MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • ZenithOptimedia has announced the quitting of CEO Satyajit Sen and Navin Khemka. Meanwhile, Dnyanada Chaudhari joins today as Managing Partner and Prasanna Kulkarni as Chief Creative Officer

    Key changes in ZenithOptimedia top deck: Exit: Satyajit Sen & Navin Khemka In: Dnyanada Chaudhari & Prasanna Kulkarni

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s been doing the rounds for a while, That Satyajit Sen and Navin Khemka are qutting ZenithOptimedia India and now the news has been confirmed by Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO ZenithOptimedia Group. “After putting in eight years with ZenithOptimedia, Satya has decided to embrace a new challenge. We thank him for all his contributions to ZO and wish him all the very best”. She also informed that Khemka, who has also been with the group for eight plus years, has put in his papers. “ZOG thanks him also for his contributions and wishes him well in his next assignment”

     

    Anupriya Acharya

    Meanwhile, Ms Acharya also announced the appointment of Dnyanada Chaudhari as Managing Partner, ZenithOptimedia India. Dnyanada will be incharge of trading and media management nationally and in this role, she will partner marketing teams to not just look at efficiencies but also leverage strategic alliances across media partners, in line with our Live ROI philosophy.

     

    Says Ms Acharya: “Dnyanada brings with her the exact expertise needed for this role. Her diverse background across strategy, buying and media management as well as experience with large scale businesses, is especially suited to create and refresh our trading architecture and execution across all media including TV, Print, Radio, Digital, OOH, Experiential and other specialist services.”

     

    Dnyanada Chaudhari

    Ms Chaudhari joins from today (June 2) and will be based out of ZO’s Gurgaon Office. In her 18 years of work experience, she has gained expertise across diverse functions – strategic planning, buying, media management and has worked both on the agency as well as the client side. In her last role at Madison, she led its Mumbai office as COO and was responsible for driving excellence across units. She has also been at Lodestar and ZO in the past. Her client experience includes three of the most admired companies – ICICI Prudential, Marico and HUL. At HUL, as Head – Media services in India, she was amongst the top 40 media people in the Unilever world and was responsible for maximizing ROI and driving competitive advantage for India’s largest advertiser. Over the next few days and weeks, she will come across to meet you at your convenience.

     

    Comments Ms Chaudhari: “Am excited to be back and strongly believe in ZenithOptimedia’s Live ROI principle and am very keen on partnering marketing teams to not just look at efficiencies but to also strategically leverage alliances to drive thought leadership and brand ROI”

     

    Prasanna Kulkarni

    Ms Acharya also confirmed the appointment of Prasanna Kulkarni, as Chief Creative Officer, ZenithOptimedia Group. He will be based out of Mumbai and in-charge of Creative and Content marketing solutions across ZenithOptimedia, Performics, Resultrix and Newcast. Said Ms Anupriya: “We are increasingly finding our clients requiring creative content solutions across not only online but even on integrated campaigns. Prasanna’s role is towards driving competitive edge in our product through superior integration of creative and content solutions. In fact as we move ahead, we will be looking at getting more and more diversified talent on board.

     

    With over 16 years of experience in advertising, brand strategy, and digital media, Mr Kulkarni’s previous assignment saw him leading a creative team as Executive Creative Director at JWT – digital. Prior to that he was at OgilvyOne Worldwide India as Senior Creative Director – Digital; his experience also includes Rediff.com, Ogilvy Interactive and the E-learning domain. He has worked for clients like IBM, Diageo, Ceat, Cadbury, Vodafone, Vespa, Lenovo, HSBC, Tata Motors, Castrol, Star India, Perfetti Van Melle, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., British Airways, Starbucks, Godrej and won several accolades and awards.

     

    Says Mr Kulkarni: “Great opportunity to work across the focus groups like performance based marketing, content led communication solutions, and integrated campaigns with ZenithOptimedia and its divisions, extremely glad to be part of such multidisciplinary team at ZOG. I look forward to taking the organization’s creative capabilities to the next level by elevating the bar for innovative content. I am confident we are on our way to making ZenithOptimedia, Performics, Resultrix and Newcast a stimulating place for creatives and patrons alike.”

     

  • The digital destination will present one-point access to the right mix of sports and entertainment

    MSM unveils sports entertainment offering – LIVSports.in

    By A Correspondent

     

    Multi Screen Media (MSM) announced the launch of LIV Sports, a premier digital sports entertainment destination – www.LIVSports.in. The digital destination will present one-point access to the right mix of sports and entertainment innovatively across devices. Coming from the Sony Network, LIV Sports will target the avid sports fan as well as entertainment seekers.

     

    LIV Sports is the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup starting 12th June 2014. LIV Sports will show both live and video-on-demand match content, with rich and informative statistics and analysis.

     

    NP Singh

    NP Singh, CEO, Multi Screen Media (MSM) commented, “The idea was to create a premier digital sports entertainment destination where we will offer quality content which is mass inclusive and not designed to cater only to ardent sports fans. We have attempted to redefine the way sporting content is presented and consumed. With LIV Sports we will attempt to keep every cross section of our consumers actively engaged through high quality interactive sports content with informative data and analytics.”

     

    Nitesh Kripalani, Executive Vice-President – New Media, Business Development and Digital/Syndication at Sony Entertainment Network, reiterated, “LIV Sports is the first and only digital destination to offer a unique mix of live Sports, live statistics and engagement, thereby catering to multiple user groups and their preferences. With LIV Sports we are aiming to create a new category of “Sports Entertainment”. You can either watch the live match, with all the deep statistics overlaying the video, or you can just click a selfie in your team’s jersey using the Jerseyfy Me application. We have also brought back the digital avatar of the Player cards, combined with educating fans about the different athletes with – Pehchaan Kaun. The objective is to empower the Sports fan with deep statistics on video; as well as engage with the fence sitters.”

     

    Over the next few months, viewers will be able to catch up with the widest range of sporting content, including Football, NBA, UFC, Tennis and Cricket on LIV Sports. The digital destination will offer live and exclusive video content along with a complete coverage of the latest sporting content present, across devices. Considering the fact that data and statistics makes sports interesting, LIV Sports makes available to its viewers the most comprehensive and in depth world-class sporting data and info- graphics. Consumers will be able to access content like details of individual players, performances of teams, rankings, comparisons, event charts and heat maps.

     

  • PFT's Play-out Monitoring Service will input reliable data in to BARC's Audience Measurement System for monitoring content, promos and TVCs across channels

    BARC appoints Prime Focus Technologies for Play-out Monitoring Service

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology subsidiary of Prime Focus Limited has announced that the Indian Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has contracted it to offer Play-out Monitoring Service to power one of the world’s largest audience measurement programs. PFT’s globally proven CLEARTM Media ERP platform bolstered with next generation content identification technology and Digital Services will help automatically generate play-out monitoring reports on a daily basis.

     

    Audience measurement data is the de facto currency for media industry, being widely used by all stakeholders for planning, pricing, selling and buying advertising inventory on the medium. PFT will offer a robust play-out monitoring service which will check the actual telecast of each channel, capture the content at every point in time, and help link it back to the rating piece of the audience measurement system.

     

    “It is a great honor to be selected by BARC, and we consider it equally a great responsibility towards the industry,” said Ram ki Sankaranarayanan, Founder & CEO, Prime Focus Technologies. “India has one of the largest TV ecosystems in the world and the audience measurement system ought to be highly credible. We look forward to working with BARC to help build India’s very own, trusted rating service.”

     

    “With PFT on board we are one step closer to our mission of indigenously building a television audience measurement system that is better than the best in the world,” said ParthoDasgupta, CEO, BARC. “PFT’s world class technology, deep understanding of Indian broadcast and advertising industry, and across the board relationships with broadcasters and advertisers as a neutral partner made them the perfect choice for this critical role.”

     

    India has 154 million TV households making it the third largest TV market in the world, next only to China and the US. This will be the first fully digital play-out monitoring service employed directly by the Indian broadcast industry and is scheduled to commence operations in October 2014.

     

  • Mr. Maheshwari takes over from Roshini Bakshi who has resigned from the company to pursue other interests

    Abhishek Maheshwari to lead Disney Consumer Products in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Walt Disney Company India has announced the appointment of Mr. Abhishek Maheshwari as Vice President and Head, Disney Consumer Products. Mr. Maheshwari takes over from Roshini Bakshi who has resigned from the company to pursue other interests.

     

    “Abhishek has been a key member of our management team since 2012. Over this time, he has worked closely on the integration of Disney and UTV, on identifying local growth initiatives for the company and on formulating our long-term strategy in India,” said Mr. Siddharth Roy Kapur, Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company India. “Abhishek brings to this role a deep understanding of our businesses along with a diverse set of leadership skills, and he is well placed to help us continue to grow our consumer products business in India.”

     

    In addition to focusing his energies on leading Disney’s Consumer Products business, Mr. Maheshwari will continue to oversee Corporate Strategy and Business Development for the Company in India.

     

    Before joining Disney, Mr. Maheshwari worked in various management roles for Kubera and prior to that with McKinsey & Company at their Mumbai and Stamford, Connecticut offices. Abhishek received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with distinction from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

     

  • Saugata will report into Gaurav Nabh, Business Head, Quasar and will be based out of Mumbai

    Saugata Bagchi joins Quasar as Reg Head, West & South

    By A Correspondent

     

    Digital agency Quasar has announced the appointment of Saugata Bagchi as the new Regional Head, West & South. Saugata will report into Gaurav Nabh, Business Head, Quasar and will be based out of Mumbai.

     

    Prior to joining Quasar, Saugata was head of Mumbai and Bangalore offices at Tribal Worldwide, India. He was responsible for driving business for the two regional offices and also manage the agency’s national mandate. He was instrumental in establishing the agency as the digital agency of record for prestigious clients including Hindustan Unilever, Emirates, McDonalds and developing the agency’s technology, social media & digital analytics skill sets.

     

    Gaurav Nabh, Business Head, Quasar said, “Saugata is a born leader, taking on challenges head on, something that he has demonstrated repeatedly across all his assignments. He brings with him a lot of experience and knowledge of consumers, and the ability to engage and delight them online, something that our clients will benefit from immensely.  I am looking forward to working with Saugata in bringing great new ideas for our customers and growing our client base in Mumbai and Bangalore.”

     

  • The winner will get an opportunity to collaborate with the leading brand and to showcase his/her work on their social channels

    Talenthouse India partners with Max for video contest

    By A Correspondent

     

    Talenthouse India, SEA’s leading creative crowdsourcing platform has joined hands with Max to invite aspiring film makers for creating 30-sec or 60-sec videos that tell stories of life that viewers will want to and love to share. Titled ‘Moments called life’ this contest invites filmmakers to remember one priceless experience of their life and express it through a 30-60 seconds video by using Max brand ideology i.e. emotional, thoughtful, humorous that has heartfelt connect and acts that drives mindfulness, commitment and hope.

     

    The winner will get an opportunity to collaborate with the leading brand and to showcase his/her work on their social channels along with cash prize money of Rs. 100,000. While 30 additional winners will receive a cash prize money of Rs 3,000 each.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the contest, Mr. Arun Mehra, CEO, Talenthouse India said, “At Talenthouse India, our core focus is providing unmatched opportunities to budding artists.

     

    Through this initiative with India’s leading brand, we aim to encourage creativity and talent and provide right platform to the amazing talent pool available in our country.”

  • FCB Ulka Advertising chief M G Parameswaran is set to be the next President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India. A formal announcement of this is to be made soon

    MG ‘Ambi’ Parameswaran to be AAAI president

    M G Parameswaran

    By A Correspondent

     

    Author and Adviser, FCB Ulka M G Parameswaran is set to be the next President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India. Ambi, as he’s popularly known in the fraternity, and is currently vice-president of the apex association of advertising agencies. A formal announcement of this is to be made shortly, MxMIndia learnt at Goafest 2014 last week.

     

    Former Leo Burnett Chairman and CEO Arvind Sharma has been President of the AAAI since 2012 and his term is expected to end next month. Mr Parameswaran will be the 44th head of the body (48th if you include those who held mulitiple, non-consecutive terms).

     

  • The outgoing Indian Express editor-in-chief will Vice Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of all of the India Today group's news, business publications and news TV, digital brands. He will report to Mr Purie

    Shekhar Gupta to join India Today as Vice Chairman and Editor-in-Chief

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s now official. Shekhar Gupta, who announced his exit from the Indian Express group with effect from June 15, returns to the India Today Group as Vice Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of all news, business publications and news TV, digital brands

     

    Announcing the appointment today, ITG Chairman Aroon Purie said: “This is a homecoming for Shekhar. He joined India Today in 1983 and was here for 12 eventful years during which he was an outstanding journalist. Shekhar is by far the best reporters’ editor in Indian journalism today. Because of his fierce independence and integrity, he attracts and inspires the finest talent, and I look forward to him bringing an entire ecosystem of excellence on editorial as well as corporate platforms.”

     

    Mr Gupta will also, in association with Mr Purie, launch a series of unique new editorial products that will showcase, 24 by 7, the finest in investigative reporting and interpretative commentary.

     

    “At a personal level, our friendship has grown as we have bounced ideas off each other about the rapid changes in our business,” said Mr Purie. “So Shekhar’s return is a moment of deep satisfaction and vindication of my belief, our shared belief, in the power of good journalism to help make sense of the noise rather than to add to it. Shekhar has also promised to liberate me from day-to-day operations so that I can work to guide the Group into a future of great promise, growth and excitement.”

     

    “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity,” said Mr Gupta, “to return to the India Today Group to work with Aroon and his fine teams and nurture the most trusted news brands. ITG, with its commitment to excellence and credibility, is best placed to meet the biggest challenge in our business today: to earn the trust and respect of our readers and viewers.”

     

    Mr Gupta will report to Mnr Purie and will be responsible for the editorial quality of all news and business brands. He will work closely with Ashish Bagga, Group CEO, and enable him to effectively grow readership and viewership profitably.

     

  • The agency triumphed over others on account of their comprehensive and inventive approach on creative thinking, category understanding strength, micro planning and efficient buying strength

    Milestone Media bags OOH mandate for Reliance Communications

    By A Correspondent

     

    Milestone Media, a division of Milestone Brandcom has won the OOH media mandate for Reliance Communication following a multi-agency pitch attended by seven large OOH agencies, that lasted over three rounds. Milestone Media will handle pan-India OOH media duties for the business. The agency triumphed over others on account of their comprehensive and inventive approach on creative thinking, category understanding strength, micro planning and efficient buying strength.

     

    Speaking on the alliance, Gurdeep Singh, CEO, Consumer Business, Reliance Communications Ltd, said, “Milestone Brandcom had a sound understanding of our business issues that we face in a dynamic category. Their pursuit for perfection, and professional attitude were appealing to RCOM while making the decision.”

     

    Nabendu Bhatacharyya, Founder & MD Milestone Brandcom Group said, “This is a noteworthy achievement for us at Milestone Media. Reliance is one of the biggest players in the Communications industry with a unparalleled legacy, offer us challenge to partner them in renewed strategy for future time. We look forward to working with the team and help them push boundaries by creating cutting edge work & contribute to R Com’s growth story”

     

  • The digital campaign by Webitude aims at engaging with audiences via new age media

    CenturyPly takes an aggressive route for digital campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    CenturyPly has launched its first ever interactive digital campaign ‘Khushiyon Ka Rangmanch’ on the digital platform. For the first time, CenturyPly has launched an aggressive digital campaign before a TV campaign, where the brand has launched a consumer friendly website, responsive with rich imagery and application based to create excitement amongst consumers. CenturyPly is also the first one within this product category to have come up with an aggressive digital campaign

     

    CenturyPly operates in a category that is only 30 per cent organized, since the last six years the brands key communications and positioning have been via TV campaigns highlighting the core functional benefits of strength and durability of CenturyPly products. For the first time the brand has stepped into the digital zone for engaging with their target audiences and consumers.

     

    “We were thrilled to create and run the first-ever digital campaign for CenturyPly, because the product segment is very challenging and unique. But witnessing the digital revolution in India in all segments & verticals, we understand this was the right time for CenturyPly to step into the digital world and connect with the target audiences. To engage and create a successful digital campaign for a heritage brand like CenturyPly, conviction in the brand’s philosophy and an innovative approach was required. We are extremely thankful to CenturyPly for their faith in us and giving us this opportunity,” said Santosh Kumar, Co-founder, Webitude (A part of Digital Quotient).

     

    “Given the greater than before internet penetration, businesses are increasingly shifting their attention from the traditional marketing media to digital media. We were looking for an agency that understands our objective and can communicate the same across various digital platforms. We really liked team’s understanding of the brand and the Digital landscape”, said Amit Gope, Head of Marketing, CenturyPly India.

     

  • The engaging digital campaign spans across desktop and Mobile for OLX

    SMG Convonix creates digital campaign for OLX

    By a correspondent

     

    SMG Convonix, leading integrated digital marketing solutions company and part of Starcom MediaVest Group has come up with a unique integrated experiential digital media campaign for OLX “Phone ko banao SELLphone”. OLX, in a marketing campaign across TV, radio, and outdoor, is promoting a new concept of ‘sell-phone,’ focusing on three core communication points click-upload-sell.

     

    The digital ad campaign by SMG Convonix trendily allows the users to sell off household things virtually by just experiencing this innovation on Web though their mobile phones. This mobile sync web campaign goes live on Yahoo and MSN from 4th and 5th June respectively.

     

    Women have always been an integral part of the brand communication at OLX. With ‘Phone ko banao Sell-Phone’ OLX celebrates the individuality and independence of the new-age Indian woman. The campaign displays OLX mobile App as a tool of empowerment for women, allowing them to earn money, and unclutter from the convenience of their homes.

     

    Commenting on the innovation, Amarjit Batra, Chief Executive Officer, OLX India, said, “The current campaign “Phone ko banao SELLphone” stemmed from the insight that it is easier to use a classifieds platform from a mobile phone than a desktop PC. The campaign tries to highlight that online selling is fun and convenient”.

     

    “This innovation is an attempt to deliver the joy of selling through mobile, and displays the ease of the OLX mobile App. With this campaign we intend to give our users the best possible user experience,” he further added.

     

  • Sony AATH would offer Bengali language feed for the first time ever on satellite television for an international sporting event

    Sony AATH to broadcast FIFA World Cup matches in Bengali

    By A Correspondent

     

    In its bid to cater to the football lovers in West Bengal, Sony AATH will broadcast live the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Bengali commentary. The channel will telecast 56 FIFA matches in Bengali, and provide its audience with a unique viewing experience that has never been done before on satellite TV. As a strategic move, Sony AATH aims to expand its reach through this custom offering to the vast Bengali speaking audience of the country.

     

    Speaking on this unique initiative, Tushar Shah, Senior Vice President Multi- Screen Media, who also manages the operations of Sony AATH, said, “The one factor that unifies Sony AATH with the people of Bengal is our love for football. It is this love that has inspired us to offer 2014 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ to the people of Bengal in their very own language. Sony AATH’s endeavour is to captivate this passionate audience by  creating a holistic football experience by providing high quality sports content in a language which, they love.”

     

    NP Singh

    Speaking on the occasion N.P. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Multi- Screen Media, said, “At MSM, we attempt to draw the consumer with differentiated content. Providing the viewer with live Bengali feed is just another testimony of our commitment to understanding what the viewers’ wish to see and offer them. We hope every football loving Bengali enjoys 2014 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ on Sony AATH.”

     

    The 2014 FIFA World Cup will kick off on 12th June 2014.  The tournament will be in two stages; group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from June 12 to June 26. The knockout stage will start from June 28 and conclude with the FIFA World Cup™ Final match on July 13.