MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program recognizing big ideas in marketing and communications

    Tata Capital wins big at The Communicator Awards 2014

    By a correspondent

     

    Tata Capital’s Half Stories initiative, part of the ‘Do Right’ initiative, won the Award of Excellence (Gold) in the Integrated Campaign category at The Communicator Awards 2014. The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program recognizing big ideas in marketing and communications. Founded two decades ago, The Communicator Awards receives over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.

     

    The ‘Do Right’ initiative emanates from the brand philosophy of Tata Capital – ‘We only do what’s right for you’ and aims to spread the spirit of ‘doing right’ in society at large. ‘Half Stories’ – the journey of doing right – is a 2000km bike journey that aims to discover simple stories of unfulfilled needs of everyday people from some of the remotest parts of India. Through digital media, specifically social media, the initiative helped showcase these stories, and then by letting ordinary citizens step in and support their needs and dreams, effectively script a happy end to these ‘half stories’.

     

    Speaking about the achievement, Veetika Deoras, Head of Brand Marketing and Corporate Communication, Tata Capital said, “The ‘Do Right’ initiative is a key initiative for Tata Capital and our aim through the initiative is to help propagate the philosophy of ‘doing right’ by inspiring people to do right, provide platforms to doing right and doing right ourselves. Half Stories is a platform that allows us as ordinary people, to get connected with simple stories of simple needs of other people and together script a happier end. It is about two halves, which ordinarily would have never met, meeting. We are deeply encouraged by this recognition and want to thank the Communicator Awards panel for their vote of confidence in the campaign and supporting us.”

     

    The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an invitation-only group consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Conde Nast, Disney, Estee Lauder, Lockheed Martin, MTV Networks, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Time, Wired and Yahoo!

     

    The Communicator Awards honors work that transcends innovation and craft – work that made a lasting impact, providing an equal chance of winning to all entrants regardless of company or agency size and project budget.

     

  • Shamik Talukder appointed as Vice President and Head of Revenue Management & Business Development

    INS appoints Shamik Talukder as Head of Revenue Management

    By a correspondent

     

    Integrated Network Solutions (INS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. has announced the appointment of Shamik Talukder as Vice President and Head of Revenue Management & Business Development.

     

    With over 16 years of experience in Revenue assurance, Brand Development & Marketing in the M&E industry, Talukder’s new role will include Business Development & Revenue Management of LIVE Viacom18 (large format Live event Impact properties), BE Viacom18 (On ground activations in film advertising and promotions) and SPOTLIGHT (creation, management and operation of digital media interfaces for individual celebrities across genres).

     

    Speaking on the announcement, Jaideep Singh, Sr. Vice President and Business Head – INS, Viacom18 Pvt. Ltd. said, “Our debut year has been a successful journey where we created multiple IPs. As we consolidate our offerings and build capacity across network we are happy to announce Shamik entry into the Viacom 18 family. Shamik’s keen understanding of the business and his contribution to the division will be vital to our growth story as we move into the next phase.”

     

    Shamik Talukder, Head of Revenue Management & Business Development, INS, Viacom18 Pvt. Ltd. said, “INS has done some great work in the past year, and I am eager to be a part of it. With my new role at INS, I look forward to leveraging the popularity and strength of the existing IPs, creating engaging solutions for brands on the digital platform through Spotlight, build customized solutions for brands in the film advertising and promotion space. It is an exciting space to be in and combining the properties to create new business opportunities will be my focus.”

     

    Shamik is an expert in spearheading new businesses and setting them up for growth. He has a proven record that includes successful stints in Star TV, Radio Mirchi, Sony Entertainment Television managing the revenues of Radio Mirchi in the launch phase, managing revenues of Indian Idol, Bigg Boss during their debut in India and leading the team in Times OOH in bidding & winning the advertising contract of Mumbai and Delhi Airport and changing the dynamics of Airport advertising in India.

     

  • Through this partnership, the widest assortment of NBA merchandise will be available in India including the first-ever NBA products for women in the country

    Jabong to power NBAstore.in in India

    By a correspondent

     

    The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Jabong have announced the launch of the first official NBA online store in India, NBAStore.in. The announcement was made at a press conference in Mumbai attended by Bollywood star and NBA fan Abhishek Bachchan.

     

    Through this partnership, the widest assortment of NBA merchandise will be available in India including the first-ever NBA products for women in the country.

     

    NBAStore.in will be an NBA-branded destination within Jabong.com – one of the leading sports and fashion destinations in India — which has 30 million unique visitors per month and delivers to more than 400 cities, towns and villages. The collection of approximately 200 NBA products will include shorts, jerseys and t-shirts for men and women and will be priced between Rs 1400 – 14000.

     

    NBAStore.in will complement the NBA’s partnership with adidas which offers fans NBA products in more than 200 adidas stores across India. Merchandise sales have doubled each of the last two seasons.

     

    This announcement comes amidst rapid growth of the NBA’s fanbase in India. This season, a record 14 games per week are televised on SONY SIX, up from three last season, viewership has grown by triple digits, and attendance at grassroots basketball events has doubled.

     

    “Sports are a major draw amongst today’s youth in India and we have seen a spike in demand for branded sportswear on Jabong,” said Praveen Sinha, Co-founder & Managing Director, Jabong.com.”We are extremely happy to partner with one of the biggest and greatest brands in sports, and are confident that the NBA will be able to power the game of basketball to the same levels of popularity seen in other parts of the world.”

     

    “Passion for basketball and the NBA is growing rapidly in India, and the increasing demand for NBA merchandise makes this the perfect time to launch a dedicated e-commerce destination,” said Managing Director, NBA India, Yannick Colaco. “Digital is an enormous growth area for us, and NBAStore.in will allow us to reach more fans across the country.”

     

    NBAStore.in will offer many exclusive products including: oncourt product and fan gear from adidas, women’s and men’s fan gear from Levelwear,  NBA socks from New Horizon, official NBA basketballs from Spalding and basketball footwear from adidas, Reebok, Nike and Brand Jordan. Additional exclusive products will be added each season.

     

    This marks the NBA’s fifth international online store since 2012 and sales for these destinations are up more than 100 percent this year. The online stores include NBATienda in Mexico, LojaNBA.com in Brazil, NBAstore.eu in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and NBA.tmall.com in China.  Overall, more than 30 percent of NBA merchandise revenue is generated internationally.

     

    In India, the NBA has hosted more than 500 events in 10 cities since 2008, opened its first office in Mumbai in 2011 and nearly 30 NBA players and legends have conducted basketball events in India.

     

  • The changes announced may not be revolutionary, but continue the evolutionary path, writes Eldad Sotnick-Yogev in Mindshare's Original Thinker Series

    What’s New on Google Adwords

     

    By Eldad Sotnick-Yogev

     

    Google has announced changes within Adwords that fall into three areas: Innovative Ads, Insightful Reporting and new Power Tools. These changes may not be revolutionary per se, but rather continue the evolutionary path we are seeing as digital platforms look to better connect with consumers at any place, any time and any device.

     

    Overall the changes look very promising and we are excited to see how Google keeps advancing from last year’s Enhanced Campaigns that pushed location, device and time bidding. By giving advertisers more tools, reports and capabilities it continues to lead the search advertising space and the multiple ways it can be used to connect with consumers.

     

    DETAILS

    INNOVATIVE ADS

    Innovative Ads focus on the fact that apps are more prominent than ever and that consumers see them as a source of solutions. The new ad features allow Google advertisers to better target and connect to these opportunities. For example, a calorie counting app/website could be shown to running app users through the new in-app install ads feature. This could be joined to another new feature – app keyword suggestions – which helps uncover key app-oriented search queries to add to your inventory.

     

    INSIGHTFUL REPORTING

    Insightful Reporting concentrates on offline measurement and the need to better link up with digital marketing; thus, the introduction of the estimated total conversions tool. The goal here is to give hyper-local information for advertisers looking to capture “offline” sales/conversions. This feature will allow better measurement, but doesn’t look like true attribution on first view.

     

    POWER TOOLS

    Power Tools give Google advertisers more benefit from the Adwords interface with bulk actions being simplified. At the same time, Automated Bidding to meet set specific goals (ROAS, CPA, Clicks) is going to be provided, enabling you to bid to maximise revenue or conversions. So, in theory an Auto OEM can target car configurations, while a retailer can go for sales. This will most likely make working within the interface the preferred method and could spell the end for Adwords Editor. These tools (and features) also will push Kenshoo, Marin and Adobe to advance what their 3rd party platforms offer at enterprise SEM management level.

     

    IMPLICATIONS

    The most impressive feature we saw was the Draft/Experiments part of the new Power Tools, which allow you to set up an experiment that will calculate and show you the impact of your changes – without actually implementing them. This means a more accurate method of forecasting will be made available in Adwords and it sounds like if the results fit your goals, it will be easy to make the theoretical a reality in a few clicks. This tool could really assist conversations for your ‘what if?’ scenarios, as well as being tangible proof of what budget and bid changes can look like.

     

    Another Power Tool that will have both clients and Search teams excited is a new way to quickly use pivot table functionality within the interface and jointly build informative charts. This “multi-dimensional analysis tool” is sure to become an addition that many will like.

     

    Finally, Innovative Ads strong focus on Apps proves that Google knows users are increasingly using mobile and that apps rule in this space. This looks to have more promise than just Admob and helps those still thinking about an App see the need to get involved. Just like mobile optimized websites, Google is pushing businesses to jump in.

     

    Excerpted with permission from the Mindshare APAC’s Original Thinker Series.

     

  • The leading creative agency has sent entries for the D&AD-backed Kyoorius Awards staying away from the Creative Abby to be held at Goafest

    Ogilvy to participate in Kyoorius Awards. Leo Burnett entries in too

    By A Correspondent

     

    Okay, it’s official. Ogilvy is participating in an Indian creative advertising awards event this year.  This was confirmed to MxMIndia by Abhijit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy via the agency spokesperson.

     

    It may be recalled that Ogilvy had chosen to not participate in the Creative Abby last year (2013) and this is the second successive year when the agency – which has traditionally dominated the awards tally – has stayed away.

     

    According to a Kyoorius official, Leo Burnett, which was rumoured to be staying away from all awards this year, has sent in entries.

     

    Although the entries closed yesterday (May 5), given some requests from a few agencies, a few entries will be accepted till early tomorrow morning (May 7).

     

    Meanwhile, the entries for the Abby at Goafest have also closed and according to numbers that Goafest organising committee members have informally told us, the aggregate number of entries for all the Abby РCreative, Media, Digital, Broadcast, PR and others Рis in the region of 2700. An Advertising Club officebearer told MxMIndia that a communiqu̩ will be issued on the numbers.

     

  • KV Sridhar joins SapientNitro as Chief Creative Officer. After years of teaching, he wants to now learn and also connect with today's audiences

    Pops goes Now. Joins SapientNitro as Chief Creative Officer

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    K V Sridhar

    KV Sridhar, former chief creative officer of Leo Burnett for South Asia, has joined digital agency SapientNitro as chief creative officer. It marks the first time the SapientNitro, which works with brands like Coca-Cola and Absolut in India, has created such a role.

     

    Says Rajdeep Endow, managing director – India, Sapient: “We feel there’s a space for a new type of agency given what is happening in the consumer space and with marketers looking at creating new experiences. One of the things we needed was a creative storyteller.”

     

    Speaking on why he chose Sridhar in particular, Mr Endow says, “We had a shared worldview on where advertising and the brand consumer interaction was going.” On his part, Mr Sridhar claims to have been a fan of the agency ever since he saw a piece of work it created four years ago called Best Job In The World for Queensland Tourism which invited applicants to be the caretaker of an island off the Great Barrier Reef.

     

    He says, “It was an incredible way of selling a country and I felt there was a new way of communication.” The job, he claims, is an attempt to reinvent himself and stay relevant for the next 20 years.

     

    “I couldn’t live in the past and wanted to connect with the audience of today and try and connect them with brands. My patience was running out since I am an angry young man. I saw a perfect fit with a new age agency. I feel like a teenage boy. After years of teaching I will now be learning,” he elaborates.

     

    While currently focused on the digital end of the business, Messrs Sridhar and Endow have ambitious plans. However in most cases digital agencies are still expected to collaborate with mainline agencies who lead on creative and strategy.

     

    Asked if he foresees problems in collaboration, Endow says, “It’s a given in this context. I don’t see cultural issues at our end. And if others have these issues, hopefully the client interest will prevail.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The league which is run by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) has 10 teams, 9 from Australia and one from New Zealand

    TEN Sports to broadcast Hyundai A-League

    By a correspondent

     

    TEN Sports has signed a three-year deal to broadcast the Hyundai A-League, Australia’s premier football league from 2014/15 to 2016/17.

     

    The league which is run by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) has 10 teams, 9 from Australia and one from New Zealand. Ten Sports will showcase 86 matches per season including the five games of the Final Series playoffs. TEN Sports will also broadcast weekly highlights of the league and 10 games of the FFA Cup for each of the three seasons.

     

    World Sport Group, who distribute the Hyundai A-League and FFA Cup worldwide on behalf of the FFA, brokered the TEN Sports deal.

     

    Rajesh Sethi, CEO, TEN Sports said, “At TEN Sports we endeavor to give our viewers the best of football action from across the globe and we are proud to add the A-League and the FFA Cup to our bouquet of premier football content. Australian football has grown leaps and bounds and offers to TEN Sports & TEN Action a different dimension to our existing portfolio. This world class football programming will be available live during the day time on weekends.”

     

    Each season of the Hyundai A-League runs from October to April and includes a 27-round regular season with an end-of-season finals series playoff tournament involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in the Grand Final. Winners from the A-League qualify for the AFC Champions League which is the UEFA Champions League equivalent in Asia. The League allows each team to have a marquee player and this has led to stars like Alessandro Del Piero, Shinji Ono and Emile Heskey showcasing their skills in this fast-growing league.

     

  • The call for participation communication for this season has kicked off with the line – "Iss manch se koi bhi khali haath nahi jaata"

    KBC returns, with a new premise

    By a correspondent

     

    Popular entertainment show Kaun Banega Crorepati is set to return on Sony Entertainment Television with familiar host Amitabh Bachchan. The call for participation communication for this season has kicked off with the line - “Iss manch se koi bhi khali haath nahi jaata”.

     

    KBC is not just a quiz show about winning money for participants; it is about gaining knowledge, respect and also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet their idol Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. Being a part of this show imbibes pride and instills confidence amongst the participants establishing it as an ideal platform to enhance aspects of their life. Starting from the 5th of May, questions will be asked regularly on Sony TV at 9pm every night. Potential participants have to answer these correctly in order to have a chance to be on the hot seat. This season aspiring contestants have access to two new platforms to reach the hot seat. One can download the KBC Official App and register by sharing the correct answer, their age and gender. Registration is also possible via sending an SMS to 5252525 with the correct answer along with necessary details. Idea users can register themselves simply by sending an SMS from their Idea mobile. Additionally, viewers can also opt for registration through BSNL landline phones or via Idea IVRS code.

     

    Gaurav Seth, Senior Vice President and Head – Marketing said, “KBC is a reflection of the hopes and aspirations of millions of people who are looking at transforming their lives. This year we are attempting to bring the show closer to our viewers by engaging various mediums through which they can enhance their chance to be on the much coveted Hot Seat. We are confident that once the season gets underway, it will strike a deep emotional chord with the entire country, like never before.”

     

  • All three founding members of the I:Connect team – Lokesh Tiwary, Shantanu Kumar and Shalini Gupta – along with their entire team will merge with Concept PR

    Concept PR acquires I:Connect Enterprise

    By a correspondent

     

    Full-service PR company Concept PR has acquired I:Connect Enterprise, a strategic PR consultancy, in an all stock deal. All three founding members of the I:Connect team - Lokesh Tiwary, Shantanu Kumar and Shalini Gupta – along with their entire team will merge with Concept PR.

     

    Over the years, Concept PR has come to be recognized as a formidable force in corporate and financial communication. The team has been acknowledged for its effective media relations and leading financial communications agency. With the current acquisition and merger, they add greater strength in brand, lifestyle, events and sports communication.

     

    I:Connect, established by Lokesh Tiwary in 2009 was designed to position Public Relations as a strategic communication partner to brands in order to address critical marketing challenges. Over the past four years, the agency has been associated with several big ticket names across industries including – HTC, ZTE, Nuance, GE, SBI Cards, First Solar, Swarovski, Oriflame, BIBA, Gemfields, Rose to name a few.

     

    Welcoming them onboard, Ashish Jalan,  Director Concept PR said, “The merger with I:Connect is bound to add an extra zest to our team and service capabilities across all PR verticals. With Lokesh, we hope to leverage his tremendous understanding of consumers and communication platforms that comes with his years of experience as an advertising and PR professional. On the other hand Shantanu, an economics major and a hardened strategist, is best placed to boost our Strategy Planning abilities. In the recent past our lifestyle and sports related PR services have gained a lot of ground, Shalini’s vast experience in these areas will be a certain advantage to the team.”

     

    Speaking on behalf of the I:Connect team, Lokesh Tiwary said, “Concept is a name to reckon with in domains such as Financial & Corporate PR, Crisis Communication and Media Insights. While I:Connect on the other hand has in the last four years developed a strategic advantage in the domain of Brand (PR) Communication. What makes this merger perfect is that it brings together two complementary forces. The scale, business intelligence and client depth of Concept and the domain expertise of I:Connect. The collective strengths would enable Concept to enlarge its appeal. We see tremendous opportunity to benefit from this merger.”

     

    The Concept Group is a network of Independent Indian agencies specializing in Brand Consultancy, Creative, Media, OOH, Digital and PR services.

     

  • GolinHarris was the first agency to launch The Bridge, which is present in 13 locations globally

    LinOpinion GolinHarris brings The Bridge to India

    By a correspondent

     

    LinOpinion GolinHarris has launched The Bridge in Mumbai. The Bridge is a pioneering concept of GolinHarris which is the centerpiece of a new working model termed G4. This tool has changed the way real time insights, in today’s increasingly digital landscape, can interplay into creating impactful Public Relations campaigns.

     

    Simon Ruparelia

    Simon Ruparelia, Head of Digital for Asia at GolinHarris said, “Many of our clients across Asia have embraced the concept of real time marketing and embedded it within their marketing plans. We have successfully applied The Bridge processes across a range of industries from FMCG to the automotive sector and it is a great example of innovation that we are bringing to clients in India. Our clients here will benefit from our experience of running this network of real time engagement centres around the region and the world from New York to Shanghai.”

     

    GolinHarris was the first agency globally to launch such a concept called The Bridge, which is present in 13 locations globally including Chicago, London and Shanghai. Mumbai is the latest bridge in Asia and latest addition to Golin Harris’ global network of Bridges.

     

    The Bridge is designed to meet the changing needs of clients who are constantly looking to better market their products and services and make them relevant with an evolving customer. It will provide better insight, improve delivery outcomes for clients and provide real-time information to clients.

     

    Ameer Ismail

    Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, LinOpinion GH and Lowe Lintas and Partners, said, “We are excited to introduce this valuable tool that helps clients across different industries to manage their online reputation effectively. I believe the time has come to accept new realities in PR and The Bridge is an integral way in which agencies and clients can weave in real time insights into their communications efforts. The impact and use can be far beyond our PR agency clients and could also work for clients within our Group.”

     

    In addition to launching The Bridge, LinOpinion GH also unveiled their new office located in Lower Parel, Mumbai. The new office features an international look and feel that brings out GolinHarris’ g4 work model. The contemporary workplace also has spaces for creative discussions, video conferencing and other amenities to create a productive work environment.

     

     

  • Life Mantra will deliver content targeted at body, mind & soul with a holistic combination of lifestyle and spirituality to help audience gain a positive outlook in life

    Spiritual channel ‘Life Mantra’ set for take-off

    By a correspondent

     

    JOP network Pvt Ltd., a subsidiary of JOP Group will be introducing India’s first Life Spirit channel Life Mantra. Bharat Agarwal, CMD of the group, is the visionary behind the channel.

     

    Life Mantra will deliver content targeted at body, mind & soul with a holistic combination of lifestyle and spirituality to help audience gain a positive outlook in life.

     

    Set to go on air in the second quarter of this year, Life Mantra will air a bouquet of programs across genres of food, travel and spiritual lifestyle essentials in today’s modern day and age. The programming mix is aimed at reintroducing one to the inner self and to our roots steeped in spirituality that leads towards the path of constant and conscious pursuit of living life to its fullest potential.

     

    Sharing the rationale behind introducing India’s first lifestyle spirit channel, Urvi Agarwal, Director, JOP Networks Pvt. Ltd. said “Spiritual Lifestyle as a subject is extremely close to our heart and we feel there is an ample potential and demand for content in this category. With our channel Life Mantra, we look forward to bringing our viewers closer to their spiritual self through holistic lifestyle programming with a global appeal for Indian audience. Our content will drive our audience towards the path of constant and conscious pursuit of living life to its full contentions.”

     

    Targeted at the age group of 25 – 45 (Sec A&B), Life Mantra will be a free to air channel and distributed via all DTH, cable and satellite platforms across the country. An extensive research amongst the targeted group in metros and mini metros shared interesting insights about the potential of content in this genre. The mushrooming of options centered on well-being; be it in food, fitness or even travel is a result of this trend which further reiterates that there is a definite demand for such content.

     

    Helios Media has been assigned the Marketing and Sales Mandate of Life Mantra. Speaking on the assignment, Divya Radhakrishnan, Managing Director said “The concept of Life Mantra is very unique to the Indian Television space. There are a plethora of brands that wish to place its messaging in such a positive environment and use its power to influence on to their brands.”

     

  • Saurabh Yagnik, who joined the MSM group just over two years ago, has over 17 years of varied consumer and television management experience

    Saurabh Yagnik elevated, to oversee English channels at MSM

    By a correspondent

     

    Saurabh Yagnik

    Multi-Screen Media Private Limited (MSM) has announced that Saurabh Yagnik’s responsibilities have been enhanced and he will now also oversee AXN, thus taking charge of the English language channels in the network, effective immediately. Sunil Punjabi, the current Business Head of AXN, will continue to manage AXN and will report into Saurabh.

     

    Saurabh Yagnik, who joined the MSM group just over two years ago, has over 17 years of varied consumer and television management experience, and has been instrumental in building and driving  the English movie channel PIX to attain market leadership.

     

     

    NP Singh

    N. P. Singh, CEO, MSM, said, “With Saurabh’s deep rooted understanding of the English Entertainment Genre, I am certain that he will chart a new and exciting journey for the English Entertainment channels at MSM. We wish him all the best.”