MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • The findings of the survey were revealed as part of the workshop 'Men are from Venus, Women are from Mars' hosted by Population First on Saturday, November 30

    Only 50% of companies have a committee to address sexual harassment: Social Access study

    By  A Correspondent

     

    > 88% of employees feel that senior management genuinely support equality between men and women employees

    > Yet 60% of women feel their commitment to the organization would be questioned if they opted for a flexible work arrangement.

    > Only 50% of companies have a committee to address sexual harassment

     

    These are a few of the findings from a survey on ‘gender equality in the workplace’ conducted by Social Access Communications among 130 mid-to-senior-level professionals from the advertising and media fraternity in Mumbai during October, 2013.

     

    The findings of the survey were revealed on the day of the workshop ‘Men are from Venus, Women are from Mars’ hosted by Population First, on November 29 in Mumbai. The workshop is supported by UNFPA and designed and managed by Social Access Communications.

     

    The survey stated that while 88% of employees feel that senior management genuinely supports equality between men and women employees, more men than women respondents believe so.

     

    “By and large the advertising industry treats men and women fairly, and that is a heartening piece of news. However, there is significant scope for improvement as far as sensitivity towards sexual innuendo is concerned,” said Lynn de Souza, the founder of Social Access Communications, the knowledge partners for the workshop.

     

    23% of men and women feel organizations make assumptions about people’s capabilities based on gender, age, pregnancy and family commitments.

     

    As far as flexibility of work is concerned 60% of women feel their commitment would be questioned if they opted for flexible work hours, while only 35% of men feel they can actively consider a flexible work option. 55% of people feel they have not been encouraged to apply for other positions in the organization.

     

    “This stresses the fact that both men and women should benefit from greater flexibility in the work hours,” pointed out Ms de Souza.

     

    The most disturbing statistic that came out of this survey was that only 50% of companies in the advertising and media world have a committee to address sexual harassment, even though it is now required by law. Nine per cent of employees, both men and women, have faced inappropriate sexual contact at the workplace. Further still, 17% of people have observed someone else in the organization being sexually harassed. Interestingly, men have responded that they are ‘uncertain’ about what construes sexual harassment.

     

  • Five bands selected as the best in rock, sufi, folk and pop were selected at a gig in Mumbai

    MTV concludes multi-city music talent hunt

    By A Correspondent

     

    Music channel MTV India concluded its nationwide contest - MTV Rayban Never Hide Sounds – with a gig last weekend in Mumbai. The hunt across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata for the give best bands across genres like rock, sufi, folk and pop gave winners a chance to be mentored by renowned musicians like Raghu Dixit, Benny Dayal, Uday Benegal,Harshdeep Kaur and Shilpa Rao.

     

    The shortlisted bands – Parvaaz, Rang, Frisky Pints, Life and Nasya jammed with one maestro from their specific genre and then went on to collaborate on some of the most iconic tracks by the mentors.

     

    Aditya Swamy

    Speaking about this, Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head, MTV India said, “Every young musician needs a mentor to go to the next level and this initiative does just that… Bringing together talent from two different generations has been an incredible experience and I look forward to this becoming a calendar event on the Indian music scene. It’s been an absolute pleasure working hand in hand with Ray Ban in building new talent and giving them a platform to take their music to the people.”

     

    Shirley Gong, Ray-Ban Business Manager, Emerging Markets said, “Ray-Ban Never Hide Sounds is an initiative to put forth upcoming talent.  This year we were set out to search the most unique and talented voices across various genres of Music.  I am delighted to see that this approach has brought a brand new dimension to the latest edition and we have successfully completed this musical journey.”

     

  • Cheil Worldwide has announced the appointment of Atishi Pradhan as Chief Strategy Officer.

    Cheil appoints Atishi Pradhan as CSO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cheil Worldwide SW Asia has announced the appointment of brand strategist Atishi Pradhan as Chief Strategy Officer. Ms Pradhan will lead the Integrated Strategy function at Cheil – encompassing traditional,digital, retail and experiential divisions. She will also spearhead the agency’s proprietary category/ consumer knowledge initiatives and guide both current and potential clients on brand marketing strategies. In addition, she will play an active role in enhancing data analytics, research, insights and new capabilities for Cheil in the region. She joins from Mogae Media where she held a similar position since February 2012.

     

    Hari Krishnan

    Confirming the appointment, Hari Krishnan, Chief Operating Officer, Cheil Worldwide SW Asia, said: “We are delighted to have Atishi on board to lead our integrated strategy function. As Cheil exponentially continues to grow business and capability, the need is to establish thought leadership. Atishi brings the much-needed mindset and experience for us to focus and succeed in this area. Her ability to create engaging, strategically-led ideas will be invaluable to Cheil.”

     

    Commenting on her joining, Ms Pradhan said: “I am really excited about working at Cheil. I believe there are many exciting opportunities ahead as it is an era where technology and new media are transforming everything around them. I am looking to bringing about transformations that drive brand solutions and create brand opportunities.”

     

  • One more Indian CEO makes it big in the international arena as Asha Gupta, presently MD, Tupperware India and Area VP, Tupperware Brands – APAC has been appointed as Group President, Asia Pacific with effect from Jan 1, 2014

    Asha Gupta to head Tupperware APAC

    Asha Gupta

    By A Correspondent

     

    One more Indian CEO makes it big in the international arena. Asha Gupta, presently Managing Director, Tupperware India and Area Vice President, Tupperware Brands – Asia Pacific has been appointed as Group President, Asia Pacific with effect from January 1, 2014.  She will now be responsible for driving the growth and expansion of the entire of Asia Pacific region.

     

    Ms  Gupta took over the reins of Tupperware India in late 2004 moving from Europe where she was the Marketing Director for Tupperware Nordics. Under her leadership, the Indian business has posted stellar growth and the brand Tupperware is now virtually a household name in India.

     

    Following her move, Puneet Narula has been appointed as the Managing Director for Tupperware India. He has been associated with Tupperware seven years and has been working closely with Ms  Gupta in the capacities of CFO and more recently as Deputy Managing Director. In 2011, he led entry of Tupperware in Bangladesh which is considered among the new emerging markets for Tupperware.

     

    Prior to Tupperware, Mr Narula worked in GlaxoSmithKline India for 10 years in various capacities in Finance and Business Development.

     

  • After a Facebook post by publisher and activist Maheshwer Peri and some outrage on the social network platform, man-of-many-parts Suhel Seth announces he will return the Rai University doctorate that he was awarded last week

    Facebook posts get Suhel Seth to give up Rai doctorate

    By A Correspondent

     

    He is one of India’s best known faces on television panel discussions. Suhel Seth, ad man-turned-communications consultant and managing director of Counselage, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Rai University last week.

     

    But  a Facebook post by Maheshwer Peri, Careers360 CEO-promoter and may we call him an ethical education activist, got him to give it up as there was outrage over Mr Seth’s accepting the recognition from a university which, as Mr Peri put it, “is most likely to abuse it to reach out to ignorant students”. “How I wish our celebrities acted a bit responsibly and did their homework,” Mr Peri’s post on Facebook added.

     

    There was much outrage after this initial post on Facebook with many people casting aspersions on Mr Sethi’s credibility. Almost an hour after the initial post by Mr Peri, Mr Seth reacted with:  “I had no clue…will return this immediately” and later added: “In fact even at the damn convocation I said this was a fraudulent event…I was told that this was a legit university and so on… but I agree… it is a fraud and I will have nothing to do with it…”

     

    After Mr Seth’s pronouncement, there was an expression of delight at the decision. “Bravo Suhel Seth,” exclaimed one post.

     

  • Yahoo's Big Idea Chair Awards India 2013 has marketing boss Nitin Mathur on the jury panel. We think it's a cause of concern given doubts being raised on a possible conflict for the coveted awards

    Not a good idea. Yahoo’s Nitin Mathur on Big Idea Chair Awards India 2013 jury

    By A Correspondent

     

    Yahoo! India announced the jury for the 2013 edition of the much-awaited Yahoo Big Idea Chair Awards, and we aren’t too happy about the composition. While it is the web company’s prerogative on who should constitute the jury, we don’t think it’s a wise decision to have its own marketing head being part of the judging process. As per the names sent to MxMIndia, we found a mention of Nitin Mathur, Senior Director Marketing – India and South East Asia at Yahoo occupying pride of place, albeit at the end of the list.

     

    While we do not question the credibility of Mr Mathur, who is a seasoned marketing professional having worked with Yahoo since 2007 and earlier with Sapient, Times Internet, Indiainfo.com and Sahara India, the presence of the organiser which is also a media vehicle brings in questions of a possible bias creeping in. Potential winners of the Big Idea Chair award may also be advertisers of the Yahoo platform and therein lies the conflict.

     

    The Big Idea Chair is a coveted initiative from Yahoo that recognizes the power of creativity, innovation and imagination within the online advertising community, notes a communiqué. The awards, which were brought to India in 2005, would earlier be part of the Advertising Club’s Effies Awards. From 2010, they have been held independently.

     

    Other than Mr Mathur, the entries will be judged by a panel including well-known names from the world of advertising and marketing:

    > Aman Malhotra, Head Digital Marketing – Mobile Business, Samsung India Electronics Ltd

    > Archna Vyas, RM – Media and Corporate Communications, SEA, Reckitt Benckiser

    > Anita Varma, Director, Digital Driftwood Pvt. Ltd

    > Atit Mehta, Media Services Manager, Hindustan Unilever Limited

    > Karl Gomes, Chief Fanatic, Fanatics

    > Kartik Iyer, Co-founder & CEO, Happy Creative Services

    > Manu Jain, Co-founder and Managing Director, Jabong.com

    > Nikhil Rungta, Chief Business Officer, Yebhi.com

    > Praveen Gupta, Head – Digital Business, Tata Docomo

    > Ranajit Ghosh, Head of Media,PR , Digital operation and Brand Essenza Di Wills, ITC Personal Care

     

    The winners of the Yahoo Big Idea Chair Awards India will be announced sometime this month. For more information on Big Idea Chair, check www.bigideachair.in

     

     

  • Blackberry's Fall-Winter collection has unveiled a campaign across premium sites in malls, airports and other upmarket locations of Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru

    Blackberry’s Fall/Winter collection goes aggressive on OOH

    By A Correspondent

     

    Blackberry’s Fall-Winter collection has unveiled a campaign across premium sites in malls, airports and other upmarket locations of Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.

     

    The campaign highlights the quality of clothing that Blackberry’s is known for and a mix of media including billboards, unipoles, mall facades and airport media has been used in the campaign.

     

    Talking about the campaign, Ajay Pradhan, National Marketing Manager for Blackberry’s, shared his feedback on the OOH campaign. “We wanted this to be a high impact campaign, one with not just maximum visibility but also one that would be long-term. A high-end clothing and fashion brand needs to capture the consumer’s attention constantly adding to its aspirational value. What better way to do this than splash hoardings in vibrant shopping locations in the metros?”

     

    One of the unique features of the campaign which will last until end-December 2013 is the use of the portrait unipoles at the Hyderabad International Airport.

     

  • M K Anand, Managing Director, Media Networks at Disney UTV has resigned. His last day at work is December 31. A restructuring of the entertainment major’s broadcast business is on and a replacement will be announced in a couple of days

    MK Anand quits Disney UTV, replacement to be announced soon

    M K Anand

    By A Corrrespondent

     

    M K Anand, Managing Director, Media Networks at Disney UTV is moving on.

     

    He has put in his papers, and his last date at Disney UTV is December 31, 2013. Although the entertainment-to-broadcast-to-gaming conglomerate has not confirmed the departure officially, a senior executive confirmed the development indicating that a new structure for the broadcast business is being worked out and then the name of the team leader will be announced.

     

    Mr Anand has worked with The Times of India group for 19 years, first with print for 14 years and later with the television business as VP for Zoom from 2004-09. The leapfrog to CEO of UTV Software saw him lead the broadcast business through the transition to Disney UTV.

     

    M K Anand’s destination is not known and he wasn’t reachable for comment.

     

  • Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni is poised to run up a hefty score with his new bat sponsorship deals

    MS Dhoni set to make Rs 25 crore from bat sponsorship deal

    By Ravi Teja Sharma

     

    Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni is poised to run up a hefty score with his new bat sponsorship deals. He stands to make a record Rs 25 crore a year in separate pacts with Australian sports goods manufacturer Spartan Sports and Amity University.

     

    The bigger deal is with Spartan Sports, whose equipment he’s already begun using, and is pegged at as much as Rs 18-20 crore a year, including royalty on goods sold as part of a joint venture by the company, said a person aware of the development. “It could also include an equity stake in Spartan Sports for Dhoni,” said the person, who didn’t want to be named.

     

    Amity University will pay close to Rs 6 crore a year as corporate sponsor with branding on the back of Dhoni’s bat, the person said. “We are all about leadership and focus on the youth,” said Atul Chauhan, chancellor of the private university. “Dhoni too is a great leader and has a big youth connect.”

     

    Dhoni’s previous bat sponsor was Reebok, which had its branding on his bat until the end of the recent India-Australia series at home. Dhoni used the Spartan bat against the West Indies. Reebok, which was paying close to Rs 6 crore a year to Dhoni for the bat sponsorship that began a few years ago, continues its relationship with the Indian captain on apparel and footwear.

     

    The recently retired Sachin Tendulkar’s 2009 bat sponsorship deal with Adidas after a long stint with MRF was regarded as one of the biggest such pacts at Rs 4 crore. Then, earlier this year, Virat Kohli signed with MRF as bat sponsor in a deal worth Rs 6.5 crore. Unlike Reebok, MRF and others that sponsor cricketers’ bats but don’t manufacture their own, Spartan produces its own equipment. Dhoni’s management company said it’s maximising earnings by breaking up the sponsorship into various components. “We are getting more money by splitting our properties and selling them separately. In the last five years, the MS Dhoni brand has become much bigger,” said Arun Pandey, owner of Rhiti Sports that manages Dhoni, confirming the deals with Spartan and Amity. The joint venture that’s part of the deal is for the ‘7 by MSD’ brand of equipment that Spartan will sell. Dhoni’s jersey number is 7.

     

    “Dhoni’s association with Spartan is for perpetuity,” said Kunal Sharma, managing director of Spartan. “To get MS on board is the biggest highlight of our business. He is in perfect synergy with our brand,” said Mr Sharma, whose company is or has been associated with international cricketers such as Australian captain Michael Clarke, West Indian Chris Gayle and English wicket-keeper Matt Prior.

     

    Messrs Pandey, Sharma and Chauhan declined to comment on the financial details. The deal will become part of an India entry strategy for Spartan Sports, which produces sporting equipment at a factory in Jalandhar but doesn’t sell locally. “This deal will give us massive inroads into the market. The young cricketer in Ranchi or in Indore or any part of India or the globe will be able to access our products,” said Mr Sharma.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The IAMAI survey also indicated that Flipkart was the most frequented e-tailing site followed by ebay, Snapdeal and Jabong

    40% preferred COD in their online Diwali shopping: IAMAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    While credit card usage took precedence over cash in online shopping during Diwali 2013 as per a survey by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the COD delivery is not insignificant at 40 percent giving an indicator of confidence levels over sharing vital credit card info online. The dipstick study conducted from October 30 to November 4 in 15 cities, to understand the online shopping trends during the festive week, finds that majority of the transactions took place through credit card, debit card or net banking. The survey finds that 59% of the respondents used credit card to shop online, while 28% used debit card, reflecting the maturing of consumer behaviour in urban markets. 40% of the respondents however, mentioned that they opted for cash on delivery as their payment mode. A total of 3480 responses were received to the survey.

     

    Source: IAMAI, 2013

     

    The survey also revealed that electronics and accessories topped the list of items for online shoppers during Diwali. 41% respondents said they purchased travel tickets online, while 39% said they purchased garments.

     

    Source: IAMAI, 2013

     

    29% of the respondents mentioned that they purchased products in the range of INR 3000 to INR 5000. Interestingly, 20% of the respondents said that they purchased goods worth more than INR 10,000 and above. A mere 5% said they purchased goods worth INR 100 to INR 500.

     

    According to the survey, Flipkart was the most frequented e-tailing site followed by ebay, Snapdeal and Jabong. Among the booking sites, IRCTC was the top followed by Bookmyshow, MakeMyTrip, Yatra and Cleartrip.

     

    Source: IAMAI, 2013

     

    According to the survey, 31% of online shoppers were from Delhi NCR followed by greater Mumbai with 22% respondents. Bangalore was third with 12% respondents.

     

    Source: IAMAI, 2013

     

  • GlaxoSmith-Kline's demand for sign-on bonus from advertising firms to do business with it seems to have divided the Indian advertising and marketing fraternity into two camps on the social media.

    Pharma giant GSK’s sign-on bonus demand leaves adland divided

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    UK pharma major GlaxoSmith-Kline’s demand for sign-on bonus from advertising firms to do business with it seems to have divided the Indian advertising and marketing fraternity into two camps on the social media.

     

    While GSK’s move is being condemned by international advertising agencies that have termed it ‘scandalous’, ‘lazy’ and ‘bullying’, some industry veterans in India support the rebate, saying it will put a leash on media agencies that, they allege, discreetly charge over 10% commission and show 2-3% on record.

     

    Following an Economic Times story on the matter on Monday, advertising veteran Preet Bedi, who has worked with Rediffusion Y&R and Lintas, wrote on his Facebook wall, “The concept of a sign-on bonus payable by agencies to clients is a masterstroke. As an agency man, I would obviously have opposed it but from the outside, I know it’s a great idea.”

     

    His reasons – “one, it forces agencies to pitch only for brands they really wish to be associated with and vice versa. Secondly, it forces agencies to make upfront investment in the new business; currently agencies spend peanuts on new client acquisition. Thirdly, it will force transparency in agency remuneration.”

     

    He also says that the move will lay bare a fraud, media agencies often perpetrate. “U (sic) will find media agencies agreeing to pay more than one or two year’s declared revenue as sign-on bonus. How? Because the actual margins are often double or even triple the declared margins. Quite brilliant; Martin has met his match,” Mr Bedi posted on Facebook.

     

    This sparked a virtual debate on Mr Bedi’s Facebook wall. Harit Nagpal, managing director and CEO, Tata Sky, supported GSK’s move saying, “Why are agencies complaining? If none of them is willing to pay, it won’t happen. And if even one of them is willing, and the client goes for it, disregarding the agency’s merit, he deserves it.”

     

    Kedar Anil Gadgil, principal consultant at Druid System, however, called the concept “an oligopoly of rich, established agencies creating a moat around their castle to protect it from the outsiders” and added that agencies should knock the door of competition lawyers to safeguard their interest.

     

    Mr Bedi, however, opined that nothing can stop sign-on bonus from getting implemented. “…don’t waste your money trying to fight it. If clients want it. (sic) It will happen,” he commented.

     

    He also wrote that while a client contributes an average of Rs 10 crore to an agency’s revenues, “the input on winning a brand is miniscule.”

     

    Vikas Mehta, head of Euro RSCG, Oman, countered it, “The average client does not give an average revenue of (Rs ) 10 crores. Even in the top 5 Delhi agencies, average client revenue will be less than (Rs ) 5 crores and average brand revenue still less. Not workable.”

     

    The fear of many advertising agencies is that if GSK is successful in implementing this, then other marketers may follow suit. In the UK, before GSK made its demand for sign-on bonus, Premier Foods that owns brands like Bisto and Hovis had parted ways with its media agency Starcom MediaVest over “investment payment”, head of an advertising agency said. “So it seems more and more marketers are warming up to it,” the person added, requesting not to be named.

     

    Industry bodies have come out against the sign-on bonus concept. While the Advertising Agencies Association of India has already said it should be “discouraged strongly”, International Advertising Association’s India chapter president Srinivasan K Swamy, said it is an “impractical concept.”

     

    “No marketer or a right thinking person would ask an agency to pay a sign-on bonus. A buyer has to pay for the goods and services he buys and it could not be the other way round,” said Mr Swamy who is also the chairman of RK Swamy BBDO. “If I have signed a contract with my client that says that if sales drop then I will have to pay a penalty then that could be worked out. Otherwise, why should an agency pay a penalty?” A mail sent to Indian Society of Advertisers chairman Hemant Bakshi, who is also the executive director, home & personal care at Hindustan Unilever, remained unanswered till late on Tuesday.

     

    R Ramesh Chandran, co-founder at Xtravision Media Associates, wrote on Mr Bedi’s Facebook wall that Reckitt Benckiser had tried something similar three years ago, with some tough demands such as fee to pitch for the business and penalty for not meeting CPRP targets.

     

    “…nobody pitched…it fell into ZOD’s lap due to international alignment… the situation at ZOD is quite a common knowledge now…Reckitt account is up for grabs again,” Mr Chandran wrote.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • A Triton-created brand campaign by Bloomberg TV India asks viewers to upgrade to the channel

    Bloomberg TV India asks viewers to upgrade in new brand campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading English business news channel Bloomberg TV India will launch a new brand campaign that invites viewers to ‘upgrade’ from their current choice of business news channel.

     

    Said Ms. Amrit Rai, Business Head – Bloomberg TV India, on the new brand campaign: “As the nation’s leading English business news channel, our viewers have had the opportunity to watch and listen to some of the biggest names in business share their perspectives and insights. The new brand campaign emphasizes these key attributes of the channel and the inherent advantages that a viewer can enjoy by being with the world’s largest financial news network.”

     

    Vivek Law

    The campaign created by Triton Communication will reflect the inherent benefits that a viewer will get, given the strong content that the channel presents, backed by a strong Indian editorial team led by Vivek Law, Editor Bloomberg TV India and the advantage of its global network, noted a communique. The Triton creative team is headed by Renton D’Souza.