communal tensions. However, I still find it one of the best Holi advertisements.

    Another one that is full of colour and an extended holi and still lays the brand promise of binding the nation is the 2013 IPL film; Koi Nahi Bachega.

    https://youtu.be/iNUx5LnJQLs

    And I must mention the spirit of Holi and a silent brand integration is well done in the Parachute Holi ad. It would have been best if the last slate with the oil bottle was subtle.

    Sanjeev Kotnala is a senior marketer and brand strategist and educator. He writes on MxMIndia on Wednesdays. His views here are personal

  • It focuses on innovative social enterprises addressing key social and environmental issues

    DBS Bank unveils new season of its mini-series ‘Sparks’

    By A Correspondent

     

    In celebration of International Women’s Day, DBS Bank India debuted a new episode of its mini-series, ‘Sparks’ featuring brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar. The series is centered around the theme “Everyday Heroes for a Better World” and focuses on innovative social enterprises addressing key social and environmental issues.

     

    Said Shoma Narayanan, Executive Director – Group Strategic Marketing & Communications at DBS Bank India: “We are moving towards creating conversations and engaging customers through innovative storytelling and authentic content. Being purpose-driven has always been a part of DBS’ value system, and we aim to drive meaningful change through Sparks. It celebrates real-life heroes working towards creating a sustainable future, and on the occasion of International Women’s Day, we are bringing you the story of one such enterprise. Even cargo helps women work in professions that have traditionally been inaccessible to them. We are delighted to join hands with Sachin Tendulkar for this episode, and are committed to championing our shared vision of gender equality.”

     

    Added Yogesh Kumar – Founder and CEO, Even Cargo: “At Even Cargo, our endeavour is to help in the skill development of women, leading to an increase in their participation in the labor market and therefore, helping them overcome the barriers of unemployment. Women are the driving force behind our organisation’s mission, and we are delighted to celebrate their contribution this Women’s Day. DBS Bank and Sachin are equally passionate about championing inclusivity, and we thank them for supporting us in our journey.”

     

     

  • The campaign helps Kotak put their two-wheeler low interest loan on the map

    Fulcro launches new campaign #KotakPrimeWithHer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fulcro has launched a new campaign for Kotak Prime on the sidelines of Women’s Day. The campaign titled ‘#KotakPrimeWithDrive’ helps Kotak put its two-wheeler low interest loan on the map.

     

    Talking about this campaign, Sabyasachi Mitter, Founder, Fulcro, said: “When the audience you want to talk to is glued to their smartphones, how do you grab their attention and effectively convey a story? That is how, we as an agency came up with a new approach called ‘Thumbstoppers’ which takes storytelling to a different level. Thumbstoppers uses 90% of landscape of your smartphone in a vertical format. The whole idea was to come up with an innovation which would be catchy, appeal to the masses, and tell a story in the most simplest way in just 10 seconds.”

     

     

  • Demonstrated on Veeba, the campaign enables digital targeting, measurement and attribution from DOOH placements

    Xaxis executes digital outdoor for Veeba

    By A Correspondent

     

    GroupM’s Xaxis in partnership with M/Six and Lemma recently announced the results of their pioneering digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaign for Veeba Sauces. The campaign showcased new real-time audience targeting and measurement capabilities for out-of-home advertising and helped increase in-store sales by more than 15 per cent.

     

    Said Ankit Sharma, brand manager at Veeba Food Services: “Xaxis presented us an opportunity to deliver programmatically digital out of home. With our fantastic product line-up, being able to display our message in target stores supported by mobile activity, remarketing to users who were within 20 meters of a DOOH location, was a smart approach. The campaign helped increase sales by 15% across the target 24/7 stores in Delhi. Moving forward, it is a channel we will be considering within our media mix.”

     

    Added Saket Sinha, senior vice president and head of M/Six India: “M/Six has always believed in outcome-based advertising, and that connecting with walk–in consumers at a store is a critical part of the marketing funnel. By enabling brands to tap into the benefits of programmatic advertising, we were able to provide Veeba Sauces with a unique medium to reach consumers with eye-level messaging and  cover an area far greater than what was possible through traditional OOH.”

     

    Said Bharat Khatri, country lead, Xaxis India: “Out-of-home advertising has always been an effective media channel to drive awareness for brands and now combined with programmatic technology this medium is more automated and measurable than ever before. We saw all the benefits of programmatic DOOH come to light, the ability to communicate in real-time through networked digital screens, wi-fi and mobile broadband to deliver contextually relevant messaging, and drive more immediate consideration, trial and purchase. This is a compelling reason for brands to invest in DOOH.”