MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • The apex bodies of advertisers and agencies assert they are not delaying the setting up of BARC

    It’s incorrect to blame us on BARC delay, say ISA & AAAI

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    With news network NDTV suing television measurement body TAM Media Research and its principals, it’s become critical that stakeholders of the proposed Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) get their act together to provide an adequate framework for research and ratings.

     

    For, if industry bodies do not act speedily, the government could well step in. It was hence interesting to read IBF president Uday Shankar’s assertion that the apex bodies of advertisers (ISA) and ad agencies (AAAI) have been speedbreakers in the setting up of BARC.

     

    Nagesh Alai

    This statement of not showing enough urgency has not gone down too well with the Advertising Association of India and Indian Society of Advertisers. Said Nagesh Alai, former AAAI president and current ex-officio member: “It is unfortunate that such a comment has been passed. At the end of the day, who are the constituents of the industry? The advertisers, broadcasters and advertising agencies and each of them have a role to play. When all of these are stakeholders, how is it possible that ISA and AAAI will be uninterested in moving BARC forward? The fact remains that we have been engaging with them regularly and have come to an agreement on what the constitution of the shareholding would be; what should be the constitution of the board of governance and what should be the operating principles. All these have been captured in the draft of Memorandum and Articles of BARC, which is with the IBF.”

     

    He added: “We’ve met and agreed in principle on the key issues and have put down those things in the document as it is very necessary to start off. It is lying with them now. As I see it, it is work in progress. There is no question of us not being interested or not wanting to take this forward – how can it be? It is just not a rational statement. Just to recall, three years ago, AAAI was one of the prime movers on BARC – it was our idea.”

     

    On the current status of the draft, Mr Alai said: “As of now, the Memorandum and Article document that needs to be signed by all stakeholders is with IBF. All the recommendations in the draft have been taken jointly by the three member bodies. It is just the question of whatever is there in the draft is seen and accepted by them and we sign and move on from there. As I see it, it would take another one or two months for the signing process to take place; it all depends on how soon IBF responds now. But let me tell you that we will continue to work in partnership so that we are able to come up with a system that is robust and liked by all.”

     

    Meanwhile, when asked for its standpoint on the issue, the ISA reverted with the following statement: “The Indian Society of Advertisers, who initiated the formation of BARC based on the World Federation of Advertisers’ best practice of forming a Joint Industry Body (JIB) for television audience measurement, would like BARC to start tomorrow. We would not like to join the blamegame, as a joint industry body BARC is necessary for robust and transparent TRPs. As for NDTV versus TAM issue, we cannot comment on it as the case is still sub judice.”

     

    Bharat Patel

    When contacted, Bharat Patel, past chairman of Procter & Gamble and chairman of ISA admitted to BARC facing some tough times but said that it will be back on track soon. “There have been ups and downs but you must understand that this is a new baby and it is bound to take a long time. Also, there are huge investments involved. But then it should happen soon,” he said.

     

    On the IBF president’s statement holding the ISA and AAAI responsible for the slow progression, Mr Patel said: “It is incorrect. It’s got nothing to do with the AAAI or the ISA. As I said, these things take some time. We have reached a stage where we are finalising the articles and once that is done it should move fast.”

     

    “One must also realise that people have their own job/business to cater to,” Mr Patel added. “One has to have enough time on hand as people who are involved in BARC have their own jobs to look at too. For me, the real issue is that people are not finding the time to get together. I cannot give a timeframe at this stage as I cannot speak on behalf of other people but then it will happen soon. In fact, ISA wants to get started with it from tomorrow itself as we were the ones who initiated the global best practice JIB by the name of WFA. But you will see it happening soon.”

     

    While the statements from AAAI and ISA reiterate the commitment to the cause of setting up a credible measurement metric, it’s critical for the trio of IBF, ISA and AAAI to put aside differences and work amicably to safeguard the future of the industry. The ball for now is in the industry’s court. If it doesn’t act fast enough, the government could also be an active participant.

     

  • BARC chairman Punit Goenka indicates that the committee of eminent experts is being constituted and an announcement will be made in two or three weeks

    BARC next announcement in 2-3 weeks: Punit Goenka

    By A Correspondent

     

    Even industry captains privately told MxMIndia that NDTV lawsuit against TAM and its principals would not have happened had all stakeholders shown urgency to get Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) off the ground, BARC chairman Punit Goenka told MxMIndia on the sidelines of the Indian Television Fest press conference that one can expect some announcements in next two or three weeks.

     

    A group of ’eminent experts’ has been spoken with to constitute the apex advisory committee and with each one’s concurrence in, an announcement will be made.

     

  • Several broadcasting firms and advertising agencies say this has only established what has been an "open secret" in the industry, but this could be an opportunity to set things right

    Government mulls probe against TAM after complaints

    By A Correspondent

     

    The government is planning to launch a probe into the alleged fudging of television viewership data by TAM Media Research after several complaints from broadcasters.

     

    A top official in the Union information and broadcasting ministry, who did not want to be identified, said the government has received a lot of complaints about TAM in the past. “A lot of people have been raising concerns because of which we are looking at TAM very carefully. We will soon take some action,” he added.

     

    Broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) sued The Nielsen Co, a global research and information firm, and Kantar Media Research, equal partners in

    TAM Media, for tampering with TV viewership data to favour broadcasters who allegedly bribed executives in their Indian JV.

     

    NDTV, which owns the news channels NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India, filed the suit in the New York State Supreme Court seeking damages of around $1.4 billion for negligence and fraud, and hundreds of millions more for interference and breach of fiduciary duty.

     

    Advertisers and media agencies in India depend on TAM data – the only available measurement for TV viewership – to negotiate ad rates. Any discrepancy in the data would have resulted in losses for several broadcasters, advertisers and ad agencies.

     

    News of NDTV’s lawsuit has created ripples in the media industry, with several broadcasting firms and advertising agencies saying this has only established what has been an “open secret” in the industry for a while, but this could be an opportunity to set things right.

     

    “I have always been saying that the TAM data is all wrong, fudged. And I have not changed my views on this,” said Subhash Chandra, chairman of Essel Group, which runs several TV channels under the Zee banner.

     

    “The allegations, which NDTV has made against TAM, are very serious in nature. It is a matter of concern for the broadcast industry. The industry in the past has raised issues like small sample size used by TAM. Even as a company, we have several times taken up issues with them.

     

    For example, we questioned them on this year’s IPL ratings. Given the large crowd in the stadiums we had imagined the ratings to be much more than what were released by TAM,” said Manjit Singh, CEO of MSM India, which runs the Sony and Max channels.

     

    Mr Singh added that MSM has taken up the issue with TAM. “They do come back with explanations but they may not always be satisfactory,” he said.

     

    In its 194-page lawsuit, NDTV claims that it had confronted Nielsen with evidence of data manipulation, including taped meetings with TAM India employees, which showed that they were willing to tamper data for bribes. Nielsen, according to NDTV, admitted in meetings and through emails that its data was being manipulated and that it was willing to address the issue by July 1, 2012.

     

    NDTV says that Nielsen continued to publish these ratings despite repeated demands to stop distribution of TAM TV ratings until the sample size was increased and a proper security mechanism was put in place.

     

    Another broadcaster told ET that it has taken up with TAM the issue of aberrations appearing in the time spent per viewer (TSV) numbers derived from TAM data several times.

     

    “We have raised concerns about skewed TSV patterns in select markets. It could be because of discrepancy at the ground level. But there has been no action from TAM,” a top executive at the broadcaster said.

     

    “We are totally disappointed at the lack of responsibility shown by TAM in dealing with this issue,” another broadcaster said, adding he has lodged a complaint with the I&B ministry about the fudged data.

     

    Most of the discrepancy is due to the small sample size, say experts and industry insiders. The current system is highly susceptible to manipulation. It is easy to manipulate the findings to distort the eventual numbers published by TAM, said one person.

     

    “I cannot say for sure if bribes are involved. But numbers are distorted without any logic and go unexplained. And it is easy to distort the numbers to favour someone,” he added.

     

    A media planner who did not wish to be identified said this is a chance to revive the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) that was proposed by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation a few years ago. The government should also implement the Amit Mitra committee recommendations that talked about irregularities in the current measurement system.

     

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • NDTV has filed a suit in the New York State Supreme Court seeking damages of around $1.4 billion for negligence and fraud and hundreds of millions more for interference and breach of fiduciary duty

    Trade shocked as NDTV sues Nielsen,Kantar,TAM & others

    By A Correspondent

     

    New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has sued The Nielsen Co, a global research and information firm, and its partner Kantar Media Research in a New York court for tampering with TV viewership data to favour broadcasters who allegedly bribed executives in its Indian JV, TAM India.

     

    In an unprecedented action, the Indian television producer and broadcaster, NDTV, which owns the news channels NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India, has filed a suit in the New York State Supreme Court seeking damages of around $1.4 billion for negligence and fraud and hundreds of millions more for interference and breach of fiduciary duty. Advertisers and media agencies depend on TAM data – the only available measurement for TV viewership – to negotiate ad rates.

     

    In its 194-page lawsuit, NDTV claims that it had confronted Nielsen with evidence of data manipulation, including taped meetings with TAM India employees, which showed that they were willing to tamper data for bribes. Nielsen, according to NDTV, had admitted in meetings and through emails that its data was indeed being manipulated and that it was willing to address the issue by July 1, 2012.

     

    NDTV says that Nielsen continued to publish these ratings despite repeated demands to stop distribution of TAM TV ratings until the sample size was increased and a proper security mechanism was put in place.

     

    The broadcaster has charged Nielsen and Kantar with “operating worldwide through a deliberately complex web of subsidiaries and joint ventures, creating, at least in India, a monopoly and abusing the power of that monopoly.”

     

    It has also called the Nielsen board of directors “proxies for the world’s largest and most powerful group of corporate takeover specialists (referred to herein and in Nielsen’s 2011 Annual Report as ‘Sponsors’)” and alleged that they took this approach to “‘cash out,’ as part of the typical leveraged buyout ‘exit strategy,’ making billions of dollars in profits.”

     

    Among the sponsors of Nielsen are KKR, The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners, Alpinvest Partners, Hellman & Friedman and Centerview Partners. These sponsors, however, have not been made defendants in the suit.

     

    NDTV has also said that the problem extends to other markets such as Turkey and Philippines.

     

    NDTV managing director Vikram Chandra declined comment as “the matter is in court”. LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research said: “There is no comment to make right now as the matter is sub judice.”

     

    NDTV is being represented by law firms, Sabharwal & Finkel and Luthra & Luthra.

     

    The news created ripples in the media industry with many advertisers saying they were shocked by the developments. “I am shocked. They (TAM ratings) are a key component of all media investment decisions today,” said Madhukar Kamath, group chief executive officer and MD of advertising and media major, Mudra group.

     

    A media planner who did not wish to be identify, said: “We take TAM ratings very seriously and all our investments depend on them. It is hard to believe that a company like Nielsen, which invests so much in market research, would manipulate the ratings.”

     

    “There have been questions about the sample size of TAM and number of meters it uses to arrive at ratings, but in the absence of an alternative in the TV measurement space, we depend on TAM as large investments on advertising have to be made on the basis of some numbers.”

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

     

  • Affle, the digital media company, has announced the launch of Ripple – its rich media and video advertising network

    Affle unveils integrated ad network for all smart screens

    By A Correspondent

     

    Affle, the digital media company, has announced the launch of Ripple – its rich media and video advertising network. With the growing convergence of connected devices (PC, Mobile, Tablet & Smart TV), Ripple is an integrated ad network that will offer cutting edge advertising solutions across all smart screens. Developed in-house by Affle, which enable it to deliver advertising contextual to the kind of video content being consumed thus making it significantly more engaging for users and valuable for advertisers and publishers.

     

    A recent consumer research commissioned by Affle conducted by IMRB revealed that Online Video advertising is almost 3 times more likely to get users to search for the product vs. regular TV advertising and is 2.7 times more effective for enhancing purchase consideration vs. TV advertising. Affle has been very encouraged by these findings and believes that the overall user and usage growth in the video internet market coupled with greater ad effectiveness on this medium will help grow this market substantially in months to come.

     

    Calling the new technology as smart media for smarter screens, Anuj Khanna Sohum, Founder and Chairman, Affle Group, said, “Three major consumer and technology trends are leading the digital revolution in developing markets – increased consumption of video and rich media over internet, greater penetration of mobile internet on smart devices, cheaper and faster access to connected wireless networks. Ripple is designed to leverage these significant trends with the aim to accelerate the digital revolution globally. Given our successful history and extensive experience, we have a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the consumers, publishers and advertisers. Our innovation on the Ripple platform enhances the consumer experience and engagement with rich media and that we believe will add significant value to all key stakeholders in the digital media ecosystem.”

     

    Ripple differentiates itself significantly from other ad networks by having an integrated platform for delivering intelligent advertising across all smart screens and through its array of innovations which make advertising more contextual and richer in experience.

     

    Anuj Kumar, Co-founder and CEO, Affle, said, “We strongly believe that effective advertising is one which is engaging and relevant for consumers. Over the last one year we have been doing a lot of product level R&D and user research to create the Ripple platform such that advertising delivered through it will reach the most relevant consumer, on the most premium content and at the most relevant context across all smart screens. I am extremely happy that a lot of those efforts have made us build a solid product which has already attracted top partners like Samsung, P&G, Star, Business Standard, Dainik Bhaskar, Beoscope, Bolanews, Sambawa and many more across key Asian markets.”

     

    “We have built some exciting innovations in Ripple like our new ad engagement unit ‘Storm’ which utilises image search, voice recognition, face detection like technologies to identify the most relevant context in the content, to help deliver the most meaningful advertising. Our tests on some of these innovations have been hugely successful and we have observed significant increases in user engagement levels through such formats versus the regular digital advertising formats. I am confident that once commercially available these would get a lot more advertisers and publishers to work with us. We are also working on a lot of other next generation innovations currently, as we strongly believe that a solid technology backbone for Ripple could help us significantly enhance digital advertising effectiveness and the overall market size,” Charles Yong, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Affle, said.

     

     

  • Etihad Airways has appointed LinOpinion, the public relations division of Lowe Lintas and Partners, as its communications and public relations partner in India

    Etihad awards PR mandate to LinOpinion

    By A Correspondent

     

    Etihad Airways has appointed LinOpinion, the public relations division of Lowe Lintas and Partners, as its communications and public relations partner in India.

     

    Etihad Airways’ General Manager in India, Neerja Bhatia said, “We are delighted to partner with LinOpinion as they have demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the aviation, hospitality, and travel and tourism industries. We are confident that we will benefit from their expertise and experience in the market.”

     

    Ameer Ismail, Executive Director Lowe Lintas and Partners, said: “LinOpinion continues to grow exponentially. This is a testament to the excellent work and dedicated efforts being carried out consistently by the LinOpinion team. Etihad Airways is one of the leading airlines across the world, and we are honored to partner with them in India.”

     

    Joseph George, Chief Executive Officer, Lowe Lintas and Partners said: “LinOpinion is one of the most respected and fastest growing PR firms in the country. It is our ambition to partner with leading global brands, and being appointed by Etihad Airways as their communications partner is an enormous privilege for our team.”

     

    Etihad Airways commenced flights from Mumbai in September 2004 and today operates services to eight cities across India.

     

  • The Forum Mall Bangalore, part of Prestige Group, has awarded its creative duties to TBWA\India

    TBWA wins creative mandate for Forum Mall

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Forum Mall Bangalore, part of Prestige Group, has awarded its creative duties to TBWA\India.

     

    The Forum mall is one of Bangalore’s most prominent landmarks and a destination for shoppers in Bangalore. The business was awarded to TBWA following a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Rama Raju, General Manager, The Forum Mall, said, “What impressed us was TBWA\India’s ability to think out of the box, their disruptive approach and most importantly, brand ownership, which convinced us to partner with TBWA.”

     

    Commenting on the win, Nirmalya Sen, Managing Director at TBWA India said, “Only the most mature marketers pick their communications partner on the basis of their credentials. We are delighted to partner one such company in the Prestige Group and we are looking forward to co-creating The Forum brand with them.”

     

    Arindam Sengupta, Vice President-South, TBWA India, added, “We are delighted to work with a client who shares similar ideologies and understands our approach to communication. It is indeed a challenge and an honour for TBWA to build such an iconic brand. We look forward, in all enthusiasm, to create some unconventional and fresh advertising for them, with them.”

     

  • Dainik Bhaskar celebrated two years in Jharkhand, which it had entered with the launch of the Ranchi edition in August 2010, followed by the Jamshedpur and Dhanbad editions in December 2010 and April 2011 respectively

    Bhaskar celebrates 2nd anniv in Jharkhand

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dainik Bhaskar celebrated two years in Jharkhand, which it had entered with the launch of the Ranchi edition in August 2010, followed by the Jamshedpur and Dhanbad editions in December 2010 and April 2011 respectively.

     

    Dainik Bhaskar offers its readers a tailor-made newspaper as per their needs and expectations. It is a voice of the area with a deep sense of reader connect and quality, unbiased news reporting – and that has lead to its tremendous success across editions.

     

    As part of the celebration, a special 16-page issue was released along with the main newspaper. Dainik Bhaskar in Jharkhand has been a voice raising citizens’ concerns on infrastructural development and progress. Last year on the first anniversary the special issue had spoken about the thought of “Badlav Miljulkar”- collective change. This year the special issue highlighted the socio-economic changes witnessed by the state in the last few years, taking it that much closer to achieving dream state status.

     

  • Aegis Media's Vizeum India has announced their appointment as media AoR for Prism TV Private Limited to handle the 5 ETV regional channels namely ETV Marathi, Bangla, Kannada, Gujarati & Oriya

    ETV Network ropes in Vizeum to handle media

    By A Correspondent

     

    Aegis Media’s Vizeum India has announced their appointment as media AoR for Prism TV Private Limited to handle the 5 ETV regional channels namely ETV Marathi, Bangla, Kannada, Gujarati & Oriya.

     

    As ETV Network gears up for a refreshed strategy, Vizeum as the Media AoR has been appointed to play a pivotal role in the next phase of growth for the network.

     

    Confirming the same an official spokesperson from Prism TV said, “We are delighted to partner with Vizeum in our attempt to redefine the next phase for ETV channels. Building a brand around the network can present a lot of interesting challenges and we look forward to work with team Vizeum in getting people hooked to our regional channels.”

     

    Commenting on the win, S Yesudas, Managing Director – Indian Subcontinent, Vizeum said “All I would say with pride is, our dream of attracting clients and talent to Vizeum automatically in our 4th year of operation, rather than us having to go out, is becoming a reality.  I take this opportunity to welcome ETV Network into the Vizeum family. We are thankful to the client management for considering us worthy.”

     

    Vizeum successfully operates in 55 countries with a philosophy of in-depth understanding of the co existence of lives, brands and media in the actual world, through its process – motivation to media.

     

  • As part of his new profile Mr Chakravarthy, who has been associated with Reliance Broadcast Network right since its launch, will take on the mandate of the overall P&L and brand development for the joint venture's English channel portfolio.

    Anand Chakravarthy gets added role as Biz Head, BIG CBS

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anand Chakravarthy

    BIG CBS Networks has announced the appointment of Anand Chakravarthy as its Business Head. As part of his new profile Mr Chakravarthy, who has been associated with Reliance Broadcast Network right since its launch, will take on the mandate of the overall P&L and brand development for the joint venture’s English channel portfolio, that is, BIG CBS Prime, BIG CBS Love and BIG CBS Spark. Along with his new profile as Business Head for the BIG CBS JV, he will continue with his current designation as Chief Marketing Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd.

     

    Mr Chakravarthy has been with Reliance Broadcast Network since 2006 and has played an instrumental role in taking the company from a pure radio company to a multimedia conglomerate that it is today.

     

    Sharing his initial reactions on the elevation with MxM India, Mr Chakravarthy said: “CBS is a brand that was launched two years ago, and I was part of the launch. While I have been doing marketing for quite some time now, for me to take over the business mandate is an opportunity to grow into a larger business role. We have some exciting shows lined up.”

     

    When asked on how he would juggle multiple roles including handling the marketing mandate of RBNL as well as being responsible for the P&L of the new English channels under BIG CBS he said: “On the marketing front, my role is more of providing strategic help and guidance to the different teams but my focus will be largely on the Big CBS business because it is still very young and requires a lot of attention. Also, I have been doing marketing for a long time so that comes easy to me. Though I was handling regional channels Magic and Spark, now to move to the English genre space will be a new experience for me as there is a new set of consumers, new set of products and a different set of challenges to meet. But the great thing is that CBS is a great brand and they bring some fantastic content to the table. Between BIG and CBS, building a joint venture is in itself a prestigious brand to work for. So it’s an interesting opportunity and I am looking forward to it.”

     

    Speaking on Anand Chakravarthy’s appointment, Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. said, “Anand is one of our finest and most committed senior management associates. As the business takes a new leap with some amazing content – America’s Got Talent, American Idol, X Factor, Dexter and more, along with the impending digitization which will catapult these channels into another level, no one is better equipped than Anand to lead this initiative and focus on great content and communication, subscription revenue, and building greater value for advertisers.”

     

    Though it is still early days, Mr Chakravarthy already has his work cut out for him. He asserts: “The channels have taken off well and we have an objective to take them to a strong leadership position. The other thing is that we want to bring in more and more exciting content so we are just in the middle of the latest season of America’s Got Talent. Next is X factor that will be simulcast along with the US on September 14. We’re gonna follow that up with American Idol and the latest season of American Idol post that as well.” The focus, he says, is to bring in some of the marquee properties from the US which are familiar and well-known in India and start launching them simultaneously with the US. “Over the next six months, we want to cement our promise as a network that will deliver the latest, precious and hottest of American TV and will do that with a series of exciting launches,” affirmed Mr Chakravarthy.

     

  • Genesis Burson-Marsteller has announced new business wins across key business sectors including e-commerce, manufacturing, customer loyalty and fashion retail, marking strong momentum as it enters the second half of 2012

    Genesis BM starts Q3 with new business wins

    By A Correspondent

     

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller, which specialises in public relations, public affairs and digital marketing services, has announced new business wins across key business sectors including e-commerce, manufacturing, customer loyalty and fashion retail, marking strong momentum as it enters the second half of 2012. Genesis Burson-Marsteller is pleased to be working with such respected brands and companies including Flipkart, Loyalty One, and GAS.

     

    “GAS works with a philosophy of being simple and authentic. We were looking at working with an agency that shares similar values and represents GAS the best possible way.  We are very happy to be partnering with Genesis Burson-Marsteller as our Public Relations agency and looking forward to a successful association ahead,” stated Amit Dhanjani, Head of Marketing and Communications for GAS.

     

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller is celebrating its 20th year as a communications leader in India. “We are proud of the clients we have represented these last 20 years and in 2012 we continue work with great brands,” stated Prema Sagar, Founder and Principal. “As a firm that specialises in integrated communications, the range of businesses represented by these recent wins also demonstrates our ability to work with clients in all industries, helping them achieve their communications objectives.”

     

    Flipkart went live in 2007 with the objective of making books easily available to anyone who had internet access. Today, they are present across various categories including movies, music, games, mobiles, cameras, computers, healthcare and personal products, home appliances and electronics, stationery, perfumes, toys. They’re present in 37 cities, with over 11.5 million book titles, 14 different categories, more than 3 million registered users and sale of 30000 items a day; they are one of the leading e-commerce players in the country.

     

    GAS is a premium jeans wear brand with an international feel fueled by the idea of fashionable – yet functional and practical – clothes for intelligent, discerning and cosmopolitan people who look to clothing to express their own personality for every occasion. Today Grotto S.p.A. is a global, international company determined to continue to reinforce its presence abroad, with a particular focus on Europe and the Far East.

     

    Loyalty One is a global provider of customer insight and strategy, marketing and loyalty programs and customer experience management. Our roster of clients includes Fortune 1000 companies across the globe. Loyalty One’s industry-leading associates, practical experience and proven capabilities set the benchmark of thought leadership in the loyalty marketplace.

     

  • Putting the spice into the edible oil landscape, Dhara's new campaign comes after a six-year break and addresses the health concerns of the new generation

    Dhara offers healthy variety to its TG

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Dhara, which has in the past come up with successful taglines including ‘Dhara Dhara Shudh Dhara’ and ‘My Daddy Strongest’, has now after a gap of almost six years come out with a new campaign.

     

    India Ka Tadka is how Dhara has positioned itself in its current communication, which is about celebrating the fondness of food that Indians are known for and various emotions that come with food.  It also talks of the role that edible oil plays in daily Indian cooking, which also involve frying. Hence, Dhara offering guilt-free consumption of all things that are seen as sinful by switching to the brand that offers healthy variants of oil to choose from, thus also championing the rotating of different oils which is seen as a healthy choice.

     

    Offering an insight into the reason for the six-year gap before this campaign, Amit Kumar Taneja, Senior Brand Manager, Dhara, Mother Dairy, said, “In the year 2009, we revamped the entire packaging for the brand and then post that we have been doing a lot of work like creating a new brand identity based on its equity and heritage, introducing new variants and simultaneously focusing on distribution in regions with tactical media exposure. Taking a step ahead we thought that it is the right time to also introduce a national campaign now. Incidentally, Dhara has just entered its 25th year too.”

     

    The campaign tries to bring about an emotional connect, along with being relevant, to the consumers. Mr Taneja explained, “Edible oil is like salt which is a necessary ingredient for the everyday kitchen. Now there are certain reserves regarding consuming oil. So what we are essentially saying that research recommends changing oil variants frequently for healthy lifestyle, and we have taken the responsible route and provide those variants under the Dhara umbrella thus providing consumers reassurance that we are taking care of their health needs.”

     

    He added, “The message is being reinforced on Dhara packaging as well, which reads as ‘For optimum health benefits Dhara recommends consumption of more than one variant to get balanced quantity of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) along with a variety of micro nutrients present in different oils’. ”

     

    India ka Tadka essentially means that we have grown up hearing the crackling sound of tadka, and whenever we hear it, subconsciously we know that food is going to be served. Tadka is that wafting aroma of spices in oil which turns an ordinary meal into the most exquisite treat. It’s also a metaphor for the joie de vivre, the spice of life. The positioning tries to capture the significance of food even in our smallest of celebrations.

     

    The campaign is developed by DDB Mudra and shot by Thumbnail Pictures. It’s been launched pan-India with Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Bengali edits. The OOH too is being tapped in different cities across India.

     

    Commenting on the TVC, Vandana Das, President, DDB Mudra, said, “We take a lot of pride in this campaign and our association with Dhara for so many years. With past campaigns like ‘Jalebi’ and ‘My Daddy Strongest’ done for Dhara, the benchmark was already set very high. What’s great and delights us is that we managed to partner the client in creating yet another campaign that not just breaks the category clutter but also captures a strong insight. India ka Tadka for sure depicts each one of us in some way or the other.”