MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • The account will be handled out of the agency's Delhi office

    Madison Media wins Viber India media biz

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Media Plus has announced the media win of instant messaging and calling app Viber in India. The account was won in a multi agency pitch. The account will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.

     

    Viber is a pioneering mobile messaging, voice and video service that lets everyone in the world connect. Users can send free text messages, fun stickers, photos, videos and doodles, share locations anywhere in the world, make free HD-quality calls and communicate with Push-To-Talk. With Viber Out, users can make low-cost calls to any phone number around the world. Currently Viber has more than 35 million users in India.

     

    Commenting on this development, Anubhav Nayyar, Country Head Viber Media India, said, “We partnered with Madison as we were impressed with their overall approach and business strategy for Viber. In addition, they demonstrated a very sound understanding of the internet and social networking space.”

     

    Basabdatta Chowdhuri, CEO, Madison Media Plus said, “We are delighted with this new win and are confident that we can add strategic value in making the Viber brand, a household name across the country.”

     

  • The Do Thumbthing campaign's focus is to make the Flipkart mobile app the medium of choice when it comes to shopping online

    Do Thumbthing, urges flipkart in latest campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    For those planning to shop online, they can do so by just using their thumb. That’s the key message in Flipkart’s latest campaign.  ‘Do Thumbthing’ campaign gives a creative twist to Flipkart’s mobile app, focusing on the shoppers thumb as the central character.

     

    The humorous campaign conveys the ease of mobile shopping and how a delightful experience is literally at the tip of one’s thumb. It brings alive the fact that shopping is more fun when it can be done from anywhere and at any time a shopper wants – from your home, at the gym, at a party.

     

    Today well over 70 per cent of traffic to Flipkart comes via the mobile app and majority of these shoppers-most of who are first time customers-are from tier II & III cities.  With increase in internet penetration, adoption of smartphones and lower data costs, smaller cities are more active online than ever which shows that m-commerce is poised to grow tremendously in the next 6 -12 months.

     

    Commenting on the launch of this campaign Mausam Bhatt, Senior Director – Mobile Marketing, Flipkart, said “With the Do Thumbthing campaign our focus is to make the Flipkart mobile app the medium of choice when it comes to shopping online. The various elements of this campaign-videos, games, contests, special app offers- will help us generate buzz about the Flipkart Mobile App amongst the younger audience. We are confident that this digital campaign with its fresh approach will establish an instant connect with the new generation of customers, and encourage them to experience online shopping the mobile way.”

     

  • The product is thanks to an arrangement between Crain Communications of the United States and The Times of India group here

    AdAge launches in India. Perfect Timing, says editor

    By A Correspondent

     

    If you thought the Indian media marketplace has just too many publications tracking the ad and media world, pause a bit. Advertising Age, the world’s most respected advertising and marketing fraternity publication, launched in India yesterday.

    It will essentially be an online edition (http://www.adageindia.in), though one could well see a print avatar in future.  The product is thanks to an arrangement between Crain Communications of the United States and The Times of India group here.

    The office is located in the Times building in Noida. Ad Age had a tie-up with the exchange4media group for a few years but that never converted to a full-fledged edition of the magazine locally.

     

    The online publication will be edited by Satrajit Sen, formerly editor of with Afaqs and earlier with digital website Indian Digital Review (eka AlooTechie.com) and a slew of other online and print brands. Sen told MxMIndia that he is working with a small team currently but it will be expanded with time.

    A launch event is planned next month . “We are excited to launch Advertising Age India. And it could not have been at a more opportune time,” writes Sen in a signed editorial on the site, adding: “Ad Age India will integrate the authoritative status of this marquee publication with the rapidly growing and evolving Indian media and marketing ecosystem to create a vibrant platform for the industry. We will strive to make Ad Age India a trusted marketing communication brand and one that the industry follows.  We also plan to roll out the regional versions of the iconic and coveted Ad Age Lists.”

     

  • The study notes that the influence of Internet will impact $35bn worth of FMCG sales in India

    Google & Bain study predicts interesting digital trends

    By A Correspondent

     

    A joint report released by Google and Bain & Co. to understand the influence of digital on the FMCG sector revealed that the Internet would influence a third of total sales in the FMCG sector over the next five years. The influence of Internet will impact $35bn worth of FMCG sales in India, as more and more users get online to research for FMCG products.

     

    Projecting the growth of online user population in India, the report revealed that India would have over 650 million Internet users by 2020. Online shopping will continue to see rapid growth and over 250 million users will shop online by 2020. This dramatic rise in the online shopper base in India, will contribute $ 5bn worth of FMCG product sales through online channel, growing 50 times from current level contributing 5 per cent of total sales from current 0.3 per cent share by 2020.

     

    The study notes that Internet influence will be the most for high engagement categories like male grooming, infant care products and beauty products, as more and more users will research online for information related to these products. For male grooming products, 25 to 30 per cent purchases will happen online, 20 to 25 per cent for infant care products and around 8 to 10 per cent of all beauty products will be bought online by 2020.

     

    These findings were derived by studying various factors including research conducted for Bain and Google by Millward Brown by selecting a sample of an evolved 1600 Internet users (male and female) from across 13 cities in India including metros and non-metros – across eight FMCG categories – Skin care, hair care, oral care, home care, infant care, male grooming, beverages and food.

     

    Findings from the study further revealed that 35 per cent men and 22 per cent women are strongly influenced by digital for their purchases. Internet influence differed by category of products, with maximum influence on purchase decisions noticed in male grooming (39 per cent), skin care (26 per cent), infant care products (24 per cent) and hair care (24 per cent) products.

     

    Speaking about the key findings of the report, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India said, “By studying the behavior of the lead consumers from an FMCG standpoint, it is clear that FMCG companies in India need to start thinking of digital as a more strategic medium and chart out a digital growth path for their products. In terms of key target audience from FMCG perspective as made clear in the report, 200 million digital natives will be online, 30 percent of women population in India will be online by 2020 reaching 200 million and 100 million women will shop online. 200 million plus users will be from rural India, whose disposable income will continue to grow. With these three key consumer segments moving to digital and spending more time online, FMCG companies will need to prepare themselves for this digital future.”

     

    Speaking about the current engagement levels of FMCG companies with the digital medium, Nikhil Prasad Ojha, Partner, Bain & Co., said, “Most FMCG companies in India have underestimated the impact of Internet and are struggling to ascertain a clear digital roadmap for their products. Companies need to uncover the digital potential for different categories, and align their growth trajectory with the changing consumer behavior. This report will serve as a useful reference point to start thinking and engaging consumers.”

     

  • Customers will enjoy access to popular websites with zero data charges, including Facebook

    Reliance partners Facebook to offer free data usage

     By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Communications has announced a new partnership with Facebook to offer free data access to a few websites to Reliance customers through Internet.org. Internet.org provides access to popular websites and services with zero data charges in order to make it easier for people to access the Internet, across both the 2G & 3G platforms.

     

    To start with, these services will be available for Reliance customers in the telecom circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The goal is to extend the services to the rest of the country in a phased manner, and gradually add more services and websites.

     

    Gurdeep Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Business, Reliance Communications, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of Internet.org services in India. Through this partnership with Facebook, we aim to increase Internet inclusion and encourage more Indians to go online. This partnership will not only accelerate Internet penetration in India, it will also open new socio-economic opportunities to users in fields like education, information and commerce.”

     

    Chris Daniels, Vice-President of Internet.org at Facebook, said: “Today, we’re excited to make the Internet available to millions of people in India through the launch of Internet.org and free basic services with Reliance. This is a big step forward in our efforts to connect everyone in India to the Internet, and to help people discover new tools and information that can create more jobs and opportunities.”

     

    The launch of Internet.org helps overcome the data access barrier in customers’ minds, by offering them a set of websites which Reliance customers can access without any data charges.

     

     

  • Candy Crush Saga is a match three-puzzle game that was launched in 2012 for Facebook, and later as a mobile app for smart phones

    Dream Theatre bags licensing deal for Candy Crush in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dream Theatre Pvt. Ltd. has secured licensing and merchandising rights for Candy Crush Saga in India, the cross-platform game created by King Digital Entertainment, a leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world.

     

    Candy Crush Saga is a match three-puzzle game that was launched in 2012 for Facebook, and later as a mobile app for smart phones. While it has remained one of the top grossing games in the chart, it’s recently launched sister title Candy Crush Soda Saga is also hugely popular. Together, they draw around 91 million players every day. In order to leverage its unmatched following; Dream Theatre will help King to build its licensing programme for the emerging market of South Asia. It will build a varied portfolio of designer apparel, accessories, handbags, shoes and home furnishings.

     

    Jiggy George

    Talking about the partnership, Jiggy George, Founder & CEO, Dream Theatre Pvt. Ltd., said, “The Candy Crush phenomenon has captured the imagination of people worldwide, and has a significant audience in India. As licensing content from the digital world is an expanding trend, we are very excited to work with King to help it to build its licensing business for Candy Crush in India. Our rollout will aim to leverage the infectious energy of this brand as we take it out of the gaming arena into homes of fans.”

     

    Claes Kalborg, Licensing Guru, King Digital Entertainment, added, “We continue to grow our licensing network across the globe and are pleased to announce we’ll be working alongside top licensing agents like Dream Theatre. We’re confident that their strong relationships within India, combined with the fun and colourful design elements of the Candy Crush brand, will translate into an offering of consumer products that our players will love.”

     

    Dream Theatre is collaborating with and seeking licensees across categories likeyoung adult apparel, gadget accessories, fashion accessories, candy, gifts & novelties. The products will be rolled out in 2015.

     

  • Jeyandran will work closely with Snapdeal's technology leadership team to scale up and further improve the underlying architecture

    Snapdeal brings in Jeyandran Venugopal as Technology Advisor

    By A Correspondent

     

    Snapdeal.com has announced the appointed of Jeyandran Venugopal as Technology Advisor. Jeyandran will be associated with the Snapdeal family in an advisory capacity and work with the leadership team to lay down the strategic technology roadmap for the future.

     

    Snapdeal has been ramping up its engineering team aggressively to further build and enhance customer and seller experience on its site. With the aspiration to become a globally renowned technology leader, Snapdeal’s 1000+ people strong engineering team aims to continue raising the bar on technology that enables great buyer and seller experience.

     

    Jeyandran will work closely with Snapdeal’s technology leadership team to scale up and further improve the underlying architecture and use his rich experience to make the Snapdeal platform future ready.

     

    Jeyandran comes with over 16 years of rich experience in leading global technology companies like Amazon and Yahoo. He has been instrumental in building the right technology backbones and creating some of their core systems. He was also a part of the team that set up Amazon’s India offices during his stint at the company. He holds a number of patents in his name for his path breaking work in technology. Prior to Snapdeal, he was a Vice President and a part of the executive leadership team at the Yahoo R&D Division in Bangalore.

     

    “We are thrilled to have Jeyandran as an advisor for the Snapdeal family. He comes with a rich experience and has played game changing roles in his previous organizations. Technology and innovation are at the core of our company, and we are positive that given his passion for technology, he will enable Snapdeal to continue to innovate and create life changing experience for buyers and sellers,” said Rohit bansal, Co-founder at Snapdeal.

     

    Speaking about his appointment, Jeyandran Venugopal said, “e-Commerce is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country today. I find Snapdeal’s vision to be really inspiring and ambitious and am very excited to be a part of building world class products in India for Indian consumers and merchants.  Having worked in the internet space for several years, I want to use my experience and knowledge of the product and technology aspect of this area in assisting Snapdeal to become the best technology platform in the country.”

     

     

     

  • Localbanya is looking to be in 12 cities by the end of this year and has received around $20 million

    Localbanya undergoes rebranding exercise

    By A Correspondent

     

    Online grocer Localbanya.com has completed its first major re-branding exercise since it began operations in Mumbai in 2012. The firm has unveiled a new logo and mascot as they eye a major expansion in 2015. The company has grown rapidly in the segment and currently does around 900 deliveries per day and has a user base of over 1 lakh customers.

     

    On the rebranding initiative co-founder Rashi Choudhary stated, “This is something that has been on the cards for a while now. Last year we were focused on dealing with growing so fast that looking at a new logo and mascot was something that got sidelined. As the year approached its end and we had an expansion roadmap in place for 2015, we felt that one of the first things that needed to be done this year was the re-branding. The entire experience and anticipation has been a great rallying point for all our people. There is an atmosphere of excitement within our team and the process and result has been a great tool in uniting everyone.”

     

    About the logo and mascot she said, “The changes to the logo are quite significant in terms of type and colour. We absolutely love the aqua colour because it represents a certain freshness and energy. It has a vibrancy that we try to inculcate in everything we do. The changes to our Banya as well stem from us wanting to give him a modern look yet retain the feel of him being approachable and knowledgeable. He stands championing our aspirations and brand promise to all while still maintaining his jolly look. All in all, we are very excited to take our new logo and mascot to as many homes as we can in the future.”

     

    Localbanya is looking to be in 12 cities by the end of this year and has received around $20 million in funding to date over 2 rounds. It has close to 300 people working for the brand and the portal currently lists around 14,000 products.

     

  • The platform will celebrate knowledge-sharing and networking with industry leaders

    Reliance Games announces debut of Pocket Gamer Connects

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Games has announced the advent of international mobile gaming conference – Pocket Gamer Connects to be held at Bangalore on April 16th and 17th2015. The event will feature some of the biggest developers, Indie superstars and global publishers known for games such as Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Candy Crush Saga, Warhammer 40000: Carnage and many others amongst a remarkable list of business leaders.

     

    In association with Steel Media this conference will be the epicenter for the entire Mobile Gaming fraternity, where developers and the academic community will get a chance to interact with the who’s who of the sector, investors, publishers and government representations to know what it takes to succeed in this fast growing space. The conference will have short-form lectures, super smart engaged speakers dispensing practical advice, intensive networking and will wrap up with a mega entertainment night featuring eastern and western cultural influences.

     

    Manish Agarwal

    Announcing the launch of PG Connects Bangalore, Manish Agarwal, CEO, Reliance Entertainment Digital said, “We are glad to announce our collaboration with Steel Media to bring Pocket Gamer Connects to India. It’s a dream come true to give global exposure and world class knowledge to a young Indian developer community so we can build the next billion dollar game from India. This event will be a true inflection point for mobile gaming to surge to great heights in our country.”

     

  • Their 'digital at core' philosophy was impressive and that translated seamlessly in their strategic approach and category understanding

    Havas Media wins digital mandate of Ranbaxy’s Consumer Healthcare brands

    By A Correspondent

     

    Subodh Marwah

    Havas Media Group India has started 2015 on a very positive note. They have won the digital marketing mandate of Ranbaxy’s Consumer healthcare brands post a multi-agency pitch which included the incumbent as well as all leading digital agencies.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Subodh Marwah, Vice President and Head-Global Consumer Healthcare said, “In Havas Media we saw a perfect partner- one who is equally innovative and passionate about building brands. Their ‘digital at core’ philosophy was impressive and that translated seamlessly in their strategic approach and category understanding.

     

    Anita Nayyar
    Mohit Joshi

    Speaking on the win, Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group India and South Asia said, “We are delighted at the win. It’s a great way to start the New Year. We believe in creating Meaningful Brands and Ranbaxy is an excellent example of such brands. Look forward to a great partnership.”

     

    “Digital is the future and Havas Media Group’s ‘digital at core’ philosophy provides us the capability of driving this growth in the Indian market. We are proud of the win and look forward to working with Team Ranbaxy”, continued Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media India

     

    Ranjoy Dey

    “Ranbaxy is a great brand to be associated with. Consumer Healthcare is today one of the most meaningful categories. We look forward to a great ‘Digital’ year at Havas Media”, explained Ranjoy Dey, Head of Digital, Havas Media India.

     

    Havas Media Group had recently won the integrated media mandate of OCM India, Assetz Property Group, Borosil Glass Works, World Kabaddi League, Yepme.com, retained MTS India and also took on the digital mandate and won the digital duties of XOLO Mobile and Businessworld magazine.

     

  • With a Rs 350 crore budget, Askme could well make it to the largest advertiser among Indian online companies, ahead of ecommerce biggies Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India

    Askme hires JWT, earmarks Rs 350-crore advertising budget

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    Advertising agency J Walter Thompson has bagged the advertising account of Askme-.com, a local search engine that provides information almost everything from restaurants to matrimony to jobs, following a multi-agency pitch. Manav Sethi, group head for marketing andigital products at Getit Infomedia that owns Askme.com, said the company has earmarked Rs 350 crore as its advertising budget for 2015.

     

    This could well make it the largest advertiser among Indian online companies, ahead of ecommerce biggies Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India that spend anywhere between Rs 100-200 crore each on advertising.

     

    JWT will be the creative agency for Askme and Askme Bazaar, an online marketplace that also offers services such as plumbing, painting and carpentry, replacing digital agency Ignitee. “J Walter Thompson India will help position Askme brand as a destination of choice across our target consumers in this category that full of clutter comprising competition with huge marketing budgets,” Sethi said.

     

    He declined to divulge the company’s past advertising budgets and spends. Rival search engines such as Justdial spend an estimated Rs 50-60 crore in advertising a year. According to a senior media planner, Google India spent Rs 100 crore in advertising in 2014.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • Yet another digital innovation by the brand helps one realise that one's world is more beautiful than the World Wide Web

    Cinthol takes to social media with #AliveIsOffline

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cinthol has released its latest digital campaign #AliveIsOffline on social media. The campaign took off with a teaser on twitter and is now reaching millions through a refreshing video which inspires the viewers to take some time off to travel and connect with the world around sans the internet.

     

    The inspirational video strikes an emotional connect and leaves one with a thought of how we are slowly getting strangled by the spider of the thriving World Wide Web. The video transcends the viewers to a forgotten world which can be logged into without a password. It is a wakeup call that urges you to switch to your offline mode once in a while. Weaved in with beautiful lines and picturesque scenes the video is an effective reminder of the breathtaking offline world that should be revisited.

     

    Sunil Kataria

    Sunil Kataria, Chief Operating Officer, Sales, Marketing and SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, shared, “In a world which is getting sucked into digital and where the youth of today is by default a digital native, this campaign idea of Alive is offline takes the Cinthol brand philosophy of Alive is Awesome forward in a very interesting way. Today we are so addicted to the world of social media that we take pictures only to post them, we check-in before enjoying the beauty around and make conversations only so that they trend. The meaning and beauty of travel to soak in the calm or appreciate a scenic view is lost while we are busy clicking pictures.

     

    #AliveIsOffline is a brilliant effort that urges addicted netizens to take away ‘media’ from ‘social media’ and leave one to only be social, to be social with nature, fellow companions and more importantly, with themselves.”

     

    Apart from the digital video, Cinthol plans to spread this thoughtful philosophy of #AliveIsOffline through online content partners and sought after tweeters. The brand hopes to touch the minds of as many as 10 million viewers through online content experts and Twitter influencer partnerships respectively.

     

    The video is the brainchild of Cinthol brand team and Creativeland Asia. Captured amidst the scenic forests, valleys and breathtaking waterfalls of Kerala this digital video is an eye opener and a thought starter.