MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • The agency triumphed over others on account of their comprehensive and inventive approach on creative thinking, category understanding strength, micro planning and efficient buying strength

    Milestone Media bags OOH mandate for Reliance Communications

    By A Correspondent

     

    Milestone Media, a division of Milestone Brandcom has won the OOH media mandate for Reliance Communication following a multi-agency pitch attended by seven large OOH agencies, that lasted over three rounds. Milestone Media will handle pan-India OOH media duties for the business. The agency triumphed over others on account of their comprehensive and inventive approach on creative thinking, category understanding strength, micro planning and efficient buying strength.

     

    Speaking on the alliance, Gurdeep Singh, CEO, Consumer Business, Reliance Communications Ltd, said, “Milestone Brandcom had a sound understanding of our business issues that we face in a dynamic category. Their pursuit for perfection, and professional attitude were appealing to RCOM while making the decision.”

     

    Nabendu Bhatacharyya, Founder & MD Milestone Brandcom Group said, “This is a noteworthy achievement for us at Milestone Media. Reliance is one of the biggest players in the Communications industry with a unparalleled legacy, offer us challenge to partner them in renewed strategy for future time. We look forward to working with the team and help them push boundaries by creating cutting edge work & contribute to R Com’s growth story”

     

  • Agency wins account for 'bindass' and the summer campaign for edutainment theme park, "KidZania

    Marching Ants bags two new clients

    By A Correspondent

     

    Creative agency Marching Ants Advt. Pvt. Ltd has expanded its portfolio of clients recently by winning the account for India’s first homegrown youth entertainment brand ‘bindass’ and the summer campaign  for edutainment theme park, “KidZania.

     

    Speaking on the inclusion of new clients in their roster, Co-Founder, Director – Creative Solutions at Marching Ants Advt. Pvt. Ltd Joy Ghoshal said, “We have been doing excellent work for our clients from the past 14 years. It is our pleasure to handle the creative duties for bindass, which is bringing about a revolution in entertainment for Young adults in the country and KidZania, who are globally acclaimed for their unique concept in edutainment category for kids. At Marching Ants, we constantly strive to creative impactful and memorable visual stories and we will continue to ensure high standards of work for all our clients.”

     

    Marching Ants has also been entrusted with the creative marketing duties of this year’s biggest Bollywood releases including Kick, Bombay Velvet, Bang Bang and Shuddhi, to name a few.

     

  • The engaging digital campaign spans across desktop and Mobile for OLX

    SMG Convonix creates digital campaign for OLX

    By a correspondent

     

    SMG Convonix, leading integrated digital marketing solutions company and part of Starcom MediaVest Group has come up with a unique integrated experiential digital media campaign for OLX “Phone ko banao SELLphone”. OLX, in a marketing campaign across TV, radio, and outdoor, is promoting a new concept of ‘sell-phone,’ focusing on three core communication points click-upload-sell.

     

    The digital ad campaign by SMG Convonix trendily allows the users to sell off household things virtually by just experiencing this innovation on Web though their mobile phones. This mobile sync web campaign goes live on Yahoo and MSN from 4th and 5th June respectively.

     

    Women have always been an integral part of the brand communication at OLX. With ‘Phone ko banao Sell-Phone’ OLX celebrates the individuality and independence of the new-age Indian woman. The campaign displays OLX mobile App as a tool of empowerment for women, allowing them to earn money, and unclutter from the convenience of their homes.

     

    Commenting on the innovation, Amarjit Batra, Chief Executive Officer, OLX India, said, “The current campaign “Phone ko banao SELLphone” stemmed from the insight that it is easier to use a classifieds platform from a mobile phone than a desktop PC. The campaign tries to highlight that online selling is fun and convenient”.

     

    “This innovation is an attempt to deliver the joy of selling through mobile, and displays the ease of the OLX mobile App. With this campaign we intend to give our users the best possible user experience,” he further added.

     

  • Sony AATH would offer Bengali language feed for the first time ever on satellite television for an international sporting event

    Sony AATH to broadcast FIFA World Cup matches in Bengali

    By A Correspondent

     

    In its bid to cater to the football lovers in West Bengal, Sony AATH will broadcast live the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Bengali commentary. The channel will telecast 56 FIFA matches in Bengali, and provide its audience with a unique viewing experience that has never been done before on satellite TV. As a strategic move, Sony AATH aims to expand its reach through this custom offering to the vast Bengali speaking audience of the country.

     

    Speaking on this unique initiative, Tushar Shah, Senior Vice President Multi- Screen Media, who also manages the operations of Sony AATH, said, “The one factor that unifies Sony AATH with the people of Bengal is our love for football. It is this love that has inspired us to offer 2014 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ to the people of Bengal in their very own language. Sony AATH’s endeavour is to captivate this passionate audience by  creating a holistic football experience by providing high quality sports content in a language which, they love.”

     

    NP Singh

    Speaking on the occasion N.P. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Multi- Screen Media, said, “At MSM, we attempt to draw the consumer with differentiated content. Providing the viewer with live Bengali feed is just another testimony of our commitment to understanding what the viewers’ wish to see and offer them. We hope every football loving Bengali enjoys 2014 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ on Sony AATH.”

     

    The 2014 FIFA World Cup will kick off on 12th June 2014.  The tournament will be in two stages; group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from June 12 to June 26. The knockout stage will start from June 28 and conclude with the FIFA World Cup™ Final match on July 13.

     

  • Agency bags three more awards at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy Awards

    Lowe Lintas + Partners wins Platinum award on Effectiveness at AMES

    By a correspondent

     

    Lowe Lintas + Partners India had a great run at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy Awards, held in Singapore recently. The agency’s work on ‘Lifebuoy – Help a Child Reach 5’for its client Hindustan Unilever Limited bagged the enviable Platinum award (Effectiveness category) at AMES.

     

    Apart from the coveted award, Lowe Lintas + Partners India also won the Gold in Effectiveness – Food Products for their work on Kissan ‘100% Natural Seeded’ for HUL. The same entry also won a Bronze in Effective – Innovative Use of Media category. The agency also bagged a Silver under the Effective – Integrated Marketing Campaign category for its work on ‘Lifebuoy Help A Child Reach 5.

     

    Commenting on the wins, Joseph George, CEO of Lowe Lintas + Partners said: “This performance of Lowe Lintas + Partners and Unilever is our best ever at AMEs. For either of us. This reflects our shared belief in what makes for effective communication.”

     

    The performance at AMES follows Lowe Lintas + Partners’ fine achievement in April 2014 where it was named the most Effective Indian Agency at the APAC EFFIEs Awards 2014. The agency had bagged 4 metals including 2 Golds, a Sliver and a Bronze out of total 6 metals for India. Lowe Lintas + Partners was also bestowed the ‘Agency of the Year’ title at Indian Effies 2013.

     

    Vikas Mehta, CMO – Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “We had entered a small number of campaigns this year at the AMEs. Four wins including the all-important platinum is remarkable. I’m told it’s the country’s first AME platinum on effectiveness. That sure feels nice.”

     

    The Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy Awards are Asia Pacific’s foremost awards honoring clients and their agencies for marketing strategies that deliver solid results to transform businesses and brands. The annual awards are judged by a panel of top client and agency professionals who review the submissions against stringent criteria to determine the winners of the prestigious Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy awards.

     

  • … and Sony sits pretty on ad inventory as it inks deals with Hero Moto, Xolo, Microsoft, Havells et al

    Ole Ola… less than a week to go for FIFA World Cup 2014

     

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    With barely a week to go before the soccer world cup FIFA 2014, Sony Six, the official broadcaster of the tournament in India, has managed to sell half its on-air advertising inventory, MSM president Rohit Gupta has said.

     

    “We will be closing in most of the deals for the remaining inventory next week”, he said. The tournament will also be aired on Sony Six HD in English and Sony Aath, the Bengali channel of the network. According to TAM data shared by Sony Six, in 2010, 62.7 million Indians tuned in for the FIFA World Cup.

     

    “This year we are expecting the viewership to cross 100 million and it will be at least 50% of the IPL (Indian Premier League),” said Mr Gupta. IPL 2014 received viewership of over 185 million and the 2012 World Cup T20 raked in a viewership of nearly 120 million in India.

     

    “To that extent, football viewership in India is growing at a steady pace of 20-30%,” he added. The data also shows that in 2013 alone 155 million Indians watched football matches on various channels, which is only second to the top game — cricket, which is watched by 209 million Indians.

     

    While the channel has mnaged to ink deals with some of the top advertisers including Hero Motocorp, Xolo Mobile, Microsoft, Havells, Sony India, Samsung, UB Group, Micromax and Diageo, some advertisers have shown concern over the odd match timings. While the sponsors have paid anywhere around Rs 15-20 crore, a 10-second slot on the channel is selling at Rs 2-2.50 lakh, which is almost half of what it had charged during the recentlyconcluded IPL.

     

    “It is not a problem at all because 60% of the matches start before midnight”, said Mr Gupta. Concurs Basabdatta Chowdhury, CEO, Platinum Media, a subsidiary of the Madison World. She said, “A good number of matches will be played at 9.30 pm and World Cup timings have always been in the night. Moreover, South East Asia is a huge football market and therefore some of the match timings have been adjusted to suit the viewers. So timing is not a concern at all.”

     

    However, some media planners have raised concern over the distribution of Sony Six and how many market it reaches in comparison to other established players like ESPN Star Sports and Ten Sports. “The distribution of Sony Six is 50-60% of that of other top sports channels in the country. So advertisers are pretty apprehensive about the reach of the platform and that why the channel is left with so much unsold inventory. Unavailability of Sony Six could be a dampener to its advertising revenues,” said a senior media planner who didn’t wished to be named.

     

    But Mr Gupta says distribution of the channel is not a concern at all. “The biggest testimony of that is the IPL figures. If we didn’t have the reach then how is IPL viewership growing?” he asked. The channel has also planned a two-hour wrap around show on Sony Six which will be aired for 32 days and the channel has signed in actor John Abraham to spearhead the show.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Like in the case of the Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of Law & Kenneth, and the L&K taking management control of Saatchi & Saatchi, Temple co-founders will manage WPP’s Bates CHI&Partners

    Bates CHI&Partners to acquire Temple Advtg. Temple co-founders to manage Bates

    By A Correspondent

     

    The WPP group’s Bates CHI&Partners has announced the acquisition of the business and assets of Bengaluru-based Temple Advertising. But like in the case of the Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of Law & Kenneth, and the L&K taking management control of Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

    Said David Mayo, CEO, Bates CHI&Partners. “In developing our strategy in India, we are building a creative network with scale. Temple is a renowned creative agency with a strong reputation and a broad vision of the world and with them around the table, we will deliver on this promise.”

     

    Temple was co-founded in 2004 by Manmohan Anchan, Vidur Vohra and Srikanth V S. Srikanth VS will become CEO and Manmohan Anchan will become CCO of Bates CHI&Partners in India and they will jointly assume the role of Managing Partner of the Group overseeing all five Bates CHI&Partners offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Dhaka.

     

    Srikanth V.S. said, “We are incredibly excited to be part of a new agency set up in a new India environment and we hope to capture this new mood to build our business.”

     

    To underline the partnership and collaboration principles of this company, the agencies in Bangalore will merge and become Bates CHI&Temple, with the rest of the network retaining the original Bates CHI&Partners branding.

     

    Said Manmohan Anchan: “At Temple, we pride ourselves on our work. If it sells, it’s working. If it builds a brand, it’s working. We don’t create work for clients or juries, we create work that works. The time is right for a new agency in India to give variety to the current order of things.”

     

    Temple has worked with clients across diverse categories such as Automotive, Education, Fashion & Retail, FMCG, Foods, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate and Technology. Its clients include Embassy Group, eTV Kannada, Future Lifestyle Fashions (including Indigo Nation, Scullers, Manchester United, Jealous21), Pearson Education, Reliance Trends, Sumeru Frozen Foods, TVS Motors, Vaswani Group and Wipro Technologies.

     

  • The Press Club Mumbai’s National RedInk Awards was held on June 7, 2014

    RedInk Awards felicitates journos; discusses future roadmap

    By a correspondent

     

    Information & Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar told journalists that the new government had no agenda for regulating media. “I would say the media should have a mechanism of “self restraint”; I don’t even like the word ‘self regulation’, the minister said when speaking at a the Press Club Mumbai’s National RedInk Awards held on June 7, 2014.

     

    The I&B minister said the increasing attacks on journalists was a matter of concern and indicated that the Union Government is considering bringing in a Central Act to punish attacks on media professionals. He said the government is studying the impact of state laws against media attacks. “We will then look at the possibility of a central law,” he said.

     

    The NDA government, he said, was fully committed to ensure full freedom of the Press. But there is nothing like absolute freedom and the society expects the media to be accurate, balanced and fair in its approach. In this context, he said he favoured self restraint by the media, rather than the much talked about self regulation.

     

    He allayed apprehensions that the print medium will dwindle as the electronic medium grows. “Print medium will also grow with the rising literacy in the country.” he added.

     

    Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, chief guest at the awards function, abandoned his prepared speech and had the audience in splits with his wit and sarcasm. Coming down heavily on NOTA (None of the Above) as a vote option, he said: “In a democracy, NOTA has no place. It is nonsense. The person who does not go to vote expresses his feeling of NOTA anyway,” he said and pointed out that “It is a sheer waste of time for him (to go to the polling booth) and vote for NOTA.”

     

    “It is only four years since the RedInk Awards were instituted. The awards have already got national recognition. I congratulate the Press Club of Mumbai for setting very high standards of selection of the recipients of this award,” the Governor said.

     

    Veteran Hindi journalist Mrinal Pande was felicitated with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” that honoured excellence in Indian Journalism.

     

    The evening began with a sizzling and hard fought debate on: ‘Elections 2014: Were We Fair, Or Did We Stoke the NaMo Wave?’, moderated by Star India CEO Uday Shankar, and with veteran journalist Kumar Ketkar, Times Now Editor-In-Chief Arnab Goswami and CNN-IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai and Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & National Creative Director Ogilvy & Mather India on the panel.

     

    Rajdeep regretted that a section of the media promoted “Supari Journalism” and some journalists acted as Cheer Leaders during the election campaign by refusing to see beyond Modi. “We have lost the capability to look beyond (sensational) headlines,” he said. He said the media by making it a contest between Modi, a gifted organizer and natural orator, and Rahul Gandhi, who had no capabilities as a politician, made the elections a ‘no-contest’ game.

     

    Arnab Goswami, while concurring that Modi had no competition, said: “But a section of the Delhi media tends to get too close to politicians thus affecting their reporting,” he said. For instance, it was like a sin to criticize Manmohan Singh in Delhi even during the height of various scams.

     

    Kumar Ketkar said media pampered Modi and they stoked the NaMo wave by not reporting other important events and happenings.

     

    Piyush Pandey

    Adman Piyush Pandey said media “didn’t create a wave, it just rode a wave”. “When the Indian cricket team wins, everyone talks about Dhoni.”

     

    Mrinal Pande, acknowledging award, felt that Hindi Media continues to play second fiddle to English Media. Hindi journalists should stop behaving like “outhouse boys”, shed inhibitions and develop self confidence.

     

    In other sections of the RedInk Awards, 10 panels of juries were constituted from among distinguished citizens, senior journalists and industry experts to judge over 800 entries in print, online and television entries. From this intense competition have emerged nearly 31 winners and runners-up who will receive cash prizes of Rs one lakh in each of the 14 competitive categories.

     

    Fountain Ink was awarded the Best RedInk Start-Up award. The best start-up award has been instituted this year to recognize media initiatives that have performed well soon after launch. Fountain Ink – launched relatively recently in 2011 – has made a mark this year with your journalists winning a record four awards in the line-up today.

     

    Star India was the Presenting Partner for The Press Club’s Redink Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2014. The awards partners were Yes Bank, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Aditya Birla Group, Zee Entertainment, BSE, Eros International and Adani Group.

     

  • V Narayanan will be reporting into Rabinder Thirumurthy, MD, Motivator and will be based in New Delhi

    Motivator appoints V Narayanan as Chief Growth Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Motivator has announced the appointment of V Narayanan as the new Chief Growth Officer. He will be reporting into Rabinder Thirumurthy, Managing Director, Motivator and will be based in New Delhi. In his new role, Narayanan will lead the next phase of growth for Motivator, with an emphasis on the specialist practices of the agency. He will be responsible for driving strategy for the north region and new business development nationally.

     

    Expressing his sentiments, Rabe Iyer, Managing Director, Motivator said, “I am delighted to have Narayanan on the Motivator team. I have known him to be the strong, silent commander, who with his strategic thinking and clear dedication inspires the team to deliver their very best. I have often heard very high praise from clients about his working style and I am sure Narayanan will help Motivator in our endeavor to build competitive brands out of Indian businesses.”

     

    Prior to the promotion, Narayanan was the General Manager, North, Maxus. Under his leadership Maxus not only won several new businesses but created some breakthrough work for their existing clients. As a strong growth driver for the agency, he instilled the PACE philosophy across his team members and strived to create great value for his clients and team alike.

     

     

  • Lay's will be bringing forward the global campaign with international football superstar Messi in India

    Lay’s unveils biggest global integrated mktng campaign

    By a correspondent

     

    PepsiCo’s Global Snacks Group has unveiled its biggest worldwide, integrated marketing campaign ever. The campaign features international football superstar, Leo Messi, on millions of Lay’s packages, including 50 million bags in India, as part of a multi-dimensional effort that includes television advertising, and out-of-home, digital, in-store and point-of-sale executions.

     

    This global campaign, which will be executed across more than 60 countries, is a direct result of PepsiCo’s ability to leverage its size and scale to improve the impact and efficiencies of local advertising to tell equity-building brand stories on a mass scale.

     

    Lay’s will be bringing forward the global campaign with international football superstar Messi in India, beginning with a master brand commercial that will be aired on YouTube, starting June 12, 2014. Lay’s will also be activating a Mega Consumer Engagement program led by 3 New Flavours called ‘Football Favorites’, that kick starts with a television commercial (TVC) starting June 20, 2014. These new flavours, along with core flavours of Lay’s, will provide soccer fans an opportunity to watch Messi in live action.

     

    The master brand commercial and centerpiece of the campaign “Messi Photo,” was shot over the course of three days in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and Barcelona, Spain. With the great taste of Lay’s potato chips at the center, the commercial builds off the insight that people enjoy pinching a Lay’s chip whenever they are near one. “Messi Photo” shows that not even a world-class footballer can avoid his fans’ fingers.

     

    “We are proud to deliver the first-ever global equity integrated marketing campaign for Lay’s using the universally beloved game of football as our backdrop,” shared Lorraine Chow Hansen, president, PepsiCo Global Snacks Group.

     

    “As a leading macrosnack brand around the world, Lay’s now has a fantastic program that will maximize our brand message throughout globe,” she said.

     

    Vidur Vyas, Senior Director – Foods Marketing, PepsiCo India said, “Our global campaign with international football superstar Messi offers consumers an exciting opportunity to engage with the brand. True to tradition, the launch of new Football Favourite flavours will offer taste delight, international flavour appeal and the excitement of getting a chance to watch Messi play live.”

     

    Messi will also appear in a commercial for Pepsi and Lay’s – PepsiCo’s two global flagship brands that are both activating football programs in 2014.The commercial is the biggest global marketing initiative to feature both Pepsi and Lay’s products, and with football as a driver of awareness for PepsiCo’s food and beverage brands around the world, this campaign reflects PepsiCo’s broader strategy to combine the power of global brands, showcasing them better, together.

     

  • CARE India is a national development organization that works towards the empowerment of women and girls from the poor and marginalized communities to overcome poverty, exclusion and social injustice

    Magnon\TBWA bolsters digital initiatives of CARE India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Magnon\TBWA, in association with CARE India, recently launched a series of digital campaigns aimed at generating sustained awareness at a national level to create social consciousness and propel supporters to be the agents of change in the country.

     

    CARE India is a national development organization that works towards the empowerment of women and girls from the poor and marginalized communities to overcome poverty, exclusion and social injustice. Magnon\TBWA is CARE India’s agency of record since December 2013.

     

    ‘CARE India, Change India’, one of the awareness campaigns, was recently launched widely via social media channels and supported by a digital push through paid and owned media. The campaign serves as a catalyst to help transform the lives of women in both, rural and urban areas with the goal of growing CARE India’s supporter base that will provide their time, effort and resources to the cause.

     

    “We at Magnon\TBWA, truly believe that each individual has the capacity to contribute and play a major role in building a more socially secure, resilient and cohesive environment for women,” said Vineet Bajpai, CEO of TBWA\Group India. “True to our value proposition, our team of creative designers, social media experts, and media planners are successfully seeding a wave of change and driving momentum across the nation.”

     

    ‘She Means Business’, another targeted campaign in the series, highlights the concerns around gender equality in both the domestic and business environment.

     

    “Our integrated, digital marketing initiatives are designed to create a ripple effect within the digital space by highlighting the necessity of transforming gender roles and promoting gender equality across communities,” said Bajpai.

     

    The multi-platform, digital campaign developed by Magnon\TBWA will build momentum by steering supporters and donors towards a sustained commitment to the cause. On Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, users can hashtag ‘IAmCommitted’ to show their support and commit regular donations each month to help bring about a positive change.

     

    Commenting on the partnership with Magnon\TBWA, Kaushik Mitra, Head – Marketing & Communications at CARE India said, “CARE has been working in India for more than sixty years in the fields of education, maternal and child health, livelihoods and disaster preparedness and response. It is important for us to build awareness, recognition and preference among a variety of audiences, especially for the youth who will lead the charge for tomorrow’s social change. Digital and social channels are therefore critical to connect and engage. Our partner, Magnon/TBWA, is helping us to successfully achieve our cause.”

     

  • Parineeti will be the new face for the brand and will feature in their upcoming brand campaign that focuses on Indian values

    Parineeti Chopra is brand ambassador of Videocon d2h

    By A Correspondent

     

    Videocon d2h has announced the addition of Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra as brand ambassador. Parineeti will be the new face for the brand and will feature in their upcoming brand campaign that focuses on Indian values.

     

    Through the new campaign, Videocon d2h will showcase their innovative and technologically advanced Unlimited Asli HD Recorder & the new Radio Frequency Remote with earphones which assures convenience and comfort for television viewing.

     

    Sharing his views on the campaign, Saurabh Dhoot, Director, Videocon said, “Indian values epitomize our society. They are a part of our lifestyle and culture. Our new brand campaign featuring Parineeti captures some of these sentiments of Indian values and integrates it with our product deliverables. We believe Parineeti is the most appropriate choice to communicate our brand values. With all these unique features, one can attend to others, without missing the action on TV.”

     

    Commenting on the new brand campaign, Anil Khera, CEO, Videocon d2h, said, “With Videocon d2h, now you can pause your TV, record unlimited content, which means you won’t have a problem being interrupted anymore. We are happy to have Parineeti as a part of the Videocon d2h family.  In addition to her acting talent, her connect with the Indian masses will definitely help us reach out to our customers. Our main focus is to enhance the customers’ television viewing experience.”

     

    The campaign highlights the solution Videocon d2h will provide their customers with this new product that gives the option of Recording, Pause Live TV, rewind-forward.

     

    Videocon d2h currently offers 500 channels and services which includes 27 Asli “HD” channels and services and a host of regional channels.