MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Bags 'PR Agency of the Year' at the Ad Club Bangalore's annual awards

    Aim High bags 20 awards at Big Bang Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Communications firm Aim High Consulting has won 20 awards including the ‘PR Agency of the Year’ at the Advertising Club Bangalore’s Big Bang Awards 2013 held in Bengaluru last Friday.

     

    Aim High’s winning campaigns span across segments such as Healthcare, Corporate Communications, Financial Communications and Internal Communications, notes a communique adding: “The awards recognised work done for a host of PR and Advertising clients – a mix of start-ups and mid size companies – including, Flipkart, 3M India, Manjushree Technopack, Nanjappa Life Care, Right Horizons, Helion Advisors, Ola Cabs, CommonFloor.com, EduSports and scripbox.”

     

    Speaking about the awards, N Ravi Shankar, CEO, Aim High Consulting, said, “Winning 20 awards at Big Bang 2013, spread across Public Relations and Internal Communications, is a great endorsement of the consulting approach we bring to these practices.”

     

    Note: the information here is unverified and is based on a press release sent by Aim High. The Advertising Club Bangalore has not invited MxMIndia for the event or disseminated its awardee list to us.

     

  • TRAI notifies amendments to the interconnection regulations applicable for Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) and tariff order applicable for addressable systems

    TRAI notifies amendments to DAS interconnection regulations

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today notified amendments to the interconnection regulations applicable for digital addressable cable TV systems (DAS) and tariff order applicable for addressable systems.

     

    The amendments in the tariff order modify the ‘twin conditions’ that regulate the a la carte rate of channels vis-à-vis the bouquet rates at retail level, protecting the interests of the subscribers. It also clarifies the position that subscribers can either opt for channels on a-la-caret basis or bouquet or combination of both, as per their choice.

     

    Considering that adequate provisions/safeguards are already available in the Interconnection Regulations applicable for DAS, certain provisions have been omitted from these regulations. These pertain to prescription of a minimum channel carrying capacity of 500 channels for MSOs and prohibition regarding charging of placement fee by the MSOs. A proviso has been added to specifically bring in clarity that the MSOs cannot seek a channel from the broadcaster and seek carriage fee at the same time.

     

    The full text of the amendments is available on the TRAI website – www.trai.gov.in.

     

  • Month-long drive sees goddess idol created from newspapers

    Big Magic Bihar & Jharkhand and 92.7 Big FM get together for ‘Big Green Durga’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Two of Bihar’s leading media brands 92.7 Big FM and Big Magic Bihar and Jharkhand have come together this festive season to present a green initiative with The Big Green Durga.

     

    The initiative will propagate a sense of responsibility amongst the local populace by encouraging them to celebrate Durga Pooja the green way! The month-long campaign will see several phases, each ensuring highest levels of audience engagement and an exhaustive entertainment schedule.

     

    Created around the pegs of ‘complete entertainment’, ‘high visibility’, ‘on ground engagement’ for local connect and ‘celebrity involvement’, Big Green Durga will also see a nine-episode special on Big Magic channel and a month-long campaign on the channel as well as Big FM.

     

  • The second edition of the Public Relations and Corporate Communications Summit – Praxis – will be held at Lavasa near Pune between September 27 and 29, 2013

    PR and corp comm frat all set for Praxis 2013

    By A Correspondent

     

    The second edition of the Public Relations and Corporate Communications Summit – PRAXIS will be held at Lavasa near Pune between September 27 and 29, 2013. The success of the first edition in Pondicherry in November last year has buoyed organizers PRomise Foundation to make it bigger and better. (*See Disclaimer)

     

    Five international PR leaders, an additional night and double the segments are the highlights of this years’ edition. The forthcoming summit will have two keynote addresses, three small BIG talks,  four panel discussions and three break-out Master Classes, notes a communiqué, adding: “The event will assemble an array of over 35 speakers including at least one each from the US and UK – pioneering markets for public relations. The uniqueness of the event is that not a single speaker is repeated from the first edition barring one Editor and no organisation gets more than one speaking slot.” What makes Praxis unique is that it is organized entirely 20 professionals with a full-time day job.

     

    The inaugural keynote will be delivered by Lord Chadlington, the CEO of the Huntsworth Group in the UK. The second keynote is by Dr Mukund Rajan who wears multiple hats at the Tata Group. He is the Tata brand custodian and chief ethics officer of Tata Sons. He is also the spokesperson of the group and the chairman of the Tata Council for Community Initiatives (TCCI). The keynotes will focus on Communicating in Changing Times with an impetus on Ethics. David Rockland, Chairman of AMEC – the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication is leading a masterclass and delivering a special address. He leads a division of Ketchum Public Relations and is travelling from New York on his debut India visit.

     

    There will be five panel discussions with specific themes with leaders in the respective fields discussing a topic. These will each be moderated by an editor, a senior communicator and three PR firm leaders. The inaugural panel consists of four Editors – R. Sukumar of Mint, Sachin Kalbag of Mid-Day, Shaili Chopra of Tehelka and Indrajit Gupta who is the Founding Editor of Forbes India. This panel will be moderated by Nandita Lakshmanan of The PRactice. The second day starts off with a panel on Asia where three PR firm leaders who are based in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region will discuss the Asia story and how India fits in. The three include Glenn Osaki, President – MSL Group Asia; Anne Costello, Regional Director – Asia Pacific at Text 100 Global Communications and Sconaid McGeachin, President & CEO India, Middle East, Africa & Turkey. This panel will be moderated by Shivnath Thukral, Group President – Corporate Branding & Strategic Initiatives, Essar. The third panel comprises Chief Marketing Officers of leading Indian companies in diverse sectors of technology, finance, retail and real estate. The panelists are Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Group Financial Services; Suvodeep Das, Marketing Director, Reliance Brands; Anuradha Paraskar, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Lavasa Corp Ltd and Ashok Lalla, Global Head, Digital Marketing, Infosys. This session will be moderated by Max Hegerman, Managing Director – Edelman Digital. The fourth panel discussion has communications leaders from four Indian multinational companies discussing a wide variety of topics. The four communicators are Roma Balwani, Chief Group Communications Officer, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd; Chhavi Leekha, Group President – Brand & Corporate Communications at Spice Global, Seema Ahuja, Head-Corporate Communications, Biocon and Sujit Patil, Head – Corporate Communications, Godrej Industries.This session will be moderated by Nikhil Dey, President (Public Relations), Genesis Burson Marsteller. The final panel consists of younger consulting firm leaders which will be moderated by Ben Smith of PRMoment. The panel that will discuss the Future of Public Relations and will have  Rishi Seth of Six Degrees, Atul Takle of Adfactors PR, Sonali Madbhavi of Gutenberg Communications and Dilip Yadav of Weber Shandwick.

     

    Another highlight of this year’s edition is a break out session where participants will attend one of three masterclasses including one on Measurement. The Public Affairs master class will have presentations by Ashwani Singla, Chief Executive Officer, Asia, Penn Schoen Berland and Varsha Chainani, Director, Public Affairs at Abbott Laboratories. The Internal Communications Workshop will have presentations from Aniisu K Verghese, Internal Communications Lead, Sapient and Ranjana Sabu, Internal Communications Lead, ABB. The Measurement workshop will be presented by David Rockland. The main performance at this year’s gala is by singer Ambili Menon on the first evening and the BayBeat Collective will provide entertainment on the second evening.

     

    A breakfast discussion on the future of Public Relations Education is planned with leaders from PR firms discussing the relevancy of academia in preparing professionals for the future. Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication is the academic partner of the summit and will curate this discussion along with Pradyuman Maheshwari, Editor-in-Chief of MxMIndia.com This is a by-invitation event.

     

    The Media Partners are The Holmes Report, PR Moment, MxMIndia and Avignyata. The other event partners are – Platinum sponsor: Edelman India; Gold sponsors: MSL Group India and SIMC, Pune; Silver Sponsors: Text 100 India, Adfactors PR, IPAN H+K Strategies, Impact Research and Measurement, CARMA India, Eikona PR Measurement, Esha News Monitoring, Avian Media, Simulations India and The PRactice. Brand partners include amazon.in, Sab Miller, Pernod Ricard and Red Bull.

     

    The event is being held at the Mercure Hotel at Lavasa. More information is available at www.praxis2013.in or on email by contacting promisefoundationforpr at gmail or by following the organisation on Twitter at @PromiseFdn

     

    *Disclaimer: MxMIndia is a Trade Partner of the event

     

  • Maxus has retained the Loreal Media AOR business in India

    Maxus retains Loreal AOR in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s a cherry on the cake for APAC CEO-designate of Maxus Ajit Varghese. His agency has retained the Loreal Media AOR business in India

     

    Ajit Varghese

    Said Mr Varghese: “Retaining L’Oreal is a extremely satisfying feeling and a huge moment of pride for Maxus. This reposing of faith by Loreal’s management after a extremely professional and rigorous review process makes us feel confident that we are the right partners to manage L’Oreal’s growth needs and adapt to the ever changing media environment. Also, apart from business, we truly value this relationship and will go the extra mile for work closely with L’Oreal marketing team to achieve their goals”.

     

    L’Oreal is amongst the top clients of Maxus in India along with Hero, Vodafone, Nokia, Titan, Perfetti, Nestle.

     

    The agencies which are reported to have participated in the review were Madison, Zenith Optimedia and Lodestar UM.

     

  • Chennai-headquartered Repcom Home Finance Limited awards media mandate to Vizeum India

    Vizeum bags Repcom Home Finance mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Chennai headquartered RHFL, promoted by Repco Bank has appointed Vizeum Media as it media AOR (Agency on Record).  RHFL, a government undertaking, is embarking on a growth path and the appointment of Vizeum is seen in line with the same.

     

    Confirming the appointment of Vizeum, R Varadarajan, Managing Director, RHFL said: “We are focused on translating into reality the aspirations of people to own a home through credit support customized to suit individual needs in a transparent and ethical way. The vision for our growth required us to get on board domain experts to guide us.  Vizeum approached us proactively and the discussions have been on for many months.  We are quite satisfied with their knowledge, passion and more importantly the sincere commitment to build our business.  Their leadership staying involved in our business is an added benefit. We look forward to working with Vizeum”

     

    S Yesudas, Managing Director – Indian Subcontinent, Vizeum said, “It is a matter of pride for us that more and more clients are finding value in associating with Vizeum. It also makes us very humble. We have our task fully cut out for RHFL. We will stay focussed on their business with utmost sincerity, in as selfless manner as possible. This business will be handled out of our Chennai office”

     

  • Group M is offering 10 passes for the final day of Social Media Week Mumbai. That's Friday, September 27 at the Westin Hotel. Exclusively for MxMIndia readers

    Winners of Social Media Week last entry pass contest at 10pm

    We got so excited about the whole proposition that we put all the info in the headline. Well, almost.

     

    So here’s the Deal:

    Social Media Week Mumbai, the hottest tech thing happening to have happened in the city this year, is ending on Friday, September 27. But not without a bang. A day full of top draw content is being hosted by Group M at the Westin Hotel, Goregaon (Western Express Highway).

     

    Group M is giving away 10 passes to MxMIndia readers for free access to the day’s proceedings. Each of these cost Rs 6000, so it is indeed a BIG deal.

     

    Here’s how you can win the prize. Just send us a one-liner to editor@mxmindia.com with the subject line saying: SMWM13. Also, please put your full name, telephone number and email id. Don’t worry, we are not going to onpass these to a holiday resorts company. It’s just to ensure that your registration formalities get complete.

     

    Here’s what you need to write:

    In not more than 20 words, tell us why is Social Media so important for a business to be successful.

    You need to send in your entry by 4pm India time today (Wednesday, September 25, 2013). The best 10 of the first few entries get the passes. We will announce the winners by the last five digits of their mobile numbers at 6pm today (Sept 25). Winners will receive a letter from us and then a letter/regisistration intimation from the Group M office.

     

    So, let’s list what you need:

    1. Tell us in 20 words or lesser why Social Media is so important for a business to be successful.

    2. Also write your name, telephone number and email id

    3. Put SMWM13 in the subject line of the mail

    4. Send the mail to editor@mxmindia.com. It must reach us by 4pm India time today (Sept 25)

    5. Await the winners’ list at 6pm

     

    Update: Due to a technical hitch with our mail server, we have not been able to announce the results of the contest at 6pm. It will be posted on the website at 10pm. Our apologies.

     

  • India produces digital radio spots to promote The Skoda Rapid Leisure and then converts them to digital to reach a wider audience

    BBH converts radio spots to digital content for Skoda

    By A Correspondent

     

    How do you ensure that a great idea travels far and gets noticed?

     

    BBH India created a series of radio spots to launch the limited edition Skoda Rapid Leisure which comes loaded with a host of features including a rear view parking camera.The spots were received well on radio, but the agency wanted to reach a wider audience. They realised that nobody (outside of advertising) ever shares a radio spot online. The challenge was to convert the audio spots into visually interesting digital content.

     

    Said Russell Barrett, CCO and Managing Partner of BBH India: “It’s clear that to reach a wider audience, your idea needs to be media agnostic. A genuine idea should cut across languages, cultures and media as well. Thankfully with Skoda, we have clients (Kamal Basu and his team) who believe in the same philosophy. They agreed that a video rendition of an audio idea was an exciting, new way to approach communication in today’s age. We also lucked out with the talent we could tap in to at BBH with the likes of Manish Darji, Yohan Daver, Sushma Joseph, Hitesh Kalia and the rest of the team on Skoda. I’m actually really excited about the implications of this kind of project. It’s clear that low budget need not mean low quality.”

     

    Credits:

    Chief Creative Officer: Russell Barrett

    Executive Creative Director: PuneetKapoor

    Director: Sushma Joseph

    Creative Director Art and Illustrator: Manish Darji

    Copywriter: YohanDaver

    Agency Executive Producer: Hitesh Kalia&Sushma Joseph

    Account Director: Anirban Mukherjee

    Account Manager: SuraviPradhan

    Account Planner: Kanishk Kabiraj

  • Grey announced the promotion of Vishnu Srivatsav and Goral Ajmera to Senior Executive Creative Directors. They will helm the creative team in Grey Mumbai

    Grey promotes Vishnu Srivatsav & Goral Ajmera to Sr Exec CDs & Creative Heads, Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    Grey’s National Creative Directors Malvika Mehra and Amit Akali have announced the promotion of Vishnu Srivatsav and Goral Ajmera to Senior Executive Creative Directors. Together, Goral and Vishnu will be heading the creative team in Grey Mumbai and report to them directly.

     

    Said Malvika Mehra: “It’s always feels great to be able to promote talent from within. And both Vishnu and Goral are as ‘homegrown’ as you can get. Vishnu’s been with Grey for over 10 years, while Goral was probably one of the first people we hired when we joined Grey. Their relentless pursuit to do better work, their hunger to shoulder responsibility, their ‘can do’ attitude and their immense talent made them an obvious choice for the job.”

     

    Between them, at Grey, the two have helped build many brands; Reliance Mobile, IndianOil, Honda Brio, DHL, Duracell, Britannia, Bajaj Allianz Insurance, Bharti AXA Insurance, Suzlon, Vimal, Muthoot Finance, Killer, Kinderjoy, 3M, Dell and Times Pro. And their work has won awards including, The One Show, London International Awards, World Press Awards, Young Guns, Spikes Asia, Adfest, Abby, Emvies and 1 Gold and 2 Bronze Lions at Cannes, this year.

     

    Added Amit Akali: “Goral and Vishnu have their task cut out. Last year was a good year for Grey Mumbai, with the office accounting for a lot of our awards; The Goa Fest Grand Prix for Killer and our 3 metal haul at Cannes. Businesswise too it’s been great; we won Times Pro and Tea Board, amongst others. Now, all they need to do is better it. No pressure!”

     

  • New Global Media Intelligence report highlights the state of media usage and ad spending for six major regions and 40 countries

    Worldwide ad growth buoyed by digital, mobile adoption

    By A Correspondent

     

    Global ad spending will rise 2.8% to more than half a trillion dollars in 2013, driven by continued adoption of digital devices and internet connectivity, according to eMarketer’s latest Global Media Intelligence Report, produced in collaboration with Starcom MediaVest Group.

     

    Still, the global economy is in recovery mode, and while total media ad spending will be up this year, the rate of increase will not be particularly strong. eMarketer estimates ad expenditures will rise 2.8% worldwide to $517.10 billion, compared to last year’s 4.4% spending increase. There are no India-specific numbers with what has been shared with us.

     

     

    Digital, however, is a bright spot-particularly mobile. eMarketer estimates spending on digital advertising will reach $117.60 billion this year, up 13.0% compared to 2012 levels, while mobile spending will hit nearly $15.82 billion, representing a whopping 79.7% year-over-year increase.

     

     

    Much of the spending growth stems from broader digital adoption on the part of consumers. The full report, which covers six major regions-including Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, and Latin America-and 40 countries, paints a picture of continued device adoption globally.

     

    Key figures on media usage and spending from the report include:

    :: Internet users: More than 36% of the global population today, compared to 21.7% in 2008

    :: Mobile phone users: 60.7% of the population this year, compared to 40.0% in 2008

    :: Smartphone users: Just under one-third of mobile users and about 20% of the global population, compared to 3.7% of mobile users and 1.5% of the population in 2008

    :: Social network users: About a quarter of the global population, compared to 8.3% in 2008

    :: Facebook users: More than 15% of the global population, compared to 3.1% in 2008

    :: Total ad spending: $517.10 billion in 2013, up 2.8% from last year, compared to $484.30 billion in 2008

    :: Digital ad spending: 22% of total ad spending in 2013, compared to 12% in 2008

    :: Mobile ad spending: Just 2.6% of total ad spending and 11.9% of digital ad spending, compared to 2.1% in 2008

     

    The Global Media Intelligence report is eMarketer’s largest and most comprehensive snapshot of the state of media usage and spending globally. The report contains more than 700 charts collected from over150 global research sources, which SMG helped identify and gather for local and core global markets, in addition to benchmarks, analysis and context provided by eMarketer.

     

  • Here are the 10 winners of the contest for entry passes to the last day of Social Media Week Mumbai being hosted by Group M

    Winners of Social Media Week Entry Pass to Last Day Contest

    Social Media Week Mumbai, the hottest tech thing happening to have happened in the city this year, is ending on Friday, September 27. A day full of top draw content is being hosted by Group M at the Westin Hotel, Goregaon (Western Express Highway).

     

    Here are the winners of the Contest that we ran earlier in the day:

     

    Four of the last five digits are:

     

    01. 752×0
    02. 493×4
    03. 338×1
    04. 911×9
    05. 819×8
    06. 989×0
    07. 879×5
    08. 736×2
    09. 805×2
    10. 947×6

     

    Congratulations!

     

    Winners will receive a registration/invite mail by 1pm on Thursday, September 26.

     

  • Neeraj Roy was elected Vice President. Jaideep Gandhi and Monica Tata were re-elected as Treasurer and Secretary respectively for the year 2013-14

    Srinivasan Swamy re-elected President of IAA India Chapter

    By A Correspondent

     

    Srinivasan Swamy

    Srinivasan Swamy, Chairman & Managing Director of R K Swamy BBDO was re-elected President of India Chapter of International Advertising Association at the Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai on Wednesday, September 25.

     

    Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, was elected Vice President. Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Jaya Advertising and Monica Tata, MD, HBO India were re-elected as Treasurer and Secretary respectively for the year 2013-14.

     

    Neeraj Roy

    “IAA India was on an over-drive in 2012-13 under the leadership of Srinivasan Swamy” said Pradeep Guha, VP & Area Director, Asia Pacific of IAA.

     

    Noted a communiqu̩: in the eleven months since the previous AGM, there were six major events РIAA Leadership Awards, IAA Seminar on Gender Sensitization, IAA Olive Crown Awards, IAA Knowledge seminar on Real Estate in a Digitized World, IAA-Kyoorius DigiYatra and the one scheduled on 30th September, IAA Platinum Jubilee РGlobal Marketing Summit. In addition, there were five IAA Debates and five IAA Mentorship Webinars Р16 industry defining events in 11 months.

     

    “I am happy I was at the helm at IAA when many new initiatives were planned and unfolded. I had a great team who executed much of these programmes with élan. As we move forward, our aim at IAA India is to be seen by IAA Global as the most vibrant of all IAA chapters worldwide. I am sure that recognition is not far,” said Srinivasan Swamy. Mr Swamy was co-opted onto the global IAA Board in May this year as Vice President- Development, Asia Pacific, as an acknowledgement of the initiatives that were undertaken in the first six months at the helm in India.

     

    The other members of the new Managing Committee are: Pradeep Guha, Pheroza Bilimoria, Kaushik Roy, Sam Balsara, Raj Nayak, Ramesh Narayan, M G Parameswaran, M V Shreyams Kumar, Kunal Lalani, Avinash Pandey, Arunabh Dassharma, Neville Taraporewalla, Partho Das Gupta, Rajesh Kejriwal and Abhishek Karnani, Manish Advani, Janak Sarda, Vishakha Singh, C V L Srinivas and Atit Mehta.