MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • With the competition being so aggressive, it’s pertinent to have the right mix of content, innovation and music, says Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 Big FM

    92.7 Big FM asserts numero uno status in Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited’s 92.7 Big FM has continued to be the most listened to radio station in Mumbai in the last two quarters March-May 2014 and June-August 2014, claims a company release. According to the RAM reports, 92.7 Big FM has consistently been on the top with a 16.6% overall listenership share in March-May 2014 over the second placed player which stood at 15.1 percent, it adds. “Consecutively, in June-August 2014, the radio station strengthened its share to 17.1% as compared to 14.4% of the next player,” the communiqué adds. It may be noted that RAM does not share its radio measurement numbers with MxMIndia as well as other trade media, so these numbers have not been independently verified by MxM.

     

    Speaking on this, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 Big FM said, “We are proud of the entire team that has strived hard to offer audiences content which resonates with them, and been consistent for six consecutive months. With the competition being so aggressive, it’s pertinent to have the right mix of content, innovation and music. We have a clear vision for the station’s programming, with a commitment to local relevant content and cutting-edge interactive conversations coupled with great music and entertainment. We have, over a short span of time, created a position in the minds of our listeners that makes us synonymous with timeless music in Mumbai.”

     

    In addition to commanding a leadership position in other key metros like Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata as well in various parameters like reach, market share and time spent listening, the station also enjoys leadership in more than 30 cities which has enabled it to be the most sought after radio network across the country, a communique adds.

     

  • The agency’s Mumbai office will manage the mainline and digital creative services for Emirates for the region

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi wins mandate of Emirates West Asia & Indian Ocean

    By A Correspondent

     

    Emirates has assigned its West Asia & Indian Ocean (WA&IO) brand communications mandate to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, India following a multi-agency pitch. The agency’s Mumbai office will manage the mainline and digital creative services for Emirates for the region and work with the Central Brand Marketing team in Dubai.

     

    Emirates, a global connector of people and places is the most valuable airline brand worldwide for the third consecutive year, according to The Brand Finance Global 500 report for 2014. Widely acknowledged to be one of the most innovative carriers in the industry, with a state-of-the-art Boeing and Airbus fleet and award winning in-flight entertainment system –ice, Emirates fleet of exclusively wide-bodied aircraft is amongst the youngest in the sky. Flying to more than 140 destinations across six continents, the opportunities for Emirates in the years ahead are very exciting.

     

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi will carry forward the ‘Hello Tomorrow’ campaign and will create original work for the region along with multimedia campaigns for new routes, networks, products and services.

     

    Anil S Nair

    “We are absolutely honored to be chosen by Emirates who has set such high standards for everything that they do. We look forward to working with the Brand Marketing team in Dubai to develop some great work,” shared Anil S Nair, CEO and Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

  • He has stepped down after a 16-year stint with ZEEL

    Bharat Ranga quits Zee after 16-year stint

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bharat Ranga, the Chief Content and Creative Officer (CCCO) has stepped down after a 16-year stint with ZEEL.

     

    Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited said, “Since 1998, Bharat has been an invaluable member of the ZEE family. During his career span with us, Bharat has contributed to the overall growth of the organization by leveraging new revenue opportunities, bringing about path breaking content, starting new streams of content through new channel launches and transcending the business beyond geographies; to name a few. We wish to sincerely thank him for the valuable contribution he made to the organization.”

     

    Speaking on his tenure at ZEE, Bharat Ranga said, “I have turned 16 in the ZEE family this year and I am confident that all the values and experiences that ZEE has imparted will stand me in good stead. I am thankful to the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Punit who have always backed us in our pursuits to achieve organisational goals and attain personal growth. And I sincerely wish ZEE all the success in the years ahead.”

     

    Ranga’s last day with the organization will be 7th October, 2014. All verticals and functions at ZEE who currently report to him, will now report into the MD & CEO, Punit Goenka.

     

  • Creative Gurus R. Balki and Stefan Haves advise 1000-plus audience on the need to live their dreams and not shy away from making mistakes

    IAA hosts mentorship programme in Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter played host to 25 leaders from across Indian industry to mentor 720 students at the first ever mentorship programme conducted under the aegis of the IAA Young Turks Forum. Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of JSW Foundation launched the initiative on Friday, September 19 at the Bombay Stock Exchange’s International Convention Hall. Hailing the initiative, Sangita scored the importance of mentorship for young professionals.

     

    Earlier, an interactive session with the theme “Engaging with the Audience – Lessons from the Entertainment Industry” was held with R. Balki, film-maker and Chairman, Lowe Lintas & Stefan Haves, well-known Hollywood director and entertainer. Theatre personality and author Anish Trivedi moderated the discussion.

     

    “There is no need to panic in the race to achieve things,” advised Balki. He also added, “Chill, it’ll happen. Don’t panic.”

     

    Highlighting the difference between a great juggler and a not-so-great juggler, Stefan said, “A great juggler has dropped the balls more and made more mistakes in public.” Underscoring the need to not fight shy and be scared of going in front of people, Stefan said, “doing public discourse feeds your own soul and that of people around you”.

     

    HBO South Asia was the Presenting Partner and Mahindra Special Services Group and NASSCOM are the knowledge partners of the IAA Young Turks Forum. The event was conducted with the support of Bombay Stock Exchange. Youngsters from select colleges, the Nasscom 10000 entrepreneurs programme and BSE Incubation Centre were part of the IAA mentorship programme.

     

  • The loyalty programme of Landmark Group is also the parent company of Home Centre

    Ogilvy Mumbai wins creative mandate for ‘Shukran’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ogilvy’s Mumbai office has been handling the creative duties for Home Centre in Middle East and North Africa for over a year and has now won the creative duties for Shukran – the loyalty programme of Landmark Group which is also the parent company of Home Centre. This was a result of a multi-agency pitch that saw the participation of several other creative agencies.

     

    Navin Talreja, President – Ogilvy Mumbai & Kolkata said, “Reputation as the most effective agency office in the world started getting clients across the world to recognise India, and specifically Ogilvy Mumbai as a center of excellence. The mandate from Home Centre for Middle East & North Africa last year and more recently winning the opportunity to build their loyalty program brand across eight countries, is proof that clients will go any distance to find the right partners.”

     

    Sumanto Chattopadhyay

    Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director, South Asia said, “There is something deeply satisfying about creating work that works in markets beyond one’s home turf. The success of our Home Centre campaign has given us this opportunity to create greater brand value for the Landmark Group.”

     

    Rajesh Rishi, General Manager – Loyalty, Shukran said, “We were very clear that we wanted to work with the best team to take Shukran to the next level; after a rigorous process we found Ogilvy’s approach and methodology best fit to take on the unique challenge of taking a programme our size and business impact to the next level. Given Ogilvy’s expertise and diversity, we are looking forward to taking on these challenges together in unique and refreshing ways to strengthen our brand equity in the region and beyond.”

     

    As the region’s largest retail loyalty programme with over 6.5 million members in 8 countries, with over 50 brands spread across 1100 stores, Shukran aims to take the concept of ‘loyalty’ to an entirely new level, redefining rewards in every lifestyle category imaginable – including clothing, footwear, accessories, salons and spas, home furnishings, electronics, sports, entertainment and restaurants.

     

  • The festival site will have all kinds of categories including real estate, automobiles, consumer durables, electronics, FMCG products, music and entertainment.

    GroupM, Google join hands to launch online shopping fest for Diwali

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    They are now in talks to rope in a top e-commerce company to partner the event and provide logistics support, officials of the two firms said. While GroupM will bring in the brands that will sell their products on the website, Google will help with the technology for the shopping festival that will run for three weeks starting October 1.

     

    CVL Srinivas

    “Grand Diwali Mela is taking offline festive experiences online,” CVL Srinivas, chief executive officer at GroupM South Asia, said. “It will allow users to window shop, browse merchandise and, in some cases, sample products as well, just like your local mela,” he added. Rajan Anandan, country head at Google India, said people can join the festival through their mobile phones. “This will be first of its kind initiative to kick off the festive season in India. Our teams are very excited about this and we are sponsoring the effort that will be accessible across all kinds of devices, including mobile phones,” he said.

     

    The festival site will have all kinds of categories including real estate, automobiles, consumer durables, electronics, FMCG products, music and entertainment. A number of FMCG brands will sample their new food and beverage products through the website, officials said.

     

    The real estate segment will provide information on new properties including layout plans and facilitate site visits. Similarly, people interested in cars and bikes can get details of different models and schedule test drives on the site. GroupM and Google are in the process of signing on brands – including those that Group M does not handle – to participate in the event. “Through this initiative we are trying to help brands graduate to the virtual world,” GroupM’s Mr Srinivas said.

     

    GroupM has already ideated and created an advertising campaign to promote the Grand Diwali Mela across different media platforms including TV, radio, print, internet and social media. Officials said that if the Diwali festival proves a success, than they will host similar events around other major festivals and occasions.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

  • With rise of e-commerce, deal or coupon sites such as Coupon Dunia and Groupon see revenue rising around 500%

    Deal sites make hay as e-comm rises

     

    By Payal Ganguly & Aditi Shrivastava

     

    The fierce rivalry among ecommerce sites to snag new customers through massive discounts has expectedly led to burgeoning sales at couponing sites that enable users get products and services online at a steal.

     

    With the rise of e-commerce, deal buying and couponing sites, such as Coupon Dunia, Groupon and several others, have seen revenue rise as much as 500%, most of it attributed to the bigger players – Flipkart, Amazon India and Snapdeal.

     

    In a couponing website, a customer can search for a particular discount voucher and use that code to get a discount or cashback on an etailer’s website. “I see couponing as a less exploited marketing tool as of now. Going ahead, as ecommerce grows, we will see more and more success for these sites,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail advisory firm Technopak.

     

    A majority of transactions for these portals still come from the bigger ecommerce sites like Flipkart, Amazon India, Jabong, Fashionara and MakeMyTrip, among others.

     

    “A lot of online shoppers start their shopping journey from these (couponing) sites, and we do get a healthy share of business from them,” said Darpan Munjal, co-founder of Fashionara.

     

    The couponing sites get commissions that vary across merchants and categories. For electronics, it is 2-5%. For clothing it’s between 10% and 15% or even higher. Travel sites usually pay about Rs 100-300 per flight booking. Some ecommerce partners like RedBus pay fixed amounts per transaction regardless of cart size.

     

    “At Myntra, we are working with several affiliate networks for more than two years, directly or indirectly. Affiliates drive about 10-15% of our overall transactions,” said Deepak Srikumar, head of digital marketing at Myntra.

     

    “The coupons on ecommerce site are usually directed at customer acquisition and ensure that the customer revisits the site the next time to redeem the coupons,” said Rachna Nath, leader of retail and consumer at advisory firm PwC.

     

    In 2012, Amazon entered in India through price-comparison and lead generation site Junglee, which it bought years earlier. Mature markets like the United States, have seen some couponing websites including Coupons.com, RetailMeNot.com, even go public in the past couple of years. Japanese ecommerce giant recently bought couponing site Ebates to enter the US market.

     

    The opportunity in India is also huge. Indian ecommerce market is expected to reach Rs 50,000 crore by 2016, according to Crisil. Going ahead, these sites are betting on mobile to drive its revenue. “We expect our mobile app to be a game changer,” said 30-yearold Sameer Parwani, who started CouponDunia from Boston in the United States in 2010. The company, which has now been acquired by Times Internet, is expanding its offline restaurant coupon business and expects to earn a revenue of Rs 40 crore in fiscal 2016.

     

    “With a higher discount range in all the online stores, people are completely involved in shopping online, mainly due to the cash on delivery and return policy features,” said KR Murle, founder of Getextrabux, a cashback, deal hunting and price comparison portal. The company, which was set up with an investment of about Rs 45 lakh, pays around 60-90% of the commission it earns to the customers as cashback.

     

    The tech-based companies have consciously chosen to stay away from the local-deals model. “Working with local retailers could be tricky as sometimes the deals get oversubscribed and they run out of margin,” said Swati Bhargava, cofounder of Cashkaro. “For us, online was a better way since it’s a volume game we are targeting.”

     

    Cashkaro said its sales have gone up 500% in one year. “While I don’t mind paying to (these couponing sites) to get new customers, if I had to pay for a repeat customer, I wouldn’t be very happy,” said Praveen Sinha, managing director of Jabong.

     

    The mobile-first has worked well for Mydaala. com which is one of the few surviving deal sites for local businesses. “We were one of the first to tap into analytics which helped us user-specific deals every time they logged in but presently no one seems to be working with local merchants,” said Anisha Singh, founder and CEO of Mydaala. com, which introduced couponing for all major telcos last year.

     

    However, local-deals space remains niche with few players venturing into it. “When we entered the market in 2011, there was a lot of competition in India and none of these sites curated the merchants who were a part of it. As a result, once the customer has a bad experience, he would never come back to the coupon or deal site,” said Ankur Warikoo, CEO of Groupon India.

     

    He said that Groupon has evolved to accommodate a mix of transactions keeping in mind the growing ecommerce industry. While local deals contribute to 60% of Groupon’s business, 25% comes from manufacturers who list directly with the site to sell and the remaining 15% is driven by travel deals.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Rajat Sharma is President while Ashok Venkatramani is Vice President

    Rajat Sharma is new NBA President

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajat Sharma

    The NBA has announced its officebearers for the year 2014-15. These include Rajat Sharma - President (Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, India TV), Ashok Venkatramani - Vice President (CEO – ABP News, MCCS (I) Pvt. Ltd.), and Anurradha Prasad - Honorary Treasurer (CMD, News24 Broadcast India Ltd.)

     

    The other members on the NBA Board include K.V.L. Narayan Rao, Executive Vice Chairperson NDTV Group – New Delhi Television Ltd., Ashish Bagga, Director- TV Today Network Ltd., MK Anand, Managing Director & CEO – Times Global Broadcasting Company Ltd., Bhaskar Das, CEO – Zee Media Corporation Ltd., Jagi Mangat Panda, Director, Odisha Television Ltd., and MV Shreyams Kumar, Wholetime Director, Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd.

     

  • Andy Sandoz, Creative Partner at Work Club announced as D&AD Deputy President; Rosie Bardales, Dan Germain & Nils Leonard among newly elected Trustees

    D&AD President Mark Bonner aims for crossover appeal

    By A Correspondent

     

    D&AD President Mark Bonner and CEO Tim Lindsay

    New D&AD President Mark Bonner has pledged to celebrate the new breed of 21st century creatives as he begins his term, intending to commemorate the profession’s heritage, champion its present and safeguard its future.

     

    Mark Bonner is a true D&AD success story, having begun his career with a D&AD New Blood Yellow Pencil, earned as a Kingston University student in 1991. Alongside fellow designers Jason Gregory and Peter Hale, whom he met at the Royal College of Art, Mark co-founded GBH in 1999. With four Yellow Pencils to its name, GBH has since consistently ranked as one of the UK’s top creative design agencies.

     

    Now, Bonner’s career has come full-circle. After being elected as a D&AD trustee in 2011, he follows in the footsteps of design legends such as Michael Johnson, Michael Wolff and Rodney Fitch in taking the reins as President of the global not-for-profit creative association.

     

    Mark Bonner, D&AD President and co-founder of GBH, commented, “As a designer, the Yellow Pencil has always been the ultimate aspiration… but having won some, now it’s winning a Black Pencil that keeps me awake at night. D&AD has been a big inspiration in my career, so to take on the role of President of this great association is a real honour.

     

    “As President, I’m interested in exploring the space beyond the disciplines, the ‘white space’ in-between. Creatives have always instinctively defined themselves by a category or a skill, but we’re in an era where convergence within communications is all encompassing. Our industry is thriving thanks to a generation of creatives and clients that collide the disciplines in order to cut through. Today, the only creative discipline that really matters is excellence.”

     

    Work Club Creative Partner Andy Sandoz has been announced as incoming Deputy President of D&AD. Serving as deputy for the next 12 months, Sandoz will take over as President in September 2015. In addition, there are seven new creatives elected to sit on the D&AD Board of Trustees, which are: Rosie Bardales, Executive Creative Director and Partner, BETC London, Harriet Devoy, Creative Director of Design, Marketing Communications, Apple EMEA, Thomas Fitzmaurice, Junior Designer, Interbrand [New Blood Trustee], Dan Germain, Global Head of Brand and Creative, Innocent, Andrew Lawrence, Creative Director, Elmwood, Nils Leonard, Chief Creative Officer, Grey London and Steve Vranakis, Executive Creative Director, Google Creative Lab

     

  • It will not just highlight stories and social issues affecting India but will also discuss the best possible solutions for social welfare

    Ogilvy unveils campaign for season 3 of Satyamev Jayate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Post two successful seasons, Satyamev Jayate is releasing the main invite campaign for Season 3 captioned, “Satyamev Jayate wapas aa raha hai…Dekhna Zaroor – Mumkin Hai”.

     

    The campaign is a promotion for the show that will begin on Sunday, October 5, 2014. It will not just highlight stories and social issues affecting India but will also discuss the best possible solutions for social welfare and well-being in an individual capacity.

     

    In a lighter vein, the campaign communicates that change can happen in a society. It is not just another campaign for raising awareness about the malpractices happening around us, but also aimed to recreate brand appeal and invite viewers to the show.

     

    Abhijit Avasthi

    Abhijit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy India said, “Satyamev Jayate has come to stand for the possibility of positive change and is symbolic of the collective efforts of all Indians in addressing the wrongs that plague our society. This campaign brings that alive in a light and optimistic way.”

     

  • The campaign has been developed on the insight that young people are very comfortable with the sentiment that what’s theirs is theirs

    Schmitten out to make its mark in the premium chocolate category

    By A Correspondent

     

    Publicis has unveiled a new campaign for chocolate brand Schmitten. The chocolate category is growing rapidly and there are a lot of international brands that are also entering the Indian Market. There is a growing appetite for premium chocolates in the country and the most critical challenge was to find a unique space for the chocolate brand apart from just creating awareness.

     

    The campaign has been developed on the insight that young people are very comfortable with the sentiment that what’s theirs is theirs. In this TVC, Priyanka Chopra gives voice to that thought. And she makes it evident by bringing an element of whacky, youthy coolness to that argument. She is an elite girl whose possessiveness finds an infectious voice in a song, while she dodges her Schmitten from the greedy one who follows her wherever she goes.

     

    Jayesh Desai – Group Chairman, Rajhans, said, “Schmitten is the third largest chocolate project in India. We have launched a premium quality Swiss chocolate and are geared up to build a brand that will spell class. In a bid to come up as a premium chocolate brand amid the prevailing knife-edge competitions, we’ve never left any stone unturned. And thanks to Publicis for setting ourselves apart with their all the more creative output that will almost certainly go the distance.”

     

    Bobby Pawar – Director and Chief Creative Officer, South Asia, Publicis said, “The category we are trying to break into is about sinful and naughty chocolates. What India is used to is the kind of chocolates that will replace sweets. But there is more to it than that.”

     

  • The event saw a turnout of around 200-odd marketing enthusiasts learn about future marketing trends, understanding consumer behaviour, the mix of social and mobile media among a host of other topics

    Mobile marketers discuss trends & future at IAMAI Summit

    By Sneha Johari

     

    The number of connected Indians is also going to exceed the English newspaper circulation in India by ten times and will exceed the English speaking population in India by 1.5 times. These and a variety of other facts and figures were discussed and deliberated on at the Mobile Marketing Summit 2014, organised by the trade association IAMAI at the Hyatt Regency in Mumbai on Wednesday. The event saw a turnout of around 200-odd marketing enthusiasts learn about future marketing trends, understanding consumer behaviour, the mix of social and mobile media among a host of other topics.

     

    Rajesh Jain

    Rajesh Jain, Chief People Officer of netCORE Solutions spoke about the integration of marketing and technology which is already upon us (and is slowly merging). Tushar Vyas, Managing Partner Interaction of GroupM South Asia took some stand-out numbers and presented them in the context of the Indian online population.Talking about the next 100 million users (the upcoming generation as well as people who are converting to smartphones), in the near future, the number of connected Indians is going to be larger than the US population. India is the world’s second largest online user base. He also gave the stats on the number of connected Indians exceeding English newspaper circulation cited earlier. Mr Vyas added that the tolerance for delay (in any service) is decreasing as the information gap closes in and more and more things become available to a consumer faster. “The mobile web is increasingly becoming visual and discoverability is now social,” said Mr Vyas.

     

    Neeraj Roy

    Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment stressed on the statistics of mobile consumers. “79% of smartphone owners are also smartphone shoppers. The Asia Pacific region will have the largest in B2C e-commerce in the near future,” said Mr Roy. Content is consumed across devices and people want a uniform experience across devices. The CEO of Proscape Services, Michele Raspone demonstrated how Proscape helped in cutting costs and enabling technology for their clients.

     

     

     

    Nishant Rao

    In the midst of all marketing talks, Nishant Rao, MD, LinkedIn India spoke about how mobile could be leveraged to become more productive professionals. He stressed on the importance of having a simple app for your business which worked efficiently and delivered the content or service. “Mobile is a mindset,” said Mr Rao. It should not be viewed as a technology separate from our lives. When asked by an audience member whether it would be best to have an all in one app, a mix of Facebook and LinkedIn, Nishant said that although that would be a nice idea, people prefer to keep their personal and professional lives separate.

     

    As the Summit progressed, a session on Marketing APPeal: Nuances of Mobile App Marketing discussed important aspects of investing in apps, best methods for a marketer to retain users on the app, native ads, how to use push notifications effectively while increasing consumer engagement and how to prevent overexposure of information. Rohan Tyagi, Digital Product Head of ABP News, said that push notifications helped in increasing their user engagement fourfold. This led to higher consumption of news. “You need to study your app as well as its users carefully. We segregated our users based on their engagement (high or low engagement) and delivered notifications accordingly,” Mr Tyagi said.

     

    Veer Chand Bothra, Chief Innovation Officer of netCORE Solutions said that looking at the app as content was necessary. He also mentioned that content is the king. His advice to marketers using apps? “Integrate all your information channels- voice (call), SMS, push notifications and email. As a marketer, take an omni-channel approach where the experience remains uniform across platforms,” Mr Bothra replied. Jay Jain, Director and Co-Founder of m-AdCall Digital Media, an app which lets you earn incentives for watching ads, said, borrowing from experience, “Give points to your consumers to bring them back to your app.”

     

    Nitish Tipnis, the ‘old-school’ Director of Marketing & Sales, Hover Automobile India neatly demonstrated Nissan’s social-only approach to the launch of its SUV, the Terrano and the phenomenal results they got from this medium last year. Nitish elaborated on how the customer is interested is knowing how technology works for them, that as marketers we should not bombard them with high-end tech specs but rather simplify and explain. In his research, he found that 95% of automobile-buying prospects research online before making a decision to purchase an automobile. “Create conversation, ensure quick responses, use multiple channels to engage with customers,” Mr Tipnis suggested.

     

    Rajiv Dingra

    The last plenary session explored the symbiosis between Mobile Marketing and Social Media. Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult, talked about using the right kind of content for social and differentiating correctly between the print, TV and online, especially social media.

     

    Snehi Mehta, Head – Client Solutions, Facebook India said, “Brands must have a voice on social platforms. Facebook is not just a social media platform, it is a mass media platform. We have to simplify planning metrics. Planning metrics have changed. It’s not about a 30 second advertisement anymore. The need of the hour is optimum reach.”

     

    Different case studies were also presented towards the end of the Summit.