MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Mindshare, the flagship media agency of GroupM, further spread its wings in India with the opening of its branch office in Kochi, Kerala, headed by KT Haridas

    Mindshare expands presence, opens Kochi office

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mindshare, the flagship media agency of GroupM, further spread its wings in India with the opening of its branch office in Kochi, Kerala, headed by KT Haridas.

     

    “Mindshare has been committed to providing leading media and marketing services pan India. The opening of a Kochi office is a natural outgrowth of the strong customer and partner base that we already enjoy in Kerala. We are well positioned and look forward to growing this further”, said Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare.

     

  • Prior to this role, she was the GM, Entertainment Networks, South Asia for Turner International India where she was responsible for steering and overseeing all network initiatives across Turner's entertainment brand portfolio in South Asia

    Monica Tata back to Time Warner fold as MD, HBO India

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s an announcement that’s brought a smile to many in the industry. Monica Tata, who surprised many last year by quitting the Turner Entertainment Network of which she was virtually the face, is now back to the Time Warner fold as Managing Director of HBO India. HBO India is part of HBO Asia, which is a joint venture of Time Warner and Paramount, and Turner is a Time Warner company. HBO India sales and distribution are handled by Turner in India.

     

    Ms Tata will be based in Mumbai and report to Jonathan Spink, CEO, HBO Asia. She will be responsible for introducing and developing various initiatives to enhance the company’s offerings in India and its subcontinent, including providing strategic direction and managing partner relationships.

     

    “We are pleased to have Monica join the HBO Asia family. With Monica’s experience in the industry and her familiarity with our brand and channels, she is the ideal candidate to develop and grow HBO’s brand and market share in South Asia,” said Mr Spink.

     

    “I am excited to join the HBO Asia family as I love the brand and this is an exciting opportunity for me,” said Ms Tata. On joining the channel from the same family, she asserted, “Yes, it is the same family in the sense that Turner distributes and manages the sales of HBO, which belongs to Time Warner and so does Turner. But they are different entities.” She said that she will be figuring out the growth area for the channel in the next few months.

     

    Shruti Bajpai, Country Manager, HBO Asia, who has been based out of Dubai for a while now, will primarily drive marketing for the channel and will report to Ms Tata.

     

    Ms Tata has over 23 years of media experience and was most recently the General Manager, Entertainment Networks, South Asia for Turner International India Pvt Ltd where she was responsible for steering and overseeing all network initiatives across Turner’s entertainment brand portfolio in South Asia. Prior to that, she served at Star Television, Mid-Day Publications and Sunday Mail.

     

    There are three 24-hour HBO movie channels available to viewers in India – HBO, the blockbuster movie channel which was launched in 2000, and two premium HD advertising-free movie channels, HBO Defined and HBO Hits, launched earlier this year.

     

    Industry observers believe that with Ms Tata at the helm and given that she is one of the seniormost sales heads in the Indian broadcast business, HBO India adsales may move out of Turner in future and be handled by an internal team. It’s also possible that the bouquet of channels under her may grow, it is conjectured.

     

  • While the Samsung Galaxy S4 has some cool features which don't exist on the flagship Apple handset, the experience of the iPhone, like that of any Apple machine, is amazing. And it's not going to be easy to get a diehard i5 user or even that of an i4 or i4s to make the switch

    1 Minute View: S4 > i5?

    Some of you may have seen the glitzy Diana Hayden emcee the launch of the Galaxy Samsung S4 in Gurgaon’s Kingdom of Dreams live at the venue or online. The attempt was to showcase the device and its various features. And how!

     

    Indeed many of these are very cool, and would get people to switch to the S4. But, of course, if you have paid upwards of 30k just a year back for the S3, it remains to be seen how many people upgrade.

     

    In a price sensitive Indian market, we believe the S4 buyer will be users of sub S3 or other handsets. Samsung India officials have clearly stated there is no exchange offer coming up.

     

    What may work in the S4’s favour is the MRP of Rs 41,500. Note this is MRP so we will have retailers offering a lower rate. Plus there are offers coming up from Vodafone.

     

    The big question: is the S4 better than the iPhone 5? Well, it’s got some cool features which don’t exist on the flagship Apple handset. But the experience of the iPhone, like that of any Apple machine, is amazing. And it’s not going to be easy to get a diehard i5 user or even that of an i4 or i4s to make the switch.

     

    So why’s a media, ad and marketing destination like MxMIndia writing about the Samsung Galaxy S4, one may ask. Over the last few years, Samsung has become a significant player in the mobile devices space. Other than the fact that each of these devices has a fantastic adspend budget, they are media vehicles and the newer features that each of them offer can play a huge influence on applications (or apps) that will be developed in future.

     

  • Radio One Ltd has declared its audited financial results for the year ended March 31

    Radio One operating profit grows exponentially

    By A Correspondent

     

    Radio One Ltd, now renamed Next Radio Ltd, the joint venture between Next MediaWorks Ltd and BBC Worldwide, has declared its audited financial results for the year ended March 31, 2013 at the annual board meeting held recently.

     

    Revenue grew 16 percent to Rs 50.41 crore for the year ended March 31 as compared to Rs 43.48 crore in the corresponding period last year.

     

    EBIDTA profit grew exponentially to Rs 18.41 crore in the year ended March 31, as compared to Rs 0.25 crore in the corresponding period last year. The EBIDTA margin for the year ended March 31 was at 36.5 percent which is in line with the best in the media industry.

     

    Profit before tax (before exceptional items) improved to a positive of Rs 0.58 crore in the year ended March 31 as compared to a loss of Rs 17.78 crore in the corresponding period last year.

     

    The operations were sufficiently cash positive for the first time.

     

    Radio One MD & CEO Vineet Singh Hukmani said ‘We have transformed our business with strategic restructuring. Our focus on profiled educated audiences helped us move 100% advertising revenue to our ‘on air’ product. Led by our international formats in Mumbai and Delhi, we are delivering high quality differentiated products in each of our 7 cities at the lowest cost. Added to this we have initiated up to a 30% increase in advertising rates successfully.’

     

    Radio One, which runs 94.3FM, is keen to participate in Phase 3 bidding and is looking to expand to high value metro markets. “We are hopeful that the MIB will soon allow existing players with 10 year licenses to extend to 15 year licenses before phase 3 bidding. This will result in confident bidding by existing players,” added Mr Hukmani.

     

     

  • Magnon\TBWA has announced significant strengthening of its digital capabilities with three senior level appointments in web/mobile technology, social media as well as client development functions

    Magnon\TBWA announces post-acquisition senior hirings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Magnon\TBWA has announced significant strengthening of its digital capabilities with three senior level appointments in web/mobile technology, social media as well as client development functions. This is the agency’s first round of strategic talent recruitment, after its acquisition by TBWA\ in December 2012. These hirings have been carried out for both Magnon\TBWA as well as Magnon E-GRAPHICS, the agency’s international digital delivery arm.

     

    The three appointments include KN Ajit Narayan as Group Director, Social Media Marketing, Paurush Pandit as Group Director, Web/Mobile Technology and Alok Garg, Associate Vice President, Client Development for Magnon\TBWA.

     

    Mr Narayan has moved to Magnon from Interactive Avenues, where he was managing social media offerings for a range of clients. Mr Pandit is a technology evangelist with over 10 years of experience in both start-ups as well as large organisations. In the past he has worked in key technology positions with Makemytrip.com and Yatra.com. Mr Garg comes with over 16 years of strong experience in client acquisition and managing key customer relationships.

     

    Speaking about the new appointments, Vineet Bajpai, Founder & Group CEO, Magnon\TBWA and Magnon E-Graphics said, “At Magnon\TBWA, people have always been central to strategy. As digital media evolves, agencies and marketers will need to find new innovative approaches to connect brands and consumers. The team expansion at Magnon is in sync with the current and potential opportunities and challenges. Magnon\TBWA stands committed to offering best-in-class interactive media solutions to our clients.”

     

  • Bengaluru-based PR firm K2 Communications has spun off its content business to a new company, Purple Hues

    K2 Communications launches Purple Hues

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bengaluru-based PR firm K2 Communications has spun off its content business to a new company, Purple Hues.

     

    Founded by Shiv Shankar Devraaj, CEO, K2 Communications and Jay Shankar, a veteran journalist, Purple Hues aims to churn out words that are right, relevant and refreshing.

     

    Mr Devraaj said, “Content is an inevitable part of PR. A new venture focused on content along with the support of highly experience journalists will add value to the clients and help them voice their messages better. Content is the bloodline for corporate communication activities and has been a growing concern for the companies to find quality skill sets in the content industry.”

     

    Mr Shankar said, “Crisp, clear and creative. That’s what we want to be as a content provider.”

     

  • Ketchum Sampark has appointed Vipul Bondal as Partner, Corporate Practice and Prasanna Ratanjankar as Senior Manager, Social Media

    Ketchum Sampark strengthens corporate practice & social media arm

    By A Correspondent

     

    PR agency Ketchum Sampark has appointed Vipul Bondal as Partner, Corporate Practice and Prasanna Ratanjankar as Senior Manager, Social Media. These appointments reinforce Ketchum Sampark’s operational strategy to further strengthen its presence in India’s integrated communication space.

     

    Mr Bondal will serve as a member of the leadership team at Ketchum Sampark, and will operate out of the agency’s Mumbai Office. Through his expertise he will be responsible for driving new business growth and delivering enhanced value to existing clients. He will also play an integral role in streamlining and enhancing the agency’s operational practices in line with Ketchum’s global standards.

     

    Prior to joining Ketchum Sampark, Mr Bondal served as Vice President and Member of the leadership team at MSL India. He had played a pivotal role in strengthening the agency’s Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) practice in his three-year stint.

     

    With almost two decades of experience in the communications space, Vipul brings to the table vast PR experience, having worked on both sides of the spectrum.

     

    Prasanna Ratanjankar will play a pivotal role in heading and strengthening the agency’s digital media arm, and will also be responsible catering to digital and social media requirements of existing clients, in a bid to offer an integrated approach.

     

    Ms Ratanjankar has seven years of experience in digital and social media, having worked with several prominent PR and Digital Media agencies including Social Wavelength, Ignitee, Genesis Burson Marsteller and Perfect Relations. She is recognized in the industry for her competencies in delivering innovative and effective digital media campaigns for clients across diverse industries.

     

    Ajay Sharma, Managing Partner, Ketchum Sampark, commenting on these developments, said, “With Vipul on board, we look at strengthening our corporate practice and bring in business transformation by building sub-practices such as healthcare and pharma. We are confident that his strong expertise and business acumen will take the agency’s capabilities to a new level. Digital and Social media is emerging as an important communication tool with several Indian brands integrating it in their overall marketing strategies. As we continue to scale-up our PR business, we will simultaneously ramping up our digital media arm. We are confident that Prasanna’s experience and capabilities in the digital media space, will help us achieve some of these objectives.”

     

  • Delhi Duty Free has appointed digital marketing agency Ignitee Digital to manage their social media campaigns and digital communication

    Delhi Duty Free assigns digital mandate to Ignitee Digital

    By A Correspondent

     

    Delhi Duty Free has appointed digital marketing agency Ignitee Digital to manage their social media campaigns and digital communication. Delhi Duty Free had increased its engagement on Facebook and Twitter since last year, and aims to cement its online presence to inform, educate and influence consumers’ buying behaviour.

     

    Delhi Duty Freehopes to increase its interface and engagement with current and potential international travellers and offer updated data about the various activities and promotions about the brand. Through the association with Ignitee, Delhi Duty Free will seek to leverage the digital platform and build a unique brand image. Ignitee will manage not only its consumer engagement across all social networking sites but also the digital media planning and buying for the brand across digital platforms.

     

    Atul Hegde

    Atul Hegde, CEO, Ignitee Digital Services commented, “We are extremely excited to create a 360-degree digital experience for Delhi Duty Free, leverage this opportunity and create many innovations and help create a distinct image of the brand in the minds of consumers and also bring many ‘firsts’ in this space for our category.”

     

    Abhijit Das, Head of Marketing, Delhi Duty Free, said, “Being the single largest duty free retail operator in India, Delhi Duty Free looks at introducing its one-of-a-kind products to the audience and give them a chance to interact and engage with the brand on the digital and social media platforms. We want to bring our target audience closer to the brand through our digital activities and for this we have brought Ignitee Digital on board. Ignitee has been one of the key players in the digital marketing arena and their expertise and ingenious thinking will surely help the brand grow.”

     

  • Men's fashion brand Louis Philippe has announced the launch of its first fashion e-magazine called The Label

    Louis Philippe launches e-mag, The Label

    By A Correspondent

     

    Men’s fashion brand Louis Philippe has announced the launch of its first fashion e-magazine, called ‘The Label’, which aims to educate its consumer with the latest in fashion through the digital platform.

     

    “We, at Louis Philippe, have a vision of educating our consumers about the fine things of life and keeping them abreast of what is happening in their interest spaces. In order to do this, we felt the right medium would be the Internet, which is an ubiquitous part our consumer’s daily life. This was also corroborated by the increasing incidence of e-books and e-magazines amongst our target group. It was this learning that pushed Louis Philippe to launch TheLabel.in, a content vehicle for the brand to reach out and educate its audience. It is also in line with the brand’s vision of creating an interesting digital ecosystem to bring alive the brand in this space” said Jacob John, Brand Head, Louis Philippe.

     

    The Label is available on www.thelabel.in.

     

  • At the recent conference, Battle of the Story, organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce, media veterans talked about freedom vs responsibility of media, new technology and the way forward

    Battle of the Story: Casting critical eye on Media

    By A Correspondent

     

    The media is playing more important role in our society today. As social and traditional media continue to permeate our lives, the industry veterans recently got together at the conference organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce to discuss the role of media, convergence, new media, and new technology. As Rajiv Mundhra, President, ICC, pointed out, “New media has become a tool for social change.”

     

    The panel comprising Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharati; Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE and Essel Group; Sunil Lulla, MD and CEO, Times Television Network; Anuradha Prasad, Chairperson, BAG Films and Media Ltd; Anshuman Tewari, Chief of National Bureau, Dainik Jagran talked about how media only portrays reality as shaped by people. While agreeing that in the “heat-of-the-moment”, the news channels do forget their responsibility towards the nation and compromise national security such as the 26/11, according to Mr Chandra, the Indian media has acted responsibly. He further said, “There are people who are history-sheeters and are running news channels. This is a cause of concern.

     

    Sunil Lulla

    Concurring, Mr Lulla said, “With the mushrooming of news channels, it was the broadcasters themselves who got together to say that we need to set standards. Since that idea got criticized by journalists, we asked the journalists to form the guidelines under the committee headed by Late Justice Verma. NBSA was thus formed. And with the passing years, the guidebook is only getting thicker.” He further said, “We are all for responsible content. For instance, no other business carries 72 messages in a day giving information of redressal authorities.” The panel coherently agreed that they were united in the cause of bringing responsible content to its audience.

     

    Mr Sircar said, “It is important that the media takes note of what it is doing. If the fourth estate caves in, we will see an eruption of public angst, which will defy the constitution.”

     

    Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, MIB, talked about how technology is enabling advances in the broadcast sector. He spoke about the three challenges that the sector is facing, “Digitization is the best thing to happen to the broadcasting sector in the last 20 years. And the first challenge is that all digitization is aimed at, is achieved.” He said that till digitization sees complete transparency, issue of carriage fees is not solved, and till revenue sharing is equitable, the process of digitization cannot be called complete. The second challenge, according to him is the question of monopolies. He said, “There have been certain developments that have disturbed the equilibrium. Problems that arise because of lack of policy have to be addressed. Cross-media regulation, which can be horizontal or vertical, has to be addressed as well.”

     

    The third and the last challenge he shared was about the TV rating system. He said, “the current rating system is far from satisfactory. The bottomline features of a television rating system should be put in place.” A panel discussion on the impact of social followed Mr Varma’s speech.

     

  • As Dream Theatre pushes its FIFA merchandise ahead of 2014's World Cup, CEO Jiggy George expounds on the group's ultimate TG – young adults and children

    Kids, youth want ‘quick & fast’ entertainment: Jiggy George

    By A Correspondent

     

    Next year is a big deal for football fans, one that comes every four years. It’s one of the sporting world’s biggest properties – the Football World Cup 2014. Dream Theatre Pvt Ltd, the Mumbai-based brand management and licensing enterprise in association with Pacific Licensing Studio (PLS), FIFA’s appointed licensing agent for South East Asia has announced the rollout of its licensed merchandise collection.

     

    To be targeted toward young adults and children across India, the merchandise range will include apparel, accessories, footwear, sporting goods; back-to-school supplies, stationery, home furnishing, eyewear and computer accessories among others.

     

    In conversation with MxMIndia, Jiggy George, CEO and Founder of Dream Theatre Pvt Ltd, shares his plans from the new initiative and dwells on the experiences that the users can take advantage of from the initiative in days to come.

     

    It seems the right time to be launching the merchandising collection, what with the World Cup in 2014. How would you describe this new foray by Dream Theatre in India?

    We at Dream Theatre are very keen to navigate more forms of licensing outside of pure entertainment licensing. Sports, celebrity, fashion and corporate are some of the licensing extensions that you would see in the coming months. The World Cup Football 2014 is a landmark event and we are so proud to be associated with the same.

     

    Is there a specific TG you’d be addressing through the new merchandising push in India?

    Yes, the merchandise will be targeted at young adults and kids of India.

     

    You would in a sense be competing with merchandise brands that are targeted towards popular sports such as cricket and hockey given that football is just about beginning to pick up in India. Are you optimistic about its popularity picking up among fans in India?

    It’s Zeitgeist – the sign of the times! Today, kids and youth of India are looking at “quick and fast” entertainment. The format of sports is transitioning from Test cricket to T20. We believe football, though still small, in context to cricket, has the pace and aspiration to be very popular in India.

     

    Are you considering partnering local football clubs from India? Have you made any headway on that front?

    The big lacuna in India for licensing is retail and today, it makes more commercial sense to use licensing for brands that have a pan-India appeal rather than regional clubs. It’s too early and we don’t believe we are ready to partner with Indian football clubs.

     

    Would you be engaging in a high-decibel pan-India marketing promotion for your new venture?

    We hope to have a good number of products in the market and there will be excitement closer to the event.

     

    What would be your emphasis on pushing your products through the digital route vis-a-vis traditional?

    Our focus will be to get the best-in-class licensees to launch high quality merchandise via traditional retail.

     

    Would you be looking at partnering competing sporting properties (cricket, hockey etc) to push your case in India?

    We have no plans yet. We will keep you posted.

     

  • After two stints with Contract, Mr Deshpande will be leaving to pursue his personal passions. He will be with the agency till the end of June 2013

    Ravi Deshpande bids adieu to Contract India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ravi Deshpande

    Contract India has announced the departure of its Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Ravi Deshpande. After a long tenure over two stints with Contract, Mr Deshpande will be leaving to pursue his personal passions. He will be with the agency till the end of June 2013.

     

    “Ravi has contributed very significantly to the growth of Contract and I wish him all the very best in his future endevours. We are thankful for his contribution to make Contract one of the finest brands and organizations in the Indian advertising world,” said Rana Barua, Chief Operating Officer, Contract Advertising. The senior leadership team continues to lead the charge at Contract.

     

    “Contract has been a part of me since the beginning of my career. It has been a truly great place. I am leaving with wonderful memories. I would like to thank everyone for this amazing journey. I wish everyone the very best for the future. In the true spirit of Grow Young, reinvention of oneself must continue,” said Mr Deshpande, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Contract Advertising.