MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • While the early birds are already in, it is still not too late to get some piece of the action, writes Karthik Kumar

    Four ways to navigate uncharted digital waters

     

    By Karthik Kumar

     

    Digital is here to stay. And while the early birds are already in, it is still not too late to get some piece of the action. Here are four ways to navigate your way successfully through digital marketing waters:

     

    1. A tipping point in penetration: Internet users make up nearly a third of India’s population. Confoundingly, the likelihood of the Internet becoming mainstay, rapidly, will take longer because of the environment and the seemingly-lopsided input-output relationship.

     

    Here’s why: About 69 per cent of users claim daily usage, but only 27 per cent actually use the Internet several times in a day. Thus, usage continues to be tactical (that is, when seeking specific information or action), and not a default habit. So while the Internet is good for a score update, the preferred mode for viewing the game is still the TV.

     

    To marketers, used to getting big bang for their buck, this leads to the perceived inability of the Internet to generate the same scale as mass media. This may, however, be a shortsighted way of looking at things. Smart money on the Internet has always been on incremental accretion, rather than big bang. Amazon, for example, does not sell one product to millions of customers, but hundreds of products to thousands every minute.

     

    Will things change if the Internet becomes mainstay? Unlikely. Usage in mature markets shows that over 50 per cent of the Internet’s usage is on activities that are individually too small to be classified into groups – in other words, a very high level of fragmented usage.

     

    2. Content in India languages required: Indians’ understanding of English does not always lead to a comfortable interaction in the language. The answer? Content in Indian languages. This does not mean just narrative content that makes up a large part of the web ecosystem, but also interactive content such as forms, demonstrations and such.

     

    This alone, though, will not be enough. Local content should also be searchable – the default web behaviour. The reason Internet probably has greater traction in China is Baidu, a browser that enables searches in the local language. Thus, to complement content in Indian languages, enabling search in Indian languages would be a necessary condition.

     

    3. Relevance of desktops will continue: The demise of the desktop that was proclaimed by some, has not really come to pass. That’s not surprising. Screen choice would be dictated by accessibility, convenience and the task. Internet usage is now multi- screen rather than single screen. Data from mature markets shows that multi-screen usage is more than 70 per cent.

     

    Conversion rates on mobiles are lower compared to desktops and laptops. However, given that search and discovery is happening more on mobile devices, it will be critical that the transaction process needs to seamlessly move from a mobile device to a desktop or tablet so that the transaction can be monetised.

     

    4. App strategy is critical for serious players: In the US, mobile users spend 89 per cent of their time on apps and only 11 per cent of their time on mobile web. While data for India is not readily available, usage patterns here are likely to be similar.

     

    Thus, an app strategy will become critical, not only for online players, but anybody who hopes to reach the mobile Internet user.

     

    Karthik Kumar is Director, Rage Communications. This article first appeared in dna of brands on February 8, 2016

     

  • An innovative and futuristic mobile solution that shortens distance between brands and consumers

    Tango Media launches StarStar for measurable ad ROI

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tango Media has launched an innovative and revolutionary technology solution that enables brands to connect better and quicker with their target audiences on the mobile.

     

    The solution, ‘StarStar’ (**), a patented technology, enables customers to merely dial a name rather than dial a number. For example, when you dial **BREAKFAST (**273253278) you reach Kellogg’s. When you dial **BANK (**2265), you reach YES BANK. “The biggest problem with brand advertising has always been customer amnesia. Even after a brand spends crores advertising their connect number, in the moment of reckoning, when the customer actually wants to buy the product, the customer does not remember the number to call! We are merely solving that problem of forgetfulness,” says Sandeep Goyal, Chairman Mogae Media.

     

    StarStar is mobile solution designed to enhance the Call-To-Action (CTA) of a brand. This path breaking technology basically takes away the burden of remembering short codes, toll free numbers, web URLs, QR codes or missed call numbers of any brand. All a user has to do is dial the name of the brand or the generic category to connect to that choice brand.

     

    StarStar works across all major mobile operators, on all features and smartphones and requires no internet connection or data connectivity and breaks the ice between brands and consumers at one of the most important modern day touch points –the mobile. For brands it is a golden opportunity to establish that connect with their consumers, where80-90 per cent of the response to all advertising is lost in the complexity of response mechanisms, and of course customers’ forgetfulness and memory lapse.

     

    Sandeep Goya

    Adds Sandeep Goyal, “StarStar is like owning your ‘mobile domain’ much like you own a ‘web domain’. Star TV has for example taken **STAR (**7827) and Urban Clap, the young market place start-up, has booked **URBANCLAP (**872262527). Similarly, Discovery has invested behind **TV (**88). One day soon, StarStar (**) will become to the mobile what hashtag (#) has today become to the world of social media. We have signed up a dozen clients, and at least another 40-50 should be on board very soon.”

     

    StarStar (**) is live in beta test mode. The product is expected to go commercial live later this month.

     

  • Millward Brown's annual digital and media predictions highlight the importance of brands to manage context and content in the year ahead

    ‘Digital campaigns tend to drive women audiences’

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Millward Brown, the WPP-Kantar brand, communications and media research unit, conducted its annual media gathering – ‘Millward Brown Media Conclave 2016’ in Mumbai on Tuesday. This year’s event focussed on the growing importance of digital in the larger media mix and played host to some of the country’s top most CMOs, media heads and media insights leads.

     

    Mark Henning

    From the complexities of consumer journey marketing, the constantly evolving media mix and the challenges in programmatic buying, there is an interesting content versus context battle underway. All of these were discussed as part of the conclave. In the words of Mark Henning, Head of Media & Digital, Millward Brown (AMAP): “We at Millward Brown have focused on the growing importance for brands to manage content to be delivered in the right context. In India, we have invested in campaign measurement capabilities that will be available to advertisers, agnostic of whether their campaigns are static or programmatic.”

     

    The Media and Digital team at Millward Brown collated and mined close to 130+ Indian campaigns they’ve evaluated in the recent past. A consolidated analysis of the studies, revealed some thought provoking insights. Some of the findings include,

    :: Digital adds newer audiences, incremental to the reach delivered by the traditional media channels
    :: Despite low internet penetration, digital campaigns tend to drive female audiences; especially ‘favourability towards brands’ and ‘Purchase Intent’
    :: Performance of ‘made-for-web’ ads has been observed to be far higher than ‘repurposed’ ads for video campaigns
    :: Mobile ad campaigns perform as well as the Desktop ad campaigns

     

    Ashish Karnad, Director, Media & Digital Solutions at Millward Brown (South Asia) said “Marketers in India have not been able to keep up to speed with the growth of the Digital medium. While I see an intent to spend more on Digital, the actual spends tell a different story. We, at Millward Brown, have been doing studies on the efficacy of the digital medium for some time now. We now have quantified evidence to prove that Digital is a very cost efficient medium and can be very effective in building brand metrics across the purchase funnel.”

     

    At the event, Millward Brown also took the opportunity to launch the India chapter of its global partnership with ComScore to announce a joint offering. The partnership, to jointly offer vCE (validated Campaign Essentials) and Brand Lift Insight, is designed to give brands a far deeper understanding of how their digital campaigns are performing.

     

  • Featuring their brand ambassador Irrfan Khan, the campaign connects entrepreneurs to their dreams and aspirations

    IndiaMART unveils ‘India ki Khoj’ campaign celebrating Indian entrepreneurship

    By A Correspondent

     

    IndiaMART is set to seal its position as the enabler of business growth with its new brand campaign – ‘India ki Khoj’. The new campaign featuring Irrfan Khan will establish its value proposition of a business facilitator of India, by being the platform that powers the ‘Khoj’ for growth, success, ambitions and legacy.

     

    “It feels great to be associated with this brand and its campaigns that have been inspirational to millions of entrepreneurs as well as the buyers in fulfilling their needs, be it business or personal. Through this campaign, I am sure that it will generate a strong impact and encourage enterprising people across the country to come forward and put their ideas into action,” said Irrfan Khan, India’s critically and globally acclaimed Cine Star.

     

    Speaking of the campaign, Sumit Bedi, Vice President, IndiaMART said, “India’s economic prosperity is fuelled by millions of small & medium sized entrepreneurs. We give them the platform to grow and act as an enabler that they can trust. Through this campaign, we will be celebrating the spirit of enterprises found across the length and breadth of India. Thus, we have summed it up as ‘Khoj’, for everything that they are looking for in life. We don’t just connect markets with opportunity; we connect individuals with their ambitions.”

     

    The campaign has been crafted by ‘Bang in the Middle’ and was shot in Mumbai. Prathap Suthan, CCO and Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle said “Every entrepreneur and every businessman starts his or her journey to follow a dream. The innate search and thirst to achieve a target, reach a landmark, and build an enterprise worthy of the dream in their minds. Our country is full of legends of people who have started small and made global successes, and those stories and surnames are driving forces for a country that’s now woken up.  They are inspiration to those searching for their own footprints to leave behind. This campaign is a tribute to that entrepreneurial spirit, as much as the earthiness of Irrfan adds realness to the grit of these people”

     

    The campaign kick-started with a tweet by Irrfan Khan and will also be amplified through his other digital platforms.

     

  • Vijay Shekhar Sharma received the coveted Best Digital Person of the Year from Shri. Jayant Sinha, Minister of State – Finance

    6th India Digital Awards felicitates worthy achievers

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anand Mahindra was adjudged as the Social Media Person of the Year at the 6th India Digital Awards presented by IAMAI. The winners of the 6th India Digital Awards coinciding with 10th India Digital Summit, 2016, were announced at a ceremony recently. The awards, this year had 6 Categories and 32 sub-categories for the internet and mobile value added services industry. The categories were Digital Advertising; Website; Mobile; Digital Payment; Digital Social & Economic Empowerment and Special Awards. While WatConsult’s “Sony SIX” was awarded Advertising / Marketing Award on Mobile, the coveted Best Digital Person of the Year was awarded to Vijay Shekhar Sharma of PayTm & Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola. Interactive Avenues won the best Digital Agency of the year award.

     

    Vijay Shekhar Sharma received the coveted Best Digital Person of the Year from Shri. Jayant Sinha, Minister of State – Finance.

     

    Winners of 6th India Digital Awards include:

    Award Winner
    Best Advertising / Marketing on Mobile WatConsult for Sony SIX
    Display Madison for Marico
    Search Marketing iProspect for ShopClues
    Viral Marketing Campaign Star India
    Email Marketing Campaign netCore for BIBA
    Social Media Marketing Campaign Interactive Avenues for Micromax Interactives
    Digital Integrated Campaign Experience Commerce for Lenovo India
    Execution of Performance Campaign Realty Redefined for The Wadhwa Group
    e-Commerce Website for a Retail Brand www.trendin.com – Madura Fashion & Lifestyle
    e-Commerce Website in a Specialised Category www.pepperfry.com
    Local Language Website www.chuttuvattom.com – Malayala Manorama
    News Content Website NDTV.com
    Travel Website Thomas Cook
    Financial Website www.bankbazaar.com – A & A Dukaan Financial Services
    Educational Website www.simplilearn.com
    Brand / Product Website www.hotstar.com – Star India
    Consumer Mobile Service National Mobile Number Portability – Vodafone India
    Mobile Enterprise Product or Services Abbott India Radio
    Mobile Game Star Chef by 99Games
    Innovative Mobile App Inshorts
    Mobile Money Prepaid Card / Product Happay and Payback
    Money Product / Service mVisa
    Digital Payment Facilitator Avenues India
    Digital Wallet PayTm
    Money Transfer Programme MobiKwik
    Payment Technology / Solution Provider PayU Payments
    Best use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development Karnataka MobileOne by Centre for e-Governance
    Best use of Internet for Social and Economic Development Intelligent Grid & Smart Metering Solution by Essel Infraprojects
    Start-Up of the Year OYO Rooms
    Digital Person of the Year Vijay Shekhar Sharma & Bhavish Aggarwal
    Digital Agency of the Year Interactive Avenues
    Social Media Person of the Year Anand Mahindra

     

  • Tech and consulting firms like IBM, Deloitte and Accenture are now vying for a slice of the A&M pie

    Are tech majors better at creative?

     

    By Ravi Balakrishnan & Amit Bapna

     

    The year started with a flurry of acquisitions. Within a week, three agencies, two German (ecx.io and Aperto) and one American (Resource/Ammirati) became part of a giant conglomerate. They had an impressive roster of clients: Victoria’s Secret, P&G, Airbus, Australian Airlines, Volkswagen and Siemens. But the real draw was each of these shops being at the vanguard of digital.

     

    A specialisation of great interest to the entity that acquired them — not one of the usual suspects like WPP or Publicis, but IBM. Over the last couple of years Big Blue has built Interactive Experience, widely reported to be the world’s largest digital agency. According to Ad Age it clocked revenues of a $1.9 billion in 2015. Global rivals Deloitte with Deloitte Digital and Accenture with Accenture Interactive are also vying for a slice of the marketing pie, venturing into spaces that were previously the exclusive preserve of marketing communication companies. Sapient started life as an IT services company, and was among the first to make marketing muscle a priority, buying The Nitro Group for $50 million in 2009. It was in turn acquired by Publicis in 2015, pursuing its stated objective of becoming digitally driven.

     

    So, why is this happening? To paraphrase Georges Clemeancu, has marketing and advertising become too serious a matter to entrust to marketers and ad men? Are the tech giants here to fulfil WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell’s prophecy: “the future of advertising and marketing services belongs as much to Maths Men (and women) as it does to Mad Men”?

     

    It’s a bit of everything. Rajdeep Endow, managing director, Sapient believes it’s inspired by the shift of advertising from communication to experience: “The time between consumption of a brand story (through mass media) to experiencing the brand (through website, ecommerce, social media, etc) has shrunk to a single click. There’s tremendous pressure to create experiences consistent with brand promise.” And therefore the opportunities for erstwhile system integrators to augment capabilities and get into the CMO conversation, he says. It’s also because these firms are trying to upsell. While they may host and collect data, true value lies in analysis and insights. Professor Jagmohan Raju, author and professor of marketing at Wharton observes, “These companies are pretty good at, for instance, guiding CEOs in developing new products and services. They are applying the same level of sophistication to marketing decisions. They already have C-suite access.”

     

    Access gets them a foot in the door, skills get them all the way in. Realising the limitations of insights based purely on advanced analytics, IBM’s trying to crack brand mentions in unconventional spaces: unstructured data online and on social media which could be text, video or voice.

     

    Says Rajesh Nambiar, general manager, IBM Services Integration, “The traditional way of computing can’t make sense of this. To decipher it in a big data world you need cognition and intelligence built into systems.”

     

    Which gives tech driven firms a rock solid proposition. The ability to do things that are still on the wishlist of many agency CEOs: being true partners to marketers, creating solutions that impact business. Nambiar says, “We formulate the problem, see if there’s a better way and then build and deliver. An agency can build and go away but we have no choice but to show results.” It’s an area few agencies dare to tread. Especially in India, in spite of a lot of chatter, the epic quest to “move beyond TV” often ends a few metaphoric blocks down the road, in the adjacent spaces of films on YouTube or 5 second clips on Vine.

     

    Agencies have a history of partnerships with marketers, a legacy of work that’s worked and creative chops. But tech firms are catching up. Sapient brought on board ad veteran KV Sridhar as chief creative officer of its digital offering SapientNitro. The buzz in IBM is that it’s moved from hiring from e-schools and b-schools (engineers and MBAs) to include d-schools — designers. In universities like Wharton, according to Raju, marketing students prefer tech companies to traditional ones.

     

    IBM is upping the ante on creative. Not via importing talent but taking employees through training modules on design thinking. Says Suparna Menon, associate partner & practice leader -Interactive Experience at IBM “Our engineering teams don’t see this as fuzzy, lofty stuff. They see it becoming real business requirements that they design systems around.” The key, simply put, is to restate a problem: for instance, designing a system to have flowers around a house as opposed to designing a vase.

     

    A lot of this upends many ad agency creatives’ pet theories on how good advertising is made: flashes of intuition and insights derived from a life well lived. Menon says, “When you lose to the competition, you realise that relying just on intuition which is art led and not science led does not drive business outcomes.”

     

    Depending on who you talk to, this shift has either caught agencies unawares or is the wakeup call they need. Rajesh Kumar, head of marketing -Indian Subcontinent, SAP observes, “I wouldn’t call the death of large agencies just yet but there is certainly a death of the large agency thinking.” Some Indian shops have seen the writing on the wall. They are hiring people with analytic skill sets, acquiring digitally driven shops and, in a few cases, urging marketers to look further afield when it comes to solutions. Poran Malani, president, Ogilvy South, and head of Ogilvy’s global hub based in Bengaluru says of the conflict, “Do we have the ability to assimilate knowledge and use it to inform our creative? Or do these companies have the clout now to add that creative component?”

     

    At least for the moment, the jury is out. Rishi Dogra, formerly with PepsiCo and current CMO, babajob.com, believes, “At a marketing ops level, we need a singular partner who deeply understands the consumer journey across all touch points. This is the opportunity as no single entity can hold their own across the physical and digital universe — from wall paintings to app store marketing.”

     

    If agencies are constrained by their reputation for being TV guys, the tech giants are held back by lack of top of mind recall. They are not yet the first port of call for a marketing solution. While powerhouses in the digital space globally, Deloitte and Accenture declined to comment on this story. Even IBM is reluctant to reveal the strength of its local Interactive Experience operation. What it’s confident about though is the opportunity it represents. Ask Nambiar and he says, “In my mind, it’s as big as the industry itself.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2016, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • He will helm the on-going marketing strategy and help build KOOVS a leading western fashion destination in India

    Koovs.com appoints Gaurav Nabh as Marketing Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    Gaurav Nabh

    Koovs PLC, the London-listed parent of Indian lifestyle e-commerce venture KOOVS has appointed Gaurav Nabh as Marketing Director for KOOVS.COM.

     

    Gaurav will be based in India and operate out of the KOOVS’ headquarters in Gurgaon. In his new role as the Marketing Director, he will be leading the Marketing Division, which will include Brand Communication & Content, Digital Marketing and Consumer engagement programs. He will helm the on-going marketing strategy and help build KOOVS a leading western fashion destination in India.

     

    Mary Turner, CEO of KOOVS Group says, “I am delighted to have Gaurav join KOOVS. He brings invaluable experience in digital and mobile marketing, especially his early experience in launching Virgin Mobile and Telenor in India and deep understanding of the Indian consumer. Digital Marketing is gaining traction in the industry and his expertise in the field will help the brand take a leap forward.”

     

    On his appointment Gaurav said, “Ecommerce is reshaping the Indian consumer’s shopping habits and I am delighted to be a part of this journey. We wish to brand KOOVS as the first choice for western fashion and global trends. Through a host of innovative marketing campaigns, the aim is to build KOOVS as the preferred fashion destination for the style conscientious youth of India.”

     

    Formerly CEO of Quasar, WPP’s specialist digital agency in India, Gaurav brings over 14 years of rich experience in Marketing through the digital & mobile medium as a brand marketer and agency partner. He was also the part of the core team responsible for for launching Virgin Mobile and Telenor in India. He has worked with top international brands such as Proctor & Gamble, Nestlé, Colgate and Domino’s Pizza on their digital launches in the market and has over eight years’ experience in mobile marketing.

     

    On his appointment, Mohanty said, “Online commerce is reshaping the Indian consumer’s shopping habits and I am delighted to have the opportunity to spearhead an industry leader.” On his appointment, Mohanty said, “Online commerce is reshaping the Indian consumer’s shopping habits and I am delighted to have the opportunity to spearhead an industry leader.” On his appointment, Mohanty said, “Online commerce is reshaping the Indian consumer’s shopping habits and I am delighted to have the opportunity to spearhead an industry leader.”

     

  • With the theme as DesignX – discovering the exponential power of design thinking, top design professionals are set to converge at PDF 2016

    Pune celebrates Design, 10th year running

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the objective of celebrating the power of creativity and design thinking, the Association of Designers of India (ADI) is holding the tenth edition of the Pune Design Festival (PDF).  Based on the theme of ‘DesignX’,  PDF 2016 will be held on February 26 and 27 at Hyatt Regency, Pune. This 2-day fest will showcase and rejoice the power of design which contributes in creating communications, products and provide a great impact on quality of living. Considering it as the need of hour, the 10th edition of PDF will be offering exciting interactive sessions, workshops and a better platform for connectivity.

     

     

    1. 10 years of PDF:

    A small spark has caught on and become into a huge event over the years. This is an amazing coming together of people, and its an interesting process of working together – which perhaps could be a more interesting study as the making of the event.

    Bala Mahajan: President

     

    2. Design over the last ten years:

    Design has now percolated everywhere. But things that were spoken in the 2006 PDF is still relevant today too. So design thinking has been and still is as relevant. It only has become more mainstream.

    Darpana Athale: Vice-President

     

    3. How Businesses are finally taking note of the design input:

    We got more partners this year! Design was always considered as a latent benefit earlier, related to big brands and ventures only. But in recent times, more and more businesses are looking at design and designers as the drivers and influencers.

    Ashwini Deshpande: General Secretary

     

    4. Theme of PDF 2016:

    DesignX (Design raised to the power of X) The exponential power of design thinking.  ‘X’ is the magic that design brings to the table. Each of the speakers has brought out that magic to their own fields – from social to venture capitalists.

    Siddharth Kabra: Treasurer

     

    Beginning the festival with an interesting note, there will be a unique way of reinterpretation of music by renowned Indian composer, Rajat Dholakia and design by the guru of animation, Suresh Eriyat in a very unique style. Later, the festival will have a keynote session of political columnist and design activist Uday Dandavate, followed by Mickey McManus’ presentation on ‘Curiosity + Empathy = Mindful design’.

     

    The highlight of this edition of PDF will be a memorial session on Late Prof MP Ranjan, a highly respected design thinker and a senior faculty member of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad by Swati Ramanathan. Catering to the five problems of modern society: Ageing, Healthcare, Energy, Mobility and Education, the fest will also host a ‘Design Swarm’ – a unique overnight workshop based on the theme of ‘Designing for a better world – Cradle to Cradle’, which will be hosted by designer Surya Vanka, ex-Director of User Experience at Microsoft.

     

    There will also be focused sessions on design and entrepreneurship, design in business, design and academia at the two-day event. Addition to this there will also be sessions which will showcase the contribution of designers in shaping the future of Smart cities and development. An example being Kiran Bir Sethi, founder of ‘aProCh’ – an initiative to make our cities more child friendly. She has also founded ‘Design for Change’ (DFC) – the world’s largest movement of change – of and by children.  DFC is in over 30 countries – impacting 25 million children.

     

    The concluding keynote session will be delivered by acclaimed  advertising films director, Prasoon Pandey.

     

    More than just a celebration, the fest will be filled with interactive lectures, workshops and insights by designers, design thinkers & evangelists from diverse domains. These being Danish Husain, theatre actor and co-founder of Dastangoi;   E Phani and Sanath PC who have worked on the visual effects of movies like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Baahubali; Pratap Bose of Tata Motors, to name a few.

     

    PDF 2016 will also host panel discussions on culture, education and business bentures, one-on-ones and provide a chance of networking under one roof and cultural exchange. It will be a medium in creating, collaborating and celebrating good designs.

     

  • #MallNahiMarket is a 360-degree media campaign which reinforces ShopClues' market positioning as a mass brand

    Shopclues unveils its latest #MallNahiMarket campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    ShopClues has unveiled its latest campaign titled #MallNahiMarket. The objective of the campaign is to break the clutter in the realm of e-commerce with its value-for-money shopping experience.

     

    #MallNahiMarket is a 360-degree media campaign which reinforces ShopClues’ market positioning as a mass brand. The campaign offers its shoppers an experience of an Indian street market with competitive pricing and a wide assortment.

     

    ShopClues’ latest TVC depicts a happy Indian Shopper who dances to the tunes of “Yeh Mall Nahi Hai, Market Hai, Yeh Good for the Pocket Hai.” This happy-go-lucky character celebrating bargains at ShopClues represents the company’s shoppers who are bargain-hunters and love a bazaar-like experience! The communication route is meant to strike a chord with ShopClues’ consumers who rely on great pricing across the ShopClues website and mobile app. The TVC ably illustrates that the ShopClues’ app is perfectly poised to give customers the most authentic market experience online which reiterates its communication – “Market in your Pocket”.

     

    ShopClues plans to roll out 3 TVCs for its leading categories namely Fashion, Home & Kitchen, and Electronics. These fun-to-watch TV ad films have been created and conceptualised by Mumbai-based Enormous Brands.

     

    Talking about the new brand campaign, Nitin Agarwal, AVP-Marketing, ShopClues commented, “Through the new ad campaign, our key endeavour is to reinstate ShopClues’ brand positioning as the ultimate marketplace for the value-conscious shoppers. We want to emphasise on replicating the Bazaar-like familiarity & experience on the online and mobile platforms. On our platform customers can expect the biggest product range & price points that remind them of their favourite markets. This USP of our brand is what we wish to drive home through our latest TVCs.”

     

    When asked about his stance on the Latest Campaign launch, Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner of Enormous Brands said, “While shopping at a mall is a concept from the west, shopping at a market is a more culturally-rooted experience for most Indians. To cut through the clutter of online malls, ShopClues has always drawn a parallel to bazaar experiences that appeal to the masses. #MallNahiMarket aims to meet the consumer expectations and does so in a relatable and colloquial tone and manner.”

     

  • Under the renewed agreement, Komli will continue to help Twitter expand its Promoted Products suite of advertising products

    Komli Media renews partnership with Twitter Inc. in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media technology brand Komli Media announced that it has renewed its partnership agreement with Twitter for India till March 2017. Komli signed this partnership for the first time with Twitter in 2012.

     

    Under the renewed agreement, Komli will continue to help Twitter expand its Promoted Products suite of advertising products and emphasise on the company’s monetisation efforts. Komli would be reaching out to the huge Indian mid-market segment and help them target potential customers on Twitter giving them high life time value per customer and eventual return on investment.

     

    Manish Vij, Founder & CEO, SVG Media, said “These are exciting times for us to be in the digital and mobile marketing industry. The Indian market is growing and fast emerging as a significant opportunity distinct from the developed markets in the U.S and other geographies. Komli has delivered amazing results in past few years and we are absolutely confident about our success in the coming year too”.

     

    Komli Media is driving Twitter advertisement campaigns for some of the biggest Indian brands including Levi’s, Cathay Pacific, Zoomcar, Swiggy and Adani  to count a few.

     

    Akshay Mathur

    Speaking about the development, Akshay Mathur, Senior Vice President, Komli Media said, “We are delighted to extend our partnership with Twitter, particularly at a time when social media usage in India is exploding and an unprecedented number of brands are investing in Twitter to reach out to their audiences. Through this partnership we are looking forward to delivering again on our commitment to create a long term value for Twitter in this region. This partnership also makes us the only player with a complete digital and mobile marketing portfolio and the partner of choice for marketers operating in this region.”

     

    Aliza Knox

    Aliza Knox, Vice President, Online Sales, Asia Pacific and Latin America, Twitter, said, “India is one of the fastest growing markets for Twitter worldwide and we are excited to announce the extension of our strategic business partnership with Komli locally. The partnership will provide additional on-ground support to Twitter’s clients and prospects in India, working in parallel with our direct sales team, to strengthen Twitter’s presence in the market.”

     

  • So said Maxus Global CEO Lindsay Pattison currently in India to hold a leadership meet in the country

    India will be fastest growing market in 2016

     

    By Ratna Bhushan & Shambhavi Anand

     

    India will be the fastest growing advertising market this calendar with total ad spend rising 15%, says Lindsay Pattison, global chief executive at media buying agency Maxus.

     

    “The big growth driver will be ecommerce, followed by telecom, including the rollout of 4G services, the automobiles sector and fast moving consumer goods,” Pattison said.

     

    Maxus is part of GroupM, the parent company of WPP’s media agencies, that takes care of close to one-third of all media investments worldwide. Pattison is in India with her 11-member board to host the $11-billion agency’s first meet in the country.

     

    Emerging categories such as ecommerce and other technology startups are advertising heavily across mediums in the country to build brands and they are expected to continue doing the same, said Pattison, the only woman global head of a GroupM agency. The year is expected to see several new launches across the automobiles and consumer goods space, she said.

     

    In a slowing world market, which saw China and Europe reduce ad expenditure, Pattison said Maxus is banking heavily on India’s fast-growing ecommerce sector to fuel the group’s growth globally.

     

    “Advertising growth is a very good indicator of GDP growth. India is a star market in terms of quality… Individually, companies may trade down but at a sectoral level, there are no concerns,” she said.

     

    India, which currently trails only the US advertising market in terms of size, is set to significantly outpace global ad spend growth forecast of 4.5% for this year. The US, India, the UK, Germany and China make up the top five markets for Maxus.

     

    Pattison said India contributes $750 million to its global revenues. Maxus, which contributes 25% to GroupM’s revenues in India, buys media for firms such as digital wallet and online ecommerce platform Paytm, telecom services provider Vodafone, and personal care products maker L’Oreal.

     

    She said the agency’s growth would be mainly through retention and the organic route, rather than acquisitions.

     

    Maxus has rolled out Kaleidoscope, a tool to define parameters such as consumer moods and receptivity, which could play a significant role in the way brands respond to rapidly changing consumer behaviour, especially on the social media.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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    Licensed to republish

     

  • Dino Morea picks upstakes inVertuals, an audio-visual content house that enables brands to tell their unique story across web, social and mobile ecosystem

    Dino Morea invests in digital storytelling content house, Vertuals

    By A Correspondent

     

    Celebrity and entrepreneur Dino Morea acquires stake in the Mumbai-based digital storytelling creative house, Vertuals. A joint venture between Dino Morea and digital Entrepreneur Amit Tripathi, Vertuals is set to enable global brands to tell the stories they are passionate about and audio-visually connect them with their stakeholders like never before.

     

    As an investor and a crucial voice in the business, Dino Morea brings with him a knack for storytelling and a mindset for growth and expansion.At a time when the digital trends are reshaping the advertising business and consumption of video is at an all time high, digital storytelling in short formats is set to change the rules of the game. The 30 seconds to few minutes of content from Vertuals will empowerthe brands of today to creatively tell their stories that the customers can relate to. Conveyed through audio visual modes across all engagement touch points in the digital ecosystem including web, social, mobile, etc, Vertuals is sure to make its presence felt under the leadership of Morea and Tripathi.

     

    Elated to have Vertuals in his business portfolio, Dino Morea shared, “I saw huge potential in Vertuals and its expansion plans. Moreover, it is a business based on something that all of us relate to –stories. And these are no ordinary stories. Stories by Vertuals will be focused and compelling,presented in audio-video form to bring brands closer to the on the go consumers of today.

     

    “Dino came as a natural fit for Vertuals and it is a great moment for us to have him on board. He brings along an interesting blend of storytelling skills, a deep understanding of the viewers, and an unmatched business sense. His presence will help us extend both our outreach and impactwithin the current sectors as well as the new client sectors. With him, Vertuals is uniquely positioned to forge key media partnerships and enhance its internal capabilities.” shared Amit Tripathi, Director, Vertuals.

     

    With an in-house production set up in place, Vertuals is geared up to service a vast base of clients with the help of the topmost talent from the industry. Also Dino Morea brings along an eye for identifying the best content writers and directors in an effort to make the short format storytelling using new media by Vertuals surpass brand expectations.